izytaegi
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Every night at exactly 3:00 a.m., a single rose appeared outside her door. Always crimson, always dewy as if plucked seconds ago, though no florist was open at that hour. At first, she thought it was a prank, but the roses never wilted. They lived longer than they should, petals soft weeks later, as if refusing to die.
On the thirteenth night, she heard the knock. Gentle. Patient. A heartbeat disguised as sound. Against her better judgment, she opened the door.
He was there. Tall, sharp-featured, eyes like the edge of a storm. In his hand, another rose, dripping. Not with water-something thicker, darker, staining his fingers.
"For you," he said, voice velvet and blade.
She recoiled. "What are you doing? Where are you getting these?"
His smile was both tender and cruel. "They grow for you. Fed by those who stood in my way. Their blood roots your garden."
Horror should've swallowed her whole, but it didn't. Her chest tightened with something far more dangerous: fascination. He had killed for her. Loved her with violence so pure it felt holy.
She should've screamed. Instead, she whispered, "Why me?"
He stepped closer, brushing the rose across her lips. "Because you were born to be worshipped."
And in the silence that followed, she realized she wanted the worship more than she feared the blood.
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