Chapter 72: Will never love you

Far away from The Den Of Pleasure, a magnificent building stood tall in the secluded part of the capital city. The building was none other than Alina Credan’s residence.

The mansion normally had countless guards surrounding it, but for some reasons today it looked empty and quiet. The sun began to set, casting long shadows across the vast mansion grounds. Lord Enzo, Alina’s husband to be was seen exiting the mansion, his face hidden under the hood of his long black cloak, creeping silently through the manicured gardens.

"I have to leave before she returns..." He murmured, his heart pounding with fear. The weight of his decision to escape weighed heavily on his shoulders, but the thought of losing his family to the clutches of Alina was even more unbearable.

Enzo was just a mere commoner with a heart disease, who had by luck gotten a job in the capital city after his marriage to the woman he loved. However, he had just been married for a year, when the leader of the fire controllers, Alina came and took him away from his pregnant wife. Claiming he was her husband.

Enzo had been surprised, he had never gotten married to anyone else before apart from his wife, Aurora. He had refused to come along with her, but Alina had knocked him out with a spell and taken him away. He had been forced to leave his pregnant wife behind without even saying goodbye. Despite the fact that Alina had given him the title of a Lord, his heart still felt empty. This huge mansion wasn’t his home, nor was Alina his wife. Thus, he had been planning his escape while prolonging their wedding by pretending to be in pain everytime the preparation started. And today he’d leave this place behind for good.

Soon, Enzo arrived at a seemingly inconspicuous spot in the forest, marked by a large, moss-covered stone. With trembling hands, he brushed away the leaves, revealing a hidden trapdoor leading down into an underground basement. A mixture of anticipation and anxiety filled him as he descended the creaking steps, the soft glow of a lantern illuminating his path.

There, in the dimly lit basement, was a young woman sitting beside a small fireplace, cradling a sleeping baby in her arms. Her eyes were filled with relief and desperation, but a glimmer of hope shone through as she saw Enzo.

"Aurora..." He murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. After Alina had taken him away, he hadn’t seen his wife again, but on the day of his engagement announcement with Alina, his wife had come. He couldn’t afford to let Alina see her, thus he hid her here. His poor wife had to give birth In a place like this.

Aurora’s lips trembled as she whispers, "Enzo... you came back."

Enzo reached towards her, his eyes filled with a mixture of relief and worry. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close, as if trying to shield her from the world. Tears welled up in his eyes as he whispered in her ear, his voice filled with determination.

"Don’t worry, Aurora. I won’t let Alina hurt you or our baby. Tonight, we’ll escape this place, this nightmare. We will go to your realm and seek your father’s help. He surely wouldn’t refuse us..."

Aurora clinged to her husband, her own tears mixing with his. She nodded, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, grateful for his unwavering love and courage to go against the first leader of the fire controllers. "Yes, he won’t refuse us. He will welcome you to our clan and also forgive me for marrying a human, because I’m his favorite daughter."

The baby stirred in Aurora’s arms, a small whimper escaping her little lips. Enzo gazed down at their child, a mixture of love and protectiveness swelling in his heart. He placed a gentle hand on the baby’s head, his voice filled with a whispered promise.

"I swear, little one, I’ll keep you safe. We’ll find a new life, away from Birhhan and the clutches of Alina."

Enzo hugged his wife along with his daughter. He placed a gentle kiss on his wife’s forehead. But in that moment, a loud sound rang through the basement, shaking them out of their love-filled moment. Before he could react countless men in black had rushed in. Right in front of them was Alina.

A smile of disbelief spreading across her face. The dimly lit basement seemed to amplify the tension in the air as Enzo froze in fear, his heart pounding against his chest. He quickly stood protectively in front of his family. "Please don’t hurt them..."

"Did you really think you could hide them from me?" Alina sneered, her voice dripping with rage, but she seemed to control herself and gently said. "I have promised you I won’t hurt this woman as long as you stay by my side. Nicholas."

"I am not Nicholas. I don’t know who that is. I am Enzo!" He yelled angrily. But Alina only smiled warmly and said. "It’s fine if you don’t want me to call you that. But you know I warned you on what would happen if you try to go back to her."

Fear gripped Enzo’s heart, but a flicker of determination ignited within him. He knew he could not let Alina harm his family any longer. With a trembling voice, he spoke, "Lady Alina, please... let us go. My family and I don’t know anything about your husband, Nicholas."

Alina laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the basement. "Oh, Nicholas, the more you try to protect that woman, the more I want to kill her. You’re supposed to be mine and nobody else’s. Have you forgotten your promise to me? You promised to love me alone and be my husband in every other lifetime we have. And this is your second life time, you have to fulfil your promises. Nick."

"I don’t know what your talking about, my lady. I have never met you before. Aurora is my wife and only love!" Enzo yelled in frustration as tears swelled up in his eyes. However, that only made Alina’s eyes darkened dangerously.

"Nick, I’m sorry. But I don’t want any love rivals this time. That woman can’t live anymore." She said coldly.

As Enzo was born with a weak heart, his weak body couldn’t handle so much fear. He clutched his chest as tears rolled down his cheeks, but despite that he still stood in front of his family. "I... won’t let you hurt them."

Alina felt a sharp pain stab her heart as she watched the man she loved protecting another woman despite his condition. She had sacrificed a lot just to save this person’s soul, and now here he was protecting this piece of trash?

Impossible. She would never allow another woman take her place after everything she’d done. This woman had to die today.

Alina began to approach them, her steps deliberate and slow, relishing in the fear she was instilling on them. Aurora held her baby closer, whispering comforting words to the child, before gently placing her down on the ground. She stood up and gently pushed Enzo behind her.

Aurora’s voice barely above a whisper, turned to Enzo, desperation etched across her face. "Enzo, I have to protect our family. I can’t let her harm our child or you. I have to change form." Her words trembled with determination.

Enzo’s eyes were filled with concern as he quickly reached out to hold Aurora’s hand. "No, Aurora, you are not strong enough," he pleaded, his voice strained. "You don’t have to do this. We can find another way, she will kill you if she knows who you are." He whispered.

Alina gathered huge flames on her hands as she noticed Aurora stepped forward. It burned brightly around the basement. "I see you are brave enough to dare face me. But don’t worry, I’ll make it less painful." She sneered.

Aurora slowly pulled her hand out of Enzo’s. "I won’t let you take my husband or hurt my child, Alina. You’ve done a lot of evil deeds by killing my kind. And today, I’ll fight you to death." With a deep breath, Aurora closed her eyes, her body radiating a strange energy. Her human form began to shimmer, her skin transforming into scales that glistened like ice. She grew taller, her limbs elongating, until she stood before them as an ice dragon.

Her roar shook the earth. She positioned herself before her family.

Alina, momentarily stunned, took a step back, her mocking laughter fading into silence. She had underestimated this woman, never expecting her to be a dragon. That too a royal dragon. But her surprise quickly turned into rage, as she noticed the unsurprised look in Enzo’s expression. It seemed like he already knew that this woman was a dragon.

Aurora, now in her dragon form, spread her wings wide, the icy dull blue scales reflecting the faint light in the basement. The air around her seemed to freeze, and a chilling wind swept through the basement. However, the guards around didn’t even faze at the sight of the dragon as this wasn’t the first time facing one. Furthermore, Alina was with them. They all stood behind her for protection.

Alina scoffed, "Quite fascinating. I’ve been in search of a regal dragon, and who would have thought one was present here all this time. Do you truly believe you possess the abilities to fight me?" She arched an eyebrow, chuckling with amusement. "Don’t delude yourself, you are merely a feeble dragon princess. Your dragon form hasn’t even reached its full potential, and yet you wish to engage in battle with me. Witness as I bring you to your knees."

Alina effortlessly snapped her fingers, causing an unseen force to yank the dragon down, immobilizing her. Despite the dragon’s attempts to resist, it proved futile. Alina then snapped her fingers again, invoking an invisible heat that seared the dragon’s scales, eliciting a pained roar from her.

Enzo, clutching his chest with one hand and holding his child with the other, pleaded desperately for Alina to cease her torment. However, his plea only seemed to fuel Alina’s determination to continue the torture.

"Release her, and I will marry you!" he exclaimed.

Alina paused momentarily, casting a pained glance at Enzo. Was her beloved Nick truly willing to make such a sacrifice for this creature? Was he willing to be with her just to save another woman? How could she let that happen, she was supposed to be his first choice, not this creature.

"How kind of you to sacrifice yourself for their sake. But I’m afraid...it’s too late for that now."

Alina placed Aurora under her spell and approached Enzo, who was weakened by his heart illness, he could only watch in terror as his child, held tightly in his frail hands, was abruptly yanked away by Alina’s rough grip.

"No... please, don’t hurt her. She’s just a baby."

Time seemed to slow as Alina’s callous grip tightened around the innocent baby, who wailed loudly. Alina’s eyes was filled with a chilling hatred as she stared down at the baby. With a heartless sneer, she cruelly tossed the baby onto a guard nearby. "Take her away."

Then she crouched down before Enzo, who was clutching tightly to his chest with his eyes fixated on his child, who had been taken away by the guards.

"Please... don’t hurt them." He pleaded weakly. But Alina only smiled warmly as she stroked his neck length hair. "Don’t worry, Nick, once I find what I’m looking for, you won’t have to suffer with this heart disease anymore, I will make you forget about these people. We will live our lives like we used to in the past."

"...I am not Nick..." Enzo managed to say, "And I will never love someone like you."

Alina didn’t pay heed to his words and continued to stroke his hair, and said to the other men around her. "Prepare the wagon, we will take the dragon to the establishment tonight."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read