Ashes of Cinder

39

"Then why am I not happy?"

"You are!" he snarled, slamming a fist down the table. You flinched at his aggressive behavior and wished to to run away before it's too late, as fast as you could with your shorter legs. The glint in his eye was dark and menacing, making him look like an entirely different person. "You don't see it, but you are. Were you not content with your life before Veria ruined everything?"

Veria. The name was another kick in the gut. "What happened to Veria?"

"She's the doll you found, lying there on the floor. She's always been a doll, actually. Using magic, I decided to transform her into a little girl for my plan. But I didn't expect her to be so rebellious," he explained, stretching his lips into a sinister smile. You grew cold, blinking in disbelief. She wasn't even a real person... but she seemed like one. It had been heartless of Blaise to turn her human where no future awaited for her. She knew she was a tool from the beginning, to be disposed of soon afterwards. Regret filled your insides, for you should've spent time with her. Her life had been short and meaningless. You blinked out of your sad daze to see the male observing you. "You never answered my damn question, love."

You shook your head and dug your fingernails into your palms. Blood seeped from the cuts and thickly slid down your skin, painting crimson. "I was not. I was only happy because I was living a lie. Lies don't count, Wellington."

He roughly pushed himself off of his chair and hurried to you before you could even think to move. He then held a painful grip on your wrist. You thrashed from his hold, but he wouldn't let go. Shit. You shouldn't have provoked him. How were you going to get yourself out of this mess?! "Don't call me that," he seethed. He tugged you upwards to have you stare straight into his bloodshot eyes.

Ignoring him, you struggled against his clutches. "L-Let go of me!" you cried, dread pooling into you by the second.

He merely laughed at your useless attempts to escape him, the sound of it bitter and raw. Caressing the side of your face softly, he tucked a strand of [h/c] hair behind your ear and hushed you. "Let you go and allow you to run away? Why would I do that? You're mine, darling. I love you too much to let you go, even if you do hate me. Hate me all you want, but you'll soon learn to forgive me, just as you did with Rosa. You'll fall in love with me again, because you know I did this for you. You know that I never mean to hurt you and that I've saved you countless of times when you were at the lowest of your lows."

He pressed a kiss on your head and breathed you in.

"That's just who you are. You look for the best in people. And that was what made me fall for you. You're like the sun brimming of glow, leaving me no choice but to smile whenever I see you. I can't understand how I lived without you back then. You're all I need in life. The same applies to you: I'm all you need."

His buttery tone of voice and the comforting words -- you knew they were there to manipulate you. That was what he'd done throughout every interaction you had with him. He played you like a puppet on strings, looming in the darkness as he giggled madly at the mistakes you made. Your limbs tied and trapped, they were pulled into every direction that it ripped your whole self apart. His beautiful face and words tricked you and succumbed you until you were nothing but his.

He couldn't have you again. It was about time you were the hero of your own story instead.

With your free hand, you stuck your hand into the pocket of your trousers and found the vial. Uncapping it, you took it out and splashed it all over his face. The liquid drenched his skin and oozed into his pores. Spluttering in utter shock, he loosen his grip on you and wiped the substance from his eyes. "What the hell?!"

You weren't actually sure if it would work, but in less than a minute, his eyes turned droopy. Sagging to the floor, he desperately fought the sleepiness that entered his system.

"You can't do this to me," he said weakly. "I love you... I love you! Even after everything I've done..." He fluttered his eyes shut and was finally unconscious. His expression smoothening out in his sleep, he became less like the monster he was, reminding you of the man you once saw him as.

Kneeling down to the floor beside him, you began to weep, both for the love you lost and the immense relief you were feeling. Blaise Wellington was everything you wanted, as well as the person you dreamt of being. He was mischievous and mysterious, so your curiosity tingled whenever you saw him. His rosy smile and light freckles made your heart flutter. He was the most beautiful thing, but he was a demon disguised as an angel.

The doll girl was correct. Blaise was really clever and that had been a close one. He knew everything from the start, yet you somehow tricked him into thinking the potion was in the tea. For once, it was not a Prince, a knight in shining armor, or a magical toy store owner that saved you. For once, it was the girl, the one who thought she needed to stay a damsel in distress -- the one who was too weak to stand up for herself. For once, it was you.

It was over... this nightmare was over.