Chapter 86: Sealed Fates

The terraces of each floor of the hotel were closed due to construction purposes, and that

was where she came—to the balcony of the 5th floor. There was no one, only the starry sky

above her head. There was no railing on the edges of the terrace, making it easy for

someone to fall. It was an ideal suicide spot for anyone.

Suddenly, the door burst open from where she came, revealing him, and she began to take

hurried steps away from him.

"I don't want to marry you!" she cried out. "I don't want to marry you!" She took a few steps

away from him. "Please. Let me go. Why.... can't you leave me?" Her tone held a plead.

"I don't want to marry you. Please try to understand. Please," she continued, her tone

hysterical. Her eyes detected the end of the large, curved balcony before darting behind her.

He began to take slow steps towards her.

Flashback ends

She drew in a sharp breath, fading in and out of consciousness. Through the window, she

could see the darkness of the night, the starry sky. She wondered how the world could be so

peaceful while her life had no peace. She had been writhing in pain since she met him. She

had begun to desire a drop of freedom the day he came into her life. She was clueless about

how to escape now. She had attempted an escape, and now she lay on a hospital bed with

broken bones. She had nowhere to go. And suddenly, she wished she could become a star,

like the ones in the sky—unreachable, peaceful.

She wanted peace.

And at the same time, she wanted to be out of his reach.

Something told her only death could take her away from him.

It was 10. She wanted to sleep, but the thought that he would be coming wouldn’t let her.

Anxiousness had her hands clammy as she rubbed them against the sheet to clear the sweat.

With difficulty, she reached for the glass of water to chug the liquid down.

The beep-beep sound of the machines was maddening. She wanted to get rid of all the tubes

attached to her body. All the plasters and gauzes that covered her—from her legs to her

arms, ribs, and neck.

She wanted to walk and leave this room. For a moment, she thought she was hearing

screams—her own screams—in her ears while her eyes tried to detect patterns on the

spotless walls. She wanted to breathe freely, but only a limited amount of oxygen would go

in with every breath. Occasionally, she would suck in sharp breaths, creating a whistling

sound in the silent room where only the tick-tock of the clock could be heard.

In that silence, she heard a creaking sound. Every hair on her body stood up as the door

opened, and her eyes, like a bolt of lightning, moved towards it.

He stood there.

And a tear dropped from her eye.

...

Her fingers were intertwined with his as she pleaded with him, her eyes wide with shock.

She stood at the edge, on the verge of falling. The moment he released her hand would be

the moment she would die.

She tightened her grip, which he noticed.

"Were you not talking about killing yourself?" he asked, referencing her desperate hold.

"Please, please, pull me up." With terror dancing in her eyes, she pleaded. Her body shook

with tremors, and she couldn’t bring herself to look down at the ground so far below.

She was scared of heights.

"So now kill yourself," he said, about to release her hand. She shrieked, holding onto him

tightly for dear life.

"Ah! Please, no! No! Don't leave me!" Her heart thudded wildly in her chest. Placing one

hand under her waist, he pulled her up to him, their breaths mingling.

"Did I not tell you, Sheharzaad?" He tilted her head up. "Did I not tell you the only escape

from me is death?"

And with that, he snatched his hand back. Her eyes widened, her mouth hung open, and he

stepped back. She lost her balance and fell.

"If death comes, then you're free," he said.

But he forgot to mention whose death it would be—his or hers?

She fell into the pool, but the impact from the height broke her bones. Now, she understood

why he had cornered her to a certain area of the veranda and a specific floor of the hotel.

Even if she fell, the most she would endure was broken bones.

...

He sat beside her. She appeared calm but was trembling inside, in a complete state of panic.

She wanted to scoot away from him. No, she wanted to run away from him—but the

thought stopped halfway. The idea quickly evaporated as she looked down at her hands in

her lap.

No. I don’t want to run,she thought.

She didn’t think it would be so easy to entertain the thought of running away from him now.

He took her hand and removed the gauze, revealing her healing hand. Her ring finger, which

had now slightly healed, bore a ring of blood that had turned blue at the edges. She couldn’t

find it in herself to snatch her hand away; it only trembled in his grasp.

He placed a kiss on her hand, and she closed her eyes tightly—in loathing and contempt.

Then she felt a piece of metal encircle her finger. She opened her eyes quickly, only to

realize she was wearing the same ring she had thrown away.

"This is the consequence of throwing this ring away, Sheharzaad," he said. "Next time I find

your hand without this ring, I won’t hesitate to do something worse than this. Do you

understand me?"

She nodded quietly. "It won’t happen again."

"And I ask again— is your answer still a no?"

Quickly, her eyes darted to him, filled with fear. "No. I... I... I agree to marry you," she said.

She sealed her fate.