I Choose A New Life Chapter 10
Back in our previous life, William had been paranoid about the young new king and the overall instability of the kingdom. He was terrified I’d seize total control of the government.
So, right before he died, he left a secret decree with the Prime Minister—if I ever made a grab for absolute power, they had the green light to execute me.
And at the time, the Prime Minister was Sebastian.
Born a nobody, Sebastian had been elevated by William, rocketing to immense power in just a few short years.
His absolute gratitude and loyalty to the king couldn’t be bought—not even when I slipped him a secret bribe of three thousand gold coins.
I had just been made regent and was itching to make my mark.
I desperately craved the power, but the looming threat of that secret decree terrified me.
Sebastian was a constant, lethal problem.
He was the reason I’d lie awake at night, and my sheer terror of the man eventually curdled into hatred.
I despised that someone so frustratingly moral and disciplined was the one standing in my way.
I tried sending men to take him out.
But he survived. He actually forced his way into my bedroom, soaked in blood, and casually dumped the assassin’s corpse right at my feet.
He looked up, studying my pale face with a trace of dark amusement. “Your Majesty, you scare so easily, yet you still try to have people murdered?
“If I die, the details of that secret decree go public immediately.
“And then you’d be executed. I wouldn’t regret a thing if that happened.”
The bleeding head rolled right up against the hem of my dress.
Tears pricked my eyes as I glared furiously at his handsome face.
I could only come up with one way out.
I had to ruin him.
I had to do something that would make it absolutely impossible for him to stay loyal to William.
It went down after a palace banquet.
When Sebastian finally came to, his wrists and ankles were tied to a bedframe.
He glared at me, his dark eyes brimming with disgust. “Do you honestly think a little torture will get me to hand over the decree?
“You severely underestimate me, Your Majesty. My loyalty to the late king is absolute—”
Before he could finish the sentence, I leaned down and kissed him.
I wasn’t trying to seduce him.
He was bound by strict honor to remain loyal to William; if things got physical between us, consent or not, he’d be betraying his dead king.
I didn’t care if the shame drove him to suicide or if he finally caved and joined my side.
I just needed him to stop getting in the way of my political ambitions.
But I was the one who underestimated him.
At the council meeting the very next day, he showed up looking completely unfazed—even with a bright red, highly visible wound on his lip.
Pissed off, I had him tied up again.
This time, I took it further. I stripped him bare and planted my foot squarely on his chest.
He knelt on the floor, staring up at me with a totally blank expression, just taking the humiliation.
I sneered at him. “You really are William’s blindly obedient servant.”
“Your Majesty, have some self-respect,” he shot back, locking eyes with me.
We just stared at each other.
Then, slow and deliberate, I shrugged off my outer coat, exposing my skin.
His breath hitched—just for a split second—before he closed his eyes in sheer defeat. “You really will do absolutely anything to get what you want.”
For three years, I kept Sebastian in my bed against his will.
In court, we were constantly at each other’s throats, fighting tooth and nail over everything.
But in private, he would pull me close and bite the back of my neck, holding onto me like he was drowning. During sex, his eyes were always rimmed with red.