Page 67 of Heart of a Villain

“You promised in-flight entertainment,” he reminded her, returning to the house.

She sang, making sure he heard and understood each lyric. At that moment, it felt like she could do everything for him. Through the lyrics, she could try to connect with the feeling she would never understand—to go a decade thinking that he wasn’t walking around somewhere the way he’d had to do with her.

Once she was done, he didn’t say a word.

They both remained silent as they reached the house and entered to find a few lamps turned on, most likely courtesy of Wren.

At the top of the stairs, they parted ways.

After getting cleaned up, she climbed into bed. When Adrían’s silhouette appeared in the doorway, she released a breath it felt as if she’d been holding since that last moment she saw him in Morocco.

He climbed in and lay on his side.

She faced him and raised a hand to the side of his face. Still, without words, she understood what he didn’t say, what he didn’t ask.

So, she sang again, the same song.

She would sing it as many times as she needed to for him to learn the lyrics. When it came to broken Sayeda, this was the most she could do to emote, to communicate what remained numb inside her. Yet, despite the numbness, she knew.

She still loved him.

She would never stop loving him.

His eyes closed, and she paused to kiss his forehead before picking up where she left off.

Somehow, she knew she would wake up in darkness. Somehow, she knew the space next to her would be empty.

But it wasn’t cold.

The darkness tried to keep her in its clutches, but whenever she saw her apartment, she shoved away the image. Adrían was somewhere in the room, she knew. The last blackout had been storm-related, but this one was deliberate. He was testing her. He was trying to see what she could do and how much she could manage.

“Come at me,” she said.

Tonight was different from that night. Tonight, she could see nothing. There was no lightning to provide spots of illumination.

A hand closed around her ankle and dragged her to the bottom edge of the bed. Instinct forced her to go still, and when he released, she remained at the end of the mattress, frozen.

“Querida—”

“Again.”

“You’re sure?”

“Again.”

He flipped her onto her stomach.

Still, her limbs remained frozen.

“Sayeda…”

“Keep going.”

“We can do this another ti?—”

“Keep fucking going.”

She had to be scared, to allow her body to do what came naturally.

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