Page 101 of Darkest Deception

And everything will be fine. The same.

The steps get closer.

My hands tremble in my lap.

When I lift my head, he’s right in front of me.

“Kill me,” I whisper into the darkness of my room, hoping the monsters in it hear me and make my wish come true. “Just kill me, please. Rid me of this mess,” I continue.

He falters. Instead of the usual smirk, there is a twisted expression on his face.

“Little sin.” His nickname doesn’t even compare to the one Helia gave me.

Is it wrong to wish he would miss me when I’m gone?

A laugh trickles out of me.

“My enemy, my tormentor, gave me a nickname, too. Emerald. He calls me emerald because I always wear a piece of that colour every day. It’s also his favourite.” I sniffle, lifting my eyes to his figure.

“I think… I wish he—” I swallow, my throat closing up on me, not allowing the words to come out of me.

He takes one last step into my space.

“Why are you here? Why are you always here in my most vulnerable moments? What is it you find fascinating?”

He tilts his head, similar to how Helia does.

“Why are you always here?!” I shout.

Without thinking, I go to grab his hood, but my hand meets air.

I blink.

He’s gone.

It was… a hallucination. It wasn’t real.

Why do I keep seeing Helia everywhere?

He keeps running through my mind. He keeps showing up, even in my dreams. In my nightmares.

He is in every aspect of my life.

In my fear, in my happiness, in my curiosity, and has even become a crucial part of my journey to become better.

He is even in my hope.

A hope for something.

I’m finding it with the wrong man. I know I am.

But I can’t help but think that I should tell him. The truth about Aurora. About me.

Is it because I want my stupid feelings to be reciprocated?

Is it because I want to feel something before I destroy this too?

I stand in front of the house made of glass and black marble, peering up at the home that looks exactly like Helia.

---