Page 98 of The Dark Obsession

Peering up at him with glassy eyes, I see how much it took to confess these thoughts out loud.

This feels different that all those times he claimed me as his. Maybe because there’s a different implication in his words, one that means more than merely staking his ownership over me.

“You’re not meant to be confined like this. And I hate being another person in your life who’s not letting you bloom, little blossom.” He rasps, overwhelming me with emotion at the new nickname.

“No matter how much I like having you safely tucked away, I’ll end this soon.”

“How?” I breathe.

“By announcing your death.”

My heart drops, right before it starts violently hammering in my ribcage, panic gripping me in its clutches.

“Malory, look at me!” Tyson cups my cheeks, his voice barely breaking through to me.

“What have I promised you the first night?”

Fighting the anxious haze clouding my mind, I’m hardly able to remember our earliest exchange. Until his first words, spoken in the darkness of my former home finally dawn on me.

“T-that I’m safe with you.” I stammer, relief flooding my veins as I see the truth reflected in his eyes.

“Exactly. And I meant every fucking word.” Our lips connect in a brief, gentle kiss.

“If nothing else, you can trust that.” His deep gaze offers me a glimpse of his unwavering devotion to me, diminishing all my earlier worries.

“It will by my final blow. By letting your father believe he failed you, lost you for good, it will torture him more than simple death.” Tyson’s sharp features contort as he goes on.

“Once they’ll stop looking for you, broken by their futile efforts, we’ll get you a new identity. You’ll finally be free, little one.”

Free.

Such a foreign concept, living without limitations and ridiculous rules of society.

I’m not entirely sure what do with it.

It’s wasn’t just because of my parent’s restrictions that I’ve always preferred living a quiet life.

Most people make me inherently anxious, and I’ve only ever allowed a select few to get close. In the quality over quantity kind of way.

And somehow Tyson has managed to fall right into that category.He has dominated it.

For the rest of my life, I’d be more than content just sitting out on that balcony with Nero, painting the beautiful views with Tyson’s strong arms wrapped all around me.

It doesn’t seem like much but the simple happiness I felt in that moment, it was so much more than I thought I could ever have in the first place.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is that I don’t really know what to do with all this. Or what I would want for our future.

“Are you saying that I’d be free to do anything? Except for returning to my family, obviously.”

His jaw flexes as he nods slowly, making it clear that there’s no discussion to be had about his decision on the matter.

That’s fair enough.

Regardless of how much he’s been doting on me, Tyson wouldn’t let anything get between him and the execution of his vengeance.

I’d never ask that of him.

“Where do you fit into this scenario of freedom?” I voice the one thing that has remained unanswered for too long.

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