Élise
I walked behind Damien, my steps echoing heavily in the cold air of the dark room. He had led me to a secluded, secret place, almost like a sanctuary. The flickering light from an old wrought-iron lamp cast dancing shadows on the walls, creating an atmosphere that was both intimate and threatening. The place was empty, except for a few old pieces of furniture covered with dusty white sheets. The windows were shut, but a moonbeam slipped in, drawing pale lines on the floor.
I stopped in the center of the room, my heart pounding in my chest. I could feel the tension in the air, as if every movement, every gesture, was being watched, weighed. Damien silently turned toward a large, solid wooden door on the side and opened it without a word.
The smell of old leather and books filled the air as I crossed the threshold. It was a library, but not like any library I had seen. The shelves seemed too high, suspended in time. Books with worn bindings and enigmatic titles occupied every corner. There was no light here, except for a small candle placed on a desk in one corner.
"Welcome to my sanctuary," Damien said in a low, almost solemn voice.
I approached a shelf, my fingers brushing against the leather covers. Each volume seemed to hold ancient secrets, mysteries I couldn't even begin to imagine. I turned toward Damien, my eyes searching for answers in the silence. He stood near the desk, arms crossed, looking thoughtful, as if waiting for something.
"Everything here tells a story," he explained. "Each of these pages… is a piece of my life. My mistakes, my regrets, and sometimes, my small victories. But these books, Élise, are not just witnesses to the past. They are the key to understanding what led me to you."
I slowly approached, my eyes fixed on the titles of the books. "I thought art was your only means of expression."
Damien smiled sadly, his eyes darkening slightly. "Art… is my way of masking what I struggle to say with words. But the books, those, are silent witnesses to my soul. I never wanted to show you all this… but I see in you someone who wants to understand, who wants to look beyond appearances."
He moved toward an old leather chair, almost too large for the room. He sat down slowly, as if every movement carried significance. His eyes lifted to meet mine, an intense, piercing gaze.
"You want to know why I'm here, why I brought you into this world," he continued, his voice becoming deeper. "It's all connected, Élise. What you see in me, what you feel when you're near me… it's all connected to this past I've tried to escape. But it doesn't leave me in peace. It's a part of me I can't forget, and I can't spare you from it if you choose to stay."
He suddenly stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room. "There are things you can't erase, Élise. Mistakes you carry like a burden your whole life. And that burden has repercussions. It led me to you."
A chill ran through me at his words, but something, an inexplicable force, kept me from backing away. Instead, I moved closer to the desk, where a stack of yellowed papers lay. I studied them for a long moment, then, without really understanding why, I brushed my fingers over them. One name written on one of the documents caught my attention.
"Alastair…" I murmured.
Damien stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze hardening. A shiver ran through his body, and a cloud of dark emotions settled on his features. "You shouldn't touch that," he said in a cold, almost threatening voice.
But I couldn't stop myself. Drawn by an invisible force, I couldn't help but continue exploring the papers. The name echoed in my head like a distant sound, a ghost from the past I hadn't yet understood.
"Who is he?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Damien approached the desk, his gaze still intense, but his face hardened by a memory he would rather have forgotten. "He's part of what I told you, Élise. A figure from my past. A man I can't shake off, no matter how much I've tried to distance myself from him."
A heavy silence settled between us. I slowly turned to face him, and our eyes met in an exchange full of unspoken words.
"You're afraid, aren't you?" Damien finally said, a question that wasn't really a question. "You're afraid of what you'll discover. Of what you might become, too."
I lowered my eyes. I wasn't afraid of him, not exactly. What terrified me was the truth he seemed so determined to hide from me, the truth that could destroy everything we had started to build together.
"I'm not afraid of you," I whispered, more to myself than to him. "But I'm starting to be afraid of what you're hiding."
Damien approached me, gently brushing my cheek with his fingertips, as if to chase away the fear that seemed to engulf me. "You have no idea what you're about to wake up, Élise."
He turned away then, walking toward the door. "Come, it's time for you to understand. But know one thing: once you cross that door, there's no turning back."
He paused for a moment and looked at me, a glimmer of hesitation in his eyes. Then, with a gesture of his hand, he invited me to follow him.
I took a deep breath, my mind spinning in a storm of uncertainties. But one thing was clear: I couldn't turn back now. I wasn't sure what awaited me, but I knew I had no other choice.
I followed Damien into the darkness, ready to face whatever the future held for me, knowing that this journey would change me forever.