Chapter 32 Chapter 32

Chapter 32 Chapter 32
_Anya’s POV_

I stood alone in the middle of a huge field filled with white lilies. Endless white lilies stretched around me beneath a pale silver sky. Their petals moved softly with the wind and the sweet scent surrounded me completely.

The flowers were beautiful. More beautiful than any flowers I had ever seen before.

The field seemed endless and beyond it stood a dark forest filled with tall trees. Their shadows stretched across the ground quietly while the wind whispered through the branches.

For some reason, the place felt familiar.

I slowly walked through the flowers while my fingers brushed gently against the petals. The lilies glowed faintly beneath the moonlight.

Everything was so calm....so quiet.

I smiled softly to myself and bent slightly. I wanted to pluck one of the lilies. But before my fingers could touch the flower, a woman’s voice suddenly echoed across the field.

“No, child. Do not do that.”

I froze instantly.

The voice sounded soft but filled with fear. Slowly, I turned around. A woman stood several feet away from me near the edge of the forest.

It was her.

The same mysterious woman I had seen before in my dreams. She wore a long white dress that moved gently in the wind around her body. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders and her green eyes looked painfully sad as she stared at me.

And once again, the sight of her face made my chest tighten painfully because she looked exactly like me.

But this time, something was different. She looked much taller than me.

I frowned in confusion before looking down at myself. My breath stopped. My hands were tiny....so small....like a child’s hands.

I quickly touched my face and realized I was no longer grown. I was little again.

The woman’s expression softened painfully when she saw me staring at myself in confusion.

“Come to me, child,” she whispered.

Something inside my chest tightened. I took a step toward her....then another. But no matter how much I walked forward, the woman somehow seemed further away.

The distance between us never changed.

I frowned harder. “Wait…”

The woman lifted her hand toward me desperately. “Come quickly.”

I started walking faster through the lilies. But the field stretched endlessly beneath my feet while the woman continued drifting farther away from me.

“Please,” she begged softly. “You must listen to me this time.”

“This time?”

I did not understand what she meant.

Before I could ask another question, I suddenly felt someone take my hand from behind.

Warm fingers wrapped gently around mine.

“Anya,” a familiar voice said softly. “What are you doing?”

I turned immediately.

Jacob stood behind me.

I felt so relieved that I almost cried. “Jacob.”

But then I blinked in confusion. I was no longer small anymore.

I looked down at myself again and realized my body had changed back. I was grown now, almost the same height as Jacob. When I looked up at him, there was only a small difference between us. The child version of me had disappeared completely.

Jacob smiled softly while holding my hand. “Why are you standing out here alone?”

“I...” I looked around in confusion. “I do not know.”

Maya stirred uneasily inside me. Something feels wrong.

The woman near the forest suddenly looked horrified. “No!” she screamed desperately.

I flinched.

Her face twisted with panic as she reached toward me. “Stay away from him!”

I stared at her in shock. “What?”

“Do not touch him!” she cried.

Jacob’s hand tightened around mine gently.

“It is alright,” he murmured calmly. “She cannot harm you.”

The woman shook her head wildly. Tears filled her eyes.

“You do not understand!” she screamed. “He will destroy you!”

Fear crept slowly into my chest. “Why are you saying that?” I asked weakly.

But the woman only looked more desperate. “Run!” she cried. “Please run before it is too late!”

The wind suddenly changed. A cold gust rushed through the field violently and the lilies bent sharply beneath it.

I gasped softly.

The sky darkened rapidly above us. Clouds swallowed the silver moon until darkness spread across everything around me.

Then suddenly...

A red moon appeared overhead.

My breath caught in my throat.

The moon glowed dark crimson above the field and immediately the white lilies around me began changing.

Their petals slowly darkened. White turned gray. Gray turned black. The beautiful flowers rotted before my eyes.

“What is happening?” I whispered.

The wind became stronger. The trees around the forest started shaking violently while shadows moved between them.

Fear crawled slowly up my spine. I turned toward Jacob quickly and grabbed his arm.

“Jacob,” I whispered shakily. “I want to leave.”

He did not answer.

I frowned slightly and looked up at him. Then terror exploded through my body.

His face was changing.

Dark lines spread across his skin slowly like cracks. His handsome features twisted unnaturally while his skin turned pale and rotten before my eyes.

Wrinkles appeared across his face. His eyes darkened into empty shadows. I stumbled backward in horror.

“No…”

His lips stretched into something monstrous. Then pieces of skin started peeling away from his face. Blood appeared beneath it.

I screamed.

Jacob’s body twisted further until he barely looked human anymore. His flesh looked torn and bloody beneath the moonlight while his smile widened unnaturally.

“Anya,” he whispered.

But the voice that came from him no longer sounded like Jacob at all. It sounded twisted and unnatural. It was cold enough to make fear spread through my entire body. The sound of it felt wrong somehow, like death itself was speaking to me through his mouth.

Terror crashed into me instantly. I tried to back away from him. But the moment I moved, panic exploded inside my chest because my body refused to obey me. My feet would not move no matter how hard I tried.

I looked down and saw black roots bursting out of the ground beneath the dead lilies. They wrapped tightly around my ankles. I tried pulling free but the roots only tightened harder.

“Jacob!” I cried desperately.

The monstrous version of him stepped closer slowly.

The woman near the forest screamed louder and louder. “Run!”

“I cannot move!” I screamed back.

The roots climbed higher around my legs while the dead lilies surrounded me completely.

The red moon glowed brighter overhead.

Jacob’s ruined face moved closer toward mine.

Then suddenly....

Strong arms wrapped tightly around me. “It is alright,” someone whispered softly. “I am here.”

My eyes flew open. I gasped sharply and sat upright in bed. My entire body was shaking violently. For several seconds, I could not understand where I was.

Then I realized Jacob was holding me tightly against his chest. The room was dark except for the soft moonlight entering through the curtains. My breathing came out ragged and uneven.

“It was just a dream,” Jacob murmured softly while rubbing my back. “You are safe.”

I stared at him in shock. His face was normal. He was handsome. There were no wrinkles...no blood....no darkness.

Maya slowly calmed inside me. It was only a nightmare.

But my heart was still pounding painfully fast.

Jacob brushed his fingers gently through my hair. “You were crying in your sleep.”

“I...” My throat felt dry. “I had a strange dream.”

His expression softened immediately. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

I hesitated. Part of me wanted to. But another part felt strangely afraid.

“It did not make sense,” I whispered weakly.

Jacob pulled me closer against him. “Nightmares rarely do.”

I swallowed hard. “But it felt so real.”

His arms tightened protectively around me. “Nothing will hurt you while I am here.”

I nodded slowly. "I am so sorry. I disturbed your sleep."

Jacob gently kissed the top of my head. “You do not need to apologize for waking me.”

“I am sorry anyway.”

A small smile touched his lips. “Taking care of you is my responsibility now.”

Warmth spread through my chest despite the fear still lingering inside me. He held me quietly while my breathing slowly returned to normal.

Outside, the wind moved softly through the trees. Everything felt calm again.

But my mind kept returning to the dream. The field of lilies. The red moon. The woman screaming at me to run.

And worst of all...

The way Jacob’s face had changed into something terrifying.

Maya sounded uneasy now. That dream felt wrong.

“Yes,” I admitted silently.

Very wrong.

Jacob tilted my chin upward slightly. “What are you thinking about?”

I forced a small smile onto my face. “Nothing.”

His eyes searched mine carefully as if he did not fully believe me. Then he kissed my forehead softly again and pulled me back down against his chest.

“Try to sleep,” he murmured.

I closed my eyes slowly. But even while lying safely in Jacob’s arms...

I could still hear the woman’s terrified voice echoing inside my head.

Stay away from him.