A Dangerous Obsession
Chapter 105 - 104

Chapter 105: Chapter 104

LAYLA

The silence was deafening.

For the first time since I had been brought to this place, I was truly alone.

I sat on the edge of my bed, my fingers gripping the sheets so tightly my knuckles ached. My chest still felt tight, like I was struggling to breathe even though there was no reason to.

But there was a reason.

Because no matter how much I wanted to deny it, something inside me had just been shattered.

I dragged in a shaky breath, lifting my gaze to the dimly lit room. The walls, tall and daunting, felt like they were closing in on me. The fire in the hearth crackled softly, its flickering light casting long shadows across the floor.

It was too quiet.

Too still.

The air felt thick, suffocating, as if the walls themselves carried the weight of my thoughts, pressing down on me with an unbearable heaviness.

I should feel relieved.

I should be glad that he was gone.

But instead, all I felt was hollow.

I reached up, pressing a hand against my chest. My heart still pounded painfully, as if trying to remind me that it was still there, that I was still alive, still breathing.

But for what?

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of what had just happened.

"I reject you!"

The words had come out so easily. And yet... why did they feel like a lie?

I should hate him.

After everything—after James, after Elara, after the way he toyed with me like I was nothing more than entertainment—after he admitted that he could never love me—

I should hate him.

So why did my chest ache like this?

Why did my body feel cold without his presence near?

I sucked in another breath, forcing myself to move. Slowly, carefully, I stood from the bed, my legs shaky beneath me. My cats stirred from their spot near the hearth, their eyes following me as I crossed the room.

I needed air.

I moved toward the window, pushing the heavy curtains aside. The glass was cool against my fingertips as I pressed my palm against it, staring out into the night. The moon hung high above the trees, silver light spilling across the grounds.

It should have been beautiful.

But all I saw was a world I was no longer sure I belonged to.

I had nothing now.

No past. No future. No place in this world.

A wolfless werewolf. A rejected match. A fool who had let herself believe, for even a moment, that she could be anything more than what fate had made her.

A bitter laugh escaped me, the sound barely above a whisper.

Foolish.

So foolish.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I took a shaky step back from the window.

Turning away from the window, I moved back toward the bed, my body suddenly feeling exhausted. My cats meowed softly as I climbed beneath the blankets, curling into myself, seeking warmth that wasn’t there.

The silence stretched on, long and unbroken.

Until a knock at the door shattered the heavy silence.

I barely flinched. I was still curled beneath the blankets, my body tucked away from the world, pretending it didn’t exist. My cats had settled around me, their warmth the only comfort I allowed myself. The fire in the hearth had died down to embers, and the cold of the evening was beginning to seep into the stone walls.

The knock came again, firmer this time.

"My lady?" A voice called softly. It was a soft voice—timid, hesitant. "Dinner is ready."

I didn’t answer.

I wasn’t hungry.

I didn’t want anything.

Another pause. I could almost hear the maid shift uneasily on the other side of the door. Then, carefully, the latch clicked, and the door creaked open.

I tensed.

Footsteps padded lightly across the floor, stopping a few feet from my bed. I didn’t turn to look. I didn’t care who it was.

"My lady," the maid tried again, a little more insistent this time, "His Majesty has requested that you eat."

That made me scoff. I rolled onto my back, staring blankly at the canopy of my bed. His Majesty has requested...

How thoughtful of him.

He could kill my friends. He could lie to me. He could destroy everything I cared about. But Gods forbid I miss a meal.

A bitter laugh bubbled in my throat, but I swallowed it down, gripping the blankets tighter. "I’m not hungry." My voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

The maid hesitated. "I can bring the food here, if you would like?"

I clenched my jaw. "No."

A beat of silence.

Then, cautiously, "Perhaps some tea, then? Or—"

"I said No." My voice was sharper now, edged with something dangerous. Something that even I wasn’t sure I recognized.

The maid hesitated again, but this time, she stepped closer. "My lady, please... you haven’t eaten all day."

I felt something inside me snap.

I pushed myself up abruptly, throwing the blankets aside. My vision swam, my body protesting the sudden movement, but I ignored it. I glared at the maid, my pulse pounding in my ears.

"I said I don’t want anything."

The words came out low, slow—poisoned with barely restrained rage.

The maid took a step back, her breath hitching. Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched the fabric of her skirt.

She was afraid.

Good.

I didn’t want her here. I didn’t want anyone here.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, my bare feet meeting the cold floor. My cats stirred but didn’t move. They could feel the shift in the air, the way the room had become thick with unspoken fury.

The maid opened her mouth to speak again—probably to try one last time to convince me to do what I didn’t want to do.

I shot her a glare so sharp, so venomous, that she flinched.

"Leave."

The single word carried the full weight of my exhaustion, my grief, my anger.

She swallowed hard, her fingers twisting in the fabric of her uniform. "I—"

"I said leave." My voice dropped lower, barely above a whisper, but it was no less commanding.

The maid lowered her gaze, her hands shaking. Without another word, she turned on her heel and hurried toward the door.

The moment she was gone, I exhaled sharply, my shoulders slumping.

The room was quiet again.

Too quiet.

I sank back down onto the bed, my body feeling unbearably heavy.

I wasn’t hungry.

I didn’t need anything.

I just wanted this night to end.

I just want to die.

The thought came so easily, so naturally, that it almost felt like an old friend whispering in my ear.

I chuckled—a hollow, humorless sound—as the realization settled in. Guess some things haven’t changed.

The weak mentality. The urge to disappear, to let it all go. To slip into nothingness and finally, finally be free of it all.

But no.

No, I wouldn’t be dying.

I had spent too long drowning in the shadows of others, too long being a puppet on strings I could never see. I had let myself believe I was powerless, let myself wither under the weight of my own fate.

No more.

This would change.

This had to change.

I wouldn’t be just another tragic story. Another forgotten soul trapped within these cursed walls.

My fingers curled into the sheets, my grip tightening. I will escape this tower.

The words rang through my mind like an oath, a promise I refused to break.

I turned my gaze to the window, the night sky stretching beyond the glass like an endless abyss. The moon hung high, silver and distant, a cruel reminder of the fate that had been carved into my bones.

I hated it.

Hated the way it watched me.

Hated the way it had witnessed every ounce of my suffering, every moment of my despair.

My throat tightened.

This was the same moon I had looked up at as a pup, dreaming of a life beyond the one I was forced into. The same moon I had stared at the first night I realized I would never be whole.

The same moon that had watched over me as i lay on the floor of this very tower, broken and betrayed.

My chest ached, but I shoved the feeling down. I had no time for grief. No time for self-pity.

I pushed herself off the bed, my legs unsteady but determined. My bare feet met the cold stone floor, sending a shiver up my spine.

The tower was silent, as it always was at this hour.

I padded toward the window, pressing a hand against the cool glass.

How many nights had I stood here, looking out at the world i could never touch? How many times had I wondered if there was more waiting for my beyond these walls?

I wasn’t going to wonder anymore.

I will going to find out.