Burnt Paradise || tk

I sit frozen on the edge of the bed. My white-knuckled fingers buried deep into the silk sheets, Then, the footsteps begin. Slow. Deliberate. The heavy thud of his leather boots against the hardwood. These are the same steps that used to mean safety. The same hands that once wiped away my tears are now cold and lethal.

The air in the room instantly turns to ice as he stops right in front of me.

"Are you happy now, doll?"

His voice is a low, entirely devoid of warmth, dripping with a mocking fury that makes my stomach violently turn. He uses the nickname from eight years ago not out of affection, but to remind me of exactly what I chose to destroy when I betrayed him.

"H-hyung, ple-please, s-"

Before the word can fully form, his hand snaps out.

fingers clamp around my jawline like an iron vise. The sudden, brutal pressure forces a sharp whimper from my lungs as he digs his thumb ruthlessly into my lower lip, pressing hard enough to split the delicate skin against my teeth. The metallic, taste of blood instantly floods my tongue.

"One more word," he whispers, leaning down, his breath burning hot and toxic against my damp cheek. "And you won't be in a state to make a single sound."

He twists his wrist, forcing my head back at an agonizing angle. His eyes are dead, staring at me with a detached, freezing hatred that scares me far more than the physical pain.

"Now lay down and enjoy your reward, hmm?" He mocks, his voice barely a breath against my ear. "You worked for ten years, earning every bit of this."

Don't cry. Don't you dare cry.

My heart thumps frantically against my ribs, i swallow the blood in my mouth, completely paralyzed, unable to even shake my head. But my body betrays me anyway. A single, scalding tear slips past my lashes. It tracks down my cheek and pools directly over his thumb.

He doesn't flinch. He just stares down at the wetness on his skin with absolute disgust....