Timeless [h.s]

Forty four

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, noticing his smirk grow.

"You see, your family members were indeed attentive and too high profile to attack, but that dumb professor was a perfect victim." I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach, imagining Miles and his loving persona being held hostage. He had a wife, a mundane life. He wasn't even supposed to be around me, he just ended up finding out the truth because of his inherited curiosity and fascination with the past.

"I don't believe you." I spat through gritted teeth, focusing on Oliver beside me, otherwise I'd just give Gaston what he wanted. He could see my anger and he could relish in it, but I would never initiate confrontation, I'd be sensible, for once in my life.

"Charlotte, if you and your pathetic boyfriends don't come with me, I will kill him. This is not a promise, it's a fact; he means nothing to me and his presence is just a necessary nuisance for me to achieve what I want." His cool tone sent actual chills down my spine. He had no respect for others' lives, his sole purpose was achieving his goal, whichever that may be.

"Harry is no longer here." I spoke, hoping it was true. I was counting on his curiosity to get him out of this sticky situation. If he had heard our conversation, he probably fled. Sometimes he tried to do stupid things just to prove his strength and courage, but I really hoped his self-preservation sense prevailed.

"I hate when you lie, it's just predictable and boring. Get him out of his hiding spot, now." I shared a meaningful look with Oliver. In my eyes he probably saw pain and sorrow, but in his, I saw fright. He clearly didn't think Gaston was bluffing or trying to bully me; my former king was just stating the facts and that was even scarier than his threats.

His former intimidations were just empty words, but as we all stood together, he was no longer in a playful mood. He was all about business and killing, void of emotion.

"That is a trap door." I whispered lowly, pointing towards the hidden spot. Gaston smiled, his entire face lighting up and making him look even more handsome. It was disturbing, seeing such beauty completely corrupted. I considered yelling and maybe giving Harry a small head start, but if he was caught the outcome would probably be worse than the night he almost died in front of my house.

Gaston found the hidden lock easily, opening the trap door with a menacing giddiness I never witnessed before. He was enjoying his psychological torture, and the worst part was knowing I could do nothing to stop him.

I had one small leverage but I knew it was not the time to use it. Inside a perfectly hidden pocket of my dress, my phone stood, silent and possibly more vital than ever. I could contact Arthur or Sienna, but I wouldn't drag them into our mess. I just needed to understand more Gaston's plan so I could come up with my own. If he somehow drove us away towards a distant spot, I'd try to share our location with my siblings, so they could at least find our corpses if things didn't work out. The perfect scenario would be sharing that information with Harry, but maybe keeping him away was the right thing to do. Maybe destiny, God or karma would spare him and allow that lovely man to live a happy life even if my ending was tragic.

Things surely worked out nicely once there was no sight of Harry; I sighed, relief flooding me as I pictured him in a safer space. Gaston still could go after him, but I would take any victory I got, no matter how small it was.

"Well, it's a nuisance but I'll deal with him later." His voice was bored and if he felt anger, he didn't display it.

I was still in awe, shocked because he could be so menacing and yet so cold. His mood swings were disturbing, showing that I couldn't get too comfortable or believe I was safe, not even for a second. I needed to beat him at his own game and it required a lot of trust in myself, something so hard for me.