Dealing with the Devil [Yandere x Reader]

Chapter 60 - Aftermath

When I woke the next morning, a strange sense of numbness hung over me, as though I were wading through thick, suffocating fog. The events of the day before replayed in my mind, fragmented and disjointed, but always returning to that final moment—Christian's cold, commanding words:

"This is your home now."

They had echoed in my mind all night, and as I blinked at the soft morning light filtering through the curtains, I wondered if I had dreamt it all. But the hollow feeling in my chest told me it was no dream.

I sat up slowly, the sheets twisted around me as I tried to piece together what to do next. My eyes fell on my phone resting on the nightstand. It seemed like an alien object, a portal to the outside world that I was increasingly cut off from. I hesitated before reaching for it, a knot forming in my stomach.

I didn't know what I expected to find—an apology from Christian?

A message explaining away everything that had happened? The sudden realization that everything had just been a horrible misunderstanding?

But there was nothing.

I climbed out of bed, my limbs heavy, and moved through the house. Everything felt the same—the air still carried the scent of coffee brewing in the kitchen, the sunlight streaming through the windows was warm, and the quiet hum of the house should have been comforting. But I felt disconnected from it all, like I didn't belong here anymore. Like it was no longer my home.

I found Christian sitting at the kitchen table, his face bathed in the soft glow of the morning light. He glanced up as I walked in, his expression calm, almost neutral, though his eyes carried a weight of something unspoken. I hesitated in the doorway, the memory of our confrontation still too fresh, too raw. I could feel the tension between us, thick and suffocating, though he made no move to acknowledge it.

After a long, uncomfortable silence, he finally spoke. His voice was low, calm, but there was a softness in it I wasn't expecting.

"You won't be going anywhere for a while."

I stared at him, trying to make sense of his words.

I got... grounded?

It was such a juvenile concept, something that should have felt ridiculous, but the weight of his words told me otherwise. The way he said it was different. It wasn't about a consequence or a punishment—it was about control, his control. I wasn't allowed to leave, wasn't allowed to step out of line. I was being caged in, and it made my stomach turn.

"You're grounding me?" I asked, my voice thin, almost disbelieving.

The idea that Christian, someone who claimed to love me, would use such a controlling tactic made me feel even more trapped. But what struck me more was the strange look that crossed his face. It was fleeting, a flicker of something like... regret?

Maybe even hurt?

"I'm doing what I have to," he replied softly, his eyes locking onto mine. "To keep you safe."

Safe.

He kept saying that word, as though it justified everything, as though it made this twisted dynamic acceptable. But this wasn't safety—it was imprisonment.

I stood there, rooted to the spot, my heart racing as I tried to process the reality of my situation. There was no arguing with him. There was no reasoning with someone who genuinely believed that controlling me was an act of protection. I could see it in his eyes, the way he truly believed he was doing this out of love. And that hurt, more than anything, because I could see that it pained him, too.

I sank down into the chair opposite him, my mind spinning. Christian watched me closely, his expression softening slightly as if he were trying to gauge my reaction. For a moment, neither of us spoke. I couldn't find the words, and maybe he didn't want to push me any further.

"Chris," I said finally, my voice fragile, as if it might break under the weight of everything I wanted to say. "Why are you doing this? Why can't you just let me go?"

He exhaled slowly, his gaze dropping to the table. When he looked up again, there was a vulnerability there, a crack in the armor he always wore so tightly around me.

"Because I can't lose you," he whispered. "Not after everything. I can't... I won't."

There was a quiet desperation in his voice that caught me off guard. For the first time, I saw the depth of his fear—fear of losing me, fear of being left alone. But there was something darker beneath it, a possessiveness that made my skin crawl. He wasn't just afraid of losing me; he was afraid of losing control over me.

"I hate this, you know?" I said, my voice shaking. "I hate feeling like I'm trapped."

He winced at my words, a flicker of pain crossing his face before he quickly masked it.

"I know," he said quietly, his tone almost apologetic. "But this is the only way. You'll understand someday."

I couldn't respond. I didn't know how to. The walls seemed to close in around me again, and I felt a wave of helplessness wash over me. I stood up abruptly, pushing my chair back, and without saying another word, I turned and walked back to my room.

Once there, I collapsed onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling, feeling the full weight of everything pressing down on me. Christian's words echoed in my head, but it was the look on his face that haunted me most. That brief flash of hurt, like he was the one in pain, like this was tearing him apart too.

But the truth was, I didn't care. Or, at least, I didn't want to care. This wasn't how love was supposed to feel. This wasn't protection. It was control, pure and simple. And no matter how much he tried to sugarcoat it with soft words and tender looks, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was slowly being suffocated.

I grabbed my phone, staring at it for a long moment before unlocking the screen. I wanted to reach out to someone—anyone—but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt too exposed, too vulnerable. Lora, Jess, Mel—they wouldn't understand.

They couldn't.

No one could.

This was my reality now, and it was mine to figure out.

Instead, I flopped back onto the bed, the weight of it all too much to bear. The ceiling blurred as tears welled up in my eyes, and I let them fall, one after the other, until I finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if there would ever be a way out of this. Or if this was just the beginning of something much darker.

_________

(A/N)

fun fact the original chapter got deleted

:)