Red

Ignoring Desmond's darkened expression, Carl looked at Elsa. "It was lovely meeting you Elsa. I am so sure we will get along very well. You are going to be my sister-in-law after all, it will be my duty to make sure you face no problem in this family."

"Get away from here."

"Dad is looking for you." Carl informed Desmond before walking away. But he didn't forget to wink at Elsa before leaving.

"Stay here for sometime, I'll be back soon." Desmond walked away without waiting for her reply.

"Oh—" Elsa frowned a little when he let go of her waist and walked away. The absence of his warmth made her feel a little weird but at the same time, his presence made her feel uncomfortable.

Shrugging off the weird sensation, she grabbed another glass of champagne from the counter and chugged it down as she patiently waited for Desmond to return.

…..

[Ten minutes later]

"What the fuck Ferdinand?" Elsa jerked his hand away. "What are you trying to do?"

Elsa stepped to the nearest room to use the washroom when Ferdinand entered the room without knocking.

She was even more startled when he grabbed her hand with no intention of letting her go.

"What am I trying to do?" Ferdinand scoffed. "What are you trying to do, El? Marrying a Fedorov, really?"

He grabbed her wrist again. "You hate them."

"Ferdinand, let go of my hand." She tried to twist her hand off his grasp but he kept tightening his grip.

"You are not leaving this room before you tell me why are you doing this to yourself, to us?"

"Us?" Elsa frowned. "There is no US, Fred. We are just friends."

"Friend?" He mockingly chuckled. "It's that what I am to you now, a friend?"

"I don't remember us ever being more than that."

Keeping quiet for a while, he asked, "Is it because of him? Do you like him?"

Elsa did not say anything.

Her silence made him assume things he didn't want to. "Did he touch you?"

"What?" She frowned.

Ferdinand closed his eyes and yelled, "God damnit, Elsa. Just answer the freaking question. Did he touch you?"

"He is going to be my husband in a week's time, he can touch me wherever and whenever the fuck he wants." She pushed him away. "Do you understand?"

"You—" Ferdinand grabbed the sides of her arms and pulled her closer.

When he dug his nails in her skin, she winced in pain. "Ferdinand, you are hurting me."

Before he could say anything, someone grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him away.

Desmond pinned Ferdinand against the wall with his hands wrapped around his throat.

"If you ever lay your fucking finger on her, I will kill you," Desmond gritted his teeth.

Ferdinand tried to remove his hand from his neck when he tightened his grip.

"Desmond, stop—" Elsa wrapped her hands around his flexed arm. "You are going to kill him."

"The heck I will."

When he came back to fetch Elsa after discussing something with his father and Enzo, one of the helpers told him that she had stepped into the guest room on the first floor to use the washroom.

When he followed her up, he was surprised to see Ferdinand enter the room as well.

Thinking that the two of them had planned to secretly meet in the room, he quietly stood by the door. He wanted to hear what the two of them would talk about.

It shouldn't have bothered him. Elsa and Ferdinand shouldn't have bothered him. But it did. It bothered him so much that he couldn't let it go. He had to know what was going on between them.

When he heard Elsa yell at him to leave, he felt a little relief. She didn't plan to meet him in private. It was Ferdinand who followed her like a damn creep.

At first, he planned to let them talk things out because Ferdinand clearly had a serious thing for Elsa while she did not. But when he heard her painful wince, he saw red. That fucker tried to hurt her under his roof.

Would he let him get away with it? NO. He would definitely pay for it.

When Elsa saw Ferdinand's reddened eyes, she started panicking.

"Let him go—" she leaned forward and rested her forehead on his arm. "Please—"

When she tightened her grip around his arm, he reluctantly pulled back.

Ferdinand collapsed on the floor, gasping for air.

Desmond looked at Elsa. He had expected her to panickstrickenly approach her friend and comfort him. He nearly killed him after all. But that never happened.

She did not leave his side. Her hands were still tightly grasped around his arm.

Their eyes were locked together and neither of them looked away.

The way she was looking at him made him feel things, feelings he had never felt before. He had no idea what it was but it was stronger than anything he had experienced before.

"Dude, what the fuck? You were going to kill me." Ferdinand coughed vigorously.

"Touch her next time and I fucking will." Desmond grabbed Elsa's hand and dragged her out of the room.

…..

"Fuck—" Desmond slammed the door shut.

Elsa gulped in nervousness. She could say he was angry, very angry. The fire in his eyes made her feel scared but she refused to show it to him.

The one thing she had learnt was not to show her weakness to men like Desmonds, which included her father and brothers too.

"Desmond—"

"Go sit on the bed."

"What—?"

"Just do what you have been told, Elsa," he growled at her. He was already very annoyed with everything that had happened and her reluctance was making him more mad.

"Don't boss me around," Elsa snapped at him. "I am not obliged to listen to you."

Desmond closed his eyes and sighed before walking towards the wardrobe. He then took out a tube from the drawer before walking towards her.

Without saying anything, he grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the bed.

And this time, Elsa did not retort. She quietly followed him.

…..