𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭| 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 |𝟏𝟖+

Chapter 65 | The softest surrender

Hello babes.

Since I gave you an opportunity to decide whether I shall update today or after a few days, majority of you wished for early update so here it is!

The chapter is 14.000 words long which is A LOT and if I squeezed more scenes into it I fear it'd be too long so I'm satisfied with your decision.

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I sit on the cold tile of the shower, knees pulled tightly to my chest, my forehead pressed against them, my hair clinging damply to my skin. I feel the tears welling up again, stinging my already red, puffy eyes. When I look down at the water pooling around me, for a second, it seems to turn crimson, just like it did the first day I got here. I know it's just a trick my mind's playing on me, the flash of that awful memory, but it's so vivid that my chest tightens, and I feel like I'm right back there.

Five days. It's been five entire days since Dimitri shoved me out of his world without a single explanation, a single message. I'm stuck here in this... prison, this stupid villa. It might be big and luxurious, but it feels like nothing more than a gilded cage. The ride here was long, hours with no clue where we were going or when I'd get to see him again. And then, once I arrived, they just deposited me in this room like baggage.

I'm stuck in this oversized suite with a TV, a bathtub, and even a fireplace. But all I can think about is the look in his eyes before the guards dragged me away..

The first day here... I was angry. No, furious. Because.. how dare he send me away? How fucking dare he leave me after everything that happened down there? That fucking jerk. The rage that I felt was like fire in my veins. I tore through the room, shouting and grabbing anything I could throw, anything to help me release the frustration. And when I was done, I just collapsed on the bed and cried, sobbed until I was too tired to stay awake.

Since then, every night's been the same. I cry myself to sleep, and when I do manage to drift off, the nightmares swarm in, flashing images of blood, of guns... and of his face, grim and cold as he pushed me away.

But now, that anger has dulled. I don't have the energy for it anymore. I just feel... abandoned. Yes, that's the word. And empty. Every day that goes by without a word, without anything, it chips away at me a little more. The guards out there won't even let me leave this room. And the only person who's come inside was the medic they sent to check on my head. Even meals are just left by a woman I don't know and who doesn't answer a single one of my questions.

All I want is to know if he's okay.

And... if he is okay, why hasn't he come for me? Why hasn't he come to get me? That thought keeps gnawing at me, pushing and pushing until my heart starts tearing up. I feel like he's just detached himself. Like he's cut himself off from me, and maybe... maybe he won't come back. Maybe he doesn't even want to try anymore.

That thought alone hurts more than anything. It feels like my heart is tearing apart, this crushing ache that just won't leave. I'm just... so alone, and the only person who could take this feeling away, the only person I want to see, has left me here in silence.

I barely manage to stand, every movement feels heavy, like I'm moving through water. I grab a towel, rubbing it over my hair, drying it as best as I can. My reflection in the bathroom mirror looks pretty monstrous. A gaunt, exhausted face, hollow eyes ringed with dark circles, lips cracked from crying. I look like I haven't slept in weeks, which I guess isn't that far from the truth.

I shuffle back into the bedroom, past the untouched tray of food that sits on the nightstand. They'd also left me two suitcases of women's clothes. I pull on some pink shorts and a black oversized T-shirt that drops to my mid-thigh, more out of routine than anything. None of it matters, but I put them on anyway.