I do not want freedom from him, but I want the freedom to choose my own life, and he just gave me that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“The right family is a powerful fortress that will protect you from all the evil this world has to offer.
My parents gave me everything.
From a starved child who had to survive, I became a prince loved and cherished by everyone.
Except…
I was born in evilness, and pain.
And as such, I could never grow up to be anything but a villain.”
Levi
Lavender
“What are you doing?” he grits through his teeth, sliding his hand out from underneath mine on the phone and stepping away from me as thunder shakes the sky.
The complete darkness outside creates an illusion of solitude, like we are the only ones left on this world and, for once, I welcome it.
Because maybe in this darkness we can uncover all our vices, secrets, and vulnerabilities without being afraid that the other will exploit it.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” I say, and confusion fills his eyes that have the power to consume me with their gaze alone. Their depth is akin to the swirling ocean during a storm that everyone warns you to stay away from but it’s so beautiful you just can’t. “I want to stay.”
“You want to stay,” he repeats, crossing his arms while his voice turns cold and almost mocking, but it doesn’t scare me. Because beneath the mocking, I hear traces of disbelief. “You couldn’t wait to get away from me earlier.”
Lifting my chin, I reply and mimic his posture as another thunder booms. “I changed my mind.”
A sinister smile curves his mouth. It doesn’t reach his eyes and his face darkness. “Is that so? So what’s the plan, darling? You want to distract me with your good graces until you can call your brothers so they would beat the shit out of me?” He cocks his head to the side, the pitch of his tone laced with distain. “It can be arranged without you sacrificing your dignity.”
“I’m not yourdarling. Don’t call me that,” I reply sweetly, and his brow furrows as he watches me rub myself with the towel, sweeping his gaze over me, and the muscle on his cheek twitches.
While I’m annoyed the stubborn man chose to act like an asshole to me in order to chase me away, I understand all of this is just an act to protect himself from yet another disappointment in his life.
Just like a wild, caged animal that has been bruised and abused for years who lashes out and prefers to attack before anyone can get close and potentially destroy it.
“What are you to me then?”
Such a simple question and yet so difficult to answer because despite being attached at the hip for the past month, I never allowed him to put any label on us or ever agreed to him calling me his.
In fact, in the quest to shield myself from heartbreak, all I did was reject his claim on me even though he was exactly what I needed.
I could have never chosen some good guy living on the straight and narrow because the men in my family are vastly different.
Protection, possessiveness, obsessions, and absolute devotion go hand in hand for them all, so why did I expect anything else from Levi?
That’s what subconsciously attracted me to him—he isn’t a dashing prince who lived in a fairytale, oh no.
He’s a handsome villain who survived hell, and that experience makes him crave my tortured soul, for his is exactly the same.
From the very beginning I dished out obstacles after obstacles and he managed to demolish them all, although I still refused to see this as anything serious.
Because if I admitted it was serious then Levi had the power to hurt me, and I didn’t think I could withstand being hurt again.
I’m stronger than I think and this strength allows me to seep bravery from it and face his demons that now create obstacles in my path.
