Page 87 of My Dark Divine

So I struggle to understand why he’s so composed now. Even when I did everything right, he always managed to sound irritated and angry with me. But right now? He seems eerily calm.

“I want to show you something,” he says. When his hand slips from my shoulder, I take a deep breath, suddenly aware of how starved for oxygen I’ve been. “Come with me.”

Confused, I quickly turn off the music player and scramble up, knowing Dad isn’t the most patient person, and I don’t want to test him—especially not when he’s being so nice. He opens the door, revealing a corridor shrouded in darkness. Did he walk through the house with the lights off?

A prickle of fear slices through me, and unease coils in the pit of my stomach like tiny snakes wriggling inside. My knees feel weak as sweat begins to bead on my forehead. With eachstep I take, my unease intensifies, reaching a crescendo as I realize he’s leading me straight to the basement.

Something is very, very wrong. Still, I don’t stop following him; I don’t want to make things worse than they already are. Deep down, though, a nagging feeling tells me that it can’t be worse than whatever is about to come.

He presses his palm against the door and swings it open, revealing a brightly lit basement. The harsh light makes me squint, its intensity piercing through my swollen eyelids. It takes a moment for me to register that there are other people in the room. A violent scream erupts, and I don’t need to look to know who it is.

Amelia.

Instinct kicks in, and I try to nudge Dad with my shoulder as I storm past him, but one of the guards blocks my path. His hand slams into my shoulder, pushing me back and nearly sending me sprawling to the floor.

“West!” Amelia shrieks, desperately wriggling against the bonds that tie her wrists and ankles. “What is happening? Why are you doing this?”

“Please, just let us go! We didn’t do anything!” a boy beside her cries out, breaking into tears a second later. A wave of recognition sweeps over me in an instant. It’s Julian, her brother.

What the fuck is going on?

“What is this?” I demand, my voice trembling amid the chaotic screams erupting from both of them. “What the fuck is this, Dad?!”

“See, Julian,” he begins, unbothered by the turmoil around us. He ignores me, focusing instead on her brother. “You’re right. You didn’t do anything. Neither you nor Amelia.” Then, he turns to me, his dead eyes locking onto mine. “But my sondid. I waited for him to come to his senses and stop disobeying me, but he was selfish. Now, he must pay.”

A million questions race through my mind. First, how did he find out I’m still seeing Amelia when I was so careful? Second, why would he fabricate this whole scenario? And third, what does he intend for me to do? Countless dark possibilities surge through my thoughts, each worse than the last. I can’t bear to believe what I suspect.

It can’t be real. It just fucking can’t.

“I feel generous tonight,” Dad says, grabbing a knife from the table. Their screams grow louder as they struggle against their bonds. “So I’m going to give you a choice. Your girlfriend’s life,” he taunts, handing the knife to one of the guards. “Or her brother’s life.”

The guard steps closer, forcing the knife handle into my palm. Dad doesn’t trust me to take it from him, fearing I might act on impulse and stab him instead. And he’s right; if he wasn’t careful, I would’ve stabbed him in the heart before the guards pulled me back.

He’s clever. Even his choice of weapon—a knife instead of a gun—shows that he’s prepared for this. He knows I’d fucking shoot him if I had the chance, even with the risk of his dogs snapping my neck right after it.

“Dad, please, don’t make me do this,” I whisper, my vision blurring with tears that threaten to spill over. I know he’ll beat me later for crying like a baby, but at this moment, I don’t care. All I want is for him to stop, to change his mind. “Please, I’ll never speak to her again. Just let her go. I’m begging you.”

The muscle under his eye twitches as he bows his head in disappointment. “You have a chance to let her go, West. Choose, or I’ll kill both of them.”

A sob wracks my body as I glance back at Amelia, her eyes wide with fear and betrayal. Pleas and cries for help spill fromher lips, but I can’t process them through the fog of despair that envelops me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

My hands tremble violently, and I grip the knife tighter, terrified it might slip from my fingers. This is all my fault. I couldn’t resist being part of Amelia’s life, knowing full well what I am and the life I lead. I was aware that my choices would have consequences, yet I barged into her world anyway.

Selfish. I’m so fucking selfish and stupid.

“I’m so sorry, Amelia,” I croak, stepping toward Julian while keeping my gaze locked on her. “I’m so, so fucking sorry for this.”

Dad knew I would choose her life over her brother’s. I don’t understand how he plans to cover this up, but I realize he’s orchestrated this entire situation perfectly. He’s always had connections and the ability to wriggle out of trouble. He’s become invincible over the years. Unbelievable as it is, he’s at the top now, with the whole city under his thumb. From cops to local politicians, he’s got them all. Like some fucking supervillain, he’ll leave this mess with clean hands.

What he wants is for me to carry this burden. Killing both of them wouldn’t give him the satisfaction he craves. But for me to live with the knowledge that I harmed someone I love, while she’s out there, hating me and unable to get the help she needs—that’s a victory for him. It’s the perfect punishment, one that will feed his sick soul for a long time.

“West, please, don’t do this,” she begs, and a sharp, internal ache blooms in my chest, as if something is ripping me open. “West, I love you. I love you, do you hear me?”

She repeats it several more times, and a hot, coiling rage rises in my throat, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. She doesn’t love me. She laughed when I confessed my feelings, and now she’s saying this out of pity.

The moment this is over, she’ll call me a psychopath and walk away, pointing a finger at me, screaming for me to never come near her again. Tonight, I’m losing her forever.

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