Chapter 15
When I returned to the apartment, the room was pitch dark.
The moment I turned on the light, I froze.
He was sitting on the sofa.
Clothes neat, posture calm-
as if he had been waiting for a long time.
“How did you get in?”
My voice trembled.
“Key.”
He said it lightly. “The old one.”
My throat tightened.
“You have no right-”
“I’m not here for rights.”
He stood, slowly walking toward me.
“I just want to confirm something.”
“What?”
“Whether you still love me.”
The air went silent.
Completely, utterly silent.
I stared at him-then laughed.
“I died once.
Love died with me.”
Suddenly, he reached out and pulled me into his arms.
I crashed into his chest, breath knocked out of me.
His breathing was rough, feverish.
He whispered against my ear,
“Then I’ll use madness to bring it back to life.”
I was shaking all over.
“Rory, you’ve lost your mind.”
He gave a low laugh near my ear.
“I lost it a long time ago.”
L
11:35 Sat, Oct 18
After that night, I knew-
he was truly unraveling.
He no longer restrained himself, no longer pretended to be rational.
He appeared outside my building,
at my office,
in every place I thought I was safe.
He didn’t shout.
Didn’t argue.
He just watched me-
silent, relentless-
like a hunter circling its prey.
I began to lose sleep.
:
One night, I heard his voice again in my dream:
“You are not me.
But you are mine.”
I woke in a cold sweat,
clothes drenched.
The rain outside had stopped,
but I knew-
the storm wasn’t over.
He was closing in,
and I was starting to fear
that I might lose to those eyes again.
He began appearing everywhere.
Morning-at the corner of my street.
Evening-leaning against his car, waiting. He didn’t speak.
Just watched me,
his gaze quiet and dangerous,
like a beast in the dark,
Chapter 15
86
11:35 Sat, Oct 18 ready to strike.
The fear grew worse each day.
That afternoon, during a meeting,
the receptionist called in:
“Thalia, there’s a Mr. Zhou insisting on seeing you.”
My fingers tightened around my pen.
“Tell him I’m not available.”
A minute later,
the meeting room door burst open.
He walked in.
Everyone went silent.
He wore a suit,
eyes cold,
his presence heavy enough to crush the air.
“Apologies,” he said calmly,
“urgent matter with Miss Thalia.”
No one dared stop him.
I had no choice but to stand.
“Mr. Zhou, we can talk over the phone.”
“I can’t wait,” he said softly.
He forced me out of the room.
The hallway was empty.
I turned on him, whispering harshly,
“Have you caused enough scenes?”
“I’m not causing one.”
He stared straight into me.
“I just came to confirm-”
“Confirm what?” I cut him off.
He stepped closer.
“That you’re still alive.”
The word alive hit me like a slap.
Chapter 15
11:35 Sat, Oct 18
A sound that tore through three years of silence.
“Rory,” I hissed,
“show some respect for who I am now.”
“Aren’t you Wendy?”
He smiled,
eyes burning with pain.
“Even your tone hasn’t changed.”
I pushed him hard,
but he caught my wrist.
“Let go of me!”
“Let go?”
His voice cracked.
“When you died-who let go of me?”
He shouted, voice raw and breaking.
He slammed me against the wall,
his breath hot against my face.
“Three years, Wendy,”
he whispered,
“every night I dreamed of you.
I dreamed of blood,
of the paper I signed,
of my own hands destroying you.
And now you tell me you don’t love me?”
Tears streamed down my face.
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11:35 Sat, Oct 18
