Chapter 55 Fifty five
Mira’s heart pounded so hard it hurt.
He knew.
He had known from the very beginning.
Every conversation. Every question. Every lie.
Every time she thought she was getting closer to the truth… He had already been ten steps ahead.
Her throat tightened.
“If…” she whispered, struggling to find her voice, “if you knew who I was…”
She swallowed. “ Why did you let me stay?”
Salvatore didn’t answer immediately.
He simply watched her. Then the corner of his mouth lifted into a slow smile.
“At first?” He let out a quiet laugh. “It was entertaining.”
Mira stared at him.
“You were so convinced you were fooling me, darling.”
He leaned back against the wall, folding his arms.
“You’d sneak around the house when you thought everyone was asleep.”
“You’d ask questions without making it obvious that you were snooping around. You’d write things down when you thought no one was looking.”
Another amused laugh escaped him.
“And every night you’d go back to your room believing you were getting closer to exposing me.
His eyes locked onto hers. “It was fun to watch. I wanted to see how long you could keep up the charade.”
Mira hand clenched on her dress tightly. “ You were toying with me?”
“I was watching you.” Salvatore corrected” It's not the same thing.”
Her chest tightened. “So every moment…”
“Yes.” he said softly, his eyes still on her
She swallowed hard trying to calm the anger burning. “Every conversation…”
“Yes.”
“Even till we had …”She paused, her voice shaking
“I already knew exactly who you were.”
Mira felt sick. “You creep… You manipulated me.”
“Oh darlings that a big word.. I observed.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It is to me.”
She shook her head, struggling to make sense of everything.
Slowly, she looked up and met his gaze, fighting the tears burning behind her eyes. Her stomach churned with disgust. The thought that she’d let him touch her made her want to crawl out of her own skin.
“You know what’s funny?” Her voice trembled despite her efforts to steady it. “I can’t decide what disgusts me more… what you’ve done, or the fact that you enjoy it.”
Salvatore’s jaw tightened.
Mira wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.
“I can’t stay here for one more second.” She swallowed hard, refusing to look away. “I can't… Even the devil would be ashamed of you. You don’t deserve to be called human.”
She turned and headed for the door.
Behind her, Salvatore laughed. A low, eerie laugh that echoed through the room and sent a warning crawling down her spine.
“You can’t leave.” he said still resting on the wall, watching her
She froze. “What?”
“You can’t leave, Mira.” His voice was way too calm “Have you forgotten? You belong to me now… and I have no intention of letting you go.”
Her heart hammered against her ribs. “I don't belong to you and you can't stop me”
His smile slowly returned. “Don’t try me.” His voice stopped her before she reached the handle.
“You can walk out of this room. But you can't walk out of my life.”
She froze. Slowly, she looked back at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means exactly what you think it means.”
Fear settled deep in her chest. “You can’t keep me here.”
I can.” His dark eyes locked onto hers. “And I will.”
“No…” Her voice trembled. “You can’t.”
He let out a quiet sigh, almost as if she were testing his patience.
“Mira.” His tone remained unnervingly calm. “So far, I’ve been patient.”
He pushed himself off the wall and walked toward her. Instinctively, she backed away until her shoulders hit the door. There was nowhere left to go.
He stopped only an arm’s length away.
“If you leave this house…” His gaze never wavered.
“They die.”
Mira’s face went white. “…What?”
“Every single person you care about.” He leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “Your coworkers. Your friends. Anyone foolish enough to matter to you.”
His eyes never left hers. “I’ll find them.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “You’re threatening me.”
“No, darling.” He tilted his head slightly. “I’m making sure you understand the consequences.”
Her lips trembled. “You’d kill innocent people?”
“If that’s what it takes to keep you with me…”
He took one final step, leaving barely any space between them. “…then yes.”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice.
“I would burn this world to ash before I let you walk away from me.”
Mira could only stare at him. The horror in her eyes told him she finally understood.
This wasn’t an empty threat…. He meant every word.
A sick feeling twisted in her stomach.
“You…” Her voice barely came out. “ You’re the kind of evil that should never have existed.”
Salvatore’s lips curved into the faintest smile.
“I’ve been called worse, darling and I don't care..”
“You’re…” She shook her head, tears spilling freely down her cheeks. “You’re a monster. A parasite.” Her voice broke. “You should never have been born.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“You’re sick.”
The words struck him. His jaw clenched.
A muscle ticked in his cheek before he let out a bitter, humorless laugh.
“You and my mother would’ve gotten along.”
Mira frowned.
He held her gaze, his expression unreadable.
“She used to say the same thing.” His voice was quiet, almost detached. “‘You should’ve died before you were born.’”
A flicker of something dark crossed his face before it disappeared just as quickly.
“So congratulations.”His smile returned, cold and empty. “You’re not the first person to wish I’d never existed.”
Mira searched his face for something—anything—that resembled guilt.
She found nothing.
“You’d destroy innocent lives just to keep me?”
“If that’s what it costs.”
“You’d ruin your life .”
His eyes softened, almost affectionately. “It's already ruined “
Her stomach twisted.
Her mind drifted back to the very first day she’d stepped into this house.
She’d been so sure she could handle him.
So sure she was smarter than whatever game he was playing.
God, she’d been a fool.
Every lie. Every act of kindness. Every carefully planned encounter. None of it had been random.
While she’d been trying to understand him…
He’d been building a cage. One she hadn’t even realized she’d been walking into.
A broken sob escaped her lips. “I hate you.”
His expression didn’t change. “I don’t care.”
“I’ll never forgive you.” she say softly, her voice almost like a silent plea
“I don’t care about that either.”
“I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to escape you.”
His jaw tightened. A slow smile spread across his face. “I don’t mind a good challenge.”
He lifted a hand, intending to brush a damp strand of hair away from her face.
Mira recoiled so violently that her back slammed against the door.
“Don’t touch me.”
His hand stopped in midair. For a moment, he simply looked at her. Then, without a word, he lowered it. “I’ll give you tonight.”
Her brows knitted together. “What?”
“You’ve had a difficult day.”
His voice was maddeningly gentle.
“Go to your room. Cry if you need to. Scream. Break something if it makes you feel better.” He stepped aside, clearing the path to the door. “But tomorrow…”
His eyes locked onto hers. “…you’ll accept your new reality.”
She stared at him as though he’d completely lost his mind. “I’ll never accept this.”
He smiled. “We’ll see.”
For several long seconds, neither of them moved.
Then Mira threw the door open and stumbled into the hallway, desperate to put as much distance between herself and the room as possible.
She didn’t look back.
She couldn’t.
Because she knew… If she did… He would still be standing there.
Watching her. Smiling.
Certain that, sooner or later… She would come to understand the terrifying truth.
As far as Salvatore was concerned… there was no way she could escape him