Athena
I watched him doe-eyed, watching the rage swarming in his wavering eyes, his hands shaking and rising fury evolving pronounced in his unsteady and rushed breathing.
His clothes were nearly on the verge of getting ripped as his wolf began emerging, the very faint sight of the dark fur spread through his skin and the sharp nails cut through the layers of his skin and extended from the tips of his fingers, suddenly his inhale and exhale did not sound human any more, they began to sound animalistic.
It was a debate whether his wolf was against me or trying to refrain Sebastian from hurting me. The sight of his wolf was dangerous, nonetheless, facing it did not feel as perilous as facing him. At least, it did not appear as if that beast wanted to destroy me, there was no want of demolition in the dark orbs of his wolf nor was there any rage specifically directed at me; Although there was indeed an unspecified amount of anger burning in them, it was not for me; In fact, it was for the body he resided in— It was for Sebastian.
But I was not uncertain that soon as I would get the sight of the very familiar blue orbs— All I would see would be the desperate need for destruction and I would be the one who'd have to go through it. But was I scared? Hell no.
It did not take long or Sebastian to get a hold of his wolf and take control. The fur disappeared all at once, his nails went back to normal and his eyes same cold as ever, full of rage and even in the deepest corners there was no sign of mercy. Cruel— He was utterly cruel.
"If you dare to speak about my mother one more time, I'll forget the fact that you are my mate and it'll not take me more than a few flying seconds to kill you right now, over here." He growled, advancing towards me with long strides.
"When have you even remembered that I am your mate? Tell me when did you even consider me one?" I asked, strength coursing through my veins, my legs no longer felt weak and they were ready to walk miles all alone, "You have always treated me just the way your father has treated your mother. You are nothing but just like your damn father. Just look at yourself in the mirror for once and you'd see none but Elijah in you because that's what a monster you have become. A living reflection of Elijah."
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up, Athena." He grabbed me by my throat and slammed me against the wall, the cold surface made goosebumps of peril cover my skin, "Don't you dare to utter another word. I am warning you, it'd not end up good."
"What are you going to do, Sebastian?" It hurt to speak when his grip was so tight around my throat, forcing my veins to wither, "Let's just state the last thing that you have left to do and that is killing me. So you are going to do that and put a full stop to the list of your crimes? Will you kill me?! Will you—"
I got harshly cut off as he shouted out his answer before I could even finish what I was going to say.
"Yes— I will kill you and nothing would stop me from doing that if you don't fucking shut your mouth at this moment, right now and get the fuck out of the room." I could see more fear in his eyes than rage, there was more pain than burning want of vengeance.
But I did not really care about it anymore— Pain or sadness, joy or fury, satisfaction or loathe— Nothing that related to him mattered to me anymore provided that he has wiped off every vestige of the love I had for him.
My love for him has to die and even if it doesn't agree, I'd strangle it to death because that's the ultimate escape— What I have been looking for— A way to peace— Away from Sebastian Valdez and his curse.
"I know what you are truly capable of doing. And I don't lie to myself as you do to yourself—The most damning thing anyone can do," I spat, grabbing his hand and pushing it away as I released my throat from his stronghold, "And guess what? I don't prefer to lie to anyone. All I say is the truth and today everything I'm telling you is the truth— The blood that runs in your veins, that gives you the strength to commit all these crimes, that travels all over your body with every beat of your heart— Is Elijah's; I wouldn't have believed it before today, but now I do. Because you know what? It's not the relations that make us the same, it's the deeds and unfortunately, your deeds are no different than your father which makes you the same as him. You want your child to follow your footsteps because you are somewhat doing the same thing. No matter what you say, nothing can change it that you are nothing but like your father."
I saw the wavering in gaze, the slight tremble of his lips as he hesitated to utter something but couldn't— He was drowning in distress, the untold words dying on the tip of his tongue remained a mystery and the shaking of his hands only expressed what he felt and his tangled emotions the bare minimum. However, nothing gave me even the nearest of the details of what he actually thought— What were the thoughts going on in his head, was there any realization or was it still the same darkness that engulfed him every time he wished for it?
"Look, stop this, okay? Just stop it," He began to step back, his hand shaking as he warned me but his eyes failed to cover his dilemma.
"Why? The Sebastian Valdez who claims to be the strongest and mighty ruler of the dark can't even face the truth of his existence?" I stepped closer, "What happened to your claims to be inevitable? You are strong, powerful, and heartless and remember what you said— You have got no weaknesses. So what now? All your resilience has flown out of the window?" A chuckle left my mouth.
"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!"He growled out but that mere move of his expressed more of his pain than hiding it beneath the drapes of his rage.
"Remember what your father has done to your mother and then compare them with what you did to me. Dive into the memories that you have kept covered for so long, Sebastian. Look into them once," I sneered, venom dripping from my voice for the first time ever, "If you have the guts then just do it and tell me who looks worse to you. You who have left no extent to cross to make me face hell before even my death or Elijah who just ended it very easily by taking Carolina's life. You did not let me live, you did not let me die— You wished to see me suffer, and you succeeded little by little in dragging me to my grave, letting me see the sight of that dark place, giving me a taste of it every day but not allowing me my last peaceful breath. You ruined me but did not let me fix myself let alone let the pieces slide and find their way back home. You are worse than Elijah Valdez. You are much worse than him yet you hate him when in reality, you have already walked far more from where his footsteps ended and I'm sure, you'd still think you have a long way to go cause that's the ultimate motto of your life."
He did not say anything but he did his best to avoid any eye contact. He stood still, but I saw him desperately trying to run away, hide somewhere mostly any corner beyond the dark, avoid the decay and reside somewhere that'd not force him to face the fragments of memories in the light but instead would let him lay amidst them, intentionally oblivion and resting in the temporary scrutiny— He wanted to be anywhere but not near me.
"Don't hide, Sebastian. If you care so much about cutting the strings, then cut it properly— And trust me, I can do the job better than you cause I'd leave no space for them to coil back and join, I'd fucking turn them to ashes but before that, it's you who has to burn— Not me," I did not stop. I did not want to stop.
I was enraged and hurt and everything that I said was just a way of getting rid of the pain he caused me— The havoc he created.
"You claim that you'd kill your father over and over again if you get the chance. But what are you going to tell him if you actually get the chance to face him? Tell him that— I became the exact same person as you but I still hate you for the way you were with me and my mom? I hate you because you kept fucking different women when my mother was suffering alone? But what's the point, Sebastian? You also kept another woman at the same house just like your father— You are equally disgusting." I stepped even closer and this time he held his shaky hand out motioning me to stop.
"Don't push it, Athena. I'm telling you, don't push it for god's sake!" He growled, sweat covering his forehead and gliding down, his nervous eyes did nothing to hide his forced denial.
"I pushing nothing. I am just telling you what you are, you can't hide from it forever so all I am doing is just a favour and don't mistake it for love— It's my pity for you. After all, you need a good dose of reality," I inched closer and as he attempted to move, I grabbed his collars preventing him from pulling away, "Look at me, Sebastian. Just look at me— See what you have done to me. Do you see the twinkle in my orbs that I had when I'd first seen you? Do you see the hopes shining anymore?"
He did not tear his gaze away from me, he looked— Just looked.
And his face told me his answer—He saw none.
"But can you see how nonexistent you have become? How all I want is to go far away from you and never come back.....do you see it?" I asked, once again I found my answer, not from his words but from his silence, "I know you can see it— How unfortunate...you destroy the people who love you and adore the ones that are only there for the advantage. You create the havoc all by yourself yet all you search for within that destruction is peace—The irony of people like you." I chuckled.
He let out a tight breath, his stressed muscles feeling like cold stones against my skin giving me a hint of how rapidly the temperature of his body has gone down.
"Sometimes I feel like hating myself. I was so stupid for thinking that you are going to change for the better when all you do is turn yourself into more like the monster you hate— The monster in disguise, who once ruined you and your mother. Technically you are carrying his legacy and why shouldn't you? It's fucking evident that you wish to be exactly like Elijah and if he could see you right now, he would not be disappointed at all. You have followed every step of his and incorporated all his habits, characteristics, and shameful deeds into your life. Congratulations, Honey— You have won."
"Lies— All are lies," He spat, however, it sounded like it was more of an assurance to himself rather than a response to my words.
"Ask yourself if those are lies and then if you still feel like what I said was not even close to the truth then stick to it. At least, for you it'd be easier to live— A man whose own life is nothing but a burden for himself," I spoke, there was no rage in my voice, not even sadness, or any emotion— I sounded cold, so cold that it scared me from inside and judging by the melancholy passing through Sebastian's expression, it went without saying that he noticed the coldness more than I did.
"Look what I have become because of you. I feel nothing; Nothing at all," I chuckled, as I watched him there was a stinging pain that crossed my heart but I buried it deep and locked it away— I was not going to allow him to enter my heart ever again, "Hope you are satisfied with the outcomes because they turned out exactly like you intended them to be. I no longer want you or dream of a so-called lovely future. I have had enough of it—I was an accomplice for you in all your crimes, Sebastian and I was the victim too. I blindly let you push me into the miseries and all I tried to do is to pull you out of yours. I wanted to save you so bad from your own darkness that I set myself on fire just to light your fucking way, and all you did was laugh and trample on my soul as you watched me cross every limit in order to save you. You only moved deeper into that darkness as you watched me melt off my flesh, burn my bones, only....to save you."
He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out— For the first time, he was at a lack of words and he couldn't find a way out of it.
But did I want to hear anything? No.
I could say for the first time— I did not have any hopes left to hold me back.
"Maybe the moon goddess did the right thing when she gave you the curse. Perhaps, she knew what a monster you would become from within even without it, so the only thing she did was to make you miserable so that she could prevent you from ruining others more than you would. All these days, I thought of freeing you from the curse but now I feel like— That curse is meant for you, you are stuck with that curse so that you don't cross the last few extents left," I spoke, without looking back at him, "Whatever it is or whatever it was supposed to be— Nothing matters anymore. It's your curse, your life. Do whatever you want. I no longer see the man I loved in you, perhaps, this was the reality I needed to see this whole time— You....just don't have a heart."
I smiled at him and finally I let his collars go and pushed him away, he stumbled backwards, stepping away and knowingly or unknowingly, within those few steps he'd walked miles away; Now all that was left was for me to do the same.
I turned around and headed to the exit, releasing a sigh of relief— It felt a huge weight was off of my chest and my shoulder— I no longer had to fix anyone, I knew I have done everything I possibly could and the man I did all of these for, truly didn't deserve any of it.
However, my feets halted at the exit. And before I even knew I spoke up, every sentence on its own solely came from the pain I'd endured and the damage that I was yet to start fixing.
"Do me one last favour Sebastian," I looked back at him, "Arrange my departure within this evening."
And with that one last glance at him, I walked out of the room. Leaving him all on his own— Finally letting him go.