Hello, My Darling Wife

Ella whimpered in her sleep, when the window seat shifted at the additional weight. And she buried her face against the cushion. It would have been cute, if the kiss to her forehead didn't startle her awake. Eyes wide, she recognizes she's in a strange place, and still blinking sleep from her face, she lashed out.

A solid right hook. The audible crack of her fist connecting with the bones in Kazcor's nose should have made her flinch, but she just sat there, stunned. One breath... two... three breaths... by the sixth breath, Ella's scrambling out of Kazcor's grasp.

And she's crying, again, even as her back connects with the side of a desk, and she seats herself on the floor against it. Silent, except for her own ragged breathing, she fixed her gaze on her bare feet.

Preparing for the worst, because even she's not stupid enough to think the Tilani heir wants her now—