Chapter 29 A Part Of Me That I Have Kept Caged
Lorenzo’s POV
“What did you just say?” I panted, my chest heaving as my words barely found air. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Did she really mean those words?
Evelyn shook her head, trying to steady her breathing. “What….. what did I say?”
I hissed, drifting completely from her. “You just said you love me?”
“No…..”
“No, no, no.” She shook her head again, disbelief tightening her face. “I didn’t say that.”
Fuck!
She didn’t even realize it herself. I just hoped it was nothing but a slip of tongue, because I can’t handle her falling in love with me. The only person I could ever accept those words from is my Delilah.
Eve was supposed to be nothing more than a shadow that satisfied the darkest part of me, to feed the part that craved destruction in me.
But why was my heart twisting like this?
Why did the sound of her denial feel like it burned through my chest?
Why did I suddenly want her to mean it?
Could it be that I am actually turning mortal? Like I now have the heart of a human? Before now, girls who threw themselves on me would always use those words, but none of it mattered. So far as it wasn’t coming from Delilah, I always found them disgusting.
Fuck. I need to do something as soon as possible. This can’t be happening.
I stood up from the bed, not caring that I was still naked. Evelyn’s gaze followed my every movement, wide-eyed and caught off guard, a mix of surprise and something unspoken flickering across her face.
The only thought in my mind was to reach a mirror. When I finally faced the massive one hanging high on the wall, the reflection staring back at me sent a shiver down my spine.
My eye bags were slack, my forehead wrinkled, lips barely holding together, and my shoulders once broad, now drooped.
I almost screamed. I wanted to throw a punch at anything, break things, anything that would stop the world from moving on as if nothing had happened. My hands trembled, nails digging crescents into my palms, and for a second I hoped my body was lying to me, that the ache in my bones, the tremor in my hands, the faint silver dusting my hair were all just tricks of exhaustion.
But the mirror didn’t flinch.
The man staring back wasn’t the one I used to know. His eyes had the same fire, but his skin told another story. Seems like I have not been paying much attention to my body lately.
I dragged a hand down my face, feeling the unfamiliar roughness of it. My heart pounded, not just from the fear of death, but from the cruel realization that I was becoming human again. Fragile. Fading. Painfully aware of it.
And to think of it, I haven’t carried out any deal since I lost my power.
Before now, I would always visit people who traded their lives for a favor with me at night.
I called it hunting.
It used to be so easy, a whisper, a touch, and a breath would be stolen in silence.
But ever since Evelyn came into my life, I have never had the chance to hunt. I can’t even do it without her coming with me, because she is now my source of power. Without her, I’m weak, and that must be what’s affecting me. That's why I'm now looking older.
Oh, my heavens. This is getting out of hand. I need to act quick.
I watched my heart beating fast in the mirror, fury surging through my eyes. Then, I turned to Evelyn, who was now clutching the sheet so tightly, trembling. Her eyes were too innocent for what was going on.
In two quick strides, I was standing before her. She recoiled slightly, shaking, yet her gaze never left me.
“Lorenzo…..what is going on?” she asked, her voice breaking out in a sudden, sharp burst, betraying the fear and confusion she was trying to hide.
A humorless laugh ripped through me as I climbed onto the bed, moving slow, my eyes locked on hers, unflinching.
“Oh, little human,” my voice dropped, laced with dread and something unknown. “Why do you keep awakening a part of me that I caged long ago?”
Evelyn stayed silent, swallowing sharply as her gaze roamed over me.
“Do you know what is about to happen right now?”
She shook her head. “No……”
My lips curved somewhere between a smile and a smirk, towering over her.
With one swift motion, I clasped her wrist. A soft, uncontrolled gasp spilled from her throat. “What…..what are you doing?”
I didn’t answer at first. I dragged her down from the bed, letting her stand on her feet.
Evelyn yanked away from me, eyes burning. “Where are you taking me to?!”
“Dress up,” I commanded.
“Wait! what?”
She crossed her arms around herself, allowing her shoulders to rest on one side. “Dress up for what exactly?”
“We are going out now,” I answered flatly, heading to the wardrobe to get my clothes.
A bitter laugh escaped from her. “You must be sick in the head.”
Her voice followed me from behind until I reached the wardrobe.
“Can you just tell me that you’re joking?”
“No, Eve. I’m not.”
She rushed into my view, blocking me from dressing up. “I’m never going anywhere with you unless you tell me where and why it’s that urgent to leave this night.”
I didn’t look at her. I grabbed my pair of black suits and began slipping into them.
“Lorenzo, talk to me!”
I froze mid-motion and turned to face her now. “You really want to know?”
She nodded, chest rising and falling rapidly, her breaths heavy.
“Fine.” I took a step closer as she continued to step back. “I’m taking you hunting.”
“And you’d better behave like the good girl that you are and come with me, because if you don’t…..” I leaned closer, breathing her in. “I will force you.”
She blinked. Not once, not twice.
“So that’s it, huh? You think just because I agreed to your ridiculous rules, you get to control me however you want?”
I rolled my eyes. “The same drama again?”
“Evelyn, believe me, if you make me force you, you’ll never like the end result.”
She stumbled back, the sheets barely clinging to her, twisting and fidgeting. “You’re despicable.”
I took another step toward her. The air thickened with what I intended to do to her if she tried to challenge me further.
She caught it.
The dark glare in my face was enough to inscribe fear in her. She angrily stamped a foot on the ground and staggered toward her closet.
She was putting on a white dress, the type that said simple—but to me, it was tempting. The gown hugged her body, snatching her waist and tracing every curve. So perfect that my brain refused to find words as she stood in front of me.
“Hello.” She snapped her fingers at me, calling me back to reality.
I flinched, pressing my lips together, realizing I had no idea when my mouth had opened.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
She rolled her eyes defiantly, cursing under her breath as she tried to leave the room.
“Not too fast,” I stopped her in her tracks.
Evelyn turned to me, tilting her head, her brow arched. “What else do you want?”
I crossed the room in a second, my eyes glancing over her. “We don’t need to leave the room.”
She exhaled, dragging her hand down her face. “How is that even possible?”
I moved closer, my fingers pressing into her spine, pulling her against my chest. “We teleport.”
“What?!” She shook her head. “Not again.”
An evil smirk tugged at my lips. “You need to get used to it, Eve.”
“Now, get down and make us leave this damn room.”
She hesitated at first, but seeing the hardness in my face, she obeyed and in the next second, her hand slipped into my pants. The world tilted beneath us, and when the motion steadied, we found ourselves standing in the middle of a strange club.
Evelyn quickly slipped her hand away, eyes darting around as she clung to my skin, as if afraid something worse might happen.
I didn’t pay much attention to her. I didn’t need to. I had more pressing issues in my palms than listening to her.
My gaze assessed the room and landed on the VIP section where I found him.
Richard Watson.