Warning: SENSITIVE CONTENT
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Stubborn back. Fisted hands. Red ears.
Eli runs after her, reaching for her elbow. She turns around and glares at him. Her right ear has traces of his lipstick and pink hickeys. She purses her lips tightly when he puts the strands of hair behind her ear. "It's better now."
He can't seem to stop himself. She smells delicious. She tastes even better. He wants to kiss her everywhere.
When she said that she couldn't hold his hand, he knew that she was looking at someone else. Her pained voice shook him. Even her shadow was affected. Who had hurt her in such a way? It looks like she still loves that person. For the first time, he felt both pain and envy. He did lose a little control.
This woman is making him feel all kind of things.
He was a little embarrassed when he saw those marks on her right ear. But his heart skipped several beats when he saw her expression. The left ear looked too pale. So, he left some mark there too. Sadly, she pushed him away before he could do more.
She bares her teeth, looking frustrated. She keeps walking ahead. Eli grins. Her past might be complicated. But he wants her to look forward.
"Nell, you are going in the wrong direction." Chuckling, he grips her waist. He points at the building with his index finger. "The civil office is there."
"I don't want to get married to you." She furrows her brows. "Find someone else to marry you."
If he hadn't seen the item in the pouch, he wouldn't be pressuring her. In addition to that, he's afraid that she would truly do something when he's not around. Though her shadow would inform her whereabouts, what if he never reaches her in time? She needs a guardian in both human and other worlds until everything is resolved.
Even after things are resolved, he doesn't plan to let her go. He's being greedy and unreasonable, but it's impossible for him. "You want to die, Nell Solomon."
She becomes still, eyeing him with caution.
"Your suicidal tendencies are very clear to me. As a doctor, I can see that you have some issues. You are extremely dangerous to yourself. You are also showing signs of psychosis." This method is revolting, but he has little choices at the moment. "I can easily commit you to a mental asylum."
Her lips quiver. Her eyes flash with hatred and fury. She doesn't want to go to that place. He hardens his heart and continues with a calm voice, "Marry me if you don't want to go to that place."
"Ha!" She snickers at him. "This is the real you, Eli Sanguine. You said that you loved me. Does love mean possessing someone this way? I will never love you back."
"If I know one thing for sure, it is that life is unpredictable." Eli lifts her in his arms and walks toward the civil office. "I will let the future decide whether you will love me back or not."
He doesn't care about what is right or wrong and yes, he's taking advantage of her weakness. If he commits her to the mental asylum, she might or might not get better; however, she's not safe there. Some of those reasons are nothing but excuses.
"You are unbelievable!" She slaps his chest and asks with an aggrieved voice, "I don't understand. Why can't a person have the right to die? If I want to die, why are you trying to stop me? Do you know how difficult it is to take these suffocating breaths every day? Whenever I go to sleep, I fall asleep wishing to never wake up again. I don't want to live this life anymore."
At the entrance of the civil office, he lets her down on the floor. Since humans used to be his food once, he knows how to create a trap and pull them in. "How about this? If you don't change your mind in the next four weeks, I will take you to the country where euthanasia is legal."
Nell blinks her eyes. The confusion in her eyes makes him chuckle. He adds, "Isn't it better this way? By that time, the police will find out the real murderer. You won't be a suspect anymore. You will end your life legally."
"Why are you doing all this?" She wrinkles her forehead. "What will you gain from this?"
"I will gain the chance to live with the woman I love." He rubs his thumb on his forehead to smoothen down the lines on her forehead. "I want to try everything to save the woman I love. If I fail, I will not have any regret. You have lived for 27 years. Give me a month of your life. You have nothing to lose."