Chapter 10 THE UNHOLY KEY (Demilia’s POV)
“Put it down, Demilia.”
The voice came deliberately, very cold and sharp, all trace of softeness erased. I froze as I clutched the photo in my trembling hands like it was my second skin. It was a messy photo of me on the auction night. My face was masked, my body humiliated.
Ethan stood by the door, not ready to move untill I obey his order. His expression wasn't showing he had any human sympathy left in him.
"You have seen more than enough."
My throat burned from anger. "Enough?" I whispered, almost losing my voice. "You call this enough for my to see?"
His gaze remained unreadable and also calm, too calm. "I can remember the instructions given to you. To stay far away from this room."
"But the part where my entire life has been a lie wasn't told to me!" I snapped. "You were present in that auction room that night, Ethan, or will you deny it?"
He didn't answer me. He didn't show any sign of doing so. He just shut the door and walked closer to me.
"Tell me nothing but the truth," I pressed, louder and more persistent. "Were you really the one behind the mask in the auction night?"
He stopped right in front of me, so close that his breath was fanning me, his eyes glued to me seductively. He was leje a broken man, shaking and desperate with longings.
"No, I don't know the night you are talking about. I never wire mask the night I bought you," he replied simply, his eyes saying more than his mouth had courage to say.
It was just one word, with no apology, neither did he hesitate. He didn't think it through.
I stumbled on my knees, completely weak because of his response. "You... bought me for yourself?"
He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists tightly. "It wasn't illegal, as I just paid for what was already mine."
I stared at him in disbelief, letting out a humorless laugh . "Yours? You paid money to own me, like I was just a property, and you still have the guts to refer me as yours?"
His eyes darkened, his expression suddenly turning grave. "You think I lacked human sympathy? That I did it for pleasure?"
"I don't fcking care why you opted to that!" I yelled, wailing loudly as I threw the photo at his chest. "You are inhuman, took everything from me without looking back. You took my freedom, and you didn't leave my dignity as well. I had the right to make choices, but you snatched such opportunity from me. And you actually want me to be patient and watch you justify your wrongdoings?"
”He caught the photo, preventing from touching the ground. Then he took a quick glance at it. "You cannot understand how deep this is, Demilia."
"I have all day. Why don't you make me understand?" I demanded. "I can never see you in another angle. All I see is a monster, committing atrocities and pretending to be the savior."
His voice dropped to my surprise, low and human, almost mistaken ad a confession. "Your brother would have still sold you, but this time, to someone even worse than myself. I only stepped in because I want to protect you."
"Did I hear protect me?" I scoffed. "Why then did you lock me up in your penthouse, deliberately restricting my movements? How is that protection?"
He sighed, obviously fed up. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, and I sensed he was doing that to distract himself from getting pissed off with me. "This photo was supposed to remain hidden forever. You were never meant to have sent it.'
"Maybe, you did a terrible job at hiding it." I spat with no reservations.
There was silence.
For a moment, he became human, his exterior mask fading off slowly. I saw the human nature in him, the guilt part, that acknowledged he did something bad. But it didn't last as he quickly regained his sharp voice back. "You are not so innocent as you claim to be, Demilia."
"What are you aiming at? What is that joke all about?"
"Your brother came to me to use you as a bait. You think I would never find out? The look of desperation when he came that night? How he begged me himself to agree to this deal?"
I shook my head, not ready to believe whatevs lie he was spilling from his mouth, my tears flowing uncontrollably even as I tried my best to withhold them back. "No. Stop lying through your teeth.'
"He came begging to take you instead," he continued. "Because if I don't, the men that he owed would destroy you in a blink. They wouldn't wait till sunrise to finish you off."
My chest tightned as I tried to comprehend what the picture he was painting. And while all this was going on, a part of me, the part that never listens but always drawn to him had started believing him, and I hated that so much. "So you are my savior? You bought me just to save me from them? Is not not sone sort of fairytale?"
He leaned in, his scent intoxicating, crowding my sense of reasoning. "I bought you because of one thing: I couldn't stand the thought of another man touching you in places I crave to own."
I froze the moment those words left his mouth. "That isn't love to begin with. That's obsession."
"Maybe it is. You are free to give it a name." He continued whispering. "But you should never forget that obsession kept you alive."
He reached out and brush my arm with his masculine hand, making me to jerk away as it burned so much. Just a little touch, and my whole body was jerking uncontrollably. "Don't," I warned taking few steps backward. "Don't you ever touch me again."
His lips curved into a smirk, showing how much he lived my reaction. He was amused, and something in me told me he won't be stopping anytime soon, especially after discovering my weak point. "You are shaking like a leaf."
"No. That was only because I made to slap you. " I hissed, stubbornly refusing to admit his effect on me.
His eyes roamed over me, his emotions displayed on his face. It was more like desire, strong longing to pin me to the wall, to devour me. "You are too stubborn to be scared of anything."
"I have been scared enough, especially the night you brought me your house. " I replied.
He chuckled softly, almost seeing through me. "Be very careful, Demilia. You are to fast in learning to fight, especially when it involves a world that derives joy in devouring the weak. That might push me to fall hard for you."
"Wouldn't it be a little easier if you stop pretending you still have a heart?" I snapped, furious at his statement.
He smirked, knowing that he had gotten my weak point. "I never told you that I have."