Blair Blake.
Chapter 25 – Blair
“You saved me,” I said, staring into his eyes before wrapping my arms around him. “You saved us. Thank you.”
His grip tightened around me, gradually suffocating me. “Then why did you betray me?” he asked, his voice deep and laced with hatred.
“What?” I pulled away from him, confused by his words.
That’s when I saw the blood spilling from his lips and the wound in his stomach. My breath ceased, my heart skipped a beat when I glanced down, only to realize I was holding a bloodied knife.
“Why?” he asked, his voice weak and strained. “Why did you do this to me?”
I shook my head, confused by the scene unfolding before me. Just a second ago, I was thanking him for saving my life and that of our unborn child. So when did I stab him with a knife—and where did the knife even come from?
“I trusted you,” he said, rage flashing in his eyes as he reached out and grabbed my neck.
“Nik.” My eyes widened in fear, my palms slapping his strong arms. “I can’t—I can’t breathe.”
He grew horns on his head, and I watched him transform into a black monster with red eyes and a bald head. His grip tightened around my neck, his deep voice sounding like a thousand people were talking at the same time—it scared the shit out of me.
“You’ll rot in hell for your betrayal!” He raised his other hand, ready to attack, his demonic claws glinting in the moonlight.
“Nik, no, please, don’t!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
That was when I woke up in my bed, panting as though I’d just run a marathon. My dress was damp with sweat, and my shoulders rose and fell with uneven breaths.
My hand immediately flew to my chest after I woke up from the nightmare, as if to stop my heart from escaping. I sat there on my bed, scared and miserable, overwhelmed by my own guilt.
It was just another dream—the same one I’d been having for the past three nights. I buried my face in my palms, hating myself for my sins. The image of Nik being dragged away in handcuffs still lingered at the edge of my mind.
The look in his eyes when he found out the truth would haunt me for the rest of my life. It wasn’t anger, nor hatred. It was pain—raw, pure pain. He believed I betrayed him, that I was the mastermind behind his attack.
But that wasn’t entirely true, and I wished I had the opportunity to explain myself. In all honesty, I had no idea how the Bureau found me—if I knew they were coming that night, I would’ve warned him beforehand. But they chose to show up unannounced, ruining my plans.
How could I live with myself after what I’d done to him? The Bureau had accused him not only of Richard Kane’s death but also of human trafficking and kidnapping. Nikolai Tarasov was guilty of many crimes, but not these ones.
This man risked everything for me. He literally leaped into the air, flew over a pit filled with merciless spikes just to save me. Yet, he was bundled away like a criminal. His only crime was buying me during that auction—if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been in this situation.
The Bureau needed a scapegoat, and he just happened to walk right into their trap.
I was praised by my colleagues and superior for a job well done. They said that I helped put a monster away and that Iwas a hero. But I didn’t feel like a hero. I felt like the villain in this story—a manipulative bitch who took advantage of a man’s niceness.
The more I thought about it, the more I drowned in a sea of guilt. I lay back on my bed, my eyes wide open as I stared blankly into space. I replayed our time together on the balcony, the banter we used to have, and how he always had that smug smirk on his lips.
I never thought that I would miss him—that I would miss the mansion. Yet here I was, unable to blend back into my old life. Nothing in my room felt familiar; a testament to how attached I’d become to the Tarasov household.
I clutched the hem of the sheet and pulled it over my body as tears stung my eyes. In the silence of my room, I let them flow like a river. My heart was broken, shattered into a million pieces, the pain charging my tear glands.
He must hate me now, and the mere thought of that alone sent shivers down my spine. Although everyone in the bureau idolized me for my impeccable act of deception, I couldn’t help but loathe myself for the same act.
Was I just as bad as he was? What was the difference between me and the monster I claimed to have brought down?
My thoughts kept me up at night, my conscience constantly judging me. The voices in my head called me a bad person—soulless and ruthless. I tried to tell myself that I did the right thing here, that he was a monster. But the only monster here was me.
In my defense, I was going to come clean; I was going to tell him the truth. But I was afraid of how he would react to it. Maybe I should’ve damned the consequences and just spilled the beans. Perhaps I would’ve done so if those idiots hadn’t kidnapped me just to lure him out.
Maybe if Director Voss hadn’t arrived with her team when she did, I would’ve summoned the courage to tell him when he returned home. But her timing sucked!
