The Price of Love

◆ 19 ◆

I watched him approach the bed carefully, his eyes taking in the broken glass on the floor and my languid half-naked form against the sheets, the expression unreadable. He looked like pure sin...the form fitting navy suit left little to imagination of the sculpted body beneath, cleanly shaven, and his hair, dark to the point of being almost black, was brushed back. Watching him come closer, I remembered the feeling of silk as I ran my fingers through his hair, the phantom touch now wholly unwelcome as Caius stepped closer.

He stopped a feet away, his shoes crunching the pieces. Caius pressed his lips together and kicked away some of the broken glass under the bed, letting them crackle with a sound like wind chimes.

It was bright outside this morning, strange for rainy Portland, but I suddenly came to appreciate the day. The sunlight caught the galaxies in his eyes. When he looked at me, I forgot how to breathe. I forgot how to stick sentences or thoughts together, I even forgot my own name. How could such beauty possess such cruelty? Those words were synonymous, God, I knew that. Years and years of being criticised by my mother's young, haunty primadonna supermodel friends had ingrained that in my soul. But to look at Caius and to believe the allure that drifted through his eyes was deceiving. Because he wasn't good. Not in the slightest, never to be forgiven for his sins. It was impossible to think of his actions when the very innocence of stars danced in his eyes.

Two-faced more than anything, was he truly any worse than the people I had grown up with? Perhaps. But no one had ever been so in control, so in possession, of such lies. To be perfectly emotionless and yet to maintain the art of calling to attention any emotion at will was heartbreaking to see in Caius Kennedy. In another life, perhaps he could have been something more. Someone whose heart could match the beauty in his looks. But this wasn't it. This was not the life now, and it would never be.

"Daphne." His voice was even worse, full of charm and captivation even when he was annoyed. I couldn't bear to look at him any longer, so I turned to watch the particles of dust caught in the light and tried to block out the soft flutterings that beat against my heart at every word Caius spoke. I felt the beginnings of tears gather in my eyes. "I need you to understand how important you are. I will not let anything compromise this. His death was absolutely necessary. I do not regret killing him and I will not apologize."

It took everything in me to keep my composure at those words. "Dare you to say that to my dad when I die."

"You need to shape up, Daphne. I can't tolerate this behavior anymore. You know what kind of man I am. You know what I can do, and I dearly hope I don't need to demonstrate that again for you." Caius said quietly. "If you take into consideration how most abductions go, I think you'll find we treated you pretty well so far. At least you're not bound in chains, baby. In fact, you can make a break for it anytime you want. You won't get away, but the option to try again still sits before you. Behave, Daphne, because things will get a lot worse if you keep this disobedience up."

"The consequence of your actions befalls my life."

"As yours do mine."

I turned to Caius, the pit of my stomach contracting slightly when his eyes caught mine once more. Stars were not half as bright. "I disagree. Nothing I do will affect you, not in the long run at least. I have no power if I have no control."

"You have more than you think, Daphne. But let me enjoy your vulnerability a little while longer before you realize to what extent that control runs." His words were liquid gold, yet tainted all the same. "Once you do, I will never be able to intimidate you again. You will not look at me the same again if you could understand how much you, body and mind, truly affect me."