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yourstrulywriternovels · 1 month ago

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Fatal Bond | Diabolik Lovers

Summary: Not so far off, Komori Yui has moved to the Sakamaki’s Manor only to realize that she would never return to the church where her past self lived. New circumstances, new rules, new life. She isn’t who she was. Only because she let herself fall into the claws of the Devil. She was deceived by the term of Love. Laito Sakamaki is her manipulator and she blindly follows with every spell he tosses. In the end, will Yui escape or embrace herself until her last breath?

♱ genre/au: Laito Sakamaki x Yui Komori [she/her, female anatomy], Vampire, smut, plot, dark themes.

Trigger Warnings: Graphic Violence, Gore, Blood Drinking, Mention of Suicidal Thoughts, Shameless Smut, 18+, Rough Sex, Non/Dub-Con, Past Child abuse, Suicide Attempt, Obsession, Stalking, Dark Themes, Explicit Sexual Content, Dubious Consent, Implied/ Referenced Rape/Non-con, Rape/ Non-con.

Word Count: 13.2k+ | Chapters [5/15]

Chapter One | Meant to Be Seen

(Recommended Song: Mentally Not Here by Elita)

The clock was ticking at its regular pace, yet for me it seemed like each second that passed was a whole minute.

I was never nervous in my class but tonight was different.

Usually, my eyes would drift to the open window of our class and daydream about things I knew would never happen.

One of my thoughts was about freedom.

I would look out the window and stare in awe at the full moon or the stars while my mind would wish even for one moment to be free from the webs I was forever stuck in.

But like I mentioned before, not tonight.

The presence of someone made my skin crawl and goosebumps spread to every length of my body like a second skin. The atmosphere around us was suffocating, finding it harder to breathe. I couldn’t even think properly.

What I wished was for the bell to ring so I could storm out of that room. Though, I doubt the chance of staying away from him would be feasible.

At the thought, my eyes without permission flicked to the culprit.

Laito Sakamaki.

He sat beside me, his leg resting on his other knee and leaning back, his hands propped against the chair.

His posture was full of pride and confidence. Feelings that he dared to display just because he showed to everyone that I was his.

It was as if Laito never threatened my actual partner so he could instead sit beside me.

My fingers twitched. In instinct, I drew my hands beneath our desk.

Laito wasn’t assigned to my class. Everyone was aware of that, yet no one seemed willing to confront him. Not even the teachers. They simply let him in, allowing him to act as if he owned the place.

He always gets away. I had to learn it the hard way.

Utter anger suddenly pumped into my blood vessels and underneath the desk, my hands formed into fists. At that moment I wasn’t that afraid of him.

His emerald green eyes were lingering on the board making him seem so innocent and relaxed.

Through my peripheral vision, I could see my pen resting near my notes and the desire to grab it and spear it right on his jugular vein was potent.

Unfortunately, I was uncertain about my plan.

Laito was pulling a façade just so he could blend with everyone else in the room. He was not relaxed nor innocent. Frankly, the opposite.

Just a mere move from me would make him alert.

As if sensing my heated gaze, Laito slowly turned his head in my direction.

In a trice, whatever emotion flooded my system melted away only to be replaced with arrant dread.

Our gazes locked and the same sadistic smirk curled at the corners of his lips.

That haunting look of his in an instant sent shivers skating down my spine. Dark memories flashed before my vision, recalling the times I had to confront him.

He stared at me as if he could see through me. To read my every thought and use them against me.

To mix them with something I clearly didn’t want.

The urge to jump on my feet and storm out of the room was potent. However, I didn’t want to draw the attention of the rest of my classmates. Especially his.

Which is ironic considering that just a few minutes ago I fantasized about his death. The death I would be responsible for.

As the realization dawned within me, my stomach roiled.

Since when did such thoughts invade my mind?

I was never like this…

I was the first one to break eye contact.

Instead of rising on my heels, I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and hoped he would let me be.

He didn’t.

Before I could turn my head to the open window — anything to convince him that I was unfazed — a warm breath fanned the crook of my neck.

Every apex on my body now grew rigid.

“You, pretending like I don’t exist, does really hurt my feelings, bitch-chan.” Laito whispered at the shell of my ear. The very familiar seductive tone was roughing the edge of his voice.

Something he used to conceal his true intentions. He always used it to tempt me and beget me lust over things that never occurred to me before.

Instead of giving him a reply, I sealed my lips.

Laito chuckled. “Not giving me an answer, I see.” His voice then dropped in an octave. “Is it because bitch-chan found another male to fulfill her desires?”

His voice was still playful, yet I knew better. It was like the thunder before the storm.

I couldn’t stop the second jolt of shivers when he moved in on me.

He stood so close to me that the hair on my nape stood on end. He breathed me in and let out a faint moan. Audible enough for me only to hear.

“Come on, bitch-chan. Tell me I am not enough for you. Tell me that you hate me and my cock doesn’t satisfy your little cunt.”

Once he finished his sentence, heat gathered on my cheeks, and panicky my eyes clashed with the students that stood in front of us.

It was certain that they heard what Laito said, however none of them dared to turn around.

“Aw, is that embarrassment that I sense?” He replied smugly and laughed. Once he sobered, his index finger forced my chin in his direction. “Don’t worry. If that makes bitch-chan feel better, I can promise her that I will tear their ears and gouge their eyes out. Only because they made her uncomfortable.”

My stomach churned at his cruel words and tore my chin away from his grip.

He sensed the hate that I have toward him as his eyes narrowed into slits. Despite the crossness that crossed his features, he didn’t drop his coquet demeanor.

He smirked. “Uh… Might be because my bitch-chan craves for their cock too? Such a dirty slut you are.”

At that, my nails dug into my palms, enough to leave red marks behind. Since I couldn’t bring him pain, I reversed it on myself.

“Shut. Your. Mouth.”

Silence.

My eyes looked at him in terror as I realized what I had just done.

Laito closed his eyes for a moment and once he reopened them, something sick gleamed on them.

In a trice, his hand gripped the flesh of my inner thigh squeezing until a muffled cry escaped from my lips. Even then he didn’t stop. On the contrary, it made him pinched the flesh so hard that my hands curled around his wrist to pry him off.

But considering that he was a vampire, my strength over his was nothing. It was like a feather fighting against the strong wind.

“I think there has been a misunderstanding, bitch-chan.” Laito growled, his teasing tone long gone. “You are my plaything. Mine to use and mine to ruin. You don’t get to refuse my orders and especially not talk back at me. Understood?”

“Laito, you’re hurt-”

He squeezed even harder that hot tears prickled in my eyes. In the end, I nodded in submission.

Laito’s grip grew slack. “Aw, look at you trembling like a leaf. Your fear makes me love you even more…” He leaned closer. “More turned on.”

If it wasn’t for the pain that was left on my now bruised thigh, a crimson shade would be visible on my cheeks.

“Since you obeyed like a good girl, let me reward you.”

I didn’t want anything from him, yet I didn’t dare to protest.

Laito gently took my hand which stood glued on my sides and planted a kiss on it. It took me by surprise at his sudden change of motive and tenderness. It made me petrified. I didn’t trust him.

Our eyes locked and a smile stretched across his lips. Then he guided my hand right on the center of his trousers.

Exactly where his buckle had formed.

In an instant, I tried to pull away but with a firm wrench of his, I stopped. In the end, no matter how hard I tried to stop him it always led to no avail.

I was hopeless.

“Feeling bitch-chan’s fingers touching me, makes me hot all over. Uh, it feels good.” Laito’s playful tone returned and let out a soft whimper.

He wasn’t ashamed. Not even a little bit. On the contrary, I felt his erection growing in size, showing how he was getting off by this.

I felt embarrassed and terrified about getting caught red-handed.

He moved my hand up to the waistband of his trousers. All the while my hand trembled under his.

“Bitch-chan I can sense your arousal. Such a needy whore, you are… Just the idea of us getting caught wets you, doesn’t it?” He chuckled, clearly satisfied with my ashamed face.

I wanted to shake my head in refusal but there was no point to.

In the end, my hand slipped inside his underwear and took out his manhood. I waited for the disgust to rise in my throat and pinch my nose but no such feeling arose from my system.

It had the opposite effect on me.

I felt the source of warmness settling down on my core, causing me to clench my thighs to find some friction. Laito had taken notice and a sadistic smirk curled its way up to his lips.

Pre-cum was leaking from its base and my thumb wiped it off before giving a little stroke.

Hot tears welled up in my eyes as I was confused as to why I felt something I shouldn’t.

It wasn’t fair, yet that didn’t prevent me from pleasing Laito. My hand now picked up pace and every so often soft moans would slip from his lips.

So soft that only the two of us would hear.

As if what he was doing to me wasn’t plenty of torture, his hand skimmed over my inner thigh and under my skirt— his forefingers teasing the lacy of my panties.

My breath hitched and my eyes looked frantically around us. Luckily everyone was paying attention to the lesson.

“Even your panties are drenched, bitch-chan.” He chuckled.

Unlike me, Laito wasn’t gentle with his actions. Frankly, he never was.

Without warning, his finger pushed aside the fabric and inserted two fingers into my pussy. Then he pulled them in and out of me with such force, that I had to bite down my tongue to prevent the moans slipping from my lips.

I didn’t even realize when the hand I was pleasuring Laito with, was captured in his, guiding it against his hard cock.

My half-lifted eyes met his.

As we stared at each other, an unreadable look crossed his features and before I could cogitate it further, his thumb found my clit and with circular movements, he forced me to climax.

My nails clawed at his wrist desperate to push him away but my body betrayed me.

My toes curled and I loomed over the desk to restrain the screams that begged to leave from my lungs and out to the room.

As he pulled his fingers out of me, I didn’t dare to even stare at him.

I was ashamed of myself and mostly betrayed.

Once again he was the one who won.

Only when the school bell rang did I have the strength to move on my feet and gather my things in my bag.

However, before I could jerk to my feet and storm out, a hand pinched my chin jerking me violently to the right. The smell of my arousal hit my nostrils and my breath hitched.

Meeting Laito’s dark gaze made me paralyzed all over. He was already dressed up as if what happened earlier was fictitious.

Before I could tell him to let me go, his fingers touched my lips leaving something sticky and wet upon them.

My eyes widened and my blood turned cold.

“That’s your reward, bitch-chan. Once again you have proved to me how filthy you truly are.”

And with that he let me go.

A chuckle left from his lips and I felt eyes pinning me down like arrows. Eyes that belonged to my classmates. Soon the whispers broke around the room making my chest burn and my fingers jitter.

I stormed out of the classroom wiping with the sleeve of my school uniform the cum on my lips. I didn’t stop even when the skin started to burn up.

Only when I closed myself in a bathroom did I let my emotions out.

Chapter Two | Devil’s Captive

(Recommended Song: Never Land- A Fragment by Sisters of Mercy)

“Your ice cream is about to melt, bitch-chan.”

By the sound of my nickname, I was jerked back to my consciousness. I could feel Laito’s gaze heating the side of my face and I realized that I dozed off.

Muttering an apology under my breath, my fingers curled around the spoon. Though, when I saw that the ice cream had become a mix of soup and cream, my stomach churned.

Suddenly I was no longer hungry.

Through my peripheral vision, I could see Laito blowing his mulled wine before he took a sip. Then sedately set the drink back on the round table he chose for us to sit on.

He drummed his fingers against the ebony table.

“Did something happen and my bitch-chan lost her appetite?”

The same seductiveness was visible in his tone of voice, yet I could sentience some irritation in his body language. Not even an iota of worry did he feel toward me. Just pure anger for the fact I dragged us up until here.

The Sakamaki brothers decided once the day dawned to visit the town since it had been a long time since we went somewhere altogether. Though everyone hated just the idea of being in each other faces, none of them refused.

Deep down, everyone needed a break from the thick tension in the mansion. All for different reasons. Including me.

Although I was somehow relieved that I could be in a place without being overwhelmed by only the brothers, Laito had the boldness to prove me otherwise.

Once we stepped out of the limo, his hand encircled my shoulder possessively and told the others he would rather be just the two of us than stick around with the pillocks.

Of course, nobody had the willingness to confront him. They detest each other so that worked to Laito’s favor readily. As for me, only fear took the best of me.

That’s why I found the courage and lied to him that I felt lightheaded and I needed something sweet. Which is not entirely a lie, considering that the brothers would drink my blood every so often.

To my surprise, he agreed only due to the fact he didn’t want me to get anemia.

So, in the end, I led him to a Coffee Shop that was teeming with people close to our age. The whole room was enveloped with a peaceful aura, yet Laito’s piercing gaze made me feel anything but halcyon.

I kind of sensed that Laito knew what I said was only an excuse. But as a smirk curved on his lips made me quite unsure.

After all, I did not take a single bite from the ice cream, and that only established that I genuinely wanted to impair his deviant plans.

“No, nothing happened. It’s just the sight of the ice cream that sets me off.” I finally replied.

A hum rumbled on his chest. “Right… Would you like me to order you a new one?”

If our relationship was reckoned to be a healthy one, I would stare at him in awe as he had the will to assist me. However, the hair on my nape stood on end, feeling that something was quite odd.

The word “no” stuck on the tip of my tongue, until I deliberated it once more. Even if later on I would pay the price of my decisions, at least I would win some time before he decides to lure me into a solitary hallway and have his way with me.

I nodded.

On the other hand, Laito smiled at me and the next he signaled to a passerby waitress. As Laito was giving her the new order, the bell of the shop chimed drawing automatically my attention.

It was a couple.

The girl seemed happy to be with her partner and so did he. The boy pointed at a table close to the window and she nodded in confirmation. He even dragged the chair to help her sit down.

Then he leaned in and whispered to her something that made her break into the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

In a trice, the feeling of envy pumped into my system reminding me I would never get to experience what she has. I was forever stuck in an environment where love doesn’t exist.

At the thought, my stomach roiled and I felt my throat burning up in need to cry.

“Here you go.” A feminine voice said, pulling me out of my thoughts. It was the previous waitress. Her figure hid the sight of the couple, forcing me to stare at her instead.

Laito returned her the now-melted ice cream and soon we were back to being just the two of us.

Forcing myself to swallow the emotions that begged to be set free, my fingers took the spoon, and taking a scoop I inserted it into my mouth.

The hunger never returned. Yet, I posed that it did.

“Bitch-chan I must say you are a terrible actress. No wonder you never had prowess toward art.”

I stiffened mid-swallowing.

I stammered. “What?”

Laito threw back his head and laughed, only to sober up after. “You thought I didn’t know you were lying all along? Poor little you…” He trailed off and as his eyes thinned, I couldn’t stop but feel frightened. “Even how your heart leaps, proves to me what an awful liar you are.”

Before I could protest, he marched forward. Grabbing my wrist so tightly, the spoon slipped from my fingers and hit the table with an obnoxious thwack.

Laito’s lips skimmed over my knuckles making me freeze in my seat. To everyone, we seemed like a sweet couple where Laito instead of inflicting pain on me, was kissing the back of my hand.

“Laito, please!” I begged as I was trying to pull away from his iron grip.

That only made him put a lot more pressure that I started to think he would actually snap the bone in half.

All the time he was staring at me with a blank look, no emotion visible on his features. Soon, the familiar sadistic smirk curled at the tips of his lips.

“Say, do you think it is fair for me to bite those delicate fingers of yours and taste that divine blood? Or…” His eyes drifted to the couple and my breath hitched. “Show them what true romance is?”

Not giving me the time to comprehend what he was implying, his other hand went under the table and grazed my knee.

My eyes widened.

A blast of flashback hit my vision when the same scene happened just a few days ago in my class. Suddenly my body trembled in arrant fear.

Before he could draw his hand further up, I thrashed in my seat to push myself away. The way I squirmed, my knee accidentally shot up on the table causing it to knock the mulled wine down. The liquid splashed free, only in the end to douse his shirt.

In an instant, both of us froze.

“I’m sorry La-”

In a trice, he released me from his grasp and rose to his feet. Since we pulled everyone's attention by the scene, he faked a heartwarming smile as if to reassure me.

“It’s okay. I will get it dry, be right back.”

And with that, he left me alone so the fear of the consequences to eat me alive.

I watched him as his figure disappeared into the bathroom down the corridor, only then for my eyes to snap in the direction of the exit.

I chewed the bottom of my lip.

The desire to jerk on my feet and make an escape was potent. However, the fear of being caught and facing a more brutal punishment halted that need. My feet stayed glued against the hardwood floor as if what was keeping me in my place was thick roots.

If I ran, he would chase.

It was always like this. Me the prey and him the predator ready to plunge his claws on me and keep me caged forever.

I couldn’t breathe.

I needed a push. Someone to snap me out of the negative emotions and make me believe that escaping would save my life.

And to the love of God, my wish came alive.

The same waitress approached me, finally making me snap out of my insecurities and stare at her wide-eyed. She brought a napkin to clean the mess and as our eyes clashed together, she smiled.

It was a sign for me to understand that not much time had left for me, to debate what to do. In the end, I chose the thing I was most afraid of achieving.

To escape.

Jumping on my feet, the chair scraped against the floor and I retreated.

The waitress’s brows creased in suspiciousness and not allowing her the time to stop me, I bolted toward the exit. Only the words “Wait! You forgot to pay!” met my ears and then I was out — running to God knows where.

The streets were oddly crowded which kind of worked in my favor. Despite bumping every so often into strangers, it allowed me to be spotted harder.

My lungs burnt from the sudden spread, yet I didn’t stop. Not even to look behind me to ensure that I wasn’t been chased after.

The adrenaline pumped into my blood vessels like an addictive drug, yet the longing to be free made goosebumps spread to every length of my body. For the first time, a genuine smile stretched across my lips.

For once, I had hopes.

But as I took a turn, my smile vanished. The happiness melted away and utter fear was replaced reminding me how naïve I always tend to be.

As soon as I turned the corner the familiar black limo came into view. The huge vehicle was driving at its regular speed as if I never tried to escape in the first place. The headlights then came to display and I understood it meant to park just where I had stopped.

I froze hot on my heels and whirled around to run the opposite way when I saw Laito walking alongside the citizens.

His eyes were fixated on me.

The sound of a door opening behind me met my ears but I didn’t move. Instead, I waited for Laito to walk up to me.

Somehow a sinking feeling in my chest told me that my punishment would be less severe if I gave myself up to him and not the rest of his brothers.

“Uh bitch-chan.” He singsonged once he closed our proximity. His hands grabbed both of my shoulders and I recoiled. “Always full of surprises.”

It wasn’t a compliment. Just utter disappointment.

In a trice, his slender palm seized my throat and pushed me with such momentum that when he forced us both into the limo I tripped over my feet. I tumbled on my back, winching.

At the impact, the oxygen left my lungs and a choked gasp slipped from my lips. I tried to stand up but Laito came on top of me, his hips straddling me.

The realization within me dawned on what was about to follow after.

In an instant, my fight or flight mode kicked in and my hands flew to his hard chest punching and slapping — anything to get him off me.

With a click of his tongue, he grabbed both of my wrists in one hand and placed them above my head.

I was now at his mercy.

My eyes flicked in distress to the rest of the brothers, but none moved an inch.

Subaru was staring out the window, while Shu had fallen into slumber. Reiji was focused on his book and Ayato was on his phone. Only Kanato was looking at me with those scary purple eyes of his — an eerily smile visible on his lips.

To obscure the emotions that were on full display, he hugged his teddy to hide his expression.

Hot tears now streamed down my face.

Laito chortled. “You should know by now that crying won’t save you, bitch-chan. You brought this upon you, yet we both know that you secretly love it.”

With his free hand, he unfastened the buttons of my blouse. “Just the idea of being watched excites you, doesn’t it? The way their eyes would be on you while I claim you as mine.” He heaved a sigh— a plain redness visible on his cheeks. “Such a slut you are bitch-chan.”

I wanted to scream that I didn’t feel an iota of lust upon this, yet I was frozen in my place. Even if I dared to fight back, Laito would find another way to convince me otherwise.

A moan escaped from his lips as the sound of an unbuckling belt illuminated the silence inside the limo. He licked the flesh of my exposed neck and with no tenderness, he pierced the skin with his fangs.

I writhed in agony but I wasn’t going to give him the bliss of hearing my screams and cries. Not even when he ripped my panties and with no warning, he buried himself inside me.

I just stood still on the ground and as my eyelids had fallen closed I dreamt that this never happened.

That I actually escaped.

With that envision I closed myself in until darkness enveloped my body.

In the end, I had lost consciousness.

Chapter Three | To Deceive the Lamb

(Recommended Song: Trap by Camp Claude)

Hearing. The first thing that trickled in through my senses. A faint melody was coming from somewhere and I found myself craving to seek for it. The endeavor to move my limbs had ceased due to a sudden jar of pain. It plagued my every apex, compelling me to focus on my eyelids instead.

Slowly opening them, a spillage of bright light welcomed me, making me reclose them. Blinded by the unusual sight, I was too weary to attempt a second time.

The longing to stay wherever my body is right now is potent. It was too serene for me to focus on my waking. Frankly, I wasn’t ready to face the dark reality yet.

The melody continued.

I perceived its source was coming my way, slowly becoming more audible. It leaped out at me that the melody was actually someone who was humming the tune.

A shadow suddenly loomed over my closed eyelids, before feeling something cold touching the side of my neck.

Without permission I jerked awake, the panic taking over. Before I could sit up and avoid the cringe sensation, something hard pushed me back down.

“Relax bitch-chan. It’s an antibiotic ointment.” A familiar manly voice said.

Laito.

Slowly the panic melted away and my eyes moved to where he stood. I, then, realized that we were in my bedroom. I was lying in the center of my bed while the edge of the mattress dipped with his weight.

The source of light —I was still sensitive to— was coming from the open balcony, the edge of the curtains dancing alongside the morning breeze.

I ponder how many weeks had passed since I last saw the sun.

The cold ointment snapped me out of my rumination, feeling his long thin fingers touching my skin once more. Observing his emerald eyes lingering longer than they should on my neck, I shivered.

As if sensing the fear overpowering me, our gazes locked.

A slow, wicked grin glides across his face. “My, my… Does the affection I inflict on you, scares you bitch-chan? I can’t lie but say that I’m quite offended.”

Bullshit, I wanted to fire back. If someone knows Laito they would be aware by now that this sick vampire gets off by others dread.

But instead of answering, I bit my tongue and averted my gaze.

Laito giggled and continued applying the ointment to my neck. Then he placed a bandage before giving me a peck on the cheek.

So loving for a wicked vampire, I thought.

However, the remorse didn’t hit me when heat gathered on my cheeks. Candidly, I wasn’t ashamed at all. I simply let it blatantly for him to take heed.

Something that made questions plague my mind. Questions, as to why such emotions flood my system.

I should resent him…

Suddenly something moved at the corner of my eye and before I could register it, two hands grabbed my legs. My eyes snapped at Laito who was smiling all innocently. He was on his knees, sitting before me causing me to thin my eyes in wary.

Not giving me a room to protest, he forced them open.

A jolt of pain rushed through my open legs and down my center, causing me to cry out.

“Uh forgive me, bitch-chan… I forgot that your body doesn’t heal as quickly as ours.” Laito apologized.

He looked anything but sincere.

Confusion crossed my features and my eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t understand…”

He placed a kiss on the side of my thigh, heaving a sigh. “Don’t you remember anything from last night’s events?”

Ignoring how my body reacted to his touch, I pursed my lips. I was ready to speak up when Laito’s fingers played with the hem of my nightgown. I paused.

He smirked and the next thing I knew was him shoving it up to my neck. At the impact, the morning breeze grazed my bare skin, realizing I didn’t wear anything underneath the nightgown.

My eyes rounded.

Bite marks were everywhere, covering my skin like permanent tattoos.

My stomach roiled.

Even if my memory was still hazy, I didn’t have to recall what happened to understand what situation I had fallen into.

Tears gathering in my eyes, I forced my legs closed. But Laito had predicted it sooner and sinking his nails in each side of my thighs, he spread them apart, shifting his body between them.

“Let me go!” I gritted only to fall on deaf ears.

His front hovered over me, feeling his breath fanning the center of my breasts. Utterly furious, I raised my hand ready to slap him across the face. However, he was faster and he got ahold of it before my palm met his cheek.

Then without giving me the time to prepare my next strike, he grasped both of them in one hand and placed them on my lower stomach.

He tsks. “Stop the tantrums, bitch-chan.”

As I writhed beneath him, the tears that begged to be set free finally spilled, wetting my cheeks. Like a knife shoved right to my heart is what I felt. Twisting the metal deeper, breaking me slowly into shreds.

I was afraid that one day I would wake up and nothing would be within me.

Darting out his tongue, he licked the swell of my right breast, right where a mark had been placed. Instinctively, I bit the bottom of my lip to conceal my gasp.

A mischievous chuckle rumbled from his chest and our gazes locked. Something dark and twisted was sparkling in his emerald eyes, finding myself drawn in him.

As if a spell was cast within them, pulling me to new strings of submission.

“So needy, aren’t you? Fighting like a feral cat, only to be at my mercy the next. Such a sensitive, bitch-chan.” Without breaking eye contact, he nibbled the flesh and a moan slipped from my lips. He pulled back and smirked. “I start to think that you playact… That the hatred that you have upon me is only a mask to hide your sexual desires.”

I wanted to answer, to justify my place but as my lips parted nothing came out. I was paralyzed, questioning my own sanity.

Laito continued nibbling and licking every mark he had left on me, arousing me to overwhelming sensations. I writhed and moaned all at once.

I shouldn’t but my body had taken over, leaving me with a blurry vision of what was true and not. Even if I wished to hide my burning face, my hands were bound.

I felt his lips on me, leaving hot trail kisses to the center of my stomach until he was lowering dangerously close to my sex.

Turning my head to the side, I swallowed a sob. I felt his piercing gaze upon me, knowing that he could see how I was reacting to what he did.

Despite the pain plaguing my opening that didn’t prevent it from soaking with arousal. Once again, my own body betrayed me — backstabbing me and pushing me right on my nemesis webs.

In a trice, every thought soon dissipated from my mind when I felt something warm and wet touching the folds of my pussy.

I recoiled.

My eyes flicked back to him, watching how the pupils of his eyes dilated as he observed my facial expression. Goosebumps erupted to the pores of my skin, heat gathering on my cheeks.

The scene that was displayed in front of me, was making me feel things that to my dictionary were considered forbidden. I could feel the warmth of his mouth against my wet pussy and pleasure blazed a path to my core.

Without straying his gaze from mine, his tongue thrusted on my opening. Immediately, my body trembled as an answer. I didn’t even realize when he let go of my wrists, my nails now digging in the mattresses underneath me.

Soon the pain ebbed away, replaced with a mix of ecstasy and a craving for more.

My back arched when his tongue licked my opening up to my clit, my breath becoming uneven. As he was sucking my most sensitive part, my fingers ran through his red hair.

Mind clouded, I grabbed a fistful, debating whether to draw him away or bring him closer. So close that I would forget the bitter reality.

As if sensing my reluctance, he pushed his tongue back on my opening. Pulling in and out so strenuously that I tug at them with such force in desperation for relief.

As an answer, a moan escaped from him, vibrating right on my pussy.

Even there it proved that he had full control of the situation. He knew what strings to pull to bring me under his mercy, slowly drowning me in the darkness of joy and deception.

Tongue-fucking me, his thumb and index finger pinched my clit until a scream was let out from my lungs, and out in the room. As if that wasn’t enough, he rolled my clit between his two fingers until stars prickled my vision.

Tugging harshly at his hair, I basically was riding his face chasing my orgasm like a cat in heat.

I wasn’t thinking straight.

I didn’t recognize myself at all.

Like a light struck my climax hit me, my whole body trembling at his assault. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as sparks of pleasure cascaded like waves to my every apex.

As I was coming down from my high, Laito withdrew, hovering over me once again. Before I could turn my head away, he squeezed my cheeks into his palm and kissed me.

The taste of my arousal was so heavily on my tongue that I felt sick with myself. It was a bitter reminder that I let myself lose in the pleasure.

How could I? How could I let myself satisfy the monster that was standing before me?

Disgust pumped into my veins like a lethal poison and fisting his white shirt, I tried to push him away. However, that only made Laito deepen the kiss, our teeth chattering at the impact.

I cringed.

Without thinking my teeth sunk into his bottom lip, so hard that the taste of coppery spurted in my mouth. Finally, he pulled back, a grimace visible on his features.

His finger skimmed over his bottom lip and as he pulled back he stared at the blood.

I waited for the moment for him to snap and hurt me, not expecting that he would do the exact opposite.

Laito threw his head back, breaking into an unstoppable laugh causing me to fraught. All of a sudden, I was petrified.

“Uh, I would lie if what you just did wasn’t hot. Unlike you bitch-chan, I love the pain so please embrace yourself and hurt me more.” He moaned as soon as he sobered up. He grasped my hand and placed it on his chest. “Right here is my heart… It might not beat like yours but the feelings we contain are the same. So go ahead and punch me until I’m covered in bruises.”

All of a sudden, my hand started to jitter that he had to squeeze it harder.

“I don’t want to.” I stammered.

Maybe my hatred toward him was beyond the level but even such a thing I didn’t find myself doing. Yes, I did imagine stabbing him several times, yet I didn’t have the heart to actually do it.

And I hate myself for it.

Laito smirked, his flirty demeanor on full display. “Fear is only keeping you caged not allowing you to achieve what you truly desire, bitch-chan. I know what you always think about me and I simply want to avail you.” Still holding my hand, he hit his chest with firm force. I gasped. “Hit me, bitch-chan… Show me how much you love me.”

My eyes looked around us in terror, searching for an easy escape. However, that only made Laito furious and the next thing I knew was him slapping me across the face.

The flesh immediately started to burn up and I went still.

Laito clicked his tongue and his grip around my hand loosened.

“What a disappointment.” He muttered. Not giving me another look, he retreated, and getting off my bed, he stalked toward the door.

Once the sharp noise of the door shutting close illuminated the room, I was finally able to drown in my emotions.

“Bitch-chan, I believe the chances of you facing anorexia are higher than anemia.”

All of us had gathered later that day at the monthly dinner, eating like normal people. Or better, pretending to be normal. But as Laito forced me to take Kanato’s seat, cold sweat drenched my skin. My stomach tightened and the need to vomit my insides was strong.

I wasn’t an actress. I couldn’t feign that term of innocence.

The moment he left my bedroom, I pushed myself from the bed and closed myself into the bathroom. As the patters of the cold water of the shower hit my skin, my memory from the previous night was turning bit by bit more vivid.

I couldn’t face myself in the mirror once I remembered.

I was too embarrassed.

A wave of laughter sounded far away from my rumination, slowly bringing me back to reality. Turning my head, I followed the sound.

Laito was smiling at me, enjoying my miserable state. We were sitting side by side — him putting plenty of food on my plate and me blankly staring at him.

I believed that he sensed that slowly my sanity was fading away, now replaced with something darker. However, he didn’t show it. Perhaps he wanted to see me losing my mind.

“Oi Chichinashi. If you think we are going to let you die consider it impossible. Your blood is too precious to be wasted for something so stupid.” Ayato rasped. He was sitting beside his twin, pointing at me with a knife. When he didn’t get my response, he focused back on his steak.

He cut a piece and ate it with a slice of the knife.

I chew on my lip.

“Now, now don’t be too harsh on Bitch-chan, brother.” Laito’s finger skimmed over my bottom lip, stopping me from biting down the flesh. Then his gaze shifted to the table and something gleamed in his features.

He outstretched his hand, grabbing a porcelain plate. Facing me once more, he gestured for me to take it. I hesitated.

On the porcelain plate were all kinds of macaroons. It had so many flavors to pick, yet nauseous is what my tongue tasted.

With a shake of my head, I faced my own plate. Instead of staying silent, I did what piqued my curiosity since the dinner started. “Why didn’t Kanato join us?”

Silence.

Reluctantly my eyes drifted to Laito, seeing his hands grabbing the edge of the plate tightly. He sighed and without answering he picked some macaroons and placed them on my own one.

It was odd for not Kanato to join us and the silence in the room made it even more unordinary.

I looked at Reiji waiting for a reply, only for him to ignore me.

“He won’t come.” Shu gave the answer that I was waiting for.

“Why-”

Subaru clicked his tongue. “Why? Are you serious? You should be happy that the fucker isn’t here.”

“My my, such sweet nothings to your own brother, Subaru.” Laito snapped back. His demeanor was still the usual, yet his muscles had stiffened.

It was clear that he was repressing himself from something.

His brother balled his fists and bared his teeth. “Don’t make me get started. You especially are what makes me feel disgusted. Sitting here with us like you have the right to.” His eyes danced to me. “It’s a shame that you still chose that Vampire over us. Even if one day you going to die in his hands.”

His words were so hurtful, yet so truthful.

I chose to be with Laito. I chose this path of life.

However, I still have the wish for him to genuinely love me. To develop equal feelings.

To be frank there is not a day that doesn’t pass without a thought of me dying under his palms. It assaults my brain every day and every second, only to leave me petrified right after. I cried plenty of times but my heart hadn’t given up. At least not yet.

Laito steeled his spine, turning his undivided attention toward his youngest brother. “As much as I love to see you playing the hero, I’m afraid that I need to interfere.”

Subaru’s jaw tics. “The fuck you-”

“While I’m taking pleasure in the affection you have for me, what about you Subaru?” Laito’s frame leaned in me, his fingers taking a lock of my blonde hair. “The way you express what you feel does really not stick to your character. Say, is it perhaps a way for you to steal my prey?”

My chest tightened upon hearing Laito identifying me as a “prey”.

His head turned in my way as if he sensed my sadness and slightly raising his hand he scented the blonde lock. Before my cheeks could heat up, his eyes drifted back to Subaru.

“There is no such thing for me to do that!” Subaru barked.

“No? Then why choose words that only make me the villain?” Laito grinned. “You think I didn’t notice the hard-on you got, at the spectacle that played in front of you? How you have adjusted your dick in your pants when you heard the muffle cries of Bitch-chan? Or when your eyes instead of watching out of the window as you should, you were looking at Bitch-chan’s unconscious body being fucked?”

At his words, my eyes rounded and my blood ran cold. In an instant, my eyes snapped to Subaru.

“I-is it the truth? You did such a thing?” I was holding my breath all the while, waiting for Subaru to defend himself and tell me that what Laito said was all lies.

But when I saw how his gaze avoided me, it was all of me to understand that it was indeed the truth. Suddenly the world around me started to spin that I had to grasp Laito’s bicep to restrain myself from collapsing.

I wasn’t ready to face the reality that neither of them was actually a good person. That neither of them cared about me.

Even if I decide to take my life away one day, they won’t care.

I won’t be grieved.

I am alone.

“Uh, seeing your face creasing with sadness and fear is really my appeal.” Laito chuckled letting go of the strand. His lips skimmed over the shell of my ear, causing me to cringe. “But don’t let such misery capture the inside of your soul… You will lose yourself before you can acknowledge it.”

My body retreated from him. “…I hate you.”

Laito arched a brow, amusement dancing in his eyes. “You can convince yourself all you want, but your body acts differently.”

Staring at him horrified, my nails sunk into my sweaty palms.

He tilted his head to the side, eyes falling to the gap between my legs. “Does the pain still plague you? If so let me help you with that…”

Before his hand could come my way, I withdrew my arm only to slap him across the face. The sound of a flesh being hit illuminated the room but I was far from concerned.

Feeling my eardrums pumping with hot blood, my eyes welled up in tears. “I won’t brook such a deviant behavior anymore! Your warped mind makes me sick to the core.”

Biting my tongue to suppress a sob, I pushed the chair with my feet to stand up. May I be punished for dismissing myself, I won’t stay close to the person who dares to humiliate me. Not anymore.

But as I was about to leave, Laito mirrored my steps ready to follow me.

My spine steeled in alarm.

His large steps closed our proximity, a lost gaze lingering in his eyes. Before one of us could react, someone suddenly appeared behind Laito, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“Go,” Reiji said without batting an eye at my figure.

And I listened.

Without looking back, I hurriedly step out of the room.

Once the door closed behind me, I did what my heart told me to do.

I ran.

Chapter Four | Drown to the Pleasure

(Recommended Song: Lie by Park Jimin)

"Allow me to be lost in your Labyrinth and discover the mysteries that lie within you. To engulf what I seem to have taken away. Don't withdraw from me, don't be afraid of me. Embrace my comfort, in exchange for your love. Teach me the things I didn't grow up to live and feel... Yui stay by my side." - Laito Sakamaki

The soft wind was soughing among the trees and the gloomy clouds slowly dissipated, revealing the full moon.

A spectacle so rare. So extraordinary.

The sound of footfalls erupted in the solitary night, a shadow appearing in the rosy garden. Every rose bloomed as if the moon was their source of light. Their remedy for eternity.

The shadow transformed into a Vampire, a devilish aura swallowing the garden. Taking the form of a red-haired boy and pale skin as snow, the eyes that it possessed roamed to the roses.

In his opinion, every color holds a story, a memory. But the one he always going to choose is dark red. The red that reminds him of the girl’s blood that printed to his mind. Like an ink, speared to the flesh.

At the thought, his hand stretched across the most beautiful red rose and his thin fingers encircled the stem. Just the image of the girl’s figure reappearing in his vision, he tightened his grip until the smell of blood bloomed in his nostrils.

The unforgiving thorns speared his skin, a loving pain overwhelming him.

His eyes trailed to his hand, watching his blood running down his palm, now reaching the hem of his sleeve.

He smiled.

The emotions that erupted in his system were something he resented. Every feeling and every thought were about that girl that he was afraid that he was losing his mind.

Love doesn’t exist.

This is what he always said to himself. Such feelings were long gone and out of his dictionary. That word was something he never dared to look for, never to feel once more.

There was a time he did and the world around him collapsed before giving him the time to fix it. To fix him.

Yet somehow that girl dared to prove him differently. And he didn’t like it.

Every time he tried to destroy her beneath his palms, she became stronger. Every time he posed fake feelings, to lure her into his trap, she would show him that he didn’t have to. She was telling him with just her bodily actions that whatever he inflicted on her, she would gladly take it.

Because she had fallen in love.

Maybe the fear restrains her from admitting it but he knows it.

He’s fully aware, yet the hatred only blooms like the roses in the garden. He wanted to corrupt her soul. To make her his own plaything.

Otherwise, he will fall into the rabbit hole where no return exists.

Letting go of the rose, its petals hit the dirt ground and he retreated.

Tipping up his chin, his emerald eyes fixated on the open balcony where light was spilling in. Curtains dancing with the breeze, a frame came on full display.

His breath hitched.

The very so girl that possessed his mind was in there, her naked flesh on full display for him to see. She was standing in the full mirror, her tired eyes observing her weak figure.

The bite marks that were printed on her flesh were long gone. Only because he allowed so. The day that his tongue tasted every inch of her, was a medicine to the pain he caused.

As an apology from him for being cruel to her.

Because he made her cry, instead of making her laugh. For making her recoil at his every touch instead of making her adore them.

Only to mess it up in the end.

The way her fierce eyes were piercing him, ignited something within him. For the first time, he felt remorse. But the moment he stood up, the apology on the tip of his tongue had been swallowed just because his older brother stopped him.

Everyone had the idea of him harming her. And deep down he was scared that if his brother hadn’t ceased him that day on the table, the girl wouldn’t stand in her room right now.

Instead, her lifeless body would lay beside the woman he once loved. The same one he killed a long time ago.

“Yui…” Her name slipped from his lips.

As if the young girl heard her name, her head instinctively turned to where he stood.

Her trembling eyes looked past the depths of the darkness, searching for the invader. The way her lips parted, eyes widening the Vampire understood that she couldn’t make out his figure. Though, she sensed it was him who was watching her. She could feel him.

The Vampire waited for her to step away — to close the doors of the balcony and disappear from his eyesight, not expecting that she would act differently.

Even if her eyes couldn’t meet him, for her to read his every thought, she turned her body fully to his way. Hands placed on the center of her chest she remained still.

His brows furrowed, his gaze falling between her legs without any permission given. That day he tasted her, her sweet nectar dripping from his tongue, was like arising into heaven.

She was pure bliss that when he pulled away only frustration is what he got as an aftertaste.

At the memory, the center of his trousers tightened and a groan rumbled in his chest.

She was bad news.

From her side, her head tilted her breath becoming uneven. She expected something from him… Something that he couldn’t give.

Soon, her gaze lowered to the ground a sad expression creasing her beautiful face. Never returning her attention back to him, her footfalls fell behind, slowly disappearing in her room.

Turning off the light, her bedroom was now in total darkness.

May the Vampire hesitated to act while she was awake, he waited patiently for the sleep to take her over. Only then he would be able to do what his dead heart was begging him for.

Sensing her heart beating calmly, it was all for him to appear on her balcony. The doors still open, his silent footfalls stepped into the room, his eyes shifting to her bed.

In a trice, he inhaled a sharp breath, his jaw locking.

Her naked body was on full display, the covers not even reaching her ankles. Leaving herself in such a vulnerable position, made the Vampire fight the sick urges that invaded his mind.

Oh, how the fantasy of him piercing his fangs and tasting her sweet blood occurred to his mind. His hand seizing her throat, feeling the quick heartbeat of her heart as he pounds himself deep inside her… Her innocent eyes begging for mercy. The fantasy of her hitting him and scratching him until blood oozes from his pale skin.

Heat gathered on his cheeks and closed his eyes to restrain himself from achieving what he truly desired. Instead, he shifted his focus on the last words that escaped from these quivering lips of hers.

“I won’t brook such a deviant behavior anymore! Your warped mind makes me sick to the core.”

Such hurtful words. Yet they made him feel at peace.

He wished with all his might, for her to hate him. To resent him to the point she can’t even stare at him. For her to finally prove his assumption… That love doesn’t exist.

Because only lust is what both felt.

The crestfallen expression she makes every time he disappoints her by his actions is a façade. A mask to confuse him to the point that it drives him mad. She doesn’t love him; only carnal crave it is.

A quick pleasure to lose yourself from the feelings that drowned you.

Tipping his fedora hat down, he made his way in her direction.

The opportunity to take her life away was readily given to his hands. Within a matter of time, he could wrap his hands around her neck and end what kept plaguing his mind.

The feelings that he contained for her weren’t real. To him, she is only an entertainment to his boredom.

Once the satisfaction he receives from her ebbs away, he would throw her away like the rest of his past lovers.

That’s what he promised himself when they first met each other.

But the months passed and she still was living in their Manor. Only his promise seemed far from the finishing line, making it harder for him to act as his usual self.

When he brings her pain, his dead heart begs him to refrain. The constant fights he has within himself are multiple. It drives him mad.

She drives him mad.

But as he rounds the bed, his face leaning dangerously close to her own, every thought in his mind seemed to melt away. His muscles relaxed, now looking in awe at how peacefully she slept.

The tiny heart that hung from a chain around her neck was resting in the valley of her breasts, moving with her every shallow breath. With no thought, his pale finger grazed the tiny metal only to draw it away right after.

The vision of when he raped her, hit his vision and he snarled. His every brother didn’t dare to look at him only Kanato. If feelings didn’t lie within his dead heart, Laito would spare Kanato’s life.

But he didn’t.

As soon as her eyelids fell closed — his lust no longer potent as before — he lunged at his brother. Anger was pumping in his system like a lethal flame ready to turn everything into ash just because Kanato enjoyed the pain Laito brought to the only girl he owned. Laito was ready to gouge his brother’s eyes out, to make him blind for the rest of his eternity and he almost succeeded.

If only Ayato didn’t stand in his way. Just when his Vampire nails sunk into Kanato’s cheekbones, a punch was delivered right on his jaw. The only damage he accomplished was ripping the skin off, blood streaming out of the open wound.

That’s why Kanato didn’t appear on the table that day. He knew better than to stay locked in his bedroom and far away from Laito. Because then, no one would be an obstacle in Laito’s way.

He would kill his own brother. And everyone else who would dare to lay a single finger on his girl or see her in her most vulnerable moments.

Even Subaru.

At the thought of his name, Laito’s eyes narrowed into slits, his fists balling into fists.

Whatever words Laito spat were to deceive Yui from believing that fucker. Subaru didn’t watch her punishment, on the contrary, he took care of her. Scooping her slacked body into his arms as if she were the most precious thing in the world— adjusting her clothes to hide the damage.

He held her so tightly in his embrace, his eyes boring holes into Laito’s face. At that moment Laito understood that whatever connection was between them was no longer there.

It had faded only to be replaced with hatred.

Too bad Yui was owned by his big brother and not him. At the end of the events, he had to give her back in Laito’s arms, even if it pained him.

Subaru couldn’t show that he had developed feelings for that little girl. Both of them knew that Laito would use it one day against him so that’s why he didn’t dare to defend himself on the table.

Subaru was afraid of losing her. Because Yui would choose Laito no matter what. So, if Subaru tried to defend himself, Laito would harm Yui.

And that is when Subaru won’t be able to do anything… He doesn’t want to live with the guilt of not being able to save her, so he had let Laito win that day.

The sound of a whimper snapped him out of his rumination and he stared down at Yui’s sleeping form. Her body was shivering from the cold breeze that Laito clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“How could you leave your body in such a state, Bitch-chan?” He pondered and grazed her bare arm. “Calling me sick when is you who wants me to ravish you. You want me to ruin you.”

Once again, his sick urges haunted his mind, and the smirk that curved his lips soon faded.

He wouldn’t allow his body to be lured by his mind… At least not for now.

Finding the blanket that rested far from her bare feet, he covered her freezing body, and skimming his lips over her forehead he placed a gentle kiss.

“May I be the one whom you dream of tonight.” He paused forcing himself to pull away. “Goodnight...”

Yui.

Chapter Five | Withered Heart

(Recommended Song: Trash by Korn)

"Until when do your broken promises turn into promises of brimful verity? Until when would you see the sober thought of my love for you? You are my dearest, my beloved, my everything... I am tearing my insides and I am offering them to your merciless hands. My soul is owned by you, my love. Yet you demand more than I have. More than I can give. My heart slowly becomes like yours. Rotten. Corrupted and unwanted. I ponder dear... Will you still hold onto me, even if I escape you?" - Yui Komori

Chaos within the heart, peace lingering in the mind.

Like a heavy storm, tearing nature in half only to solace her with a colorful beam after — its beauty to hide the damage that had been created.

Peering down at the rosy garden the merciful wind was tearing the petals of the beautiful roses. Its strong flow raised them in the air, giving them a transient dance only to abandon them right after.

Hands touching the balustrade of the balcony, I leaned dangerously close peering down at the ground. I slowly stood on my tiptoes to welcome the wind and as golden strands slapped my cheeks, I begged for my own dance.

To make me twirl and arch my back with every movement until I’m forgotten, the darkness to loom behind my closed eyelids.

Just as it was drawing me into it, wanting to pull me into its embrace, a sudden movement moved at the corner of my eye, oozing away that sensation. The longing to end what torments me.

A wave of terror chills run down my spine and I clutch the edge of my nightgown, goosebumps erupting in my pores. But it wasn’t because of the coldness that marrows me to the bone.

It was the situation I found myself entrapped into. Yearning for my end — to finally escape what seems to rack me.

The ambiance was eerily similar to the first time I was sent here to the Manor — the man who wooed me physically, captivating my attention, and leering me deeper into the dark. How the haunted memory of giving my body for him to ruin and steal something I wanted to hold to the one I truly love.

I recalled the first time I felt true pain, my feet luring me back to where I’m standing right now. Though then, I wasn’t alone.

I can still feel his cold hands encircling my waist, taunting me with words that ending my life will free myself from whatever lurks in my mind. That I will find the only thing, I can’t seek from the place I was forever trapped.

Peace.

In a trice, a light tore the dark sky in half, its sound stealing a gasp from the depths of my chest. Tipping my chin up, I stared at how the clouds slowly hid the bright moon, knowing that a storm was about to come.

My feet retreated and my head turned to the shadow that snapped me out of my rumination.

Light purple hair in a figure was standing far away in the garden, his back facing me and obscuring his facial expression from my eyesight. Yet, I didn’t have to see him to recognize who it was.

Frozen on my feet I watched Kanato plucking roses that were unharmed from the wind, his other hand clutching his teddy bear in a tight hug.

Curiosity piqued me as to why he was there. As long as I can remember Kanato hated to be in that environment. He claimed that bad memories plagued his head.

As if he could hear my thoughts, the movement on his hand froze, his body swiveling in the direction of mine. Before he could see me, I quickly withdrew into my bedroom, hiding my presence behind the thick curtains.

I didn’t want him to see me. The night he enjoyed what pained me the most, after that, I just couldn’t be near him. Resentment isn’t something I feel toward him, only scared of what he plans on doing to me.

The memory was still potent in my mind when I finally saw him after my incident. How big the scars were under his eyes, Laito’s nails forever ruining his flawless face. Because of the damage Laito had done, the dark circles underneath Kanato’s eyelids weren’t visible anymore.

Now I’m more scared to stand in the same room with him, knowing what would come from him will be ten times worse than death.

Waiting patiently to make an appearance, I peer into the long garden from where I was hidden, finding him gone. But as I made a step outside, a pain in my heart cut my airflow, suddenly not being able to breathe.

It was as if someone squeezed my throat, a knife spearing my heart.

Follow him…Follow him… Follow him.

Like ringing bells, a woman was whispering in my ear, commanding me to follow Kanato’s heels.

Wanting to refuse, my feet disobeyed me either way. Still the pain plaguing my heart, like a puppet being controlled by its master, my footfalls reached the hallway and descended the Manor’s grandiose staircase, until I was standing in the middle of the rose garden.

It was too quiet.

So quiet that chills skated up and down my spine, sensing that something was completely foreboding.

The stark wind teased the hem of my nightgown, my bare soles touching the pebbles and withered petals of the garden. I was lost — another thunderclap ripping the night sky in half.

With the force of the wind, my body was coerced to move forward — past the entrance gates and driveway. As I was dragged farther and deeper into the dark forest, the fog bit by bit enveloped the Manor and out of my line of sight.

My heart was hammering against my ribcage, yet my muscles refused to obey me. It was as if someone took me by the hand, leading me to an unknown destination.

“Yui?”

In a trice, the woman’s voice faded away along with the pain within my heart, leaving me with the fear of being alone with someone I tried for so long to stay away from.

Kanato was standing a few feet away, his eerily eyes staring deep into my soul as if he was searching for answers that I refuse to tell. Teddy was in his tight embrace and the roses he previously plucked were in his other hand, fisting them until blood was dripping down on the dirt.

I cringed.

“I asked you a question, Dolly. And I expect an answer.” He said in a clipped tone.

Licking the bottom of my lip, I replied honestly. “…I don’t know.”

I could feel his burning gaze, lingering on my inappropriate outfit, an unreadable expression creasing his features. It seemed that he believed me, yet I knew he wouldn’t spare me the time to go back and hide.

“Come. I want to show you something.”

Without waiting for my answer, he whirled around, his footfalls departing in the dark forest. Not wanting to be alone in a place I never got to explore, my heels spread their pace, trying to catch up to Kanato.

“What is this place?” I asked hesitantly, stroking my bare arms as the coldness rattled me to the bone.

Kanato scoffed at the front. “Are you perhaps blind? A graveyard of course.”

A tune was rumbling in his chest as he marched to a specific tomb. Kneeling before it, he left the roses and silence stretched across the dreary place.

Putting some space between us, my eyes drifted to the dry blood on his palm and the hem of his sleeve. Even if the piercing wounds had healed, it didn’t prevent me from shivering at the sight.

The tune he hummed soon ended, and he heaved a sigh. “Do you know who was buried in here?”

“No.”

“It was my Mother.” Turning his head, our gazes clashed together.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said softly. And I meant it.

However, Kanato’s eyes thinned and rose to his feet. He squeezed his Teddy even tighter and clicked his tongue in irritation.

“Sorry? For what?” He barked and I flinched. “You didn’t even know her.”

Despite the fear, I tried to pose calm. “But it was your Mother. I know what feels like to lose a parent.”

He scoffed before breaking into laughter. Tears were brimming in his eyes, the sound he made reminding me of hyenas.

“You do, don’t you?” He breathed and whirled to stare at the tomb. “But I didn’t lose her, Dolly… I burnt her while she was still alive. God, just the memory does bring me the chills.”

In a trice, Kanato kicked the stone, and a scream of anger slipped his lips, causing me to recoil. He kicked it again and again and as he seemed to be in pure pain he used his fists in exchange.

“FUCKING CUNT!” He bellowed. “I had finally got rid of you, only for you to return back to me! Fuck, are you obsessed with me or something? As if tormenting your children for years wasn’t enough!”

He growled as his body was trembling in utter madness.

Suddenly a thunderclap loomed in the night sky, its loud noise causing my ears to ring. I yelp and as I covered my ears at the terrific noise, the heavy rain I long waited for, finally began.

“Kanato-” I shouted over the rain.

Even if questions lingered in my mind as to why he resented such a person as his Mother, we had to return back to Manor. It was too dangerous to stay here and frankly, I wanted to stay far away from him.

But when I tried to reach him — to jerk him back to his senses — an unwelcomed pain shot through my heart.

Badoom.

Placing my hands on the center of my breasts, I tried to calm my breathing, only to hurt even more. Shambling a few steps ahead, my knees gave me up and I collapsed in the wet mud.

I tried to blink and not let myself lose consciousness when I saw two pairs of shoes standing in front of my face. I gasped a breath, trying to reach out to him.

What is this pain, why am I feeling this way?

“K-Kanato…”

He outstretched his hands, pushing my body until I was lying on my back. At that, the patterns of the heavy rain were piercing me like knives, my nightgown clinging to my naked flesh like second skin.

I shut my eyes closed when I felt his hips straddling me — the hardness of his erection poking my flat stomach. Bile rose in my throat, knowing that I couldn’t escape him.

Badoom.

“P-please…” A sob escaped from my parted lips.

But as I tried to squirm from beneath him, his thumb stroked my damped cheek, his hot breath fanning the shell of my ear.

“Shhh… Watching you suffer in pain makes you as beautiful as a Doll.” Fisting a fistful of my hair, he leaned in to smell them and sighed as if he was in heaven. “God, the desire of me strangling you to death and then creating you in something better can make me almost climax.”

Parting his lips, he darted his tongue out and licking the base of my neck, his hips rolled against my stomach. Even if I gagged, terrified by his eerily demeanor that didn’t cease his hunger. In fact, that made him push my limits further.

“Hell, you smell like her, yet I can’t refrain.” Piercing the flesh of my neck with his fangs, I choked in a scream. He pulled back to whisper. “Haah… Even taste like her.”

As his lips skimmed down my throat, he pushed my nightgown down, his tongue lapping the swell of my breast, sucking and nibbling not caring if that destroyed me mentally. I wanted to push him away and scuffle off but I was paralyzed.

I was like… A doll.

“Yui...” Kanato moaned my name. “Isn’t this what you like? To be pleasured until you are lost in your high?”

Leaving my nipple with a pop, his face hovered over mine. When he saw tears running down my already wet cheeks, he frowned.

“Come on don’t cry. I bet when Laito forced his way in you, your body secretly was craving for it. Isn’t that right?”

As the rain drenched us both — like a whoosh of the wind, the pain melted away and I gasped for a big breath. Without missing the opportunity, I gathered whatever saliva remained in my mouth and spat it in his face.

Before he could react, my hand reached to a nearby rock, and grabbing it I hit the side of his head. Hard.

Kanato groaned, his body falling right beside me.

I didn’t wait.

Once his weight left from above me, I hurriedly scrambled to my feet, already bolting to where we came from. His hysteric laugh boomed alongside the trees as my bare feet were pumping against the mud. And I swear I could feel the vibrations coursing through my body.

Never once did I look behind my back.

Numb.

This is what I felt.

Nothing was undulating within me. Like an empty box that had been treasured with significant possessions only for them to be snatched away against their will.

My mind was blank. Yet somehow, my body seemed to know where it was guiding me. Trusting it, I was too exhausted to dissent.

Wet footprints were I leaving behind my heels, the needles of the rain resuming outside from the open doors of the Manor. As I was sashaying the stairs, I found myself halting by the melody of an instrument.

The kind of melody that each time I hear, a frisson of overwhelming emotions floods my system. Swiveling to the side, I was now face-to-face with the door — the only thing blocking the reveal I craved to see.

Without a delay, my sweaty palm hovered over the knob, and twisting it, I pushed myself inside.

As the door fell close behind me, my eyes drifted to where the melody was coming from and froze, transfixed to the display in front of me.

At the far corner was Laito — his figure behind a dark piano. As his long thin fingers touched with such passion the ivory keys, his posture moved along with the outcome tune. His eyelids were closed, putting all his trust in his hands. Sweat was glistening on his forehead, his brows lining into a knob of crossness and fury.

The melody he dared to summon had such fervor and vehemence as if it was a love song for a past lover that was now long gone. His posture leaned close to the instrument, dipping his head, leading to red strands of hair falling on his eyes and blocking my access to seeing the emotions that were drawn in his features.

The only thing I could admire was the enchanting melody. Though, it made me curious as to whom that song was written for. It was full of love — yet his fingers thrusted into the lowest keys, creating a darker tune, mixing the melody between love and hate.

It was like this past relationship was twisting in a knob of happiness, just to be untied with brutality.

In a trice, warmness skated over my freezing body, the need to be close to him, potent. I wanted to wrap my hands around his shoulders, my lips to kiss his cold neck. To share the emotions that looked like they tortured him.

For once, I wanted to be his partner…

Not his prey. Not his puppet. Not his plaything.

Nothing.

But before I’m allowed to close our proximity, his fingers slipped from the keys, a single wrong note ruining the bubble of my thoughts in an instant.

“I must admit that the nerves you have are something to be admired.” Not turning his head in my direction, he continued. “Tell me… Was my brother’s comfort that great?”

Finally, he faced me, his emerald eyes pinning me down. He didn’t wear his fedora hat, his long hair swaying with the breeze from the open window after him. It took me long, to realize that the curtains were drawn, welcoming the angry patters of the rain inside the big room.

I was so amazed by the melody. So lost by the magic he can muster.

My numb fingers grazed the two holes in the side of my neck, feeling the scab beneath my touch.

It isn’t what it seems! I begged to be freed! I didn’t want this!

A scream inside me wanted to say those words out loud, yet all I did was stand there observing him. For once, a strange expression was curved in his features, and suddenly I was inclined to find out the cause.

He looked as if he was in pure malady. As if his soul was fighting against the dark past.

Laito seemed to read my thoughts, clicking his tongue in vexation as a response. With a blink of an eye, he was in front of me, his hand snaking around my throat.

“Quit looking at me with such disappointment!” He snarled, his face inches away from mine. “Hooking up with another man, just to run back to my embrace. Like a fragile little girl… Not having someone to depend on!”

Even if his hand converted into my new necklace, he didn’t fetter my airflow. Since my flight or fight mode didn’t kick in, my forefingers met his cold cheek, caressing his skin — my own tears spilling free.

I didn’t know why.

It just felt right.

To shed tears for someone that it wasn’t me.

Because if it wasn’t love. It sure was a bond. A bond that both of our strings entangled created feelings that my old self wasn’t even aware that they existed.

Right now, he didn’t see me.

The one he was grasping was the one who turned him the way he was.

His past lover.

“Kiss me,” I whispered.

Kiss me until I swallow that sorrowful grimace of yours. Kiss me until you can only see me. Not her. Kiss me to the point we forget the world around us. Until the very source of light and sound fades away.

Just kiss me…

My forefinger brushed his bottom lip, tugging at it — my own lips parting in anticipation.

For a while his eyes fell closed, leaning to my touch, his hand around my neck growing slack. Inside his head, he was fighting battles, yet his body was closing our proximity bit by bit. In the end, his hard chest had collided with mine.

His body was so cold, but I wasn’t sad because I couldn’t feel his heat… On the contrary, I was happy that for once my own form was cold too.

We had a common. I felt closer to him.

“Laito…” I begged.

Shaking his head once, the next he pulled away — the atmosphere we created shredding into a million pieces. My chest tightened, the rejection hitting harder than I had predicted.

Turning his back to me, he walked back to the piano. “Go.” He cut me off.

“I didn’t kiss him.” I reasoned.

“I know.”

“I wouldn’t give him my body.”

“…I know.”

“Even then you were in my mind,” I said this time more falteringly.

It was the truth.

The night he had visited me secretly it was all for me to brim full of hope. Every time I was distracted by other things, it was him who would pop into my head randomly.

Because while he had the chance to kill me… He didn’t.

Observing how his fingers kissed the milky keys, I chewed my bottom lip harshly until the taste of coppery was heavily on my tongue. It was something to distract me from the desire to run up to him and beg until I humiliated myself.

Of course, he didn’t respond.

His forefingers played the first notes, the aura of the melody haunting my ears and back to my ideation of what troubled his dead heart.

I remained still waiting for him to end his play and to look at me. I didn’t move from my spot not even when my teeth started to jitter. Not even when my toes and my fingers turned blue from the cold. Not even when my every limb had become numb to the point I couldn’t move them anymore.

I just waited patiently for him to meet my eyes — for once to acknowledge my presence and see that I was not an object.

Something to prove to myself that deep down… He cared.

Yet…

He didn’t once.