Haunted King

TWENTY-ONE | my memories

The night was long and painful. Their parents got along extremely well. Christain's dad had a way of making Melody's parents laugh. It had been ages sense she saw a genuine smile on her parents faces.

Christain saw the situation differently. His father was a master manipulator. On the outside he seemed like a jolly old man with a charming personality. He altered and shifted to fit the situation and succeeded where others failed. He was the perfect con man, and that's exactly how he did business. The only time Christain had ever seen a genuine smile on his fathers face was when he watched his enemies crumble in defeat in front of him.

Christain's father loved watching a rival business man cry for mercy when he took every last penny from their hands. He loved seeing his coworkers bow to him in complete submission. They weren't employees, no, in his eyes they were slaves. He loved watching his family wilt at his menacing gaze because they knew they couldn't escape. And Christain was proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Christain's sadistic tendencies didn't surface until his voyages around the world. At first he despised his father for finding pleasure in watching others suffer but then the voices began. They showed him the true beauty in blood. The human capacity to heal from horrible wounds was a phenomenon he was enthralled with. It began to bring him pleasure when he saw someone completely helpless in front of him.

Their lives were in his hands. And that feeling felt so good.

Melody was different though. Even though a large portion of him wanted to make her cry another part refused to hurt her. Like she was a cherished vase that should never be broken. Like something to be admired and never touched.

The expressionless face she held was beautiful in its own way. But when her mask cracked in front of him and he saw her fidget nervously under him, he couldn't help but want to see more than pain on her face. Lust.

The voices didn't disagree that she was special. And that scared him. Because that meant every part of him was acknowledging that her presence was an anomaly to him.

Melody ignored the intense gaze from Christain beside her and ate her cake in silence. She was glad to see her parents were having fun but she also wanted to go back to her room as quickly as possible.

"Well, look at the time!" Mr. Davis checked his watch. "We should really be heading out," he sighed a mournful sigh. Melody's mother copied the disappointed sigh. "Shall we walk you to the door?" She offered as they stood up. Christain offered Melody a hand but Melody ignored it.

He stood in front of her to block them from leaving first. 'Is he trying to hide behind our parents?' He was. Christain might have been holding back his desires but he was a bit disappointed to see how happy she looked when they were leaving the room.

"You have cake on your face," he commented before using his thumb to wipe her cheek. Melody slightly pulled away from his touch which caused him to reflexively grab her chin and arch it up to him. "Don't pull away from me," he ordered. Melody frowned and stepped back against the table, "don't tell me what to do." He raised eyebrow, "feeling brave I see." Melody rolled her eyes. That ticked him off.

He stepped forward and stood chest to chest with her. "It's better to learn this now, sweetheart. Don't ever roll your eyes at me. Got it?" Melody didn't respond. If she spoke she was sure he would make her regret it. So she bit her lip and tried to look away from him but the grip on her chin kept her from looking far.

Every flicker of her eyes made his heart boil. Her mind was completely on him but he wanted her body doing the same. To be stuck on him, and addicted to him as his demons seemed to be with her. His thumb trailed over the bite mark on her lip. She winced when he pressed down on it.

"You promised not to hurt her," one voice spoke. It shocked him enough to immediately pull away from her. The voice was gone. He looked over to the closed dinning room door and back to Melody. Then he walked away.