The Blackwood Curse

Chapter 9

Sarah's POV

The days at Blackwood Mansion were beginning to blend together, a strange cocktail of tension and quiet. The vastness of the house felt both suffocating and isolating, its echoing halls amplifying every doubt I tried to suppress.

Eren had been more attentive since our return, yet it only heightened my suspicions. His gestures—the small kisses on my temple, the hand resting protectively on my lower back, the soft “I love you” whispered when he thought I wasn’t paying attention—felt rehearsed, as though he was trying to convince me as much as himself.

Axel, on the other hand, lingered in the background like a storm cloud, his presence inescapable. He didn’t say much when we crossed paths, but his silence carried weight, like he was waiting for the right moment to strike.

That moment came one rainy afternoon.

I was in the greenhouse, a glass-paneled room tucked away on the east side of the mansion. It was one of the few places that felt truly mine, a sanctuary where I could escape the whispers of doubt. The air was thick with the scent of damp soil and blooming flowers, and the soft patter of rain against the glass roof was almost soothing.

Almost.

I was pruning a rose bush when I felt it—that prickling awareness that I wasn’t alone. I turned, my breath catching as I saw Axel standing in the doorway, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black coat.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

He stepped inside, his boots crunching softly on the gravel path. “I wasn’t sneaking. You just weren’t paying attention.”

I set the pruning shears down, crossing my arms. “What do you want, Axel?”

He tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve. “What do you want, Sarah?”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your life,” he said, taking another step closer. “This mansion. Eren. Do you really want any of it?”

I bristled. “Of course I do. Why would you even ask that?”

Axel smirked, but it was a cold, joyless thing. “Because I’ve been watching you. And I can see it in your eyes—you’re not happy here.”

“That’s not true,” I said, though the words felt hollow.

He took another step, and I backed up instinctively, bumping into the edge of the workbench. “Sarah, you don’t have to lie to me,” he said softly, his voice almost gentle. “I know you better than you think.”

I shook my head, my pulse quickening. “You don’t know anything about me.”

Axel’s expression darkened. “Don’t I?”

Before I could respond, he reached out, his hand brushing against my cheek. The contact sent a jolt through me, and I froze, my breath hitching.

“Do you know why I warned you about Eren?” he asked, his voice a low murmur. “It’s not because I hate him. It’s because I care about you.”

I stared at him, my mind racing. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that he doesn’t deserve you,” Axel said, his hand dropping to his side. “He’s not who you think he is, Sarah. And deep down, you know that.”

“Stop,” I said, my voice trembling. “You don’t get to come in here and—”

“And what? Tell you the truth?” Axel cut me off, his eyes burning with intensity. “You think you’re living in some perfect fairy tale, but you’re not. Eren has been lying to you since the day you met him.”