Poison Rose

CH- 63 - Home Calling

Pearl, who had been resting in Caspian's arms, lifted her head, trying to understand the sudden shift in his tone.

She had never realised such a tone even existed within him. It was as chilling as a cold winter sea, which can make someone's body stiff like an iceberg.

"N...nothing, Caspian. I'm just curious." Pearl stammered, her eyes searching for any hint of the warmth in his eyes that she was used to. "Can't I be curious?"

She tried diminishing the tension, batting her lashes at him, but all she found were icy depths in his blue orbs, like twin glaciers ready to carve through her defences.

"We're here for your retreat from drug addiction," Caspian's tone bore down on her like the weight of a collapsing mountain, heavy and inescapable. "And you want us to take drugs?"

There was no mercy in his voice, just an accusation that felt like a physical blow. The intensity in his gaze was making Pearl suffocate, like the air around them had thickened, making it hard for her even to think straight.

"Caspian..." Pearl's voice wavered as she tried to speak, but the cold expression on his face was terrifying. His eyes looked sharp enough to cut through steel. She wanted to look away, but fear rooted her in place. Her body started to tremble, the warmth they'd shared turning into burning coals.

Caspian held his fury in his gaze for a moment longer, then suddenly burst into laughter like a sudden, shocking storm.

"Pearl, you should see your face in the mirror," he said, the coldness melting away as quickly as it had come.

Pearl's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. 'Is he really laughing after nearly scaring the life out of me?' She looked at Caspian in utter disbelief. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink in both anger and embarrassment.

"That was not funny at all, Caspian." She hit him on his bare chest, and her anger mingled with the relief.

"How could you scare me like that?" She began to move, placing one foot on the floor as she prepared to stand, but Caspian pulled her back into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled, his laughter still bubbling up as he hugged her closer. "I was curious, too, to see your reaction." His laughter rang out again, loud and carefree, echoing through the trees.

Caspian decided to play along with Pearl's plan, whatever it entailed. 'Tricking a trickster? Not bad, Pearl. I truly appreciate you taking such a bold move against me.' His laughter rang more louder than before.

"If you're so curious about how LAFS works, we have many options," Caspian said, his voice laced with dark amusement.

"Three maids, a doctor, a healer, and six guards. They can be our guinea pig, someone we can experiment on." As he spoke, he effortlessly lifted Pearl, holding her close.

"After we see how they react, if you still want James and me to try it, we will. You know we could never say no to you."

Pearl's eyes lit up with excitement at the suggestion. Caspian was right—they had plenty of people to test the drug on to see who reacted in what way. The thought thrilled her. If the results were what she hoped, she could craft the perfect scenario for James and Caspian to take LAFS.

She was no longer confident that Caspian and James would stay by her forever after overhearing their conversation about that new student.

The same girl who destroyed Rihana's confidence, trapped Donovan's heart and on top of that Caspian and James lied to her only because of that girl.