Chapter 92: Punish
"Kneel."
The command came the very moment they stepped inside the house.
Prince Kael didn’t pause or look at her after saying it. He simply strode deeper into the house as if expecting her to comply.
Emira froze in place. Her mind scrambled to make sense of the single word. Kneel? What did he mean by that? Then a sarcastic voice inside her muttered, Well, what else could it mean? It means you’re supposed to kneel, obviously.
Her stomach churned. Did he mean to punish her like this? Hadn’t he found her kneeling in Prince Zen’s house, kneeling and then brought her here? Now he wanted to punish her in a similar way?
But then, she lowered herself to the floor, and bowed her head. At least he hadn’t directly killed her... or worse still... spanked her... like the last time. Compared to that, kneeling seemed almost merciful, right?
But her relief didn’t last long. She heard his footsteps coming back and then he came to stand close to her.
"Hands," he said.
Emira looked up in surprise, not sure what he meant. Still, she obeyed. She lifted her arms and held them out.
A large bowl of water filled to the brim, was then placed carefully into her waiting hands. The weight of it instantly pressed down, and she frowned. It was heavier than she expected it to be...
"Raise it above your head," Kael ordered in a cold voice.
Emira swallowed hard, lifted the bowl with both hands, and balanced it above her head, her arms already beginning to ache. There was no point in arguing with this man.
But then, he said, "Hold it for thirty minutes. If a single drop of water spills out... I will restart the timer." And then went on to sit on the opposite couch and started to watch her.
Thirty Minutes!!!!! Emira’s heart sank straight to her toes. Thirty minutes? With this weight? The bowl trembled in her hands as if mocking her and she closed her eyes. What kind of a punishment was this...
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a minute. Fine. If this was the punishment, then she would take it...
The first few minutes passed slowly, making Emira feel as if each second was as long as a year. She held her breath, tightened her grip, and tried to stay still.
But soon her arms began to tremble. The bowl wobbled dangerously, water shifting inside it. Her eyes widened as panic shot through her chest. If she spilled even a single drop, he would make her start all over again. No no. She could not do that.
Her shoulders burned. Her hands felt as though they were no longer her own, just two pieces of wood attached to her body. Numbness crept up from her fingers, but still she clenched them tighter around the bowl. Nope. Not going to allow it to spill.
Her jaw locked. She forced herself to focus on one thought only- ’Don’t spill. Don’t move. Don’t let go.’
Sweat rolled down her forehead and into her eyes, making her eyes sting.
She blinked furiously, trying to keep her vision clear. Her arms shook, her knees burned and her whole body was tense, but she refused to lower them.
Emira bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her fail. If he wanted thirty minutes, then she would survive thirty minutes. Even if her arms fell off afterwards, she would not give up!
The minutes edged by at the speed of a tortoise. Her arms shook more now. The bowl rocked with every tremor. She forced her legs to stay steady, but the burn in her thighs was spreading through her like fire.
She stared at the man sitting opposite her in challenge. She was not going to give in! If he wanted to take out his anger on her like this, then so be it! But thirty minutes was going to be enough! No more than that!
But soon, she felt her strength giving in and as much as she tried to focus on holding on, the bowl slipped from her hands. Ice-cold water poured down over her head and shoulders, drenching her completely.
She gasped at the shock of it as her hands dropped to her sides, and she slumped forward, hair plastered against her face. The fight inside her seemed to drain out all at once. She had lost...
Prince Kael’s footsteps came closer until he stood before her. Slowly, Emira lifted her head. And was tempted to growl at him. The bastard! It was his mate that had created the entire drama and scene, pretending that they were really fighting and then stopping the fight. And what did he do? Vent his anger on Ramona over her! Hmpf!
She was about to complain to him about this when his thumb brushed her cheek, wiping away the water dripping from her face. She blinked at the soft touch.
"Well done," he said quietly. "Exactly thirty minutes. With endurance like this, you’ll learn to throw a proper punch in no time."
Emira blinked, her anger faltering as his words sank in. Her breath caught. That was why he had made her do it? Not just punishment? Training? She stared at him in confusion.
"You... you did this to teach me to punch?" she asked slowly, the disbelief clear in her voice.
He gave her a look, "Hmm. You just hit me with the strength of a housefly. You’ll practice this every day until your wrists become stronger."
Before she could react, his arms slid beneath her. He lifted her easily, ignored her startled gasp, and carried her toward the bathroom.
"Sit in the bath. Let the water soak into your muscles," he ordered and then left the bathroom, leaving her leaning against the wall, unable to move.
Slowly, as she took off her soaked clothes, Emira wondered if she had really misunderstood Prince Kael. He hadn’t been punishing her. But instead, just because she had told him to teach her to punch, he had started training her?