Shelby tried to go on with her day acting normally. But it proved to be harder than she thought as Sebastian's cold stare kept reappearing in her mind. Nevertheless she refused to fully believe he would have done such a thing.

She had still asked Sandrine to put an extra tray of the lunch they were having in her room. She had told Sebastian she would bring him lunch and she was determined to keep her word unlike him.

In the meantime, she managed to catch Cyd in the castle gardens to apologize for her reaction from that morning.

"Hey Cyd!" she exclaimed catching up to her. "Waiting for Naldo?"

"Yes, we are going for a walk." Said Cyd with a sad smile. "Look Shelby I'm so sorry for upsetting you."

"What, no Cyd I'm sorry" replied Shelby surprised. "I know you were just worried about me and I was really harsh with you!"

"It's all behind us!" assured her best friend. "But please tell me if there is something wrong!"

"Nothing's wrong Cyd!" said Shelby half honestly. Something was wrong since that morning but she wasn't going to share that with Cyd. Her friend would never understand why she kept taking care of Sebastian. Shelby herself wasn't sure why she was.

"So, Sebastian never touched you?" asked Cyd just to be sure.

"No, he did not." Affirmed Shelby.

"Ok, good!" replied the brunette before displaying a giant smile at her arriving boyfriend.

"Hey baby, hey Shelbs." Greeted Naldo before receiving a kiss from his girlfriend.

"Hey Naldo." Said Shelby. "I'll leave you two to enjoy your walk now, I have something to take care of."

Once she was out of sight, Cyd turned to her boyfriend sharing her worries.

"She keeps telling me nothing is wrong but she's still so secretive…I really don't know what to think." Explained Cyd.

"I'm sure she's fine...you know everyone can have a secret garden even your best friend. And if something was wrong I'm sure she would tell you." Reassured the hat lover boy.

"Yeah, you're probably right!" answered the brunette.

The gang had yet to eat but Sandrine had brought a tray of food in Shelby's room at noon just as requested. With that in hand Shelby approached the secret door and stayed there for a while. She was still freaked out by Sebastian's reaction from that morning and she apprehended seeing him again.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and made her way downstairs. As she came close to his cell, she saw him lying on the floor his back to her. She put the tray under the door as usual when something caught her eye. It was her ring.

Why was her ring under the door? Why was he giving it back to her now?

"Hey beauty sleep!" Shelby yelled to catch his attention. "Lunch is here!"

He didn't move. He was ignoring her. And he was freeing her from their deal. What was going on?

"Sebastian!" she yelled once more. "I won't move from here until you talk to me!"

"Can you not take a hint?" he hoarsely replied without moving.

"Oh I can! But there's one thing you should know about me." She started. "I am extremely patient and annoyingly stubborn."

At that Sebastian got up and turned to her so fast that it made her jump back. He approached her and grabbed the bars with both his hands, knuckles white from clenching too hard. He looked at her with wet eyes, his face red with anger.

"Get out!" he said in a low voice.

Shelby could only stare back, confused as to what could be tormenting him like that.

"I said get out!" he yelled so loudly that it echoed throughout the entire dungeon.

Shelby jumped at his tone. She was scared that was for sure but she wasn't going to be a coward and obey him. She instead took a step forward and put her hands right on top of his own.

"No!" she calmly answered.

Sebastian looked at her soft hands pressed against his for a few seconds before taking his hands back as if he had been shocked.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" he asked with a tired voice.

"Why do you want me to?" replied Shelby.

Sebastian gave a forced laugh looking down at her.

"Listen doll, I am doing you a favor for bringing me food. Leave now when you still have the chance." He said with a smug attitude.

"Or what? You're going to force me to marry you? Been there, never happened!" she confidently said.

"What a shame." He said looking her up and down.

"I know what you're doing" she stated. "You're trying to scare me or repulse me so that I'll leave. But here are some news Sebastian…you don't scare me. You and I both know that you wouldn't hurt me. And you wouldn't have touched me either even if we did get married."

His face once again turned dark, his stare cold.

"I would have done whatever I wanted with you!" he forcefully said.

"I don't believe it." Replied Shelby standing his stare.

"You better believe it! You would have been miserable giving into every little one of my desires until getting pregnant giving birth to our child in atrocious pain and dying in labor letting the poor kid being raised by me into the cruelest of men!" he said raising voice with every words he said.

Shelby stepped back by his outburst. What in the world was he talking about? The 'poor kid' part echoed in her head.

"It is in my blood." Sebastian finished.

It was as if a light bulb clicked in Shelby's mind.

"That's what your dad did to your mother, isn't it?" she shockingly realized.

Sebastian's face dropped. He should have known she would figure this out. He always had known she was very smart. Why did he have to open his big mouth in a moment of anger? He always ended up letting things slip up. If his father was here right now, he would pay that mistake hard.

"This is ridiculous!" he mockingly said.

"On the contrary it's perfectly logical." She continued still in shock. "That's why you're pushing me away…you think you're just like him and you don't want me to get hurt."

"The world does not revolve around you Shelby!" he angrily replied.

"It doesn't revolve around your father either!" she pointed out.

"Enough!" he screaming grabbing her by the throat across the bars with his good hand.

Shelby shrieked not expecting that reaction. She then tried to calm down thinking that he was holding just tight enough to have a hold on her by not enough to hurt her. Taking a deep breath and looking in his troubled eyes she grabbed the bars calmly. When she believed in something she didn't back out. No matter how scared she was at the moment, she was ready to go down to prove her point.

"Go ahead…kill me!" she murmured with a strangled voice.

That only made Sebastian madder. Why couldn't she get through her thick head that he was a dangerous man?

Looking in her eyes, he started to tighten his grip. Shelby started choking as less air could enter her lungs. Her eyes were watering with her struggle. Sebastian finally saw panic in her eyes but what struck him the most was the sadness that entered those beautiful blue orbs. And suddenly he was the one panicking. He abruptly let go of her.

She fell to the ground the second he released her. She started coughing and searching for air as tears fell down her cheeks.

Sebastian stood there in shock as he watched her. Was he shocked with what he did to her or with the fact that he couldn't finish her? He wasn't sure but what he did know was that he had never felt worse in his entire life than how he felt right now. It was as if his heart was being crushed to the point where it physically hurt.

Shelby calmed down a bit but she kept her position on the floor, her whole being shaking. She knew she couldn't possibly stand on her legs at the moment, they felt like jelly. She slowly looked up at Sebastian and what she saw calmed her down. He seemed even more afraid than she was.

"Why didn't you kill me?" she bluntly asked.

Sebastian looked at her with his mouth agape trying to process what she had just asked him not believing how bold she was.

"Just leave Shelby…please." He softly whispered not being able to stand her stare.

Shelby nodded even though he wasn't looking and rose from her spot on the floor. She then walked to the bars separating them and kicked her ring further into his cell startling him. Only then did he look at her again.

"See you tonight." She said in a calm tone that clashed with the red marks on her neck. With that she headed for the stairs with poise.

Sebastian let himself drop to the floor. She didn't lie when she said she was extremely patient and annoyingly stubborn.

I am so sorry for the time I took before uploading but I still hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

TayCole: Thank you for understanding about the time it can take me before uploading. This chapter still had a bit of intensity though, right? Oops…I hope you liked learning new things about Sebastian's background.

Lisa: Thank you for your patience and for always reading my chapters. I had you enjoyed the twist the story just took. I can't wait to get your feedback.