Duke's pov : Chapter 1

Once when I was riding my carriage to a ball, I saw on the road a humble man who was beaten by some guards. I sent my men to see what's going on. They came back and told me They told me that the man was in debt and had only one daughter. I turned my head to look again and saw a beautiful girl with long white hair and light brown eyes, trying to beg for her dad life. 

With a smirk, I gave the man the bag of gold coins and told him to forget about the debt. He looked at me with his mouth open and mumbled "My lord, I don't know how to thank you, you are saving my life!". I look at his daughter, her eyes we're beautiful. The ball I have to go to is with partners. I've never been with a partner, but this girl is too beautiful. Everyone will envy me... Even the prince. 

With a big smirk, I picked up the girl and said "You are coming with me to the ball" and laughed. She looked at me frightened and struggling to get out of my arms. Her clothes were dirty and her face was covered with tears, but I could tell she was pretty even without the makeup she would put on in another occasion. I put her in the carriage with me and she looked at me annoyed. 

When I brought her in my mansion, my maids helped her with her clothes. They even helped her took a bath. They took care of her hair and her makeup for the ball. For the first time in her life, she had clean and beautiful clothes and makeup. When she was done, she looked amazing and I felt proud. When I showed my butler and my servants my "partner", they were envious but I felt proud. I gave them instructions so she could look perfect at the ball. She was angry with me, but she looked beautiful, I could not stop looking at her. I went to her and tried to make her smile, but she was not in the mood. I could tell she did not like her situation. 

Everyone in the ball looked at us. There was a lot of envy from the women. She was the prettiest girl in the ball, I knew that for a fact. The prince noticed her, but when he saw me he moved away. She looked at me, with an annoyed smile and asked "Can I go?" I thought about it... and told her she could go after the next dance. At that time, a dance started and I asked her to dance with me. She had no choice but to accept my offer. 

When we were ready to go to dance, Lady Anne appeared out of nowhere, wearing a dress which revealed everything. She asks "my lord, you look amazing in that suit. Will you dance with me?" I looked at her for a second and my face turned to complete disgust. How I hate that woman. "Lady Anne, I do not like you and I dont like the way you dress to these events" I said. "I dont want people thinking Im easy". With that, I turned my back on her and asked the girl for the dance. She accepted, I'm sure out of fear. She seemed affraid. 

I took the girl's hand and put it around my shoulder. "Its time to have some fun" I thought. All the women in the ball were looking at her and I was sure some of them were judging her. They were wondering who she was and why I was dancing with her. Some of them were smiling, but some were jealous, I could tell.I felt so good dancing with her, she was graceful and elegant. During the dance, I looked at her and she looked back at me with an annoyed face. I liked knowing that I disturbed a few people with my new partner. I knew I was not supposed to dance with her and that made me like it even more. She had no choice but to follow my lead. 

During the dance, she stepped on my foot "by mistake" and said "Oh my, Im so clumsy." She then smirked before looking away. I saw that she stepped on my foot on purpose. "Are you playing with me?" I asked her. She then looked back and asked "Yes I am. Do you like that?" and then laughed. I smiled back at her, and told her "I do" and pulled her closer to me. I knew that all of the others watching us would get annoyed. 

She then steps on my foot even harder, I can see that she is clearly not clumsy and does not like me at all. She keeps her face as straight as she possibly can, but I can see a smile on her face. "Maybe you shouldn't anger me before the dance even starts" I thought. I pulled her closer to me and I let her rest her head on my shoulder. 

She then tries to push me away, but I do not let her do that. I keep her in the same position and give her a kiss on the cheek. It may seem like I only wanted to annoy the other women watching and maybe that was part of the reason, but the fact is she was one of the most beautiful girls in the ball. It was a pleasure to be near her. We finished dancing soon after, she kept her straight face and I gave her one last kiss before she walked away. 

Seeing that she had some makeup smudged by me kissing her cheek on her face, she ran to a nearby bathroom to wash her face. I looked everywhere for her because I wanted to talk to her. After a few minutes, she came back and sat next to me. I told her "You look better when you frown" and laughed. She only looked at me annoyed without saying anything. I then asked her "What is your name?". She rolled her eyes to express her annoyance. 

I heard a male voice calling her name "Isabella?! You look.. different". I saw the Prince Theodore, he came to me and hugged her. She was surprised that he called her name, I was also surprised. I looked at her and saw a complete change in her attitude. She looked very happy and she hugged the prince back. I asked her "Why didn't you tell me your name was Isabella? I asked you more than a few times". She then looked at me and said "Its because I hate you" and laughed again. I laughed too, her attitude made her even more atractive. 

My jealousy was starting to get strong. I did not like seeing the prince touching her. I tried not to look at them. I was annoyed not knowing her name, but I guess I'm the only one allowed to touch her... I am the one who picked her up, I gave her the beautiful dress she is wearing and I took her to the ball. I'm the one allowed to touch her. 

When the Prince started to talk to her, my jealousy got even stronger. He said "Your dress is so pretty", he said "Your makeup looks great". I wanted to tell him to keep his hands away from her, but I did not want to have a scene in front of everyone. I watched them talking, I felt a bit of rage on the inside.It was too much for me. I could see Prince Theodore talking to her, but I was not listening. I got up and went to them, I interrupted the conversation with an arrogant and firm voice "That's enough prince, you have all the women in the ball and you had to choose the only one I really liked? Isabella, come with me". I took her hand and lead her through the crowd. 

She was surprised by my attitude and my rudeness to the prince. But she did not resist. She kept looking at me, annoyed. I took her to a corner of the mansion where we could be alone. I saw the anger in her eyes, but I still found her beautiful. I leaned towards her and asked her "What's your real name Isabella?". She tried very hard to keep her face straight and unamused. But she could not help herself and smiled while looking me straight in the eyes "Do you really want to know?". 

She then rolled her eyes "Isabella Deothre, daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh. I was rich, ofc, but something happened and my dad got in debt." I was surprised by her answer but I was glad she answered me. She continued "I'll make sure to repay you when I'll have the chance". I smiled and leaned even closer to her. "I dont want your money, Isabella". She raised an eyebrow, confused by this. 

I put my hand on her cheek and smiled. "All I want is your heart Isabella, I have all the money in the world. I just want you". She looked at me surprised, took a step back but I moved forward and gently pulled her towards me.