Defiance in the Shadows

"Scum!" Lily Anderson spat harshly, violently shifting her gaze out the car window, not wanting to spare him another glance or hear another single word from his vile mouth.

The vicious insult rolled off her tongue with such natural, venomous ease.

In the rearview mirror, her delicate face was contorted with disdain and contempt - an expression that looked entirely out of place on her refined features. She was the weaker one physically, yet she brazenly postured like a haughty princess looking down her nose at a peasant, as if she couldn't even bear to grace him with the faintest sidelong glance, as though he were something utterly repulsive and beneath her dignity.

He admitted he was captivated by her exquisite face, but that very beauty made him loathe the arrogance and perceived superiority that was so arrogantly etched upon it. What right, what entitlement did she have to act so high and mighty, as if she were more virtuous than the fallen angels, after he had already taken her virginity in an act of such carnal depravity? A woman, once her purity was stripped away, no matter how outwardly beautiful, was nothing more than a used, soiled rag in his eyes.

Ethan Blackwood' hardened expression darkened further into a menacing glower, a stormy gloom settling over his ruggedly handsome features as the sleek Ferrari aggressively hugged the curves, speeding into the expansive, meticulously landscaped grounds of his imposing European-style villa estate. The two impeccably dressed gatekeepers flanking the entrance went rigid, snapping to attention and bowing deeply, voices ringing in eerie unison, "Mr. Blackwood."

With a screech of abused tires, he brought the sports car to an abrupt halt. Not wasting a second, Ethan unceremoniously reached into the backseat and hoisted the protesting Lily over his shoulder in one rough motion, not caring if her dress rode up immodestly as he turned and strode with arrogant purpose towards the opulent villa. Again with this barbaric, dehumanizing behavior! Just how could this man, this boor, be so shamelessly unreasonable and overbearingly boorish in his actions? This was civilized society, not some primitive age of brute lawlessness.

Lily flailed wildly, hanging upside down over his shoulder as she frantically pounded on his back with her small fists, fuming with outrage as the vilest curses tore from her lips in a torrent, "Beast! Scum! Unhand me this instant, you animal! Put me down right now!"

But Ethan remained utterly, infuriatingly deaf to her vehement protests and demands. The villa's interior was as lavishly appointed as its exterior with its immense marble foyer and winding dual staircases, still adhering to the baroque European decorative style - classically simple yet exuding an undeniable sense of opulence and grandeur befitting the obscene wealth of its owner. Liveried maids bustled about in small groups, diligently cleaning and preening the museum-quality property. Upon seeing their master unceremoniously hauling his distressed, cursing burden inside, the servants merely exchanged furtive glances and bowed deeply in silence, well-trained enough to know to keep their gazes averted, "Mr. Blackwood has returned."

How could these obsequious people, paid extensions of their monstrous employer, act as if they saw nothing, as if this cruel violation of human decency were utterly routine and unremarkable? Was the barbaric brute truly so depraved, so drunk on his power and entitlement, that he was in the habit of bringing restrained, unwilling women back here like errant disobedient pets to be disciplined?! The appalling thought made Lily feel exceptionally disgusted and dirtied just by proximity to this whole sordid den of iniquity. She redoubled her frantic struggle, "You foul beast! You vile, loathsome bastard, what are you planning to do now?! I told you I just want that video back in exchange! Unhand me at once!"

But her ineffectual fists merely pounded against the thick musculature of his body to absolutely no avail, a notion that only added to her sense of dread and despair. Why, why was he able to be so maddeningly arrogant and domineering, so utterly without any shred of human decency or conscience? As if she were little more than a rag doll to be toyed with, Ethan casually pushed open a bedroom door with one hand and tossed her small frame disdainfully onto the large ornately canopied bed, his piercing gaze coldly assessing her prone form as his tone dripped with irate condescension, "Addicted to that filthy mouth now, are you?"

She deluded herself into thinking she was some untouchable, entitled young miss instead of just another warm-blooded plaything for his amusement. He, Ethan Blackwood, the heir to one of the most powerful business empires in the country, hadn't been cursed at with such vulgar disrespect by anyone since he was twenty. The arrogant little brat had practically exhausted the entire thesaurus of despicable insults and hurled them at him in the past hour alone.

As soon as her thrashing limbs were unencumbered on the bed, Lily immediately snatched the anti-wolf device from her crossbody bag and pointed it at him with unmistakable menace, seething with hatred as she spat, "Listen up Blackwood, don't you dare try anything funny or deviant again! Give me that video, and I'll return your damn memory card, and we'll be square and unchained from each other's sickening presence forever!"

He felt as though a suffocating band was encircling his chest and wouldn't let go no matter how many breaths he took to try to break it. Her eyes were searing with bare hatred and caution.