Chapter 105 Chapter 105. A Fragile New Life
Zoria didn’t have much money left, and she still needed to buy daily necessities. Wanting a place that was both cheap and good was nothing more than wishful thinking.
The environment was terrible, but at least the inside was still clean. Zoria moved her luggage in and spent the entire day cleaning before finally getting the room in order. She had been so busy that she neglected Hamburger. When she finally remembered to feed him, she saw him lying listlessly in a corner.
Zoria squatted in front of him and patted his head. “I’ll take you out for a walk later.”
The moment Hamburger heard the word “walk,” his tail started wagging immediately.
Zoria changed her clothes, tossed the dirty ones into a tub to soak, then found the leash, clipped it onto Hamburger, and headed outside.
She wandered aimlessly with the dog. As she walked, she looked up and saw the enormous red moon hanging overhead. Only then did she remember—it was the Full Moon Festival.
On this day, members of a pack would gather together to receive blessings from the Moon Goddess. But her pack had already been torn apart. She would no longer receive any blessings. This was the ending brought about by her blind love for Zephyr.
After taking Hamburger for a round, she returned to the rental apartment. Just then, there was a rapid knock at the door. Zoria went over and opened it.
“Who is it?”
“It’s the building manager.”
At this hour, why would the manager come to her place? Zoria didn’t think too much about it and reached for the doorknob.
The door had barely opened when a dark figure rushed straight inside. Zoria jumped in shock and instinctively stepped back, but her shoulder was already grabbed so tightly she couldn’t move. Her neck was clamped in a crushing grip. Zoria’s face turned deathly pale, all color draining from her lips. Her blood seemed to freeze, cold enough to make her tremble violently, as if her heart were about to stop beating.
“Zoria, how dare you open the door alone on a Full Moon night? Aren’t you afraid of being attacked by lone wolves? You’ve really got some nerve.”
Hearing that familiar voice, Zoria’s body relaxed slightly, though she was still shaking.
“Lysander, can you let me go?”
Lysander stood behind her. His golden pupils gleamed with a strange light. He loosened his grip for a moment, then tightened his arms around her waist again.
"This place is filthy and out of the way." His voice was thick with disdain.
Zoria frowned. Lysander bent close to her neck, his scorching breath brushing against her skin, sending an involuntary shiver through her.
"Why did you come here?"
"Obviously, to find you." Lysander gave a mocking laugh. "I went to all this trouble with genuine sincerity—so why won’t you come with me? I’ll take you back to the castle. Just look at this place. What kind of dump are you living in? It’s basically a trash heap."
He looked at Zoria with open contempt and ridicule, as if she were unbearably foolish.
"Come live with me. How about it? Hmm?"
From the very beginning, Lysander had approached Zoria with a purpose. The moment he first met her, the urge to crush her had already taken root in his mind. Zoria was simple, fragile—so fragile that he wanted nothing more than to destroy her completely. And he understood perfectly why Zephyr had been so ruthless with her.
That night, he had pinned Zoria down on the bed and watched her cry. To him, it was an incomparable pleasure. Zoria gave him a feeling no one else ever had. Perhaps Zephyr played a part in it, but the real reason was Zoria herself.
After tasting her just once, he had become addicted. He liked Zoria—so much so that the thought of forming a bond with her had even crossed his mind.
"I made myself very clear last time, and I don’t want to repeat it." Zoria struggled free from his arms and pointed at the door. "Mr. Valerius, please leave."
"Don’t be so heartless, Zoria. At the very least, you should give me a chance."
Lysander did not leave. Without waiting for her consent, he strolled casually around the rented house, then pulled over a chair that was still relatively clean and sat down.
"Mr. Valerius." Zoria called out coldly, impatience written all over her face. "Why are you so obsessed with me?"
Lysander lifted his long leg and crossed it leisurely. He reached into his pocket, took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one free, and lit it. The orange flame flickered between his fingers. The moment she saw it, Zoria instinctively stepped back, the irritation in her eyes turning into fear.
The scar on her chest seemed to throb again. Memories of being used as a human ashtray surged back, replaying over and over in her mind.
Zoria could never forget that night. Lysander had laughed as he pressed the lit cigarette against her body. Her pale skin blistered instantly, patches swelling and bleeding.
He had even used his fingers to pop the blisters. The piercing pain nearly drove her mad. Calling her "dirty," he had thrown her into the water to wash her clean—only to follow it with frenzied kisses deliberately landing on those very wounds, as if he were branding her with bloodstained marks of possession.
Seeing Zoria’s face drain of all color, Lysander knew she had remembered that night. He smiled with open delight, flicking the cigarette ash so that embers and ash fell onto the freshly swept tile floor.
"Why?" Lysander echoed, his voice layered with meaning, before chuckling softly. "Because I like you."
The brighter his smile grew, the more terrified Zoria became. That night had been agonizing, but Lysander had promised her he would only "play" with her for one night—his real goal had been to see Zephyr’s look of regret.
"Zoria, do you want to try forming a bond with me?"
The word "bond" felt impossibly distant to Zoria. After Zephyr, she had no desire to bond with anyone ever again. She had never even dared to think about taking a lover.
"Mr. Valerius, we can’t."
"Why?" Lysander was still smiling. He did not seem surprised. After all, he had been violent with her that night—her fear of him was only natural.
In truth, he had not intended to be that cruel to her. But when he saw Zoria’s reddened eyes, the brutality inside him only deepened, until all he wanted was to torment her until she broke.