Beneath Her Smile

11.

Noah's eyes fluttered open to a dim haze, his head pounding with each heartbeat, disorienting him as he tried to move. The room around him was blurred, shapes and shadows bleeding into one another, and the rough texture of rope bit into his wrists, binding them to the arms of the chair. His pulse quickened as he struggled, the coarse fibers digging deeper. The dim overhead light swayed, casting shadows that danced along the walls, but his focus locked onto the figure in front of him.

Vivienne sat cross-legged, staring at him in a way that was unsettlingly calm, her expression unreadable yet intense. Her makeup, smeared in streaks around her eyes, only heightened the wild, manic energy radiating from her. For a long moment, she said nothing, simply watching him, her gaze cold and unwavering, as if silently willing him to understand something he couldn't yet fathom.

Then, in a voice that was both eerily soft and deadly, she broke the silence.
"Do you know what it feels like, Noah," she whispered, "to devote yourself entirely to someone who never really saw you?"

Her lips curled, something twisted in her smile. "Three years, Noah. Three years, building myself into exactly what you wanted. I became your perfect escape. Your ideal. And I have to say... I almost fooled myself in the process."

Noah's jaw tightened, and he shook his head, his voice hoarse with anger. "You never gave me a choice—not then, and not now. You just decided you'd be my everything, like I had no say in it."
Her gaze hardened, a flicker of irritation in her eyes. "I did what I had to. Real love doesn't wait for permission, Noah." She leaned in closer, her voice taking on a darker edge. "You think love is gentle, soft. But that's just the illusion, isn't it? The version you've been spoon-fed in romantic movies and songs. But real love is untamable. It's wild, consuming. It's... inevitable."

His bitter laugh echoed through the room, harsh and resentful. "You call this love? You're deluded." He pulled against the ropes, wincing as they held firm. "I thought you were my safe place, Vivienne. But all this time, you were the storm. You took Celine from me... for what? To prove a point?"

Her expression darkened, her jaw tightening as she stared down at him, her eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare speak her name to me," she hissed, venom dripping from each word. "Celine was nothing. A speed bump on our road to forever. And I took her out of the way so that you could see—see what I could be for you, see who I am." She straightened, eyes gleaming. "I gave you the freedom to realize what we could be. To stop you from wasting yourself on a girl who couldn't hold a candle to me."

Noah's face contorted with fury, his voice rising. "Freedom? You took everything, Vivienne! You didn't just take her away—you took the part of me that believed in anything good. You twisted love into something ugly."

Vivienne's smile didn't falter; if anything, it grew wider, colder. "Ugly?" She leaned closer, her face inches from his. "Maybe love is supposed to be ugly. Messy. We're taught to wrap it up in bows and glitter, but the truth is, love is selfish. Love is possessive. I molded myself to be everything you needed, and you fell for it. You loved the person I showed you. The best of me."

He swallowed, a mixture of anger and something almost broken in his gaze. "I fell in love with a stranger... and you let me. How could you live with that?"

Her face softened, almost wistful, before the hardness returned. "Because I knew you'd never choose me, Noah. I made the choice for you. That's what love is—doing what's necessary. Love doesn't just ask. It demands, it conquers." She leaned back, sighing almost dreamily. "But you never understood that, did you? It wasn't enough for me to love you. I had to... dismantle you. Break you, piece by piece. Because then, maybe then, you'd finally belong to me."

Noah's jaw clenched, disgust mingling with pain. "You're sick, Vivienne," he spat. "You never loved me. You wanted to own me, control me... like some trophy to keep in a glass case." His voice softened, a painful whisper. "The worst part is... a part of me still wants to forgive you. And I hate that."

For a moment, her gaze softened, but then her eyes steeled over, a chilling determination settling on her features. "Of course you hate it. That's why I'm doing you a favor." She reached out, trailing her fingers along his cheek, her touch feather-light but freezing cold. "Because now you'll never have to wonder if you would've forgiven me. You'll never have to decide. I'll make it for you."

With that, she stood, her movements slow and deliberate, reaching for something on the table. The dim light caught on the glint of metal—a knife, cold and shining in her hand. She turned it over, admiring the blade with a disturbingly calm expression before looking back at him.

"Noah, do you know why you're here? Why I went to these lengths?" Her voice was calm, almost conversational. "It's because you needed to understand. She may have had your past... but I own your future. So I had to make sure there'd be no looking back."

A shiver ran down his spine, but he kept his gaze steady, his tone a blend of fear and fury. "You're insane," he whispered.

She shrugged, almost amused. "Maybe I am. But whose fault is that?" Her eyes bore into his, a strange mixture of accusation and adoration. "I love you, Noah. But now... I want to be free."
His heart pounded as the realization settled in, cold and suffocating. "Vivienne, don't do this." His voice was desperate, pleading. "We can walk away from this. Both of us. We can just... end it here."

Her lips twitched into a sad, almost pitying smile. "Oh, Noah. There is no 'we.' Not anymore." She leaned in, whispering as she pressed the blade to his throat, the edge biting just enough to make him freeze. "You say I never gave you a choice? Consider this my last gift—no more choices left."

Noah's mind raced as a new wave of dizziness swept over him, his strength beginning to ebb. "You... you drugged me," he managed, realization dawning.
She grinned, a cruel, triumphant gleam in her eyes. "Yes, I did. I thought it'd make things easier—for both of us."
Panic clawed at him, his vision blurring as his body grew weaker. He fought to stay conscious, to keep his eyes locked on hers, refusing to show fear. "Vivienne," he choked out, his voice barely above a whisper. "You'll never win. I'll never be yours."

Her smile faded, replaced by something darker, colder. She tilted her head, watching his struggle with eerie detachment. "Oh, Noah," she murmured, almost affectionately. "Look at you." Her voice softened, as though consoling a child. "I have you, don't I? I won."

As his vision darkened, he saw her standing over him, her face the last thing he'd ever see—a mask of triumph tinged with sorrow. Leaning down, she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, her voice carrying the finality of a death knell.

"Goodbye, love. May we never meet again... for your sake."

Noah's world tilted, his vision fading to black as her words echoed in his mind, a cruel lullaby ushering him into darkness. And the last thing he heard was her laughter, soft and haunting, lingering in the silence.