Chapter 15

I drove back to the cabin, the weight of what transpired between Cora and me in the forest lingering like a foul taste in my mouth. The car still held her scent—a mix of fear, desire, and the sweet fragrance of the floral perfume she wore. It was a reminder of the chaos she’d brought into my life.

Once inside the cabin, I opened my laptop, the screen’s glow an eerie beacon in the dim room. The scent of a Danish pastry caught my attention. She had good taste, even in the most mundane things. I took a bite, the flavor a strange comfort amidst the turmoil.

I logged into my accounts, ready to bask in the adulation of my followers. Instead, I was met with a cacophony of praise for my latest conquest. The photo I’d taken of Cora’s lifeless body, dirty and broken, had stirred a frenzy in the red rooms. They lauded my technique, their words laced with a disturbing hunger for the woman I’d just killed.

“Did you see the way she looked at you? A true masterpiece of despair.”

“I’d give anything to have a taste of her before you put her down.”

“Where did you bury her, Lord? We want to pay our respects.”

Their comments turned my stomach. These were not the accolades I sought. Cora was not just another victim to be ogled and coveted by these vultures. She was different. She was mine.

Anger boiled within me, a fierce protectiveness that I had no right to feel. “Enough!” I typed, my fingers pounding the keys. “Show some respect. She’s not a piece of meat for you to salivate over. Find something else to get your rocks off.”

I slammed the laptop shut, the voices of my followers silenced for the moment. I wasn’t sure why I was defending her, why I felt the need to shield her from their depraved desires. Cora had been nothing but a thorn in my side, a complication I didn’t need. And yet, here I was, feeling… what? Remorse? No, that wasn’t it. She was a liability, and I had dealt with her accordingly.

But as I sat there in the silence of the cabin, the image of her lifeless body haunted me. The way her hair fanned out around her, the dirt smeared across her cheek… it was all wrong. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Not for Cora. Not for the woman who had somehow managed to get under my skin.

I stood up, my body restless, my mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. I needed to clear my head, to focus on the task at hand. But every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was her. Cora, with her wide, innocent eyes and her sardonic smile. Cora, who had dared to dream of a life with a monster like me.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself against the tide of emotions threatening to drown me. I would do what needed to be done, just as I always had. But as I opened my laptop once more, ready to confront the deviants in the red rooms, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something fundamental had shifted within me.

Cora was gone, but her memory lingered, a ghostly presence that refused to be silenced. An invisible specter that mocked my every attempt to regain control over the situation—over myself.

I had to understand her. Cora’s obsession with me, with my life, was something I had yet to fully comprehend. Perhaps the answers I sought were hidden within the pages of her book—the book that had started this whole ordeal. It was time to delve into the depths of her twisted mind, to see what she had made of my reality. With a sense of resignation, my fingers danced across the screen as I navigated to an online bookstore on my phone and purchased the ebook version of her novel.

The screen glowed in the dim light, the name “Kore Vasilios” seeming to mock me as I downloaded the book. I opened it, my eyes scanning the prologue with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity.

The words seemed to leap off the screen, the characters coming to life in a way I had never anticipated. Cora’s prose was vivid and compelling, her ability to weave a narrative was both dark and alluring.

As I read, I found myself immersed in a world that was hauntingly familiar, yet distorted through the lens of fiction. The character based on me, Haides, was a brooding figure, a man consumed by pain and tormented by his past. I could see shades of my own existence in the words she chose, the actions of the character mirroring my own at times. But there were also elements that seemed exaggerated, sensationalized for the sake of her story.

I read of Haides’ brutal past, the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, and the twisted love he held for his mother. I read of his need for control, his penchant for inflicting pain, and the way he sought to purge his demons through acts of unspeakable violence. It was unsettling to see myself depicted in such a way, to have my darkest secrets laid bare for the world to see.

Yet, as the story progressed, I found myself drawn to the character of Sofia, the woman who saw beyond Haides’ gruff exterior and violent tendencies. Her strength, her resilience, her unwavering determination to find the good in a man who believed himself to be beyond redemption—it was different from the real Cora, who had been so easily broken beneath my hands.

The irony of the situation was not lost on me. Here I was, a man who had built his life on control and domination, captivated by the words of a woman I had underestimated. Cora had captured my essence, even as she had woven a tale of love and redemption that seemed so out of reach for someone like me.

As I reached the climax of the story, the moment where Haides and Sofia’s worlds collided in a crescendo of violence and passion, I found myself pausing. The words on the screen blurred before my eyes, and for the first time in a long time, I felt a flicker of something akin to vulnerability.

Cora had seen something within me—a glimmer of humanity that I had long since buried beneath layers of rage and retribution. She had taken that sliver of hope and crafted a narrative that was both tragic and beautiful, a testament to her belief in the power of love to conquer all.

I set my phone aside, my mind a whirlwind of emotions that I could no longer deny. Cora’s book had done more than just tell a story; it had peeled back the layers of my soul, exposing the raw and bleeding heart that I had kept hidden for so long.

I realized then that I had made a grave mistake. In my quest for vengeance and control, I had failed to see the true depth of Cora’s spirit. She had not been a mere pawn in a game; she had been a beacon of light in my world of darkness. And now, she was gone, lost to the shadows that I had cast upon her.

The weight of my actions settled heavily upon me, a burden that I knew I could never escape. Cora’s words echoed in my mind, a haunting reminder of what could have been had I chosen a different path.

As the first rays of dawn crept through the cabin windows, I found myself at a crossroads. I could continue down the path of destruction that I had carved for myself, or I could embrace the flicker of hope that Cora had ignited within me. The choice was mine to make, and for the first time in my life, I was uncertain of the road ahead.