chapter 7

Sophia soon drifted off to sleep after finding a comfortable position to snuggle in his embrace. Raphael's natural body scent was very relaxing and acted as a lullaby for her to sleep.

Soon enough, Sophia drifted to a dream. in the dream she saw a girl,this time her face was clear to her. she looked like an exact replica of herself. The girl was arguing with Raphael. They were exchanging words angrily.

" I told you I don't want to stay here,let me go this instant." bellowed the girl.

"You Sophia are my mate and you can ever stay wherever I stay. You belong to me! Only me! do you hear that?" Raphael replied angrily.

"Hah!' Sophia chuckled. "Your mate? are you kidding me? I am already engaged to the Duke of icelandic kingdom and if it was not for you I would be a married man right now! Besides who wants to be your mate,the devil? You only know how to lead people to sin and are a cursed being,who wants to stay with a cursed being! I would rather die than become your so called mate." she had such a glib tongue.

Hearing her words, Raphael's shoulders trembled. He was angry at how mean and ruthless she was to him. He loved her,yes he did. The mating bond was so strong that even he could not resist it. Hearing the person you care for utter such ugly words to your face even if your heart was as hard as a rock,you could not escape the pain

"So you want me to set you free so that you can go and be with that human boy?" Raphael asked with a low voice.

"Yes!" Sophia replied

"How about I kill him and slaughter the whole of that kingdom!" roared Raphael. This woman was really testing his patience. she wanted to be set free and escape his hands. no way! no damn way would he do that.

" I tried to do this the best but you keep making things hard each time. Now I will use the hard way,let's see how long you will resist." Raphael said.

Sophia widened her eyes in shock. Was he threatening her?

"Rizia, prepare the wedding gown for your Queen,we are going to hold our wedding in two hours time." He declared authoritatively.

"Yes my King." Rizia replied and retreated to get the task done .

" I said I would rather die than Marry a beast like you." roared Sophia.

"Okay,I'll just kill that stupid boy and slaughter both kingdoms if that is what it takes." he said enunciating every word.

She was testing his limits and this is the last spring of his limit. He won't coerce her to marry him, he will use force,it works best for stubborn souls like her.

"You wouldn't dare!" said Sophia gritting her teeth

"Try me sweetheart." Replied Raphael camly.

"And now let me take you to say goodbye to your human lover." he said with a smile but ruthlessness was evident in his voice.

Sophia knew she was done for,she couldn't continue to be stubborn and put the lives of countless people in jeopardy .

Raphael half dragged her half pulled her until they came to an underground dungeon. She was pushed inside

"Say goodbye to him." Raphael declared.

looking at the person Infront of her,she could barely recognize him. He was the upcoming duke of the kingdom but here he was covered in dirt, blood and wounds allover

No she won't let this happen to him anymore. He must have endured alot in that hellhole.

she turned away without talking to him. if marrying that ruthless beast was the only way to save him and the two kingdoms,she would sacrifice herself as long as the other's were safe.

"I will marry you, let him go!" Sophia declared.

" Not so fast my love, he'll remain there until our marriage ceremony Is complete." Said Raphael.

Sophia could only grit her teeth in anger, what else could she do anyway? nothing

She went back to her room and found a Red magnificent dress with a big phoenix embroidered on it. It was very beautiful. She moved close to admire it. If it was under different circumstances she would feel very happy wearing such a magnificent dress.

She proceeded to wear it with Rizia helping her with the laces.

She styled her hair to a tight bun and donned on the accessories.

Looking at her,she emitted the Royal aura of a queen.

"My lady,you look so beautiful in this dress. If only you could smile abit." Rizia complemented her but did not forget to show her flaw. She was always an outspoken Lady.

"Yeah,I even find myself more beautiful today it's just that, this is not the Bride groom I was hoping to marry." Sophia said sadly.

The wedding procession was very jovial, everyone had come to celebrate the wedding of their King.

The two exchanged their vows and gave a bow to the people present.

Sophia went back to her bridal chamber to wait for Raphael,it was afterall their wedding night.

A man dressed in all black appeared in her room.

"Who are you?" Sophia asked.

"Your saviour." The man replied.

He was covered from head to toe and had a weird mask on his face.

"What do you mean?" asked Sophia.

"I came to set you free from your Incoming Doom." explained the man.

"And how do you plan on doing that."

"If you take this pill,you'll be set free from your cruel fate as the devil's mate,you will be set free from the bondage of hell." he said offering her a pill.

Sophia took the pill and examined it

"what is this?" she asked.

"Your liberator." " It's your choice if to set yourself free of remain in misery" With that he vanished

Sophia appeared to be contemplating on something.

"Dad I am sorry. you gave me the best life and taught me to fight no matter how hard the situation is but I am not that strong to escape this. I will choose to be selfish and spare myself the pain. I am sorry" she then popped the pill and swallowed it.

Sophia was awakened from her dream by intense pain in her chest

She struggled to wake up but something was pulling her down. the pain was unbearable that she started breathing in gaps.

Tears welled in her eyes and she let them down.

The pain was intense it felt like someone was stabbing her straight into her heart.

She wondered if it was related to that dream she had. But once again the dream felt too real. They must be memories of the Sophia who existed in this body if hers.

But who was that man who gave her the pill. what was his motive? What was contained in that pill? and what about that... human lover as Raphael called him.

was he released? Or was he still in the horrible place? .

She had many questions but who could answer her? only Raphael could tell

"Sophia! Sophia! " Raphael called her.He could see she was trembling and sweat trickled down her face.

Feeling his touch,the pain gradually eased. it was like he was an instant painkiller

She opened her eyes to see him hovering above her with his eyes filled with worry.

"Are you alright?" Raphael asked

" Yes... yes am fine." replied Sophia.

"Where is he?" it's better if they talked about it now.

Raphael didn't need to be told who she was asking for. He had thought she will not remember about that soon but it seems like the heaven was hellbent on making his life miserable. The past few days had been his most happiest days of his life.

His mood worsened and his face turned black.

"Why the long face,huh?" Sophia asked straightening the frowns in his face.

She gave him a warm smile,she could somehow tell what he was thinking.

After seeing Sophia's memories of the past,she could tell he was afraid of her going back her past self.

Thinking about it, Sophia thought the past her was really stupid. such a good looking and lovely man, how could she prefer that normal looking human boy. Besides,the kingdom of icelandic had ulterior motives for marrying her to their duke. If it was not for Raphael barging and kidnapping her, maybe she would have been betrayed by the people she trusted.

Raphael was taken aback by her behavior. Since she remembered what transpired between them,then why was she calm and even smiled at him

The memory of the Sophia he knew would be creating a scene here so seeing her this calm and collected,he was surprised.

"Are you not angry?" He questioned

"Why would I be angry Honey?" she replied back with a smile.

Now she was confusing him. wasn't she the One who loathed him and hated him the most. she had said she would rather die than be with him.

"I don't know...for forcing you to marry me?" he replied unsure of his answer.

"Listen Raphael,there is something I want to tell you."