“Anmara, baby,” Marshall says while he’s approaching us.
I finally turn to face him and try to act as normal as I can. I see the corners of his lips lifting and his arms opening for me to hug him.
For a moment, I don’t know what to do. I feel Lucas’s protective hand on my back, softly pushing me forward to act natural, as if nothing happened. As if the man in front of me isn’t a crazy psychopath capable of easily killing innocent beings for his own pleasure.
I try to pull myself together and smile as authentically as possible. I go to hug him, and he captures me in a strong grip as always, but this time, knowing what goes through his head, it makes me sick.
“Who’s your friend?” Marshall asks when we separate from the embrace.
I look into his black eyes and realise it is the first time I am truly seeing them. The emptiness behind his pupils doesn’t compare to anything else on this planet, but now, I am also feeling a deep fear inside of me just by staring at him.
“Lucas. Pleasure to meet you," he says while he's holding out his hand for Marshall when he sees that no word is gonna come out of my mouth. “You are Anmara’s fiancé, right? Marshall was it?”
“Yes,” Marshall addresses Lucas with a smile, shaking hands with him. “Where’s your ring?” he frowns at me after looking at my left hand.
My eyes go wide, and I look at my hand.
“Oh, I just bathed and took it off to not ruin it too much before the wedding.”
The worst and most pathetic excuse that I could’ve come up with, alongside a radiant smile. Behind my fake expression, I’m feeling a deep need to kill him. Badly.
My own thoughts scare me, but I try not let them affect me, especially since they are true. I stole his need to kill, but mine exists for a completely different reason. I can’t say that it would give me pleasure to do it with my own hands, even though he truly deserves it. I would probably have nightmares that could become the most genius books…
Shit. The more I think about it, the more I believe it could be a good compromise for the popularity I would gain from those amazing ideas.
A man for fame.
I push aside the killer conscience within me and concentrate on the situation I am facing.
“Ok, let’s say I believe you,” Marshall winks at me. “Did you manage to write something?”
At least he’s not suspecting the real reason.
“Just a few ideas,” I lie, keeping a fake smile on my lips. “Why are you here?”
“Just a business meeting with a client, nothing special,” he lies as well. “Now, I would like to know what the hell you’re doing heretogether," he says in an authoritarian voice, his facial expression changing into a suspicious one.
“We…” I start by telling, but Marshall doesn’t let me continue.
“How much do you know?” He asks in such a low tone that it makes me take a few steps back towards Lucas, him protectively catching my arms. “And don’t you dare lie to me, Anmara!”
You were soooooo wrong.
“Me? Really?” I say, wanting to get closer to him, but Lucas’s hold keeps me in place. “Guess how much I know, you fucking psychopath!” I scream.
“So you found the pictures," he says, calmer, but showing his real neutral face, no longer trying to hide his true nature.
“That’s all you have to say? How about‘yes, Anmara, you were about to marry a certifiable psychopath’and don’t you dare say you don’t feel anything for…”
“I wanted to feel, ok?” he screams too. “I wanted to love you. That is why I continued working on those experiments. Maybe I got satisfaction from the failed situations, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a good motive behind it.”
I laugh drily, remembering the passages from the journal where he said exactly those words. I don’t know if I should believe the sour words that come out of his mouth.
“Before you, like right before I met you, I no longer had the hope of succeeding. I wanted to give up and end my life. When you came into my life, I felt something truly special inside of you, and I didn’t wanna walk away from it anymore. Yes, I didn’t show you my true face, but that is because I was sure you would’ve walked out of my life, too. Do you know what I did to the last person who found out and tried to leave?” he laughs lifelessly, and I feel like I am running out of breath only thinking of the worst.
“I ripped her heart out. Literally," he says, making my eyes go wide.
I would’ve collapsed if Lucas hadn’t held me.
