Chapter 20: The Hunt Ends

Forced kiss a head if you feel uncomfortable scroll next⚠️

Aurora pressed her back against the cold metal of the fridge, her fingers clenched around the knife.

Every sound, every breath, every shift in the air sent shivers down her spine.

Adrien was near.

His slow, measured footsteps echoed through the empty house, and with each step, her pulse quickened.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Aurora…" His voice was soft, eerie, laced with something dark.

She swallowed hard, pressing her lips together to stop the whimper threatening to escape.

"Why are you hiding, my love?" He sighed dramatically, his footsteps pausing for a moment.

"You don’t have to be afraid of me."

A pause.

A slow chuckle.

"No… I take that back. You should be afraid."

Her breath hitched.

He was playing with her.

He was enjoying this.

"I don't understand you, Aurora," he mused, his tone shifting.

"You were the one who made me feel alive. You were the one who gave me hope."

His voice was getting closer.

"You remember, don’t you? That day… when I was at my lowest, ready to disappear forever, and you smiled at me."

She squeezed her eyes shut. She remembered. That day at college, when he looked like a lost soul, and she had given him a small smile, just one moment of kindness.

"That was the first time I felt something," Adrien whispered.

"You gave me life, Aurora. You are my life."

Silence.

Then.... his voice dropped to a chilling whisper.

"And yet… you keep running from me. You keep pushing me away."

Her hands trembled.

"Why, Aurora?" His tone was soft, like a lover’s plea.

"Why do you break my heart like this?"

A long pause.

Then, with terrifying calm, he said...

"I won’t let you leave me."

A sharp bang.

Aurora flinched. He had kicked a chair aside.

Her breathing grew rapid. He was close.

"Let’s stop this game," Adrien said sweetly.

"Come out, love. Let me hold you."

Her heart pounded in her chest.

She saw his shadow stretch across the floor. He was near. Too near.

Then, his footsteps stopped.

Silence.

Aurora bit her lip. Did he....

A sudden rush of movement.

He grabbed her.

She gasped, struggling as his hand closed over her wrist, forcing the knife away from her grip.

"You…" Adrien’s voice was barely a whisper, but it was filled with something dark, something broken.

His gaze flickered down to the knife.

"You were going to stab me?" His lips parted in disbelief.

His eyes glowed with something dangerous.

Aurora trembled.

"Aurora…" His voice shook, a mixture of hurt and something much worse.

"After everything I’ve said to you… after everything we’ve been through…"

He exhaled slowly, his grip tightening.

"You were really going to hurt me?"

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Answer me."

She shook her head, biting back tears.

"Answer me, Aurora."

"I.... I…" Her lips trembled. "I just...."

"Say it."

"I wanted to escape," she choked out.

Silence.

Adrien's fingers twitched. His grip on her wrist tightened, and she whimpered.

His lips curled into a slow, unsettling smile.

"You broke my heart, my love."

Aurora shook her head desperately.

"You hurt me," he murmured.

"You hurt me so much…"

Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I...I'm sorry..."

His gaze darkened.

"I don’t want your apology," he whispered.

"I want you."

And then... he leaned in.

Aurora panicked.

"No! Please don’t do this! I love Sebastian!"

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

Everything changed...

Adrien froze.

His grip slackened for a fraction of a second, then, without warning, he grabbed her and took he rto the room and threw her on the bed.

Aurora gasped as her back hit the mattress, her vision spinning.

Adrien stood over her, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes, once soft and full of longing, were now wild.

"You…" His voice trembled. "You love him?"

Aurora's breath came in quick, shallow gasps.

Adrien let out a dark, bitter laugh.

"Of course, you do." His hands clenched into fists. "You always looked at him, didn’t you? You never saw me."

Aurora shook her head, pleading. "No, please—"

But Adrien wasn’t listening.

He caged her in, hands on either side of her.

"You love him," he whispered. His lips brushed against her ear, sending ice down her spine. "But he’s not here, is he?"

A tear slipped from her eye.

"You’re mine now, Aurora," Adrien murmured, tilting her chin up. His thumb traced her jaw with disturbing gentleness.

Aurora's breath hitched.

"You belong to me."

Aurora struggled, thrashing against him, but he was too strong.

"Let me go!" she screamed, her voice breaking.

But Adrien wasn’t listening. His breathing was ragged, his hands trembling in anger rage..

His eyes... wild, dark, dangerous...fixed on her.

"You love him, but you are mine," he whispered, stepping closer.

Aurora took a step back, her heart racing. "Adrien, please..."

He cupped her face, his touch disturbingly gentle.

"You don’t understand," he murmured. "You don’t get to leave me."

Then, before she could react...

he kissed her....

Aurora froze.

His lips moved against hers, desperate, forceful, filled with an obsession that terrified her.

She fought back.

With all her strength, she shoved him away.

SMACK!

Her hand connected with his cheek, a sharp, loud slap echoing through the room.

Adrien’s head snapped to the side.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then... his breathing changed.

His body stiffened.

His fingers twitched.

Aurora took a step back in fear.

His head tilted slightly as he turned back to her. His eyes.. they weren’t just angry. They were lethal.

"You…" he whispered.

Aurora trembled.

"You hit me?" His voice was eerily calm, but she could feel the storm beneath it.

"Y-you forced yourself... "

Before she could finish, he lunged.

Like a predator pouncing on its prey, he attacked her like a wolf.

Aurora barely had time to react as he grabbed her wrists, pinning her against the wall.

His face was inches from hers, his eyes burning with madness.

"You keep testing my patience," he growled, his grip tightening.

Aurora struggled. "Let me go!"

But he was too strong, too unhinged.

His hands moved to her shoulders, pressing her down onto the bed.

Aurora thrashed, fighting him with every ounce of strength she had.

"Stop fighting me, Aurora!" he snapped. "Why can’t you just..."

She kicked him. Hard.

Adrien staggered back.

Aurora gasped for breath, scrambling to move away.

But then

SMACK.

The force of his slap sent her crashing onto the bed.

Her vision blurred. The room spun.

Her ears rang.

Her cheek burned.

For a moment, everything felt distant. Muffled.

And Adrien....

He froze.

His hand still hovered in the air, as if his mind hadn’t caught up with what his body had done.

His breathing turned shallow, uneven.

Aurora’s body slumped slightly, her eyes drowsy from the impact.

Adrien took a step back.

What had he just done?

He slapped her.

He hurt her.

The realization hit him like a punch to the gut.

He tried to force her.

Just like his father.

Just like his father.

His mind screamed at him, and then....

A memory slammed into him like a nightmare.

F L A S H B A C K

A small boy curled up in a dark corner.

A woman... his mother.... sitting on the floor, her lip bleeding, a bruise forming on her cheek.

His father stood over her, his face twisted in rage and drunken madness.

"Get up," he spat.

She tried. She smiled through the pain.

"Don’t cry, my love," she whispered to the small boy in the corner. "Mama is okay."

Adrien, just a child, clutched his knees to his chest. His small body trembled.

His father sneered, gripping his mother’s arm roughly.

"You think I won’t take what belongs to me?" he slurred.

Adrien watched in horror as his father dragged her away.

His mother didn’t scream.

She didn’t fight.

She just turned her head one last time to look at Adrien.

And smiled.

"Close your eyes, my love."

The door slammed shut.

And Adrien, small and helpless, could do nothing but listen.

Present

Adrien stumbled back, breathless.

His chest tightened. His heart pounded painfully.

His father’s voice echoed in his mind.

"You think I won’t take what belongs to me?"

His stomach churned.

He looked at Aurora...

At the red mark on her cheek.

At the way she was curled up on the bed, trembling.

At the way she didn’t even cry out.

She just lay there. Silent.

Just like his mother.

Adrien felt sick.

His fingers twitched. His entire body felt cold.

What had he done?

TO BE CONTINUED...