Chapter 99: Flaring up

Hazel clenched her teeth and forced the thought away.

Seeing that she didn’t reply, Damien’s gaze shifted towards the food tray on the stool nearby and something close to warmth flashed in his eyes.

“You brought me lunch?” He asked softly, stepping closer towards her.

Hazel cleared her throat and nodded, “Yes, I figured you would be hungry. I went to your study chamber but realized that you were busy, so I brought it here instead.”

This will be your last meal, Damien.

Damien smiled to himself, “What, is this another reward from yesterday? But I would prefer it if it was the same reward. Still, having you bring me lunch isn’t so bad.”

Hazel said nothing and just watched him.

That was when Damien realized that something was wrong. The Hazel he knew would have retorted to him and a rosy hue would have appeared on her cheeks.

But she did not react at all, her face remained emotionless.

So, he was compelled to ask, “Hazel, is everything alright?”

Hazel forced a smile, trying to act all calm and natural, “What, don’t I look alright? I’m perfectly fine.” She said, but Damien didn’t think so.

Yet, since she refused to say anything, he knew he could not force her, so he nodded.

Without much thought, he sat down before the stool and took the spoon before dipping it into the soup.

But just as he was about to lift it to his mouth…

“Wait!” He was stopped by Hazel’s voice.

Damien raised his head with a frown, feeling that there was something off about Hazel.

When his movement stopped after her voice, Hazel hated how she heaved in relief.

She loathed herself at that moment, but she could not do it.

She could not watch Damien die in front of her.

She could not bear it. It felt as though her heart was on the verge of getting ripped apart, as though her heart was no longer hers.

Hazel almost broke down at that moment.

It was all Damien’s fault.

He killed everyone and yet, he made her incapable of killing him in return.

Damien was about to ask what was wrong when he saw the tears in Hazel’s eyes and his eyes turned cold.

These days, he has realized and come to terms that what he hated to see the most was Hazel's tears. She can only cry with pleasure or joy, not with other emotions like sadness.

It makes his heart ache.

He stood up and slowly approached her.

“Hazel, what happened?” He asked her, holding her wrist, but she jerked his hold away.

“It’s all your fault! You are behind everything that has ever gone wrong!” Hazel finally broke down, her tears falling in large drops and her hateful gaze fixated on Damien.

Damien didn’t say anything and allowed her to continue.

“You killed everyone! You killed everyone I know, and you won’t even allow me to see my people you imprisoned. You’ve killed them, right? You killed them and you didn’t want me to know because you want to continue using me, right? You want to force me to a point of no return and discard me, isn’t it? Isn’t that what you had in plan?” The last statement was uttered with a scream.

But Damien remained unresponsive and merely stared at her.

“Where did you bury them? I bet you didn’t give them a proper burial, right? Did you throw them into the wilderness for the wild animals to feed on their corpses?” She asked, sobbing loudly.

She raised her hands and began punching his chest.

“How can you be so cruel? Don’t you have a heart? They are fellow people like you, how can you kill them just like that? You promised to let them go if I did what you wanted, I did so and yet, you still went ahead to kill them. Why? Can’t you bear to see me happy just for once? Can’t you be kind for once in your entire life? Taking me to the market square, was it a ploy to make me lose guard around you? Was it intentional?”

Her screams were the only sound that could be heard in the room.

Hazel could not take it any longer.

After bottling in so much for weeks, she finally erupted.

She wanted to kill Damien, the beast she hated the most, but found out that she could not, who in her position wouldn’t break down?

She was helpless and at the same time, desperate.

What could she do?

Damien said nothing, but you could see the emotions swirling in his eyes like a storm.

He glanced at Hazel for a few seconds, then he grabbed her wrist and began dragging her out of the chamber.

Hazel struggled, but could not break free.

“Let go! Let me go! Where are you taking me? Do you want to kill me now that your plans have been exposed? Do you want to kill me the way you killed everyone else? Let go of me!”

Damien did not listen to her and merely dragged her across the corridors no matter how much she struggled.

Hazel yelled, her voice attracting the maids and guards who were around, but Damien’s aura did not allow them to come forward.

A single look from him was enough to have them rushing away, not daring to interfere in whatever was going on.

Hazel regretted it, she should have allowed him to eat that poisoned food.

She didn’t even know where she was being dragged to until the scenery changed. She found herself in a place that seemed like a dungeon.

Does he want to imprison her before killing her?

Hazel seethed in rage, her body trembling with the fury that burned her veins.

When Damien suddenly let go of her, she raised her hand and hit him hard across the cheek.

“How…”

Before she could speak, an oddly familiar voice entered her ears.

“Young miss? Is that you?”

Hazel froze.

H…Hannah?