Page 95 of Paper Thin Love

“I know my worth.”

“Yet you bargain it so cheaply.”

“You were worth it.”

“You claim that now,” He replies with a hint of pain.

“I’m going to change your mind, Dash King.” His eyes close in pain as if the mention of his last name is fire to the flesh.“One day, you’ll run away with me.”

He offers a cold, mocking smile.“One day you will wake up and realize all your fantasies were just that—dreams, hopes, and aspirations that will never come true.”

“Maybe I won’t wake then.” I lay my cheek on his chest.“Maybe I can stay asleep and dream of you.”

Chapter 37

Mila

Death reeks; you can smell it from miles away, but you know what smells worse than decay?

Anticipation.

It’s a putrid mixture of sweet and sour. Dizzying and confusing.

It draws you in, tempting you, but its overwhelming allure also repulses you.

Anticipation clings to every inch of the school, silences the students and makes even whispers seem like treacherous actions.

Today is The Cleansing.

Today, my broken prince will either be a victor or…no, I can’t consider the other options.

I hate days like this, but this Cleansing feels much more dreadful because everyone knows Dash is fighting. The problem is Dash’s competition hasn’t come forward.

It’s bizarre.

The competitors are always known.

I haven’t asked Dash who he thinks he will fight. I don’t want to stress him. Dante and Cillian have been training with him every spare minute they have. I know it’s exhausting Dash. Every time he hits the mattress, he swiftly falls into slumber, making me question how many nights the man who stole my heart has slept, knowing his life may soon end.

Most people would stay awake because of that fact. I’m most people. I lay awake, watching the rise and fall of his chest.

It’s that exhaustion that has made me refrain from reaching for him, from kissing him awake and tempting him to take me again. I gave him my virginity, but now there has been this distance. As if he is preparing himself for death and the lack of my touch.

I still force myself into his room. We shower, but he doesn’t touch me. Instead, it’s me who fixes him, washes his body with soap, then dries him.

The roles have truly reversed. I never expected to fall in love with Dash when he approached me in the office.

That day, I learned a lesson. Love is the most dangerous emotion of all. It heals and destroys. It has no preconceived notions associated with it. It sees, and it takes. It wants, and then it claims.

Love is more powerful, more savage, and more destructive than any demon known to man. Love is more powerful than God Himself. After all, if God didn’t love the devil, He would just destroy him. But He can’t, because deep down, God loves what He created.

Tonight, the man I shared a bed with will be a completely different person. Ultimately, I only had Dash once. There is no telling who he will be after he wins the fight.But I will love him nonetheless.

“I’m coming to The Cleansing,” I blurt out.

Dante’s ever-watchful eyes catches a glimpse of me, making me straighten my spine. Cillian’s fork freezes in mid-air, his gaze filled with gentle concern, like an older brother I never had, trying to shield me from falling for a doomed soul.

These fucked up men have become my family.

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