Victor stood in the doorway like a shadow that had learned to speak.
"Leave us."
Miriam gave me one last, brief look—a flicker of sympathy beneath the weight of obedience—before gathering the bloodstained sheets and slipping out.
If I was being honest with myself, I hated the thought of her. But not as much as I hated being alone with him.
Victor closed the door. The lock clicked softly into place.
He moved slowly, deliberately, until he stood behind my chair. I couldn't see him, but I could feel him—his presence a pressure, a silence that swallowed the room whole. My heart thundered in my chest, and I knew he could hear it.
"Shhh," he murmured, fingers brushing the side of my neck. "Calm yourself. I think we can agree… yesterday was a one-time thing?"
His voice was light, like teasing. Like he hadn't broken me. Like he hadn't made me bleed. His hands moved to my shoulders, gentle in the same way venom seeps through skin. He leaned in, breathing against my hair, waiting.
"No. It won't happen again," I whispered, the words barely audible through the crack in my throat.
He kissed the top of my head—satisfied.
When I dressed, he stood watching me from the wall, arms crossed. The bruises were placed with care, hidden beneath my clothes. All but the bite mark, deep and purple, at the back of my neck—a signature he didn't bother to hide.
"Tonight, you'll socialize with our guests. Be pleasant. Make a good impression."
"Okay," I said, wincing as his arms suddenly wrapped around me. He was inhumanly fast—there one moment, behind me the next.
"Please, Ayana," he said, voice deceptively soft. "Don't make me hurt you again. I want you to adjust in your own time… but adjust all the same."
He turned me to face him. His eyes were sharp, almost curious, like a child studying something breakable. I wanted to scream that I was afraid. That I wasn't ready.
But all I could manage was a nod.
"They're safe as long as I'm here," I repeated in my mind once he was gone. Over and over. A mantra for survival. I thought of Theo. Of my parents. Of the friends back home who probably thought I was staying in some fairytale mansion.
They wouldn't imagine the truth.
I glanced in the mirror. My hair had been cut to my neck. The platinum streaks fell in jagged lines near my ears—like someone had tried to make me look younger. Softer. Easier to mold.
I lay down just to rest my eyes—but sleep took me like a current.
I was back in the ballroom.
Elizabeth stood among the crowd, still and ghostlike. Her eyes locked with mine before she turned and hurried away. I chased her.
This time, she stood at the top of the stairs, a noose hanging from the ceiling.
"Don't," she said. "It won't matter. It wants you—just like it wanted me."
My blood ran cold.
"The door is open," she whispered. "Just a crack. Just enough for it to see you."
"What's at the door?" I begged. "Please—tell me how to leave Belmore."
She stepped onto the railing, her bare feet curling over the edge. "I never wanted to die. I just… loved him so much. Victor can be kind. Loving, even. But you've seen the other side of him—the side I never did."
Her voice shook, but her eyes were clear.
"You have to give in willingly, Ayana. It's the only way. Victor is your way out of Belmore. Out of what's coming."
"What coming?"
She didn't answer.
She stepped forward and dropped into the dark. The rope snapped, but there was no sound of impact. Just silence.
I didn't wake right away.
Something crouched at the top of the stairs. Watching me. Breathing. Its limbs bent the wrong way.
It ran at me.
I screamed—
I jolted awake, shivering, my skin slick with cold sweat. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't stay.
I rushed from the room, just in time to see Victor standing at the top of the stairs. His face wore something like concern. Something not quite human mimicking it.
I said nothing, only took his hand—desperate for distance from whatever was still waiting in that dream.
We walked to the ballroom.
An old woman sat beside racks of dresses. She looked like she'd been there a hundred years. Victor gestured to her.
"This is Ramora," he said. "A long-time family friend. She'll help you find your wedding gown."
He kissed me once, possessively, then vanished down the corridor.
Ramora beckoned with fingers like bird bones. Vena, Anett, and Miranda arrived soon after with tea and pleasantries, all smiles and polished eyes. They looked at the gowns like predators circling prey.
I tried each one on. Finally, I chose a Victoria Sprina gown—laced and pearled, like armor disguised as silk.
Ramora took it and disappeared.
Vena wrapped her arm around mine and grinned. "You haven't seen the indoor spa yet, have you? Consider it your bridal shower."
They led me away, cooing and laughing. The spa was humid and fragrant, with hanging tropical vines dipping into the water.
"I don't have a swimsuit," I said.
Vena looked me up and down. "You can swim naked. Don't be shy, Ayana."
They slid into the water, their skin glowing. Laughing like sirens.
Something in me wanted to belong.
I started to undress.
"That's it," Vena said, voice syrupy. "Let go. Enjoy this moment."
I entered the water but stayed close to the wall.
Anett pulled Vena toward the stairs. "We'll be back. Just a quick bite."
Victor appeared not long after, watching me from the shadows. I didn't notice until he was already beside the water.
He knelt and opened his hand. In his palm sat an emerald ring, deep green and cold like sea glass.
He slipped it onto my finger, then kissed it.
"This is a symbol of peace. Unity. For all generations. I didn't propose properly—but you deserve a ring."
"It's beautiful," I said, voice hollow. "Thank you."
Is this what he wanted? A wife who smiled and obeyed while her bones still remembered screaming?
The others returned, eyes glittering. Victor whispered that he wouldn't see me again until the wedding. Then he was gone.
I looked down at the ring.
It gleamed like a curse.
And for the first time, I wondered if the monster I was marrying was still the worst thing waiting for me inside Belmore.