Chapter 57 057

Chapter 57 057

Rayna
I went back to the chaise like it was the only place left for me, because in a harsh world and in an even crueler reality, it really was.

My legs carried me there on instinct, body moving while my mind stayed tangled in the moment I’d just abandoned. I sat, slow and stiff, folding myself into the curve of the velvet like if I pressed hard enough into it, I might disappear. The space between Zero and me felt wider now. Like that wasn't enough, it was charged, humming, and all shades of wrong.

The locket was still on the table. Untouched too.

Of course it was. I almost scoffed at myself after that, because what was I really expecting? That Zero would grab it after I retreated to my spot?

I stared at it from where I sat, my chest tight, and my thoughts spiraling faster the longer the silence stretched. My pulse thudded in my ears, loud and uneven, and I hated how exposed I felt, like I’d peeled myself open only to be met with a locked door.

That was exactly what it was, and even though I'd prepared myself for the worst, you just had to believe me when I said that nothing had prepared me for this. Fate didn't even try to soften the blow a little bit.

Why was he so stubborn?

The question circled in my mind, sharp and relentless. Why did he insist on ruining things like this? Ruining the fragile, dangerous progress I’d felt last night, ruining the hope I hadn’t meant to let take root.

I dragged in a breath through my nose, then another. It didn’t help. Nothing was helping at this point.

I looked at him.

He hadn’t moved. He was still seated in his usual place, posture rigid, his gaze fixed somewhere ahead, anywhere but me, and I hated it. His mask of indifference was back in place, smooth and impenetrable, like the reaction I’d seen earlier had never happened like I’d imagined it.

My fingers dug into the fabric beneath me.

No.

I hadn’t imagined it.

“You reacted,” I said suddenly, my voice cutting into the quiet before I could stop myself.

I wasn't one to be dramatic, but I just knew for a fact that if we had more people in the room with us, they would have thought I'd gone nuts too.

The sound of it surprised even me. I sounded too sharp, too loud, and it echoed off the walls and came back thinner, more desperate.

He didn’t flinch. He didn't even react like he was being spoken to, and all that did was make my jaw tighten.

“I saw it,” I went on, sitting straighter, heat creeping up my spine. “You don’t get to pretend you didn’t. Your hands….” I gestured vaguely toward him, frustration clawing its way up my throat. “You almost broke yourself holding it in.”

Nothing. All I got was nothing.

Zero didn’t look at me, he didn’t look at the locket either now. He just stared ahead, his jaw set, and body coiled tight like a drawn wire.

The silence pressed in harder.

“Why are you doing this?” I snapped, the words tearing out of me. “Why are you so determined to stay silent when…when you know?”

That got something, so I decided to press on.

“Are you being paid?” It was incredulous just thinking about it, but right now I was all out of options. “Are you being threatened? Come on, just talk to me. If you do, I'm sure we can something out. You'll see….”

I trailed off with hope that he would react, or even speak. But I didn't get anything. Not words, never words. His shoulders only stiffened, just barely, like the accusation had found its mark.

My breath hitched.

“You knew about it,” I said, standing this time, the movement abrupt. “Didn’t you? You knew about the locket. Or about Lila, or about something.” My laugh came out brittle and humorless. “You don’t react like that to nothing, Zero.”

I crossed a step closer before I realized I was moving.

“Say something,” I demanded, my voice rising despite myself. “Just once. Just…just prove I’m not standing here alone, talking to a wall.”

Still nothing.

The crash came fast and brutal.

The anger had nowhere to go, so it folded in on itself, turning sharp edges inward. My chest burned, tight and aching, and suddenly it felt hard to breathe. I didn't stop though.

“God,” I whispered, dragging a hand through my hair. “You’re impossible.”

I paced once, then again, the room too small for the mess inside my head.

“Do you have any idea what this feels like?” I asked him, even though I knew the answer. “To lay something like that in front of you and be met with nothing? Tell me, do you?!”

He remained unmoved, and that seemed to spike my anger all the more.

“God damnit!” I yelled. At this point, my blood pressure was rising by the second, but I didn't care anymore. “Fucking God damnit!”

My voice broke despite my efforts to keep it steady, but I continued anyway.

“I keep thinking you’re right there. That I’m this close.” I pinched my fingers together, holding the space in the air like proof. “And then you shut me out. Over and over again.”

The words blurred together after that with accusations and frustration spilling free, fueled by exhaustion and hope stretched too thin. I told him he was cruel, I told him he was unfair, I told him he couldn’t keep doing this to me, and what did he do?

He absorbed it all in silence. And that, that, was what finally did it.

The tears came without warning, burning hot behind my eyes. I blinked hard, lifting my chin like that might force them back, but it didn't work. If anything , all it did was increase the rate at which they wanted to break through.

I refused to cry in front of him, I refused to give him that too, but my throat closed, thick and painful, like my own body was working against me.

“Say something,” I whispered, the plea stripped bare now. “Please.”

My hands shook at my sides. I was this close from having a panic attack, but zero didn't know that. If he did, he just didn't care. For one awful second, I thought I might shatter right there, my knees buckling, composure slipping, abdy tears spilling down my face where he could see every crack I’d tried so hard to hide.

Maybe then he would acknowledge me, maybe then he would finally break his vow of silence. For me, for my sister, for all of us.

I pressed my eyes shut as I sniffed, and my mind chose that exact time to feed into my delusions. At the back of my eyes, I was thrust into an alternate universe where Zero actually cared enough that I was crying.

Where he had walked up to me just so he could wipe my tears, and then he would speak and….

My eyes popped open on their own after that. I could still feel the pressure of wanting to burst into tears,, and then…

“The night has come to an end.” The Mistress’s voice filled the room, smooth and final, cutting through me like a blade.

I sucked in a sharp breath, the tears stopping just shy of falling. The moment snapped, not gently, but clean and unforgiving. My shoulders slumped, relief and humiliation tangling in my chest.

Of course.

I laughed once under my breath, hollow and exhausted. Saved by the ending bell. Saved from breaking apart in front of a man who wouldn’t even look at me.

I wiped at my eyes quickly, furious at myself for how close I’d come.

Zero didn’t move, he didn’t look at me, he didn’t look at the locket.

As I turned to leave, my chest aching and my eyes still burning, I hated that a part of me wondered if the interruption had saved him too, because whatever he was holding back, it was enough to destroy us both.