Page 32 of Ink Deep Devotion

“Nothing? A splinter is nothing until the pain persists.” God, he’s so hurt, and I know I’m to blame for that.“Don’t do this. Let’s just talk.” I don’t want to run into your arms, but I also don’t want to be kicked as I fall at your feet.

“You think you affect me, that one day I will want to pluck you out of my flesh?” He is so cold his words induce frostbite so deep I know I will have to cut away the parts of me he just destroyed. There is no saving them, they would only turn the rest of me toxic.

He boils over as he leans closer to me.“I’ve been shot, stabbed, beaten, tortured. Your little thorns attached to rose-petal lips mean nothing. I don't feel them as I step on them, on you, Mila. You are nothing; your feelings mean nothing because they are as interchangeable as batteries in an outdated machine that hungers for more. You run to others for comfort. You can run to another again. I’m warning you, don’t embarrass me.”

Each word erects an iron wall in my mind, caging me. It’s my worst fear come true. Forever trapped in this life with someone who doesn’t see me. I’d take his hate over this. I just want to be seen and heard.

“Why don’t you just help me escape, then? Marry who you want.” I whisper as I swipe away burning tears, wishing I didn’t give him a choice. The idea of him marrying someone else is unfathomable.

“Because you’re too much fun to play with, Mila. Just because I can’t stand the sight of you doesn’t mean I will let you go and live your merry life.” He walks to the door, ready to leave me bleeding out on the floor.

“I’d rather fuck a man who can voice his love for me than sleep with one who is too cowardly, too,” I shout. My bravery stuns both him and me. He grips the handle with so much pressure that I’m sure it has molded into his hand.

I wait, hoping to hear his fury. One deep breath has his back widening. He swings the door open and leaves me feeling more dead than I ever have felt before.

Chapter 11

Dash

I fought so hard to stay alive, to come back to her. Faced death so many times I lost count; each time I was on the verge, it was Mila’s face bathed in a heavy light that blinded me. She dragged me back and forced me to live, only to kill me herself.

I knew she would be broken; that’s how I left her.

It was for her own good.

I couldn’t offer her hope because the probability of my death was too great. I had fixed her before, and I planned on doing it again. Until Dante told me what she had been up to.

She fucked around.

Fucked another.

Gave another man her moans and cries, her tears of pleasure.

I shouldn’t care. I should be happy.

I should make her suffer.

It had been years since I saw her; she had aged only to grow more devastatingly beautiful. She took my breath away with pleasure. Inflicting more pain, like she always did.

When I left her, she had transformed into a stronger and more resilient individual. I hoped she remained that person, the woman she was always meant to be, but she slipped into her old routine again. The ballerina, the performer.

The perfect fuck doll.

I could see it slowly killing her again. Her skin was pale from the suffocation of her life. I planned on breathing life back into her. Now, I’ll just sit back and watch her struggle to live a miserable life glued to my side.

Her observation was accurate. I am disgusted with myself. I fell for her even though I had vowed never to love again. I was a fucking fool that should have realized in the end, everyone and everything dies. Mom did, and soon, I’d choke out my feelings for the sly little fox.

When I look at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes are drawn to my chest. With my palm raised, I search for my heartbeat, but my inner emptiness makes it impossible to feel anything.

Bam! Glass shatters.

It’s only when I feel the warm blood dripping down my palm that I realize I’ve broken the mirror. I am transforming into the creature my brothers were afraid I would evolve into.

A few days ago.

“We were gone, Dash. Don’t hold that against her.” Dante has the audacity to order me. It doesn’t help that I feel the eyes of all my brothers watching me. The downside of having a large family is that everyone is too involved in my affairs instead of focusing on their own.

We’re all free, having passed the final test. If you can, consider the ordeal they subjected us to as a test.

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