God Of Desire

crimson tears

Anastasia :

Silence...

All I could hear was the loud silence stretching in the car, thick and suffocating. My head felt heavier with each passing second, my skin growing cold despite the heated leather seats. I was tired. No...I was fucking exhausted.

Dad sat beside me, his eyes flicking toward me every few moments, but he said nothing. His presence, usually commanding and intimidating, felt distant.

I knew he was watching, waiting for me to break. But I wouldn’t. Not now. Not when every part of me was screaming to shut down,to disconnect from what just happened.

I stared out the window, the forest blurring into streaks of green and brown. My mind, however, was stuck back in that tower. The blood. The voices. The threat that echoed in my ears even now.

"The ghosts of your past will haunt you until you fall."

I clenched my fists in my lap, my nails digging into my palms to ground myself. The scratches on my arms throbbed, but I welcomed the pain. It was real. Unlike the twisted chaos swirling in my head.

My father finally broke the heavy silence, his voice rough and strained. "Who was it, Valeska? Tell me, and I'll destroy them."

There was anger in his tone, sharp and dangerous, but beneath it, something else lingered...sadness... or was it guilt? His knuckles tightened around the steering wheel, his jaw clenched as though he was fighting to keep himself together.

I didn’t answer right away. My throat felt tight, like the words were lodged deep, tangled in a web of fear and exhaustion.

I stared straight ahead, the road ahead blurred by the fog settling over my mind. Could I tell him? Could I risk reopening the wound I had fought so hard to seal?

"Valeska," he said again, softer this time, his voice cracking just enough to make my chest ache. He wasn’t just asking out of fury. He was asking out of love.

Still, I kept my gaze forward. "It doesn’t matter," I whispered, my voice hollow. "They’re gone now."

His grip on the wheel tightened even more, but he didn’t push. Instead, he exhaled a shaky breath, one that sounded more like defeat than relief.

I turned back to the window, my thoughts racing, heart pounding against my ribcage. They warned me.

Stay away from Madden. Stay away from the people you care about, or they’ll suffer.

The car came to a stop, the sudden stillness jarring me from my thoughts. The door swung open, and there stood Tolya, his face clouded with worry and guilt.

I hated that look. The pity. The silent judgment. Like I was some fragile thing about to break.

I clenched my jaw, forcing down the surge of frustration. Don't look at me like that. I don't need your pity. I don't need anyone's.

Before he could speak, I stepped out, cutting him off. "I'm fine, Tolya. Nothing happened. Don’t worry."

The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but I didn’t care. I didn’t wait for his response, brushing past him, my shoulders squared, my steps steady.

Before I could even step foot inside, my mom’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. The suddenness of it caught me off guard, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe, the pressure of her hug constricting my chest.

Her voice broke through the silence, soft and shaky. "Ah, my Nastya, my angel... where have you been?"

Her words shattered whatever walls I had left. I could feel her tears soaking into my hair, her body trembling against mine.