Page 52 of Dark Therapy

I sucked in a sharp breath, instinctively shrinking back, but my head throbbed in protest. The alcohol still lingered, fogging my mind, making it hard to grasp the reality of him being here. My pulse quickened, shock mingling with confusion.

“Damien…?” My voice came out weak, barely more than a whisper.

His hand didn’t move from my face; his thumb traced the line of my cheekbone, the touch deceptively gentle. “Didn’t expect me?” he murmured, his tone low, with that familiar, unsettling edge. His gaze flickered over me, taking in my disheveled state, the remnants of the night written all over me.

My mind raced, piecing together fragments of memory—the party, the dancing,Jake. A wave of unease washed over me. I tried to sit up, but his hand was suddenly at my shoulder, pressing me back down, firm yet maddeningly soft.

“Had fun tonight?” he asked, his voice laced with something dangerous, something that made the hair on my arms stand on end.

I opened my mouth to respond, but a muffled sound made me stop. My eyes narrowed in confusion, and I frowned, glancing toward the source. In the dark corner of my room, where the shadows pooled thick and heavy, a figure was kneeling on the floor.

Jake.

My heart dropped. He was bound with rope, wrists tied tightly behind his back, his mouth covered with a strip of tape. His eyes were wide, wild with fear, silently pleading. I scrambled upright, a horrified gasp tearing from my throat as I took in the scene, my mind barely able to process it.

“What… Damien, what have you done?” I choked out, voice trembling.

Damien didn’t look at me. He was watching Jake, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. He leaned back leisurely, as though this was all a sick game meant purely for his amusement. “Didn’t I tell you to staysilent?” he said, his tone dangerously low, almost mocking.

Jake flinched, visibly struggling against his bonds, his muffled protests barely audible under the tape. I felt my stomach twist, a sickening cocktail of fear and guilt roiling inside me. I reached for Damien’s hand, desperate, pleading.

“Please, let him go,” I whispered, voice raw with panic.

Damien’s eyes locked on me, dark and electric, his lips curling into a savage, mocking smile. “Let him go?” he repeated, as if I’d told the funniest joke in the world. His grip on my chin tightened, his fingers digging into my skin hard enough to leave marks. He dragged my face closer, his whiskey eyes boring into mine with unhinged intensity. “You think I’d just letthatslide, Millie? That I’d let some bastard put his fucking hands on what’smine?”

I twisted in his hold, panic clawing at me, but his grip was unrelenting. “Damien, please! He didn’t know! He didn’t—he’sinnocent. This ismyfault. Let him go. I’m begging you.”

He released me suddenly, and I stumbled back, my heart pounding so hard it drowned out the world. Then, he slowly rose from the bed, his gaze fixed on Jake with a terrifying calmness. Each step he took toward him was deliberate, almost calculated,as if savoring the moment. His shadow loomed over Jake, who was visibly shaking, helpless against the ropes binding him.

“I warned you, Amelia,” Damien said, his voice a low, dangerous murmur that echoed in the silence of the room. “I told you what would happen if you let him touch you. But you didn’t listen.”

My heart hammered in my chest, the weight of his words sinking in. Then, a glint of light caught my eye—a silver gleaming in Damien’s hand. I blinked, dread pooling in my stomach as I realized what it was:aknife, sharp and cold, reflecting the dim light that seeped through the window.

“Damien,” I whispered, my voice shaking as dread coursed through me. “What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer for a while, his focus now entirely on Jake, who was slumped against the corner, bound and gagged, his eyes wide with terror. Damien stepped toward him with an agonizing slowness, each step deliberate, calculated, like a lion circling its prey. He twirled the knife lazily between his fingers, the movement almost casual, like it was a toy instead of a weapon.

He turned slightly, just enough to look back at me, an unreadable expression on his face. “What I have to,” he said, voice dripping with a twisted calm that chilled me to the bone. “I can’t give empty promises. You understand that, don’t you?

I shook my head, too stunned to move, but my voice finally broke through, trembling. “Please, don’t… Damien, please. This isn’t what you want.”

Jake’s muffled whimpers filled the room as Damien crouched down in front of him, his grin widening as he grabbed a fistful of Jake’s hair. He yanked his head back, forcing their gazes to meet. “And you?” Damien hissed, his voice low and venomous, leaning closer until his face was inches from Jake’s. He tilted his head, feigning curiosity. “Itoldyou to stay away from her, didn’t I?” His grip tightened as he gave a cruel tug on Jake’s hair, making him wince.

A sick realization dawned on me: Damien must have warned Jake to stay away from me. That was why Jake hadn’t reached out since our date, why he’d vanished without explanation. The pieces clicked together, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

Jake’s eyes darted to me, a mixture of regret and apology flashing through them. But Damien yanked his head back, forcing him to focus solely on him. “Do you think you couldignoreme?” Damien taunted, his voice as sharp as the blade he held. He pressed the flat of the knife against Jake’s cheek, a cold threat that was just a heartbeat away from violence. “I told you what the price would be, didn’t I?”

I stepped forward, desperate, voice trembling. “Damien, please—this isinsane. Just let him go. This isn’t who you are—”

Damien’s gaze flickered toward me, a dangerous gleam in his eyes as he stood behind Jake, his grip tightening on his hair, pulling his head back with ruthless control. Jake’s face contorted with fear, his muffled pleas barely audible under the tape. Damien pressed the blade against Jake’s neck, his movements slow and deliberate, like he was savoring each moment.

“Oh, Millie,” he murmured, his voice almost affectionate, but laced with something twisted and unhinged. “You still don’t understand, do you?” He tilted his head slightly, his gaze locked on mine, the cold amusement in his eyes sending a shiver down my spine. “There’s nolimitto what I’ll do for you.”

Mylegs felt rooted to the floor as I watched,horrorgripping me, my heart pounding so loudly it drowned out everything else. “Damien,please… this isn’t… he’s not… you don’t have to do this,” I stammered, desperation clear in every word. But he only smirked, his eyes flicking between me and the knife in his hand, as if my fear was merely fuel to him.

And then, with a swift, vicious motion, Damien’s blade sliced through Jake’sneck. The sound wasn’t loud—a wet, almost muted whisper of metal against flesh—but it echoed in my skull like ascream.

Hekilledhim.