Chapter 125 But I do.

Chapter 125 But I do.

Maureen Laskovic:

“Oh,” she whispered. “But I do.”

“But… but it doesn’t make sense that I have to pick,” I managed to mutter, the words scraping painfully out of my throat. My chest rose and fell too quickly, breaths coming shallow and uneven as my eyes stayed locked on the knife resting in her hand.

She only smirked.

Slow.

Cruel.

Like she was savoring every second of this.

“One.”

Her voice came soft.

Too soft.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

“Celeste…” I whispered hoarsely, shaking my head slowly. “Don’t do this.”

“Two.”

The number came faster this time.

Sharper.

The blade lifted slightly, glinting under the dim light as she moved it closer to Lauren’s face. My daughter stirred faintly in her arms, unaware, innocent, trusting the monster holding her.

My stomach twisted violently.

“Think this over, you moron,” I snapped suddenly, anger forcing its way through my terror. “Nothing better happen to my baby—I swear to God I will fucking kill you!”

Her smile widened.

“Three.”

The knife hovered dangerously close now.

Too close.

So close that I could see the faint reflection of light dancing along its edge.

“You fucking bitch!!” I screamed, my voice cracking violently as tears spilled down my cheeks.

She laughed.

Low.

Pleasured.

Mad.

And she didn’t stop counting.

“Four.”

My breathing broke into ragged gasps.

“Five.”

Lauren shifted slightly, making a tiny sound against her shoulder, and that alone nearly broke me completely.

“Six.”

“Stop it!” I screamed hoarsely. “Stop it, Celeste! Please!”

“Seven.”

The knife brushed lightly against Lauren’s cheek now—not cutting, not yet—but close enough to make my entire body shake violently against the ropes.

“Eight.”

My vision blurred through tears.

My chest burned.

My mind raced wildly, desperately searching for anything—anything—that would make her stop.

“Take mine!” I cried suddenly, my voice breaking completely. “Take my eyes! Leave her alone—just take mine!”

Her counting paused.

Silence fell.

Heavy.

Sharp.

Then—

“Nine…”

She smiled slowly, tilting her head slightly as she studied my face. The knife remained dangerously close to Lauren’s eye, hovering just a breath away.

“Ten.”

Then she laughed.

Loud.

Wild.

Unhinged.

The knife moved away from Lauren at the last second, and relief slammed into my chest so violently that I nearly collapsed forward against the ropes holding me upright.

“Good choice, mummy,” she crooned mockingly, bouncing Lauren slightly in her arms. “Very good choice.”

My entire body trembled violently, tears still streaming down my face as I struggled to catch my breath.

But then—

Her smile changed.

Shifted.

Darkened.

“Oh… but I want both,” she added suddenly.

My heart stopped.

“What?” I whispered hoarsely.

Her eyes burned with something twisted and ugly.

“Because you demaged these fox eyes so much,” she snapped bitterly, tapping the side of her own face angrily. “I couldn’t see shit! Nothing! Darkness! Do you know what it feels like to live in darkness while pretending to be a seer? To hear everyone whisper… doubt… mock…”

“Why are you doing this?!” I cried desperately. “Please stop! This isn’t you!”

“Shut up!” she screamed suddenly, her voice exploding with fury.

Lauren stirred again at the sound.

Celeste began pacing slowly now, agitation rippling through her entire body.

“I didn’t frame Cassian to be dumped off too!” she snapped wildly. “Not that I framed him—Cassian was an idiot! A complete idiot! Gods, he ruined everything!”

She dragged a hand harshly through her hair, breathing heavily.

“Fucks!!” she hissed violently. “This… this is the moment I’ve been waiting for all my life!”

She stopped pacing suddenly and turned toward me again, her expression twisting into something dangerously calm.

“You know…” she said slowly, voice lowering. “If we hadn’t crossed paths… if I hadn’t given you that silly prophecy… I don’t think it would have come to this.”

Her smile returned.

Thin.

Sharp.

Unsettling.

“But…” she added lightly, shrugging slightly. “Things happen.”

Rage flared violently inside my chest.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” I snapped hoarsely, glaring at her through tear-blurred vision. “That prophecy was as fake as you are! You can actually let it go instead of fucking toying with me like this!”

The words echoed harshly in the room.

For a moment—

She didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

Didn’t speak.

Then slowly…

Very slowly…

Her smile faded.

Her face hardened.

And when she spoke again—

Her voice dropped into something cold.

Something final.

“You still don’t understand, do you?” she whispered quietly.

Her fingers tightened slightly around Lauren.

“The prophecy was never fake.”

A chill slid down my spine.

“It was never about some ‘he,’” she continued softly. “It was always about us.”

Her gaze locked onto mine with terrifying intensity, her pupils dark and endless like something that had forgotten how to be human.

“You carry the moon…”

Her voice dropped into something deeper.

Colder.

“…and I am the flame that devours it.”

Rage surged through me so violently it burned through the fear.

“Fuck you and your prophecy,” I spat hoarsely, jerking hard against the ropes binding my wrists. “Let me go this instant! You want eyes? Go take Cassian’s eyes!”

Her expression twisted immediately.

Sharp.

Offended.

“Not funny,” she snapped coldly.

“It’s an insult,” I shot back, breathing hard. “It’s not supposed to be funny.”

For a moment, silence stretched between us.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

Then her lips curved slowly into something darker.

Something final.

“Alright,” she said quietly. “Games over… come on.”

Before I could react—

She lifted her hand.

Lauren’s small body suddenly rose into the air.

Just… lifted.

Like she weighed nothing.

My heart stopped.

“NO!” I screamed violently, my body jerking forward so hard the chair scraped loudly against the ground. “CELESTE—NO!”

Lauren hovered helplessly in midair, suspended by invisible force. Her tiny arms moved weakly, confused but not crying yet—too startled to even understand what was happening.

Celeste ignored my screaming completely.

Instead, she grabbed my chair and dragged me across the floor with brutal force. The wooden legs screeched harshly against stone as she hauled me toward something in the center of the room.

An altar.

My stomach dropped violently.

Cold stone.

Carved markings.

Dark stains soaked into the grooves—old, dried, permanent.

A bowl rested at the center.

Alongside small blades.

Powders.

Herbs.

Things I didn’t recognize—but instinctively feared.

“No… no… no…” I whispered, panic flooding my chest.

She shoved the chair down hard in front of the altar.

Pain shot through my spine as the impact rattled my entire body.

Lauren floated above us still.

Watching.

Helpless.

Celeste moved with frightening calm now, gathering items from the altar with steady hands.

Methodical.

Prepared.

Like she had waited her entire life for this moment.

She picked up a small curved knife and held it carefully between her fingers.

Then she began speaking.

Low.

Fast.

Words I didn’t understand.

A language that sounded ancient and wrong.

The air around us shifted.

Thickened.

The temperature dropped sharply.

“No…” I whispered again, shaking violently. “Stop… stop this…”

Her voice grew louder.

Faster.

The symbols on the altar seemed to shimmer faintly under the flickering light.

Something inside me snapped.

No more begging.

No more fear.

I twisted violently against the ropes, ignoring the burning pain slicing into my wrists as the coarse fibers tore into my skin.

“Stop fighting,” she snapped sharply without breaking her chant.

I didn’t.

I leaned forward suddenly and bit her.

Hard.

Right into the flesh of her wrist.

She screamed.

A sharp, furious sound.

“YOU BITCH!” she shrieked, jerking her arm violently.

The knife slipped from her grip and clattered loudly against the stone floor.

That was my chance.

I threw my entire weight sideways, tipping the chair violently. It crashed against the ground with a deafening thud, pain exploding through my shoulder as I hit the floor.

But I didn’t stop.

I rolled, struggling wildly, twisting my body hard enough to loosen the ropes just slightly.

Celeste lunged forward in fury, grabbing my hair violently and slamming my head against the wall.

Pain exploded across my skull.

White.

Blinding.

Stars burst behind my eyes.

But rage kept me moving.

Kept me alive.

I kicked blindly, my foot connecting hard against her ribs.

She stumbled slightly.

Just enough.

I lunged forward again, grabbing the fallen knife with shaking fingers.

And threw it.

As far as I could.

It skidded loudly across the floor, far beyond her reach.

Her face twisted instantly into pure fury.

Not anger.

Not irritation.

Fury.

Uncontrolled.

“You dare!” she screamed.

Her hand shot forward violently.

And suddenly—

My breath stopped.

Just… stopped.

Like invisible fingers had wrapped tightly around my throat.

Crushing.

Squeezing.

Lifting.

My body rose slightly off the ground as her magic tightened around my neck.

I clawed desperately at the air, gasping uselessly as panic flooded my lungs.

No air.

No breath.

Only pressure.

Only suffocation.

My vision blurred.

Darkened at the edges.

“You think you can fight me?” she hissed coldly, her voice trembling with rage. “You think you can stop destiny?”

Lauren whimpered faintly above us.

The sound hit me harder than the suffocation.

My baby.

Still floating.

Still helpless.

Still in danger.

No.

Not like this.

Not without fighting.

Even as darkness crept into my vision, my fingers clawed desperately against the ropes, my body refusing to surrender.

Because if I stopped—

If I gave up—

She would take everything.