𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃

Rogue Toying With A Fair Maiden

"Why are you keeping me here?" I ask, my gaze fixed on his fingers idly playing with mine. A part of me already knows the answer, but it's hard to believe...hard to accept that someone could actually fall in love at first sight.

This really is a fictional world.

"Repaying the favor," he murmurs from behind me, his voice a low vibration against my back. His arms are wrapped around me, my body pressed into the heat of his chest.

"Well, you don’t have to anymore," I quip, turning to face him. His warmth lingers against my skin as I meet his eyes. "I healed you because you gave me food and shelter. Now, we don’t owe each other anything."

His expression darkens, brows knitting together as if the very idea unsettles him. As if the thought of not owing me anything is something he simply can’t accept.

"Not equal," he murmurs, nodding as if convincing himself that his debt to me still stands.

He wants to stay entangled with me, but he’s a terrible liar. I watch the confidence in his eyes with amusement, my lips curving into a slow smirk.

"Oh? So you still owe me?" I muse, letting the words linger between us. "Alright, I’ll accept that."

Then, with deliberate slowness, I pinch his chin between my fingers, tilting his face up as if I’m some rogue toying with a fair maiden. My voice drops into a teasing purr. "But tell me, why is my dear debtor keeping his benefactor locked up, hmm?"

His eyes widen slightly, a flicker of confusion passing through them. As if, in all his careful calculations, this had never occurred to him.

The sight is almost comical, the same man who once sat in a high-end restaurant, draped in power, his black-clad guards forming a wall around him like he was royalty, untouchable. Yet here he is now, staring at me in a daze, completely thrown off balance.

Is this an act? Or did I somehow drain his intelligence while healing his legs? That would be a damn shame, I was actually considering enlisting his help with Ulso. Especially now, with Layza pulling a classic ‘dad who went out for milk and never came back’ move on me.

I let out a slow breath, my thoughts spiraling. If my life were a story, I could list a hundred glaring plot holes off the top of my head. Like, for starters, why the hell am I being forced to complete missions just to live out my own damn life? It has to be the highest tier of blackmail, yet here I am, stuck in this absurd reality with no way out. The only option? Accept it and keep moving forward.

"You should repay me," I declare, tugging him upright into a sitting position beside me. Business should never be conducted in bed, after all.

He blinks, taken aback, as if genuinely surprised by how easily I accept the notion.

I let a slow smirk curl at my lips, my voice dropping into something silky, dangerous. "You might have to pay me back with your own body, are you sure you're willing to do that?"

I don’t miss the way my words drip with double meaning, nor the way his expression shifts. For a moment, there's only blankness, a flicker of hesitation. But then, his gaze sharpens, eyes gleaming with something dark, something undeniably predatory.

And just like that, I’m reminded of Wilde.

A warning, a promise, a ghost of a past I can't quite grasp.

Yes, I have to complete this mission for him.

No. For me. Not for some man.

The voices in my head clash, loud and insistent, but I force them into silence. Instead, I focus on the man in front of me, the quiet, unreadable enigma sitting in his rumpled clothes, his presence a storm I’ve yet to name.

"Your mother...your biological one...she cast a spell," I say, rising to my feet, my movements deliberate, unhurried. Each step is measured, my mind calculating the best way to play my cards.

Walker remains silent, but I don’t need his words to know he’s listening. His body is still, too still, tension coiling beneath his calm facade.

"She embedded a human’s lifeforce inside a plant," I continue, my voice smooth but weighted with meaning.

I turn to him then, meeting his gaze with deliberate intensity.

Recognition flashes in his eyes, sharp and unyielding. His expression hardens, his jaw tightening ever so slightly.

He understands exactly what I’m talking about.

His response is immediate, firm.

“No.”

Plain. Simple. Absolute.

Understandable.

But if he thinks I’ll accept that refusal without a fight, he’s sorely mistaken.

I need Layza on my side. And to get him, I need Walker.

Closing the distance between us, I step forward, my presence looming over his seated form. His gaze never wavers, locked onto mine, dark and unwavering, but I don’t back down.

"So, you don't want to repay me?" I ask, my tone devoid of teasing now, only cold, quiet seriousness.

His jaw tightens. "It can be anything but that," he says, his voice laced with finality, the weight of unspoken history pressing into each syllable.

I inhale deeply, my mind racing, sifting through every possible way to convince him. But no argument seems right, no reasoning strong enough to make this request anything less than cruel.

Because at the end of the day, I’m asking him to resurrect the mother of the person who shattered his life. The person who made him this way.

And even for me… that feels too blackhearted.

A/N: I am still sick. You'd think I'd get better but nope. And it's okay to be physically sick but my brain feels stuffy and blocked too. But I grinded out a chapter. Special thanks to mslyn_wpgirl and cyrene701 for commenting, because that got me going. Don't have my pc right now so can't dedicate chapters from my phone. Anyways, thanks! Have a great day everyone.

P.S. we're getting to the smexy stuff, have patience. As the great saints say, ripe fruits are sweeter (I just made that up).