He wanted me to forget everything.
I didn’t mind. I would cope. But what about Kenzo? It had been him and I for years now. We weren’t just friends anymore. We were like the two sides of a coin. How could I move on to live another life without Kenzo in it?
“Why are you acting so miserable?” he suddenly asked, and it wasn’t out of spite, but curiosity.
Did he really not understand why I was the saddest girl in the world right now?
“Forgive me for not leaping in joy.” I didn’t mean to sound snarky, but I just couldn’t bite down the anger. “afterall, it has always been my dream to marry a man who threatens me with my friend’s life, subdues me into cannibalism and oh, who also killed two of my teachers and a bunch of innocent boys just because I had a thing with them.”
I couldn’t believe the nonchalant way he was taking this situation? Was this his own kind of normal?
To my outburst, he scoffed, his finger trailing mindless, phantom lines on my thigh. “Am I really that bad? Do you think I’ll be such a terrible husband?”
I looked away instead, blinking as the tears dropped. Then I suddenly felt his finger curling under my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“We are never going to be hold hands and run into the sunset.” His hand dropped from my chin and returned to my thigh. “You will definitely not be happy with me, at least, not very soon.” He took in a sharp, deep breath. “But one thing is for sure, I will give you everything else but freedom.”
He didn’t blink, didn’t waver. His storm-dark gaze locked onto mine, dragging me under, pulling me into the relentless abyss of him. I felt myself spiraling, caught in the violent whirlpool of his sanity, unable to fight the current.
“For as long as you are mine, I’m going make you so powerful, Beth Raskov.” His voice was thick with promise, dark with conviction. More than a vow, more than an oath. It felt like blood seeping into stone, irreversible. “So fucking powerful that no one will ever dare to stand against you.”
Each word struck like thunderclaps, sending shivers cascading down my back, rippling through my bones. My heart slammed against my ribs, each beat an echo of something both terrifying and exhilarating.
“You pretend to be simple, to want simple things.” His gaze flickered with something wild. Something knowing, as his hand lifted, slow and deliberate, to press a fingertip against a spot just above my left breast. “But I see through you.” My breath stuttered. “Deep down, you crave it just like I do.” His voice dipped lower, coiling around me like smoke. “Power.”
His touch lingered. It was a silent claim, a branding against my skin.
“Together, we’ll be unstoppable.” His smirk widened, dark amusement dancing in his eyes. “Indomitable.”
I wasn’t sure how accurate his words were. He always spoke as if he knew me more than I knew myself. I was sure I would have loved a little cottage in Castle Combe with the right amount of books and healthy storage of coffee beans. Maybe a simple husband who did a simple job and returned home at 5pm to help me make dinner. And maybe have a child or two to run around the field in summer.
Wasn’t that enough? Wasn’t that satisfying and perfect? Had I always wanted more?
“We leave for Glenfallow in two hours.” His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “You can see your friend one more time.”
Was that supposed to make me throw a series of thank-yous? How was he about to take me away from the place I basically grew up in, away from my best friend, and all I got as a compensation was to see Kenzo only one more time?
“C-can I just stay behind for maybe a week–”
“No.”
“If you are taking me away, the least you could do is let me say my goodbyes properly,” I bit out.
“I said, no.”
My fingers clenched on my thigh, but I shouldn’t trigger him.
“What about Mother?” I asked. “It’s been over ten days. Let me just make sure she’s not dead somewhere and actually went for an outreach.”
It didn’t matter that Mother played the role of a monster in my life too. It didn’t matter that our relationship wasn’t healthy. But still, she provided food, catered to shelter, and was still a family. Leaving without making sure she was okay felt like leaving loose ends.
“I don’t care.”
“Please,” I insisted. “Let me just go to her office and make a confirmation.”
“You are not spending another week here, Elizabeth,” he grounded out, his expression hardening. “Don’t even bother pushing it.”
“Okay two days,” I bargained.
