Chapter 127 Please Take Me Away
"You're going to finish all of that. And if you leave even a bite, I swear…"
Bianca raised her arm, shaking her fist in mock threat.
The gesture had zero intimidation factor. If anything, it looked like flirtation.
Terrence caught her hand and pressed his cool lips against the inside of her wrist.
Bianca flinched slightly but didn't pull away. Her other hand swatted playfully at his chest. "Stop it. That tickles."
Only when she laughed did Terrence release her, drawing her into his arms instead.
Bianca settled against his chest, a warm sweetness blooming inside her.
"Terrence, I want to have a baby with you. A real home. It doesn't have to be fancy—just you and me—that's all it takes to make it perfect.
"I'll put a plant in that corner. And over there, I'll set up…"
Her voice was soft and steady, as if time itself had slowed, leaving only the two of them in the world.
Terrence listened in silence, the corner of his mouth lifting in a gentle curve, his eyes filled with quiet hope for the future. He ran his hand through her soft hair and murmured his response.
"Okay."
The next day.
The man in the mirror wore black from head to toe—sharp, somber, perfectly composed.
His expression was flat. Unreadable.
Behind him, the rumpled bed was empty.
The silver watch on his wrist ticked steadily, each second a precise beat against his pulse.
He glanced down. Time was moving. He reached for his coat without thinking.
Something metallic clattered to the floor. He paused mid-step, then took one step back.
A pen. Ordinary. Unremarkable.
Except it had no business being in his apartment.
Terrence bent down and picked it up, turning it over in his hand.
In the stillness, the ticking of his watch seemed louder. Insistent. He closed his fingers around the pen and left.
At the dark wood table, he sat with his legs crossed, idly rolling the pen between his fingers. His expression was casual, but his brow was drawn tight, weighed down by something he couldn't shake.
He'd been trying to remember when the pen had ended up in his pocket.
He tossed it onto the desk, ready to forget about it—until a sound emerged from deep inside the barrel. His hand froze. His entire body went still.
It wasn't a pen. It was a recording device.
"Samuel, please take me away. Let's run. I don't want to marry Terrence. I've met him—he's a monster. He kills people without blinking."
The terrified voice poured into his ears, impossible to ignore.
The veins on the back of his hand bulged. His composure cracked.
"Don't be afraid, Bianca. I won't let Terrence hurt you. Come with me. We'll go somewhere no one knows us. We'll be together forever."
"I promise, Samuel. Please, just get me out of here. I can't stand the thought of seeing that devil again. Just looking at him makes me sick. If I stay with him, I'll die."
The desperate, pleading voice cut into him like a blade.
His emotions surged violently, beyond his control. His nails bit into his palms, leaving crescent marks. His chest felt like it was being chewed apart by tiny, relentless teeth.
His breathing came fast and shallow. Grief crashed over him in waves, dragging him under.
The light in his eyes dimmed, swallowed by fog.
The doorbell rang.
Bianca stood in the doorway wearing a cream-colored knit dress, her hair loosely pinned back to expose the delicate line of her neck. Her face was flushed from the cool night air.
There was exhaustion in her eyes.
When she saw Terrence sitting on the couch, her expression brightened. She crossed the room like she always did.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" Her voice was soft, affectionate in that tired, familiar way. She reached out to touch his face.
Terrence's body went rigid. He jerked back instinctively.
They were close enough that he saw it clearly—the way her hand froze mid-air, the light in her eyes snuffed out like a candle in the wind.
Her hand hovered for a few seconds before she slowly pulled it back, fingers curling inward, falling to her side.
The air felt suffocating. Terrence's hand, resting on the couch, clenched into a fist. His chest felt hollowed out, the pain spreading through his entire body, pinning him in place.
"Terrence…" Bianca's voice was barely a whisper, her eyes full of confusion and hurt.
She bit down on her lip hard enough to drain the color from it.
His heart pounded violently. Terrence kept his face impassive, his voice cold and distant.
"I have work to do."
Bianca stared at him like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She searched his eyes for something—anything—but found nothing. Nothing but still water.
She reached out to hold him.
His body was ice-cold. The chill seeped into her, making her tremble from head to toe. Even her heart shook.
A broad hand closed around her wrist, stopping her.
"I said I have work. Go back to your room."
The coldness in his tone was final. Bianca's heart clenched painfully, like it was being crushed in a fist.
She opened her mouth but couldn't find any words.
Finally, she let her hand drop. Her head lowered. Anger and grief churned inside her, battering against her composure.
"Fine."
Her voice turned cold too, quiet but cutting. It pierced him like ice, carving fresh cracks into his already shattered heart.
In class.
Bianca's eyes were vacant. She'd stared at the equations on the board a hundred times and still couldn't make sense of them.
Last night played on a loop in her mind, trapping her like a nightmare.
She didn't even hear the bell ring. Her gaze stayed fixed on the empty podium.
"Bianca! Bianca!"
The urgent voice jolted her back. She looked up to see Paxton braced against the doorframe, breathing hard.
"Jasmine—someone took her!"
Bianca snapped to attention, her voice sharp with alarm. "Who took her? Where is she?"
She rushed to Paxton's side.
"I—I'm not sure. After first period, some girl I've never seen before came up to her. I don't know what she said, but Jasmine just… left with her. She didn't come back for second period.
"I thought maybe she went to find you, so I came straight here."
Paxton's breathing evened out, but worry was written all over her face.
Bianca's brow furrowed deeper, tension knotting between her eyes.
"She doesn't have any other friends here except you and me. Who the hell would she go with?"