Hellbound Heart

The world skittered to a halt. Elle's body was paralyzed again. This always happens when she hears this name. When it comes to that man, her fear always gets the better of her.

"Princess!" the maid grabbed onto her shoulders and had to shake her firmly for her to come back to her senses.

Elle whipped her head to look at Sebastian, clenching her fists to stop her fingers from shaking. She cannot show him this cowering side of her anymore. Unlike her who was almost being rendered useless by her panic and fear, Sebastian was calm and unbothered as he leaned there, his position not moving from before. She opened her mouth to speak but shut it close again even before a word managed to get past her lips.

She was about to beg him to take her away. She wanted to tell him they should leave this place together or at least have him just escort her out of the palace to a safer place that Brandon cannot reach. But she then remembered she could not ask anything from this man. She must not beg anything from him. Not even for his help when she's in a dire situation. That was what she had vowed for him to agree to their contract marriage. Her face paled as her whole frame shook from the terror of just thinking about Brandon Haze coming after her. She needed to leave. NOW!

"I… I need to go, Prince Sebastian. See you tomorrow." Elle gave her farewell greeting and her voice trembled a little. Upon giving him a small nod of acknowledgement, Elle gripped her maid's hand tightly and they made haste to leave.

Sebastian did not move. He just watched unblinkingly as Elle's figure retreated until she disappeared from his sight.

"Sebby," Alexander's voice suddenly echoed from the entrance. The man was as relaxed and calm as Sebastian. It was as though nothing big enough could happen which would be able to shake him out of his composure. That was how composed he was.

"King Markus had informed him about the situation so that they could finally cancel tomorrow's wedding. But it seemed that the news didn't sit well with that Brandon guy. Now he's coming over. I have a feeling that this guy would not give the princess up even after we tell him that something had already happened between the two of you." Alexander said casually. "Anyway, you should go with your fiancée and keep her safe. And I am guessing that guy will not stop even after finding out she's not here anymore. Based on the king's description, that disgusting guy is definitely obsessed with the princess. There's a big chance he might hunt her. So, you go after her. We'll handle the rest here."

A quiet breath escaped Sebastian's lips as he lifted his gaze and meet Alexander's eyes. There was a flash in Sebastian's eyes when he locked his gaze with his uncle's. A few minutes of silence passed as both men stared at each other, each waiting for the other to speak first.

"Tell me, Alexander…" Sebastian finally spoke. "What exactly is your connection with Princess Izabelle? You seem to care about her so much as a stranger. Don't try to tell me otherwise. I knew something was off the moment the palace sent me to attend a wedding of a princess I know nothing about. And the fact that you too, are attending, and now doing all these just for her, only further confirms my suspicions."

Alexander did not look surprised at all. In fact, he looked like he was actually expecting this confrontation. A slow smile curled up at the corners of his lips.

"Well, that's a good question, Sebby. You are right. Izabelle is not a stranger to me, most especially to my wife. We are complete strangers to her now though." Alexander did not try to avoid the question and answered Sebastian's queries seriously. "But don't get me wrong. This is no setup or anything of the sort. We were initially here purely as honored guests to attend the wedding. Also, I am here only to identify and make sure that the man Izabelle is going to marry is a good man as per my wife's request. Nothing more, nothing less. However, this situation ended up this way because of the circumstances of matters that were happening over here with the groom being quite problematic, as you can see. And also, your actions that pushed things along the way, of course. There is no one puppeteering anyone here if that's what you are suspecting me of right now, Sebastian."

The silence between the two men became a little heavy for a moment. Alexander was beyond serious as he explained everything, and Sebastian was certain of that. Alexander rarely speaks this seriously. So when he looked and spoke like this, he knew what that meant.

"You came here to make sure the man Izabelle is going to marry is a good man and yet you had a hand in helping her get married to someone like me?" Sebastian commented ironically, as a wry smile tugged at one corner of his lips.

Alexander looked skyward and sighed. "There's no better choice, Sebby. Apart from the fact that she herself personally chose you over that asshole, I'm with her on this too, you're still the better choice."

Sebastian gave his head a slow shake. "Really… I don't understand why you'd say I am any better for her when you know what kind of man I am, Alexander."

"I know. But… if it's you, we could at least be there to support her and look out for her well-being. And something already happened between the two of you. So, you…" he grabbed Sebastian's shoulder and squeezed gently, however, his gray eyes seemed to burn with something intense. "You need to take responsibility for your own actions, Sebastian. Be a proper fiancé and go after your woman."