Donovan turned to Giselle with a burning glance, his voice cold and cutting. “But Zachary… he’s the one line you must never cross. If you dare to go against my warning and mess with him, I’ll make your life a living hell. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

Giselle shuddered slightly. His words felt like knives slicing straight into her chest, sharper than anything she had ever heard. For the first time in her life, genuine pain flickered in her eyes as she glared at him with fury.

Then, without warning, she slapped him hard across the face.

The sharp sting spread across Donovan’s cheek. He froze, caught off guard, momentarily speechless.

“I don’t need you to introduce me to anyone!” Giselle laughed bitterly, her voice trembling with rage. “Countless men are dying to have me. But what I want… is the Kanes!”

She locked eyes with him, revealing the venomous truth behind her schemes. “To be honest, Donovan, I plan to seduce Zachary and then throw him away.

“I want him to suffer. I want him to know what heartbreak feels like. I’ll tear him apart, not because I care about him, but because I can’t destroy you directly. I’ll hurt the person you care about most instead.”

Before she could finish, Donovan snapped.

In a flash, his hand shot out and gripped her throat tightly. His furious eyes bored into her, and the strength in his grasp made her feel like her neck could snap at any moment.

“Vile woman…” he growled through clenched teeth. “If you truly dare to do that, I’ll kill you right here. I’ll erase you from this world without a second thought.”

His chest heaved with fury. Giselle gasped for breath, struggling helplessly against his iron grip. But she wasn’t ready to die—not here, not like this. Summoning all her strength, she slammed her knee upward, aiming for his most vulnerable spot.

Her self-defense training paid off. The blow hit its mark.

With a strangled groan of pain, Donovan released her, stumbling back instinctively.

In a fit of rage, he shoved her roughly onto the bed.

Giselle coughed violently, drawing in desperate breaths. As the air returned to her lungs, she let out a broken laugh, one that was full of bitterness and defiance. “Donovan, I warned you to call off that ridiculous marriage,” she rasped. “Since you refused, I guess it’s time for me to show you exactly who I am. Why should I play nice when you never do? Like I said, I’ll do anything to get what I want.”

Donovan stared down at her, his emotions churning violently. Anger. Disgust. Frustration. And something else he couldn’t name—something dangerous.

He had always thought she was just a wild rose with a few thorns. He never imagined she was this poisonous, this lethal.

The room fell into heavy silence. He glared at her, but slowly, his cold gaze grew distant, unfocused. His body burned uncomfortably, heat crawling under his skin. “After all this scheming, is this what you wanted, isn’t it?” he muttered darkly, stepping toward her. “You just wanted to end up in my bed.”

Before she could speak, he grabbed her and forced her down against the mattress. “Let me give you exactly what you asked for.”

She heard the sound of his belt unbuckling. Her resistance crumbled, her body betraying her with helpless warmth. She closed her eyes, unable to fight him any longer.

Donovan, still burning with rage, took her like a wolf starved for far too long as if this was the only way to dominate her, punish her, and prove he’d won. Their bodies tangled in fierce, feverish desperation.