Chapter 74: Lies Between Love

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The walls, with iron chains on, were a patchwork of time's ravages. Once pristine, they were now marred by deep scratches from countless clashes, with bloodstains embedded so deeply that no amount of cleaning could remove them, adding a layer of cruelty to the scene. Olivia stood there in silence, her gaze fixed, as though an invisible force gripped her throat, making it hard to breathe. She could almost envision it—the dark, frenzied days where Damien, like a trapped beast, had stared obsessively at the painting of her that hung on the wall, his eyes burning with madness.

The basement was deathly quiet, the kind of silence that suffocates. A coldness, almost invisible, crawled over Olivia's skin, like tiny needles burrowing into her bones. She couldn't quite describe how she felt, but deep inside, she knew that the man had become dangerously obsessed with her. Her chest pounded violently, though she couldn't tell whether it was from fear or shock. Frozen in place, she couldn't even muster a single word.

Damien stood a mere ten metres away, watching her with a gaze as deep as the ocean. His voice echoed in the dim, oppressive basement. "Liv, you know everything now."

His steps were slow but deliberate as he moved towards her. The elegant shirt and trousers he had worn during the day still clung to his body, and he looked as untouchable as a god. Olivia struggled to reconcile this Damien with the one she had seen chained up—wild, frenzied, and dangerous.

In just a few steps, Damien stood before her. His long, slender fingers gently traced her cheek, his voice laced with regret. "Even now that you've seen my darkness, my ugliness, I won't let you go."

Olivia couldn't respond, her chest was so tight with invisible pressure that she could hardly breathe. Uncontrollable tears began to roll down her cheeks. The man before her wiped them away with tenderness, though his voice remained as cold as ice. "Every time I lose my mind, I look at you like this—with obsession, with madness."

"My greed, my downfall, my insanity... it's probably even worse than what you saw that day."

Olivia shook her head repeatedly, tears streaming down but her voice silenced. Damien lowered his head, pressing a soft kiss to her tears, his lips grazing her cheek with a light, almost ticklish touch. He forced her to face the reality. "They weren't wrong, Liv. I am a madman."

"Everything here, including these chains, I crafted with my own hands."

"The painting? I painted it. I spent an entire year practising just to make it look more like you."

Damien's voice was low and slow, almost hypnotic. "Liv, you're crying so hard. Are you scared? Do you want to run? But I won't give you the chance..."

Before he finished speaking, Damien scooped Olivia into his arms and gently laid her on the table beneath the painting. The cold surface jolted her slightly, bringing a bit of clarity back to her. She opened her mouth, her voice hoarse, "Dami, it's not what you think."

Tears clung to her eyelashes, rolling down again with each blink, leaving streaks across her pale cheeks. Her voice trembled with sobs as she clutched Damien's shirt tightly. "I didn't want to run. I wasn't disgusted or repelled."

She couldn't even explain why she was crying, only that a deep sadness overwhelmed her. Perhaps it was the thought of Damien, all these years, enduring those mad days alone.

"I'm not afraid... because I know you won't hurt me."

Even when Damien had placed her on the table, his actions were so gentle, as if she were a fragile treasure. Olivia knew, deep down, that no matter how crazy his obsession was, he would never truly harm her.

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