Cedric didn't flinch beneath Roland's mocking gaze. He adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword, a cold, venomous smirk carving across his pale features as his dark eyes locked onto the monster before him.
"And do I hear such grand lectures from a man whose own wife still refuses to acknowledge him as her husband?" Cedric drawled, his tone dripping with lethal provocation. "Even after you forced her into a marriage she despised... her heart was never yours, Roland. And it never will be."
The sharp words struck Roland like a physical strike. In a fraction of a second, the casual, arrogant mockery on Roland's face twisted into an unhinged, murderous fury.
