The Girl Behind His Throne

Three years ago, he used this gun to teach me how to shoot, guiding my hands with his own wrapped around my wrist.

One year ago, he used this same gun to kill a man who had insulted me.

And now, the barrel was pressed against my forehead as he forced the victim to apologize to the woman who framed her.

"I won't confess to something I didn't do."

I closed my eyes and rested both hands over my stomach.

Silence stretched through the room for ten long seconds.

In the end, Leon did not pull the trigger.

Instead, he slammed the gun down onto the liquor table with a violent crack.

"Get out.

"Kneel in the courtyard. You can stand back up when you're ready to apologize."

A storm was raging outside.

Rainwater poured from the roof like a curtain as I knelt on the stone pavement in that ridiculous bunny-girl outfit.

The shards of glass still embedded beneath my knees hadn't even been removed yet. Soaked by the rain, they throbbed with sharper pain every passing minute.

The storm only grew heavier.

By the second half of the night, my vision had begun to blur.

A dull ache spread through my lower abdomen. I clenched my fists with everything I had, forcing myself not to collapse.

In the end, I still fell.

The moment my body hit the muddy ground, I felt someone lift me into their arms.

Warm body heat.

The familiar scent of pinewood cologne.

Leon.

When I woke again, I was lying in bed inside my room.

Leon sat beside me.

He reached toward me, intending to remove my soaked clothes so he could treat my injuries.

I immediately jerked away from his hand.

Leon's expression darkened instantly.

"Who are you pretending to look pitiful for?"

He grabbed both my wrists and pinned them above my head against the pillow.

Riiip.

He tore open the drenched uniform still clinging to my body.

The dull pain in my abdomen surged again.

The nausea churning inside my stomach finally became impossible to suppress.

I turned my head sharply and retched violently over the side of the bed.

Leon froze.

Then he suddenly stood up and kicked over the chair beside him.

"So disgusted by my touch?"

He strode back over and gripped my chin, violent possessiveness swirling in his eyes.

"That night, you were the one begging me not to stop."

He suddenly leaned down and forced himself over me–

His phone rang.

Caller ID: My Sweetheart.

Anrina.

Leon immediately straightened up and left the room without a second glance.

The next morning, I dragged my feverish body to the infirmary.

My temperature was 39.7 degrees Celsius. The doctor put me on two IV drips.

I fell asleep face-down against the pillow, drifting in and out of consciousness.

Beneath the pillow was a crumpled ultrasound report.

The date printed on it was from one month ago.

That night, Leon had been drunk when he ran into me in the hallway.

He pinned me against the wall while calling my name.

The next morning, he pretended that night had never happened.

But the child growing inside me reminded me every second just how reckless that night had been.

Reckless enough that I actually believed he loved me.

During the two hours I was asleep, one of the maids discovered the ultrasound report while changing the bedsheets.

She took a photo of it.

Then sent it to Anrina.