He clenched his teeth and seized her hands before her touch could linger. "Keep your hands off me. You are despicable."
She chuckled, her demeanor unshaken. "Despicable? Well, it seems we're a perfect match, aren't we? I am your betrothed for a reason."
"Your very presence makes me nauseous," he declared. "You resemble those women in the pleasure houses."
"When you desire intimacy with me, it's acceptable, but when I seek the same, you label me despicable? Isn't that a tad hypocritical, my dear Prince?" She pouted from beneath her veil, acting as though she were wronged. "Why waste time on trivial matters? Let's get this over with. I might be in my fertile days, which is even better."
She attempted to touch him once more, but he shrugged her off.
"I had thought you possessed a modicum of dignity, but your attempt to seduce me here has proven me wrong," he spat out through clenched teeth. "It only reaffirms that your veins carry the vile blood of that wretched old man."
