I walked slowly through the empty corridors, my legs still weak, my mind a chaotic mess of emotions I couldn’t name. Damon’s words echoed endlessly in my head—You are a curse… You make me crazy… I wish I could feel nothing—each one cutting deep, yet carrying a strange, hidden weight that made my chest ache in a way fear never could. I didn’t understand him. I didn’t understand us. One moment he wanted me dead or gone, the next he claimed me as his, defended me, saved me, and looked at me as if I was both his greatest torment and his only salvation.
When I reached my room, I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, closing my eyes, breathing in the quiet air. I should hate him. I should be terrified of him. He was cruel, arrogant, dangerous, and he had made it his life’s mission to
