She Was Just A Child (PART 2)

CHAPTER 25: TWISTING THE KNIFE

The cold, sterile air of the KorTac base pressed against Dian's skin as she sat in her private quarters. Her head felt heavy, and the encounter with Zero One still gnaw at her thoughts like a parasite. She hadn't shared everything with Konig. There were things Zero One said, things she didn't want to believe. Not yet.

Her fingers hovered over her phone, her messages to Rustam still unanswered. Each one had been read—*seen*—but never responded to. That sinking feeling was back in her chest, the same one that tightened every time she remembered seeing him with that woman. His colleague. Was that all she was?

A soft knock on her door brought her out of her spiraling thoughts. It slid open, and Konig stepped inside, his presence comforting and solid.

"Dian," he began gently, "there's been another development. Zero One... He's been talking. About you."

Her heart quickened. She looked up, her brow furrowing in concern. "What did he say?"

Konig hesitated. "He knows things. Personal things."

A cold shiver ran down her spine. She stood, walking past him and heading down the halls toward the interrogation room before Konig could stop her. There was no point in delaying what was inevitable. If Zero One had knowledge of something so personal, it was time she confronted him again.

---

When Dian entered the room, Zero One was waiting, shackled as usual, but his demeanor was anything but restrained. He sat upright, looking far too comfortable in his chains, as though they meant nothing to him. His masked face tilted slightly when she entered.

"Fifteen," he greeted her, his voice as smooth and cold as before. "Come to hear more about yourself?"

Dian narrowed her eyes. "No games. What do you know?"

He leaned forward, the chains clinking softly. "I know a lot of things. More than you think. Like your feelings for Rustam."

Her chest tightened at the sound of his name, a wave of discomfort rushing through her. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but Zero One was far too perceptive.

"And Kaiser," he continued, his voice dripping with something dangerous. "The one you've been messaging. The one who keeps ignoring you, even though you can see him. You know he's moved on, don't you?"

Dian's fists clenched at her sides, her body going rigid. "That's none of your business."

Zero One chuckled, the sound low and mocking. "It's all my business. I know you, Fifteen. Better than you know yourself. I know how your mind works, how your heart betrays you. And I know you're jealous of them."

Her breathing hitched, the words striking far too close to home. "You don't know anything."

"Oh, but I do," he replied, leaning back with a casual ease. "I see it. The way you look at them. The way you hate seeing Rustam with someone else, even if you won't admit it. You want to tear her apart, don't you? Like a dog guarding a bone."

Dian's pulse raced, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. She tried to control the rush of emotions rising within her, but Zero One's voice wove around her thoughts, prying at the darkest parts of her.

"You could take him back," he continued softly. "You could make him yours. All it takes is a little... persuasion. And you know how to be persuasive, don't you?"

She flinched, her mind filled with the memories of violence, of her old ways. The dark thoughts she tried to suppress, the tendencies she wanted to escape. But they were still there, lurking beneath the surface.

"I don't want that," she muttered, more to herself than to him.

Zero One laughed. "Liar. You want him. You *need* him. And you hate her for being in the way."

Dian's nails dug into her palms, the pressure keeping her grounded. But her mind began to twist, the emotions she had been trying so hard to suppress bubbling up like a storm.

"You could have him if you wanted," Zero One pressed, his voice like a poison in her veins. "Take what's yours, Fifteen. You were made for this. You were born to dominate, to control. It's in your blood. You can't run from it."

Her vision blurred, her thoughts becoming muddled as Zero One's words seeped deeper into her mind. Rustam's face flashed before her eyes—how he looked at her, the times they spent together, and now, how he was looking at *her.* His colleague. The woman who wasn't *her*.

"You're jealous because you care," Zero One said, his voice smooth and insistent. "Because you can't stand being second. You want to be first. You deserve to be first."

Dian's breathing grew heavier, her chest rising and falling with barely contained rage. *Jealous.* She had never thought of herself that way, but now... it was so clear. She wanted Rustam. She wanted him more than she had ever admitted, even to herself.

"I could help you," Zero One offered, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I could help you take back what's yours."

Dian's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you," he repeated softly. "I know what you're capable of. All you have to do is give in. Let go of the fear. Let go of the hesitation. Embrace what you were meant to be."

Her hands shook. She wanted to scream, to deny everything he was saying, but a part of her... a dark, twisted part of her wondered if he was right.

"I'm not a monster," she whispered, almost as if trying to convince herself.

Zero One smiled behind his mask. "No. You're *more* than that. You're perfection, Dian. You're power. You're unstoppable."

Dian's breath hitched. The desire to give in, to let the rage and jealousy consume her, clawed at her insides. She could see it so clearly now—the image of Rustam, of his colleague. That woman. Her smiling face. She could make her disappear. She could make Rustam hers. She just had to give in.

"Shut up," she hissed, trying to shake off the thoughts.

But Zero One's voice was relentless, smooth and insidious. "Why shut out the truth, Fifteen? Why keep denying who you are? You could have everything if you just stopped fighting it."

Dian gritted her teeth, her mind spinning out of control. Zero One's voice echoed in her head, melding with her own thoughts until she couldn't tell where they ended and hers began. Her pulse raced, adrenaline flooding her veins.

"I'm not Fifteen," she whispered, more to herself than to him.

But Zero One's words had planted the seed, and now it was growing, twisting its roots deeper into her heart. The jealousy she had tried so hard to ignore was no longer just a feeling—it was an obsession, festering inside her, dark and consuming.

"You'll see," Zero One said, his voice soft and final. "Soon enough, you'll see. You can't escape what's in your blood."

Dian stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor as she shoved it back. Her vision blurred with fury and confusion, the world around her becoming nothing but a haze of emotions. Without another word, she stormed out of the room, her heart pounding in her chest.

---

As she made her way down the hall, Dian's mind raced with a thousand conflicting thoughts. Rustam. His colleague. The jealousy she couldn't deny anymore. It burned inside her, hotter and more dangerous than she had ever allowed herself to feel.

Zero One had seen it. He had *known* it. And now, she couldn't ignore it.

The pull of her old self, the dark tendencies she had fought to suppress, was stronger than ever.