Chapter 11
257words
The rage in Carlos's eyes after declaring "She is mine" gave way to pain and confusion I couldn't fathom.
He seemed to be questioning himself.
I could feel it clearly.
He no longer ignored me. He moved me to more comfortable confinement, then stood outside my barrier for hours, silently watching.
His gaze held struggle, confusion, and inexplicable remorse.
He was making comparisons.
Comparing my dull, hopeless eyes to Lilith's twisted, victorious gaze that day.
He'd lived over a thousand years, knew human ugliness and hell's cunning intimately. How could he not see the inconsistencies? He'd been afraid of his own feelings, so he'd deliberately blinded himself.
As long as the truth remained buried, he could continue his self-deception.
My eighteenth birthday approached relentlessly.
Thirty days. Twenty days. Ten days...
Carlos's surveillance had somehow transformed into a kind of anguished guardianship.
He no longer used cold words to wound me, as if they cut him equally deep.
He personally prepared three meals daily, placing them inside my barrier.
Every dish was exactly as I loved it. Not once did he err.
He found rare, out-of-print books I'd once mentioned loving and placed them within my reach. I couldn't understand why...
On nights when nightmares jolted me awake, he kept silent vigil outside my barrier until dawn.
These emotions that shouldn't exist within him grew heavier daily, until they seemed to suffocate him.
And all I could do was wait, numb and helpless.
Wait for the inevitable judgment.
