Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2613: The Sadistic Manipulator

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Southern Capital, Guild Association Mall, Warehouse No. 234

"Forgive you? You must be joking," I said to Anna in disbelief, releasing a dense, malevolent pressure woven from more than a thousand ruler-class curses.

The moment it descended upon her, Anna was drenched in sweat. For an instant, all her strength seemed to drain away. Breathing became difficult, as though she were in the presence of pure evil itself. Yet in the next heartbeat, her will flared to its absolute limit. She forced herself upright and pushed back, her resolve colliding head-on with the oppressive pressure. Gathering every shred of strength she had left, she cried out, "Wyatt!"

At the sound of her voice, I withdrew my pseudo-intent. My aim had never been to crush her, only to make one thing clear. She might have grown stronger, but I was still stronger than her. It was a reminder not to flaunt her authority in front of me.

This, however, was only the beginning. From here on, it would become far more sadistic on my part, and far more humiliating for Anna. I intended to tame her and make her fall in love with me all over again.

Anna stared at her teenage groom in shock. She had heard countless accounts of his exploits, but experiencing them firsthand was entirely different. In that moment, she understood that none of what she had heard about him had been exaggerated. Her brows knit tighter. Not only were her hands bound by the contract, but he was stronger than her, or at the very least, he appeared to be.

With that realization, it dawned on Anna that she had walked straight into his trap of her own volition. Though she had lost her love for him to Anne, she had not forgotten just how intelligent he was. That was precisely why she had been so cautious, allowing Anne to meet him first and only revealing herself once she believed it was safe. Yet despite all her precautions, she had still stepped into the snare, unaware until it was too late.

Anna gave her teenage groom a hard glare, now fully aware that the situation was not under her control, as she had once believed, but entirely under his. Saying nothing, she met his gaze and waited for him to lay out his demands.

Yes, he was her teenage groom, but she was the future Southern Ruler, and he was the future prince consort. Though they were partners, a clear hierarchy of power existed between them. If she could not even handle her own prince consort, how was she supposed to govern the entire Southern Region and navigate its treacherous political landscape?

She had to assert her authority and remind her teenage groom that this was a marriage of convenience, not a marriage of love. If not today, then someday. She would never allow him to disrespect royal authority. She would engrave that truth into his mind.

"What are you glaring at?" I said calmly. "Do you feel helpless? Enraged? Then imagine how I must have felt back then when you forced yourself on me. Well, thinking back on it, I would deny it if asked, but I enjoyed it. Your attention, your touch, all of it—"

Unable to endure the intimate implications, Anna cut in sharply. "Wyatt, where are you going with this?"

I smiled when I saw that Anna no longer carried her lofty, imperious demeanor. Instead, her expression spoke of desperation, of someone willing to do anything to survive the moment. I know this was the woman I loved. And yes, as I had already warned, it was going to be sadistic on my part and humiliating for her.

"When I couldn’t defend myself, you used your power and authority to toy with my body and my heart whenever you pleased, without the slightest regard for my consent," I shouted, my gaze locked onto Anna. "And now that I’m addicted to it, now that I can’t live without it, you tell me you’ve changed and expect me to find it in my heart to forgive you? How dare you?" My voice rose further. "How dare you think a simple apology could ever make up for that?"

Anna stared silently at her teenage groom, his words forcing her to relive the foolish things she had done in the past. She knew her actions had been wrong, yet at the time she had been ignorant, blind to the consequences. Now she knew better. Since no one had ultimately been harmed, she had hoped that acknowledgment and remorse would be enough. But as she listened to him, she began to realize that it wasn’t.

No. What was she thinking? Things had never been as her teenage groom recounted them. She had been forceful and had not sought explicit consent, but she had never crossed the line. If he had truly hated it all, all he needed to do was reject her advances resolutely, instead of offering weak refusals while still cooperating with her. After all, she loved him and respected his boundaries to the extent of making a fool of herself and herself alone in front of the entire five regions. In truth, it was he who had been misleading her, sending mixed signals and leading her on.

They were both responsible for what had transpired between them. She more than him, perhaps, but he had just admitted that he enjoyed her advances. She owed him nothing. And yet, here she was, ensnared by his words, blaming herself, waiting for his judgment. How could her partner in crime presume to judge her? It made no sense.

Then again, he had always been dangerously good with his tongue. And she almost forgot. He had cheated on her with a bitch from the Central Capital.

Anna had let his affair with Jill slip from her mind, convincing herself that their marriage was nothing more than a matter of convenience. After all, there was only chatter about their marriage, it had yet to be acknowledged publicly.