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For the death threats he sent to Tallulah. For the work he's given my cartel and for all the men he murdered. Tallulah is just a pawn in my game now, a way to find out where Ivette is hiding, and there is no running away from her fate anymore. As soon as she realizes what I've done, her body crumbles in on itself. She forms a sad little ball on the floor, sobbing and shaking all over as she hugs her knees to her chest. The old me would console her, tell her she couldn't have changed anything, even if she tried. Even if she hadn't given me all the details about Ivette, I would have tracked her down anyway. It was always my mission to kill my brother's wife. I had to get back at him some way to get his attention.
I know this means starting a war. But I also know it means ending a chapter that I should have ended a long time ago. My brother has been a thorn in my side since the moment we were born. From the time when we were both kids and I tried my best to protect him and up till now, when I'm still struggling with the fallout of his crazy behavior.
Tallulah doesn't say a word as I gently force her to stand on her feet. I march her out of the dungeons and down the stairs. Her dress, the yellow one she was wearing before she came in here, is in tatters now, her hair matted. I lead her up the stairs and hand her off to one of the women working here, muttering something about getting her back to her normal shape.
She looks terrible. She hasn't had a shower, has barely eaten, her bones are jutting out from under her skin and her complexion is pale, almost translucent. She's never been this thin before, and as much as it pains me to see her that way, I know I didn't have a choice. Tallulah took that away from me when she stabbed me and left me for dead. Now it's up to me to seek revenge on my brother and the girl who broke me. Only then will I be able to dedicate more time to my angel. Truth be told, I still haven't decided what to do with her. Whether or not I should keep her chained and in those dungeons forever, or whether I should bring her back up to the surface to hurt her even more.
But now, as I take some time off, I wonder which decision is the right one. Killing her doesn't seem right. It would be too final and too brief for me to really enjoy it. But there's something else I can do to her. Something that will break her so spectacularly, no one will be able to see her for the innocent girl she was when she came to my mansion for the first time.
Waiting a few hours while the maid gets Tallulah ready, I drag down one of them and ask her if Tallulah has eaten and she shakes her head with worry. She must be hungry. It's been five days since she's had food, though she has drank some water. But I can tell her frail body won't be lasting much longer. This is perfect for my plan. My plan to finally seal the deal and show her I don't give a shit about her. Not anymore.
I get the sign that she's ready for one of the guards, and walk into the room where Tallulah is waiting for me. She would look beautiful if it weren't for her body - so emaciated and skinny, I can almost see through her. She's wearing a gorgeous pink dress, ruffles and lace framing her slender body in a show of health and beauty, but she doesn'tlookhealthy. Even though her makeup has been applied flawlessly by the team here, she's already cried most of it off. Mascara streaks line her cheeks, and as she blinks to the carpet, I notice her lipstick is smeared too.
She runs her hand over her mouth and frustration.
"Why did you put this shit on me?" she demands. "I don't want to be wearing makeup. I'm in mourning."
"What are you in mourning for, angel?" I ask. "Our relationship?"
"I don't give a fuck about our relationship," she tells me directly. "You just showed me how much you hate me and how you never gave a crap about me in the first place. I tried so hard to please you, Xavier but there is no pleasing you, is there? There is no woman out there who would ever be able to completely satisfy you."
With a few quick steps I reach her and grab her chin, my hands forcing her to look at me. She shivers again and I can tell she's afraid of me. But that's of no consequence to me.
"You are supposed to be the one," I tell her. "The one I'd break all my rules for. But you fucked that up spectacularly didn't you, Tallulah? And now you have to pay the price."
She stares at me defiantly, her eyes burning with a blaze I can't identify. But she doesn't say a word.
"Take off your shoes," I demand, pointing to her golden stilettos. "You won't be needing those, you'll be better off without them."
Not objecting, she leans down and unstraps the heels from her feet. She looks almost as good as she used to when she came to the terracotta house for the first time. But her makeup streaks and her merciless damage to her own body tell the story of a girl who has been through too much to be happy ever again.
I push her in front of me and pull out my gun. Her eyes widen when she sees the weapon in my hands and I point it right between her shoulder blades, forcing her to keep walking. No one follows us as we make our way through the darkened house and outside into the garden. There's a thick and lush forest around the property here and that's where I'm taking Tallulah.
I keep marching her in front of me until we finally reach a clearing in the woods. It must take us at least twenty minutes to reach it, and by then I'm an I'm sure she won't be able to orient herself and find her way out of there.
"I'm a man who keeps my word unlike you, Tallulah," I tell her, holstering the gun again. "You lied to me too many times but I'm done being lied to. In fact, I'm done with you altogether."
"What do you mean?" she pleads. "Are you letting me go back to my family?"
I laugh at her shaking my head in disbelief. "You still think you can ask me for things, don't you, Tallulah? Well, it's too late for all of that. Now you're at my mercy. And at the mercy of this forest. Take off your clothes."
She stares at me in disbelief.
"Why would I take off my clothes?" she demands.
Her body is shaking, and I can tell she's eager for my touch again, even though she denies it. I know she still loves me just as much as she did before she left and this must leave her conflicted and messed up just as it has me.
I don't answer her, just train my gaze on hers and fixate her to the spot until she slowly slips down the straps of her dress and steps out of it, letting the fabric fall on the ground. I watch her body naked beneath the dress, committing every shape and detail to memory.
"I told you I'd let you go if you told me about Ivette,", I tell her. "And now I'm here to fulfill my promise. But I won't make it easy on you, Tallulah. You just don't deserve anything easy."
She doesn't say a word, staring at me like a deer in headlights. And that's exactly what she looks like - a frightened doe waiting for her own execution. As she shivers in the cool night, I pull out my gun again and fire off a warning shot into the sky. She shivers as she watches the bullet disappear, whizzing through the air thick with tension.
"I want you to run," I tell her. "Run as fast as you can and try to outrun me. You're on your own now, Tallulah. Everything that happens to you from here on out won't be my fault or my decision. But if I catch you, I'm telling you right now, I'm going to put a bullet through your heart and then through your head. You deserve to die for what you did to me, but I'm giving you one final chance to escape. Escape my wrath and live your life the way you intend to. You're free now, so run."
I bet she's wondering whether or not I'm really capable of killing her. As if to solidify my words, I aim the gun right at her clicking off the safety. She stares down the barrel as if unable to believe our love story ended like this. But I have no mercy for her. I'm done with her and helping her get out of the troubles she's forced herself into. She's not the same girl I had all those feelings for. She's a manipulative lying assassin, and now it's time to pay for all her crimes.
"Run, Tallulah," I remind her. "You better fucking run, because I only have six bullets left and one of those will end up in you unless you're fast enough to outrun me."
She begins walking backwards, stumbling over sticks and fallen leaves on the ground. Once I approach her, taking slow but heavy steps toward her, she soon realizes I'm not messing around and takes off into a sprint through the forest. I chuckle darkly and start saying her name, low menacing tones that are meant to convince her that she has a monster to run away from. I know the scene of what's happening right now will follow her until she dies, my voice booming through the forest.
I wonder whether she's relieved or afraid, whether she knows what's going to happen next. I wasn't lying when I said I don't have anything else to do with her. Truth be told, I should have killed her then and then. But I didn't feel like it. I didn't think myself capable of killing the one woman who made me feel more human than anyone else before her. But now that she slipped through my grasp, I almost regret letting Tallulah go, and it takes everything in me not to launch myself after her. Bring her back home and show her everything she's missed in her absence. But I need to stay strong because my plan doesn't end here.
My plan has many chapters that will end with her at my feet worshiping me for the God I am. But not today. Not now. There's still some games left to play, and Tallulah is still a wanted woman.
Since I'm intending to take out Ivette, I know my brother won't be far behind. Once he finds out of his wife's unlikely demise, he will surely seek me out again and try to hurt me for everything I've done to him.
Or maybe he'll go after Tallulah and try to hurtherfor everything I've done to his wife. Only time will tell what will happen. All I know is, my plan is slowly falling into motion. And soon enough Tallulah won't be free anymore. She'll be a prisoner just as she was meant to be all along.
