Chapter 95 02: Let’s Make It Pleasurable
A MONTH LATER.
\[Looking back now, I should have left. But I didn't. And I paid with my life.\]
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“Don’t run, fool!” Toby's voice ripped through the hallway behind me, sharp and amused. “You’ll only bleed out faster. What’s the fun in that?”
I didn’t listen.
My bare feet dragged across the polished marble floor, leaving streaks of red behind me. My legs trembled so violently that each step felt like it might be the last one I could take.
My hand slammed against the wall for balance.
Cold stone.
Slippery with my own blood.
I sucked in a ragged breath.
The arrow buried in my stomach burned like a rod of fire shoved beneath my ribs. Every movement forced the shaft to grind deeper inside me.
“Ahh—!” The sound tore out of my throat before I could stop it.
My fingers clutched around the arrow protruding from my belly, but the moment I touched it a fresh wave of agony exploded through my body.
“Careful,” Toby called out behind me with a chuckle. “You pull that out and you’ll die even faster.”
His footsteps echoed through the vast hallway.
Slow.
Leisurely.
Each step deliberate.
Like a hunter strolling behind wounded prey.
I turned my head over my shoulder.
My vision swam, but I could still see him clearly enough.
Toby stood at the far end of the corridor, tall and relaxed, the crossbow resting casually across his shoulder. His dark hair was slightly messy, his suit still perfectly neat.
And the smile on his face—
God.
It was the smile of a man enjoying the best moment of his life.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he said softly, almost affectionately. “You can do better than that.”
My chest heaved.
I forced my legs forward again.
Step.
Step.
Step.
My white gown— the one I had worn tonight for our engagement celebration— clung to my skin, completely soaked in blood.
“You die today,” Toby called after me.
His footsteps echoed closer.
“Let’s make it pleasurable.”