Chapter 10: Fractures
415 Words
The days blurred into nights.
Jade was called to Eliz's quarters again. And again. And again.
Each time, she tested him-her hands tracing his skin, her voice whispering taunts in his ear, her gaze peeling away every layer of his mask.
She was fascinated by him.
Not as a person. Not even as a doll.
But as an experiment.
Jade was breaking. He could feel it in the cracks forming inside him, in the way his breath hitched when she touched him, in the way his heart ached in ways it never had before.
Because it wasn't just fear anymore.
It was shame.
Shame that she was winning. Shame that every time he knelt at her feet, every time he whispered "I exist to serve you, Miss Eliz," a piece of him died.
Shame that he wanted something.
Something more than this.
Something more than her.
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The Watching Eyes
Mina saw the change first.
Jade no longer met her eyes when they crossed paths. His movements, once careful and deliberate, now felt hollow.
The spark she had seen in him-the thing that made him different-was dimming.
And that terrified her.
She had tried to speak to him, tried to reach him, but he avoided her at every turn.
That wasn't Jade.
That was what they wanted him to become.
Mina clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. She wouldn't let that happen.
She couldn't.
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Jade's Breaking Point
That night, when Jade was summoned again, something inside him snapped.
Eliz had grown bolder, touching him longer, whispering things he couldn't unhear.
And this time-she kissed him.
Her lips were soft, practiced, teasing. To her, it was a game. A test.
To Jade, it was a nightmare.
Because the moment it happened-
He felt nothing.
Not warmth. Not desire. Not even disgust.
Just emptiness.
And that was worse than anything.
He pulled away before he could stop himself.
Eliz blinked, surprised, then grinned like she had just uncovered a secret. "Oh, Jade," she purred, tilting his chin up. "You're really trying, aren't you?"
His breath was unsteady.
She leaned in again, her voice barely a whisper.
"What do you want, Jade?"
Jade's fingers curled into fists.
He wanted out.
He wanted freedom.
He wanted to burn this place to the ground.
But instead, he did what he was trained to do.
He dropped his gaze.
And he lied.
"I exist to serve you, Miss Eliz."
Eliz's smile deepened.
And just like that-she had won.
- Writer
