Chapter 121 Club Memory
Lila POV
His eyes were dark, so dark they looked almost lifeless as his tongue slid slowly over his lips. There was something calm about the way Damon approached me, like he had all the time in the world to decide exactly how he wanted to destroy me.
“But before you die,” he said lowly, voice dripping with something vile, “before I slice your throat open… I’ll have a taste. I need to see for myself if it’s really as good as they say.”
He stopped right in front of me, so close I could feel his breath against my skin and without thinking I spat straight in his face and his reaction was instant, his hand struck me so hard my vision blurred. My head whipped to the side as pain exploded across my cheek. A second later, I tasted blood, thick and metallic, pooling in my mouth.
Damon’s face twisted with rage, his entire body vibrating with it. “That,” he hissed, wiping his face slowly, “just earned you a slow, painful death, bitch.”
Every word landed like a blow, heavy and suffocating. The hatred in his voice wasn’t just surface level, it was deep, festering, and it sank into me, settling somewhere I couldn’t shake.
Even after he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him, that hatred lingered in the room like a toxic fog, pressing down on me, trying to suffocate whatever strength I had left.
“Now that he’s gone…” Nikolai’s voice broke through the silence, smooth and composed.
I stiffened.
He turned toward me with an ease that made my stomach churn. There was no anger in him, no visible cruelty just control, his gaze raked over me, assessing, almost admiring.
“God, Lila,” he murmured, tilting his head slightly. “That fire in you… it’s intoxicating. No wonder my twin chose you over loyalty to his own blood.”
My chest rose and fell rapidly, anger bubbling hotter with every second. My hands trembled at my sides as I tried to steady my breathing.
Nikolai adjusted himself casually, as though this situation was nothing more than entertainment to him.
“As I was saying,” he continued, voice almost conversational, “we needed a reason and a convincing one. We couldn’t just wipe out your family without justification. That would’ve caused chaos… rebellion.”
He paced slowly, like a man explaining a business deal instead of murder.
“It had to look like we were in the right like we had every reason to destroy the Falcone.
Otherwise, people start asking questions and questions…” he gave a faint smile, “lead to problems.”
I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, trying to fight off the cold creeping into my bones. “So what now?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt. “Your plan failed.”
His jaw ticked slightly. “Because my brother let desire cloud his judgment.”
I swallowed, forcing myself to keep going. “Still… your family is already divided and everyone believes there’s a war between Damon and Nico Moretti. How exactly do you plan to come back from that?”
And then, It hit me.
The realization slammed into me so suddenly it stole the air from my lungs.
“You’re still going to kill Nico,” I said slowly, my voice barely above a whisper. “And take his place.”
Nikolai stopped.
Then, slowly, he began to clap.
A slow, mocking applause filled the room as his lips curved into something almost proud. “Impressive,” he said. “Very impressive.”
“But you don’t even know where he is,” I pressed. “No one does.”
“Oh, Lila…” His smile deepened, darker now. “Information travels quickly in our world faster than you think.”
He stepped closer again, his presence suffocating.
“And when Nico hears that Damon has you?” he continued softly. “He’ll come running because men like him always do.”
His gaze dropped over my body in a way that made my skin crawl.
“I would know,” he added. “I’ve already had a taste. Trust me… men would kill or die for you.”
My stomach twisted violently, but I refused to let him see it. “What are you going to do?” I asked, forcing the words out.
He closed the distance between us.
I pressed my back against the wall, nowhere left to go as he leaned in. His scent alone made nausea rise in my throat.
“I’m going to kill him,” he said simply.
His fingers brushed along my cheek, and every nerve in my body screamed in protest.
“But first…” His voice dropped, turning darker, crueler. “I’ll make sure he watches me take what’s his. I’ll show him exactly who you respond to.”
Revulsion surged through me, hot and overwhelming. Still, I forced myself to speak.
“You don’t have what it takes,” I said, my voice laced with defiance. “You never did.”
That only amused him.
A slow smirk spread across his lips, his eyes gleaming. “That’s not what you were saying last night.”
My entire body went rigid.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded.
He leaned down, dragging his tongue slowly up my cheek. My body reacted instantly, recoiling, every muscle tightening as disgust flooded through me.
Then he whispered against my ear....
“It was me.”
Everything inside me stopped as he straightened, watching me carefully, waiting for the moment it hit.
“You?” My voice cracked, disbelief clawing its way out.
“It was me, Lila.”
My head shook instinctively. “No. That’s not possible.”
“Yes,” he said calmly. “Last night… at the club that wasn’t Nico Moretti.”
His eyes locked onto mine. “That was me.”
The world tilted and I barely had time to react before I doubled over, my stomach violently rejecting everything. I gagged, coughed, vomited over and over again as the memories came crashing back and suddenly it all made sense.
Why it felt wrong and why something had been off.
It wasn’t the drugs and It wasn’t Nico but him.
“I’ve missed you…”
“No matter what my brother does… he’ll never erase us.”
The words echoed in my head, twisting into something unbearable.
He wasn’t talking about Damon, he had been talking about Nico.
Nikolai’s laughter filled the room, sharp and cruel, echoing off the walls like something out of a nightmare. He watched me unravel, watched me break, like it was the most entertaining thing in the world.
I kept retching until there was nothing left. My body trembled, my throat raw, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.
Everything inside me shattered, the lie crushed me completely, hollowing me out until there was nothing left but pain.
I didn’t even notice when he left.
The only sign was the faint mechanical hiss of the hidden door sealing shut, blending seamlessly back into the wall and then…
Silence.
I slid down against the wall, my body shaking, my chest aching with every breath.
I was alone, broken in a way I couldn’t fix and deep down, I knew without a doubt that nothing would ever be the same again.