To His Hell and Back-Chapter 109: A Luxurious Morning

A bright morning greeted Versailles the next morning. It was still early in the morning, where the sun had just appeared, waking up Arabella groggily. She slowly pushed herself to sit up, basking in the warmth as the sunlight touched her nose, and her green eyes, which had slowly opened from her sleepy eyelids, stared at the bright blue sky across Versailles in a serenity.

For a moment, she could feel nothing nothing but warmth. It was such a luxurious morning where the yellow sunlight kissed her skin, seeping through the delicate lace canopy of the luxurious crimson bed.

Arabella who had just woke up blinked slowly, her mind caught in the daze between dreams and the touch of morning. The sheets were soft, scented faintly of woody scent, a stark contrast to the usual smell of mold and dampness. It was odd, but rather too relaxing that she didn’t want to start thinking and rather sit down to enjoy this morning.

She inhaled deeply, her green eyes fluttering open to the breathtaking blue view beyond the red framed window.

The beds were so utterly fluffy and soft. No wonder she had slept so well, this bed might as well be the best bed she had slept on. So good that she had felt as if she had slept for years.

Bed...

BED?!

Arabella’s eyes snapped open, her heart flipping inside her chest as panic dawned on her.

Her green eyes then darted wildly around the unfamiliar bedsheet, the gilded edges of the bed’s frame and the red canopy covering the corners of the chamber blurred as she struggled to pull herself together herself. She knew this red bed far too well, the crimson choice of this bed was none other than the bed she had always stared at so carefully. It’s.. IT’S CASSIUS’S BED!

Why was she here? In Cassius’s bed?

Before answers could appear in her head, a firm arm wrapped around her waist.

Arabella stiffened, her pulse spiking as she twisted, ready to sink her teeth into the offending limb, chomping it down as hard as she could only to freeze when Cassius’s face came into full view beside her face.

The man beside her moved languidly, his dark hair spilling in soft, inky waves across the crimson pillow while his lazy long lashes fluttered against sharp cheekbones as he pushed open his crimson eyes, irritation pooling in their depths. He sighed and without a word, he pulled her closer, pressing her back into the bed with effortless strength.

"You move around too much," Cassius muttered, his voice a husky murmur, half drowned in sleep. "Go back to sleep or... should I sing you a lullaby, birdie?"

"A- AAAAAA!!"

After the high loud pitched scream from Arabella, Cassius sat up abruptly, his brows furrowing as he pressed his palms against his ears, as though trying to block out the loud morning yell that his birdie had sang out for him. The movement sent the silky duvet pooling around his waist, slipping off his shoulders to reveal the expanse of his bare skin, pale, toned, and marked by a web of scars that told stories Cassius himself would never told anyone.

Among them, one stood out. A deep, jagged scar slashed across his chest, dangerously close to the half moon birthmark that lingered just in the middle of his neck. It wasn’t fresh, but old, rather so old that it seemed as though it had been etched into his flesh since his youth. A wound that had never quite faded, much like a phantom pain that refused to be forgotten.

With a rough rustle, he turned to her who had pulled all the duvet and cornered herself to one edge of the bed, hugging her body as if he had devoured her last night.

"What did you do?!" Arabella shrieked, yanking the duvet up to her shoulders as if it could protect her from the dangerous man who had dragged her into this damned soft bed. "I knew it! I shouldn’t have—"

"You kicked me," Cassius interrupted flatly, his voice laced with the grumpiness of a man who had suffered through something truly heinous. He crossed his arms, tilting his head at her with an air of deep, personal offense. "I didn’t realize you had such violent sleeping habits, birdie, but do you even know what you did last night?"

Arabella hesitated, narrowing her eyes at him. "...I slept on the floor."

Cassius let out a slow, suffering sigh. "No, you slept beside my bed." He pointed downward for her eyes to see, and though she felt she didn’t have to look, she dared herself to peek so she could be free from the accusing gaze he showed. But when she looked at the floor, she wasn’t at the very corner she loved, which she actually despised due to its coldness, only to find that her beloved carpet had been crumpled, crushed, as if it had been choked in the middle of a fight.

"When I had walked toward the bed this little creature climbed across the floor like a spider," he continued, "And then, wham! You kicked me. Right in the knees. So, being the kind, benevolent master that I am, I graciously picked you up and put you in the bed—"

"You tossed me!" Arabella accused, her voice high pitched with betrayal.

Cassius ignored her, "—and I thought that was the end of it. But no, of course not. That would be too easy." His scarlet eyes sorrowful as if he had been taken advantaged of which made her face burn even wilder. "Instead, I was subjected to an onslaught. You rolled, you flailed, you stretched like some overgrown chicken. You kicked all the pillows off the bed, which I had to pick up one by one back to the bed. And then, after all that chaos—" he clicked his tongue, leaning in as his smirk grew downright wicked, "you had the audacity to grab onto me like some needy little creature desperate for warmth."

Arabella’s soul left her body.

"I touched you? Hardly! Why would I even do that-"

"You don’t even remember sleeping beside the bed, birdie, how could you remember whether you touched me or not?"

Arabella’s face burned and from all the shame, she shrunk further to the corner of the bed, wanting to be one with the wooden frame. She yanked the duvet up to her nose, peering at him over the edge like a cornered animal. "You’re lying," her voice muffled by fabric. "I would never do something so— so- so-"

"Violent? Clingy? Disturbing?" Cassius helped her filled the blanks she stammered, ticking off each word on his fingers. "Oh, but you did." He sighed, rubbing his temple as if recalling the trauma. "At first, it was innocent. A little tossing. A little turning. Then you kicked me in the ribs, twice, which, I might add, is a bold move for someone so small. Imagine if someone else had done that, would their head be still attached to their neck?"

Arabella opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a finger, shaking it left and right silencing her lies. "Sh sh, I haven’t finished. You see then, as all your kicks and punch wasn’t enough of a protest, you rolled all over the bed, flung yourself across me, and wrapped your arms around me, taking advantage of.. little poor me," He sighed dramatically, hugging his body, "I thought I was being attacked. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was just you, treating me like some oversized stuffed toy."

Arabella’s horror reached new heights. "I, No! That’s ridiculous! I—" She choked, eyes darting to the red marks on his chest. Her fingers. Her fingers. No. No, no, no.

Cassius smirked as understanding dawned on her. "Ah. The evidence speaks, doesn’t it?"

She shook her head violently. "I... I was asleep! It doesn’t count!"Arabella gawked at him, her mind scrambling between indignation and sheer horror. "I did no such thing!"

"Quite the power you have don’t you? I didn’t know you’re such an animal."

Arabella gasped, mortified. "NO! I DON’T TRUST YOU!"

Cassius chuckled darkly. "Oh, birdie," he murmured, his voice dangerously smooth, "tell that to the one who had to suffer through it."