Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"Who do you think you are to raise your finger on me. Huh?" he asked with a gloomy face. His eyes had darkened completely with the rage that the maids wanted to run away.

But Adel had braced herself long ago. Her hands clenched into a tight fist as she looked at the man with black face.

"What are you talking about, your highness. I was only explaining to them that you did not hold my hand tightly so that it got a red mark!" she intentionally not pointed at her torn clothes and smudged lipstick but the red mark that had been left because of him.

His eyes narrowed on her face and then moved to her hands instinctively when a smile formed on her lips. His blank face and silence said it all.

Even Eli narrowed her eyes on him. Though she was not sure about their relationship, she was sure of one thing.. He would never force a girl even if he loved her. They had been together for so long but they had only kissed a few times and it was consensual. His touch had always been gentlemanly.

Or was she wrong all this time?

"It is okay, your highness. I have explained to them. You do not need to worry. Your respect is everything for me." She bowed her head to hide the triumphant smile on her face and then ran away from there with a flustered face while the sound of her sobs could be heard for a while.

"..." Andrew left her speechless! He could not believe that she had used it to create rumours. His hands formed into a fist and his eyes filled with bloodlust.

"Your highness, if you have some leisure time left, may I ask for a meeting." his eyes snapped back to the girl who was looking at him with cold eyes.

"Eli.. I had not done anything. She is lying." he replied earnestly but the words came out too late. Eli only scorned at his words but her eyes turned colder.

She had thought so too. But if that would have been the case then he would not have stayed silent.

"I apologise to your highness, but a mere concubine like me did not deserve to know the personal matters of you and your wife. 

I am only here to request an audience if it does not disturb your rest." all the humiliation she had bore was just to solve the matter. She did not want her personal feelings to come in between her official duties. 

She had asked and investigated the matter and she came to know that the royal palace had brought all the grains of the empire only leaving the shops of commoners. All the other nobles were supplied the grains of the month through the royal palace only in the name of collecting food for the drought areas but giving them in the name of helping the families.

She could not believe that they had used this lame method to oppress them. They even sent father away urgently so that she had to come and bow her head in front of them. Could they fall any lower? 

The more she thought about it, the more she felt ashamed to love a man like him! To think that he was a righteous person who would give justice to everyone.. How blind she was! 

His heart clenched when he looked at her cold eyes. The hatred in her only seems to grow with time. No matter what he did or did nothing. She only looked at him as if she was looking at a stranger. Was he the only one who had loved her even since they met?

A lump formed on his throat and he was so agitated that he was even having trouble speaking. If she did not care about him then why did he even go to his father and fight with him over her.

Why was he trying his best to cancel the marriage. If only she had shown a little bit of trust in him!

"Sure. Come with me, Lady Elizabeth." the sound came out through gritted teeth as he turned and entered in without waiting for her to enter first like always.

The way he looked at her as if she was the culprit of everything stung her. He was the one who was showing the cold shoulder! Ha! How had she fallen in love with this man?

She took a deep breath and curbed her anger and followed him in. her eyes instinctively moved towards the sofa where they would have…!! She closed her eyes and clenched her hands tighter, her nails digging deep into her skin. But the calm expressions of her face did not change.

If they both wanted to have the satisfaction of seeing her broken then they would never be able to achieve it. She would never show them her bare heart.

She stopped looking around and moved towards his office table. He was already sitting on his seat and scanning the parchments in his hands. She moved closer to the table when her eyes fell on the crumpled parchment that was torn a bit from the corners. 

Efforts were made to straighten them again. Her eyes turned colder and her whole demeanour changed when her mind started imagining them kissing in the same place where she was standing.

"What is that you wanted to talk about?" his words cut her imagination and she turned to look at him.,

He was looking at her with a glum face as if she owed him an apology which made her furious. 

"It is about the distribution of grains that had been done by the palace this time. I confirmed that the food supplies had been sent to everyone except the Thawyne family." she replied in a polite tone but it was devoid of all the emotions. It was so indifferent as if she was talking to a stranger.

"Oh... that! There must be some error in the list but too bad all the grains had been distributed to the needy and now there is nothing left."