It felt like it was falling apart, like every part of me was too weak to hold together. My legs trembled and gave out before I could even get up properly.
Argus let out a low scoff.
“Dahlia, you really are something,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “Still pretending. Still acting like the victim. I won’t believe a single word from you ever again.”
Ever again. He turned and walked out. The door slammed shut.
And then darkness. Complete darkness swallowed everything. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t hear anything except my own breathing.
It came fast. Too fast.
No… not again…
My chest tightened, panic rising like it was choking me from the inside.
I hated this.
I hated small, closed spaces. Ever since I was young, it felt like the walls would press in, like the air would disappear. Like I was going to suffocate and no one would even know.
I used to tell him that.
“I hate the dark,” I said once. “If I ever live somewhere, I want it bright all the time.”
Back then, he actually listened. The villa was always lit up at night. I thought it meant something.
But now…
I curled into myself, my fingers digging into my arms as I tried to breathe.
“Calm down… just breathe…” I whispered to myself. “You’re fine… you’re fine…”
But I wasn’t. I really wasn’t.
Suddenly, the door creaked open and light slipped in. I flinched, squinting as a figure stepped inside.
Celine.
She looked down at me, her lips curling slightly.
“Wow,” she said, her tone full of contempt. “You really do look pathetic.”
I didn’t answer.
“If you didn’t look a little like me,” she continued, stepping closer, “Argus wouldn’t even look at you. Not once. Do you really think you ever mattered to him?”
My fingers clenched.
“But it’s fine,” she said lightly, like she just made up her mind. “As long as I ruin that face, you won’t be able to fool him anymore.”
My heart dropped.
She pulled out a small knife. The blade caught the light. Then she started walking toward me.
Slowly.
Step by step.Her eyes were filled with something ugly. Jealousy. Hate. Something twisted.
“Let’s see how long you can keep pretending after this,” she murmured.
My body reacted before my mind could. I raised my hand to block, my eyes stinging, heart pounding wildly.
This was it. This was really happening.
“Dahlia!”
A voice suddenly exploded from the doorway.
The next second, something slammed into me hard.