THE MONSTER INSIDE ME (#ONC2024)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: LOVE CONFESSION

After that day, I didn't want to see my uncle. We still spoke, but I kept my distance, as if space alone might silence what had taken root inside me. It didn't work.

Zamon never left.

His voice slid into my thoughts like smoke.

You've always wanted him. Stop pretending. Accept what you feel. Morality is just a rule invented to keep you miserable.

"Go away," I whispered once, then later screamed. "Leave me alone."

But resistance takes energy, and I was running out. The thoughts returned again and again—unwanted, shameful, invasive. Desire twisted into guilt until I could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.

Today, my uncle is with me. He is kind, attentive, exactly as he has always been. That almost makes it worse. Guilt hangs over every word, every glance, turning the air heavy.

"Arabella," he says carefully, "I spoke to someone who might be able to help us. A priest. Father Lewis."

I say nothing at first. Zamon laughs softly inside my head. He is ancient. Powerful. Untouchable.

"That's... good," I answer at last, without any conviction.

My uncle studies me, worry etched into his face.

"Are you okay?"

Before he can say more, the room changes. The air thickens. Zamon steps forward, visible—visible—and I know immediately that my uncle can see him too.

His eyes widen.

"She would be better off acknowledging her feelings," Zamon says calmly.

"What feelings?" my uncle demands. "And what would you know about them?"

Zamon smiles.

"More than you imagine."

Then he turns his gaze on him, sharp and merciless.

"She is in love with you. Deeply. Obsessively. And she will soon stop resisting."

The words land like a physical blow.

"That's impossible," my uncle says, shaking his head. "She's my niece."

"Love doesn't recognize boundaries," Zamon replies. "Only desire."

My uncle looks at me now. Shock. Confusion. Pain.

"Arabella?"

I can't hide anymore. The truth presses against my chest until it hurts to breathe.

"It's true," I say. "I love you."

The room goes silent.

He stares at me as if the world has tilted sideways.

"No," he whispers. "This can't be happening."

He stands abruptly, pacing, hands tangled in his hair. "I never saw this coming."

Shame burns through me, but relief follows it—ugly, selfish relief. The truth is finally out.

"She wants to be with you," Zamon murmurs. "To love and be loved."

"I need to stop this," my uncle says hoarsely.

His words cut deeper than I expected.

"We need to talk," he adds, forcing control into his voice. "But not here. Not with this thing present."

Zamon laughs.

"All you need to do is stop pretending," he says. "Admit that you want her. You're human. Lust is inevitable."

"I don't feel that way about her," my uncle shouts. "You lying son of a bitch."

Zamon only grins.

"You will."

I step forward, desperate.

"I know it's wrong," I say. "But I can't control it. I don't know how to make it stop."

"Arabella," my uncle says firmly, "this demon is manipulating you. These thoughts are not love. They are symptoms."

"You're the only light I have," I whisper. "You make the pain bearable."

His expression breaks.

"I'm here to help you heal," he says. "Not to become part of your illness. What you're feeling is dangerous—to you and to us."

"But it feels real," I sob. "It is real to me."

"I will reject this," he says, voice steady but strained. "For your sake. For our family's sake."

"She's honest," Zamon presses. "Why aren't you?"

"She's traumatized," my uncle replies. "Confused. She needs help—not validation."

Something inside me snaps.

I stop listening.

Their voices blur together, meaningless noise. Pain floods my chest until it feels like I might tear apart from the inside.

"I can't breathe," I say. "I can't stay here."

I run.

Out of the room. Away from them both.

I don't know where I'm going. I only know I can't stay.