"W-W-Who are you?" Sophie stuttered out.
Damien had to give credit when it was due. The girl had guts to even open her mouth in front of Zei considering how he was in no control of anything he was about to do.
"I'm the man of the girl who you just slapped and bullied," he spoke, his voice utterly void of any emotions. "You just earned a free ticket to Hell after daring to lay a hand on what's mine."
Sophie's eyes widened as she realized the truth behind his stone-like expression. He wasn't lying or pulling her leg. How could Haven get someone like him by her side?! Through her body? Did she seduce him? But even so, he wouldn't go to such lengths just to get revenge for his wh*re!
"I-I won't hurt her again, I promise! I didn't know she was your wh*re— No, I mean w-woman—"
A woman suddenly came forward, her eyes burning with anger as she raised her head and brought it down a second later.
SLAP!
The impact was so powerful that Sophie's head jerked back, colliding with the unforgiving pole to which they were tightly bound. The pain radiated through her skull, intensifying the shock and disbelief that flooded her senses.
As the sting of the slap subsided, a single tear welled up in the corner of her eye, defying her attempts to hold back the emotions surging within her. It cascaded down her flushed cheek, a testament to the pain and humiliation she had endured at that moment.
The once-pale skin now burned with a bright shade of red, mirroring the searing intensity of the physical and emotional assault she had previously inflicted on Haven.
The last thing she remembered was a cloth being brought to her nose before she finally lost her senses and her eyes slipped shut, enveloping her in a profound darkness as her awareness dissolved into the depths of unconsciousness.
———
Blinking her eyes open, her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the stars glittering above her. Confusion and disorientation washed over her as she tried to comprehend her surroundings.
"Where am I?" she whispered, her voice trembling with fear. Panic surged through her veins as she frantically searched for any sign of Ava and Charlotte, her mind racing with terrifying possibilities.
"Did they... kill them both?" The thought sent a shockwave of horror through her, causing her heart to pound in her chest.
As she struggled to make sense of the situation, her gaze shifted to her immediate surroundings. It was then that she realized she was lying on top of a massive skyscraper, the vast expanse stretching out before her.
The sheer height and scale of it all only added to her bewilderment. "How the hell did I end up here?" she muttered, her voice filled with incredulity.
Her mind was a jumble of chaos and confusion as she slowly stumbled up to her feet and turned around.
It was him.
The very man who that bitch had somehow enraptured through her poor excuse of a body. She looked at him, from the tips of his black boots to the disheveled mess of his obsidian locks.
How had Haven gotten to him first? It should've been her! Oh, I hope that nasty piece of garbage dies within the next twenty-four hours!
Zei, devoid of any trace of emotion, slowly advanced towards her, his steely gaze fixed upon her trembling figure. With each deliberate step he took, Sophie involuntarily retreated, her mind a whirlwind of terror and confusion. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out all rational thought as she desperately sought an escape from this living nightmare.
As her back pressed against the unforgiving glass façade of the skyscraper, she cast a desperate glance behind her, only to be met with a harrowing realization: there was no safety net, no railing to halt her descent into oblivion.
The vertigo-inducing height amplified the dread that clawed at her insides, threatening to consume her completely.
Sophie's gasps for air turned into shallow breaths as her body went rigid, paralyzed by fear. In the midst of her panic, Zei's emotionless face remained unchanged, a chilling mask of indifference. It was as if he derived some perverse pleasure from her torment, relishing the power he held over her fragile existence.
A sickening realization washed over Sophie, mingling with her mounting terror. There would be no mercy, no last-minute rescue. The abyss beckoned her, its siren song hauntingly sweet as her fate became inevitable.
With a sudden gust of wind, her footing faltered on the precipice of doom.
Time seemed to slow as Sophie lost her fragile grip on reality. Her piercing screams pierced the air, momentarily drowning out the chaotic city sounds far below, as she hurtled through the empty void, her body descending in an irreversible descent towards her tragic demise.
Zei didn't bother glancing down. Releasing a contended sigh, he slipped his hands into his pockets and turned around to be greeted by Damien who was whistling cheerfully as the wind failed to mess up his hair which was tied up into a ponytail at the back of his head.
"Did you deal with the remaining two?" he asked and Damien nodded in confirmation.
"Done and dealt with."
His phone suddenly rang and Zei glanced at the caller ID nonchalantly but then his eyes slightly widened.
Theodore Yang.
"How's she?" he instantly asked, not giving Theo a chance to speak.
"She just fainted you asshole and you called me to check up on her just because of that!? Do you know who I am—"
"How. Is. She?"
"Fucking fine! She fainted due to stress and maybe some recalled trauma from her past considering what Damien told me. She'll be fine once she wakes up and eats a few pills I've set aside for her."
Dropping his hands to his sides, Zei finally managed to breathe out in what seemed like ages.
He was tired.
He was angry.
He was frustrated as hell.
And the only thing he desperately wanted right now, was to see her face.