Chapter 94 Chapter 94
“If you don’t agree, I’ll take your friends’ lives, and then we’re even.”
She flinched, hating the icy tone of his voice. He sounded cunning, sinister, just like one would imagine a demon to speak. She didn’t understand at all how he could change so much within five minutes. Hadn’t they just now joked around and had fun? And now he was blackmailing her in such a heartless way that she wanted to cry. What was he thinking? Did she mean nothing to him?
The agony in her heart grew and consumed her, making it harder to breathe. Despair rose in her mind. He couldn’t be serious.
“Answer me.” he yelled when she failed to reply.
“Hey, don’t threaten her.” Yosef cut in.
“Stay out of this.” Maxwell snapped, light exploding around his clenched fists. He was livid as he stared the angel down, who visibly flinched.
“Maxwell,” she whispered, her voice quaking. He sent her a dark look that made her uneasy. “Just tell me why. Tell me why you want to do this.”
He clicked his tongue, annoyed at her. “I’ve been waiting to get rid of it for months; you can’t expect me to change my mind now.”
“But…”
“But what?” he hissed. “What is it?”
She almost choked, trying hard to hold in a sob. His harsh words stung. “I… thought we… we were getting along well and… didn’t you say yesterday that… you wouldn’t leave me?”
“Don’t be silly. You should know how much I despise humans. Why would I want to stay with you? This has been going on for long enough—I want to go back to hell and not be chained down to a human,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You are a burden to me; don’t you realize that?”
Her eyes widened, and her tears spilled over. The agony within her heart was unbearable; he felt it, was aware of it, but didn’t flinch nor show any acknowledgment of the pain his words caused her. His gaze was ice-cold, nailing her down and petrifying her.
Had she been wrong all this time in thinking that he liked her? She knew full well that she loved this man, that she would do anything for him. He, on the other hand, seemed to hold no such feelings for her, even though he had kissed her a hundred times. How could she have been so wrong about him?
Valerie knew that a weak human could never compare to a demon, and being called a burden by him hurt. It made her hate herself. She was weighing him down, standing in the way of his happiness, and even though she didn’t want to part ways with him, she didn’t want to deny him happiness either. She didn’t wish to be a burden any longer.
“Fine, we’re going to break the bond,” Valerie whispered desperately and wiped her teary eyes with her sleeves. They were red from crying. Yosef and Ashton watched her worriedly, both understanding that she wasn’t ready for it despite her words. They shared a glance, neither of them knowing how they could have saved the situation.
“Let’s go outside for this,” Yosef suggested reluctantly. He had made a mistake when he’d offered his help, that much was plain to see, and it pained him. After meeting them and speaking to both of them, he had a strong suspicion that the creation of their bond in such an unusual way had been divine intervention.
Having seen a glimpse of the demon’s past, Yosef understood why Heaven would give him a second chance, even though it was rare for a demon to be granted such a thing.
He had no clue why he was hellbent on breaking the bond—it made no sense to Yosef. Something weird seemed to be going on with him, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Creatures from hell had always been peculiar to him. They were hard to understand, led by sinister emotions like hatred and rage.
Yosef, Valerie, and Maxwell walked outside in the garden behind the house, Ashton lingering a few steps away to watch them.
They stood in the middle of the garden, the angel throwing them both a serious look. “Removing your bond will take one or two minutes. Once it has started, I can’t stop. If it’s not removed correctly, you both might die; you can’t interfere. Are you really sure you want to go through with it?” Yosef asked again.
“Do it,” Maxwell snapped impatiently, losing his temper with the angel's reluctance.
“Go ahead,” Valerie breathed barely audibly. She couldn’t bear to look at Maxwell anymore; she might break out into tears once more… and she didn’t want to show weakness in front of him when he had no qualms about cutting her out of his life. Her whole body was trembling when Yosef gently took her wrist in his hand, resting his fingers on top of the gleaming star on her skin.
Soon, it would be gone forever. Valerie gazed at it sadly, trying to commit the sight to memory. It would undoubtedly be strange to see it gone since it had accompanied her for so long that she had gotten used to its constant presence.
A pure light lit up under Yosef’s fingers, engulfing her wrist with its soft glow. She felt a slight burn on her wrist that crawled up to her chest and her heart. The light brightened, blinding her with its intensity. Yosef’s grip got tighter when she moved away a little bit, and she reminded herself that she couldn’t back out. This had to happen now.
When she heard a strangled scream next to her, she snapped her head around to see Maxwell hunch over with agony. He flinched away from the pure light as it burned him. It seemed to cause him great pain, but he didn’t complain and endured it without a word. Oddly, Valerie didn’t feel a thing of his pain, which meant that the bond was already dissolved.