The night passed, but Belle did not sleep. She sat by her window, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, staring into the shadows that seemed to pulse with life. Thomas's words rang endlessly in her mind—"Your soul."
Her chest ached with a weight she could not name. Fear? Desire? Or both tangled in ways too dangerous to separate?
When morning came, Belle's mother knocked on her door.
"Belle, are you alright? You look pale. Did you sleep at all?"
Belle forced a faint smile. "I'm fine, Mother. Just… adjusting to the house."
But her mother's eyes lingered on her longer than usual. As though she sensed something hidden, something Belle dared not reveal.
The day dragged on painfully slow. While her parents busied themselves downstairs, Belle wandered the halls, her thoughts consumed by the forbidden room. Every creak of the mansion called to her, luring her back toward him.
By dusk, she could no longer resist. She climbed the stairs again, barefoot, her heartbeat echoing through the silence. When she reached the locked room, the door swung open as though waiting for her.
Inside, the mirror glowed faintly, its mist curling like fingers reaching outward.
Thomas appeared, his figure clearer than ever. His eyes softened at the sight of her.
"You came back…"
Belle's lips trembled. "You frighten me, Thomas. Every time I see you, I feel as though I'm losing myself… yet I can't stop."
He stepped closer inside the glass, his hand brushing against the barrier.
"That is because you are not losing yourself, Belle. You are finding the part of your soul that has always belonged to me."
She froze, her breath catching in her throat. "Belonged to you?"
His eyes burned with longing.
"Yes. You were mine once, in another life… before betrayal, before the curse. Fate has brought you to me again. Don't you feel it?"
Her chest tightened painfully. His words struck a chord too deep to deny. She remembered dreams—faces, fragments, moments that felt too vivid to be imagination.
Belle's voice shook. "Then… if what you say is true, how do I free you?"
Thomas's expression darkened, the sorrow returning to his gaze.
"To free me is to bind yourself. My chains can only be broken through the sacrifice of another soul—yours. That is why I hesitate, Belle. To love me is to risk losing everything."
Tears welled in her eyes. "And to let you stay here forever… is that not just as cruel?"
For a moment, silence stretched between them, heavy and unbroken. Then Thomas pressed his palm harder against the glass, his voice rough with desperation.
"Every night you come closer, Belle. The curse is already weakening. Whether you choose or not, the bond is growing stronger. Soon… neither of us will be able to resist."
Before Belle could reply, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall. She spun around, panic flooding her veins.
"Belle?" her father's voice called sharply. "Why is this door open? We told you never to come here!"
Belle gasped, rushing to close the mirror's glow behind her. But the light was still pulsing, impossible to hide.
Her father stepped into the room, his eyes widening at the sight of the glowing mirror. His face went pale.
"No… not again…" he whispered under his breath.
Belle froze. "Father… what do you mean?"
But before he could answer, the mist inside the mirror swirled violently, and Thomas's voice thundered through the room—deeper, darker than Belle had ever heard.
"She knows now. Nothing can stop what has begun."
✨ End of Chapter 10