Don't be alone

I felt overwhelmed by the stress of realizing that I was being followed for reasons I didn't know. I covered my face with my hands, took a deep breath, and tried to understand the situation and find a solution. My goal was to try to lead a normal life, but it seemed that everything was trying to keep me in a constant state of danger.

"Please, my butterfly," Fabian said, catching my eye. "You can't be alone anymore, and you can't allow strangers to get close to you."

"Even if I wanted to, with all the demons you've got watching me, it would be impossible," I said angrily as I remembered that Fabian kept a constant eye on me.

Fabian looked embarrassed at being caught, but not sorry, which made me very angry. "I understand that you want to look after me, but stop doing things without consulting me. I can't stand having my privacy invaded like this, and you know it, Fabian."

"I didn't mean to upset you," he put his hands on the table, both closed into fists. "I just want to keep you safe." His voice was low and full of sadness, but I wouldn't be swayed by his manipulative techniques.

Just as I was about to give him an answer, I felt a strange sensation in my body. I looked up and saw that Fabian was furiously staring at something behind me. When I turned around, I saw a woman with short black hair. Her eyes were like black holes, absorbing all the light and hope around her. Her red lips formed a disturbing smile full of sharp teeth. She was terrifying. The sight of her slender figure sent shivers down my spine as she approached. Although my instincts told me to run, my body was immobilized.

Fabian's hand touched mine, making me look at him. My throat was dry. The woman stopped right next to our table, Fabian glared at her angrily before she placed her hand on the table, revealing long, vibrant red nails. I dared to look at her face once more, and the once frightening figure had changed to something more beautiful and sublime, with fine, soft features and a seductive smile. She ignored me, leaning towards Fabian with a cleavage that went down to the middle of her breasts.

"What an honor to meet the prince here. I thought I'd have to go around in circles until I saw you again." Her voice was low and slurred, her tongue flicked across her lips, and at that moment anger seized me.

I stood up and grabbed the woman's hair, pulling her towards me and surprising everyone, including me. He looked at me in astonishment as I put his face under mine.

"How dare you talk to Fabian like that? Who do you think you are, you fucking bitch?!" I slammed the woman's face down hard on the table, Fabian just watched everything carefully, without saying anything or stopping me.

"How dare you touch me like that?" the woman complains, so I press her face even harder into the table.

"The same way you dared to approach our table and think it would be okay to ignore me and covet what's mine," I said through my teeth, feeling my anger take over more and more. I let go of the woman, throwing her away. She looked from me to Fabian before almost running out of the place.

I've been jealous of Fabian ever since I found out that the first witch, who approached me pretending to want to help me, actually just wanted to get me away from Fabian so she could go after him. From that moment on, any woman who came to him would be seen by me as a problem.

I left the bar with Fabian, who looked upset, and we walked through the busy streets. While trying to avoid the crowds, I noticed a group of attractive men sitting at a table on the sidewalk. But, their expressions were unusual, with their eyes completely black and their smiles distorted. When another group of men with glowing purple eyes approached and spoke to them, they got up and left.

In front of my eyes, what Fabian had told me was happening, demons who wanted me and were watching me and the group he had sent to keep an eye on me keeping them away before anything worse happened. I tried to steady my feet on the ground, but Fabian kept dragging me through the city. I pulled my hand out of his, letting go and forcing him to finally look at me.

"How many are there?" I asked, pointing in the direction where the demons had been a few minutes ago.

"My butterfly, you don't have to worry about that," Fabian said approaching, but I stepped back.

"I decide what I should or shouldn't worry about," I said angrily, then took a deep breath and tried to put my mind in order. "You need to tell me everything Fabian, not just what's convenient, and leave me in the dark about everything else."

While Fabian pondered, the world around us seemed to slow to a crawl, every second I waited for his answer seemed to turn into endless hours. I wanted Fabian to understand that I could defend myself better if I knew exactly what was going on, that keeping myself in the dark would only be worse and would alienate me from him.

"That woman," he said, searching for the words, "she is the direct subordinate of another prince, and he, like the others, desires you."

"Those who were sent away, were they also subordinates of this other prince?" Fabian nodded in agreement. His countenance became sad, his shoulders slumped, and my heart squeezed.

I walked the short distance between us and hugged him with all my strength, wishing that the sadness would disappear completely and that the life we had been living would return to what it was, just the two of us, living a unique and wonderful relationship. I took Fabian's face in my hands and kissed him. Fabian held my hand, and we walked again, now at a slower pace, until we reached home. He hugged me tightly, perhaps with the same desire I had, but he still needed answers, he needed to understand the extent of all this and also to understand Raphael's relationship to the choice I had to make.

Before I could say anything, a loud knock on the door interrupted us, and my anger flared up once again.