The Blackwood Curse

Chapter 37

Sarah’s POV

The mansion was eerily silent as I slipped back into its oppressive walls. The weight of the night, of everything Axel had said and done, clung to me like a second skin. My thoughts were a tangled mess, each one pulling me deeper into the web of lies and danger that was the Blackwood family.

Eren. Eleanor. Victor. Axel. Each of them played a part in this nightmare, and I was the unwitting centerpiece. But now, I knew better. The revelations from my aunts—how this family thrived on blood sacrifices to maintain their immortality—had been the final piece of the puzzle. And the horrifying realization that Eren, my husband, was bound to a demon, made my stomach churn.

The night we consummated our marriage wasn’t just ours. I had shared that moment with a monstrous entity, tethered to Eren in ways I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. I felt violated in a way that no words could describe, as though my very soul had been tainted.

Yet I couldn’t let them see my fear. Not Eren, not Axel, not any of them. This family thrived on manipulation, on control. They were dangerous, more so than I had ever imagined. If I confronted them now, if I revealed even a sliver of what I knew to Eren, Eleanor or Victor, I wouldn’t live to see the dawn.

I couldn’t trust anyone, not even myself.

I made my way through the dark hallways, each step deliberate, each breath measured. My hands trembled as I clutched the journal Axel had given me—my mother’s journal. The only thing in this house that felt real, felt mine. Her words were a lifeline, a connection to a past that made sense, a past before I had been dragged into this cursed family.

Why had Axel given it to me? That question gnawed at the edges of my mind. He claimed to love me, yet his actions were as twisted as the rest of them. He had confessed his feelings, kissed me with a desperation that left me breathless and confused. But could love truly exist in a family that thrived on blood and darkness? Or was his obsession just another form of control?

I didn’t have the answers, but I couldn’t afford to dwell on them now.

Reaching my room, I closed the door softly behind me and locked it. The small act of securing the door gave me a fleeting sense of control, though I knew it was an illusion. The Blackwoods didn’t need locks to get what they wanted.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, my fingers tracing the worn leather of the journal. It had been my mother’s, a woman I barely remembered but who had somehow known the truth about this family. Her warnings, her fears, were etched into every page. She had known the Blackwood family, and she had paid the ultimate price.

I flipped through the pages, her handwriting a steady presence amid the chaos.

"They hide behind their wealth and charm, but their hearts are blackened by the curse they embrace. They will never let you go, Sarah. They will bind you to them, body and soul, as they did to me. But you must stay strong. You must find a way to break free."

Her words were a beacon, guiding me through the storm. But how could I break free when every path was blocked by darkness?

I couldn’t run—not yet. If I left without a plan, they would find me. And when they did, I wouldn’t live to tell the tale. No, I had to be smarter. I had to be patient, careful. I had to learn more, uncover their weaknesses, and find a way to sever the ties that bound me to this cursed family.

For now, I would play their game.

The Blackwood estate was quiet that evening, its silence more oppressive than peaceful. The mansion was like a beast at rest, its dark heart beating softly beneath the surface, waiting. I had come to dread these moments of stillness, knowing they were never as serene as they seemed. Every creak of the floorboards, every flicker of the candlelight felt alive, a part of the house’s endless vigilance.