POV: Lianne
If anything. If anything at all. I wanted for that wish to be granted.
That was the last thing I remembered before I snapped back into reality. Cain was still staring at me and my guess was, he doesn’t even know that I just came from a trance.
I didn’t feel the pain in my left lower torso anymore. Only the pain in my heart. It lingered onto me like a bee ready to pollinate a rose. I am no rose though, but I had thorns. And right now, my thorns were all directed to Cain.
Sudden anger flooded through me. Now that I remembered that vital information about my death, I didn’t have any reservations about my feelings towards Cain anymore. Screw that brotherly love for him. He needed to feel my wrath.
I shifted my eyes to look at the monitor screen of the dungeon. Ruen looked fatigued. I’m sure if I were in his shoes, my knees would have already given way because of its soreness. I was deeply concerned about him. I wanted to run now and tell him that I fully remembered everything in my past — our past, but I guess that had to happen once I remove this hindrance in front of me.
“What do you want more Cain?” I asked in a stern voice. “You have everything you want! Money! Fame! The power to control! And I could assume, women groveling before you! Tell me! What more do you want?!”
He slid his right arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. The contact of our skin made me feel nauseous and I immediately stepped back away. I didn’t miss him frown because of it, but it was only brief.
“I want you Lianne, all of you, ” he answered in a gentle voice as if it would affect me. “Everything that I have means nothing without you. You already know that. And I assume that you have finally remembered everything in our past. That man is not right for you. I AM right for you. What do you think the emerald stone resurrect me for? It is because you are meant for me.”
His words were like daggers cutting me deep. It broke my heart hearing it. This man — my Lord Cain, my General Cain, my friend, my confidant, my solace in my darkest days in the Regaleria Mansion — this proud man was pleading right in front of me. But I knew it was only a facade. He could always press his way on me, exactly like what he did in the past.
Fate definitely was playing a game on us.
“I already told you countless times, Cain, and my answer again is still no. You know it saddens me that I couldn’t reciprocate your feelings, but I don’t love you. It breaks my heart knowing that I drove you into doing the things you did in the past almost to the point of insanity!”
“Exactly!” Cain cut in, frustrated. “So why are you refusing now?!” His eyes were blazing with fire that I needed to pull myself out of the monitoring room before I ignite into flames.
I sauntered towards the bedroom with Cain trailing behind me. As soon as I reached an arms-length away from his master bed, that’s when his true color emerged again.
“Don’t touch me!” I yelled when he grabbed my arm from behind.
I tried to wrench it out, but he took the liberty of pulling me towards him, our body clashing midway.
“Too late for that Lianne, ” he sneered. “You are in my world, you do as I say.”
“You’re despicable!” I sent him a scathing look as sharp as a newly-created blade.
“I built an empire for you! This is all for you! Give me what I deserve. I want you Lianne, everything about you! Your body, your soul, your heart!”
He pushed me with full force towards the mattress. I bounced back, but he launched himself forward just in time, detaining me in between his arms. Then, he kissed me.
His lips were moist, but clashed roughly with mine, all the while pushing me to lay flat on the mattress. His tongue torpedoed inside my mouth. I felt repulsed by it. Then, his hand wandered on the buttons of my blouse. I took this opportunity to shove him back away.
“Do it! I dare you! Do it!” I bravely said. “But know this, you will never have my heart! Not today, not tomorrow nor any other lifetime!”
He eased back at the edge of the bed and gave me a daunting look.
“Ah, another lifetime I see.” He wickedly grinned, then pulled out the emerald necklace from his blazer pocket.
“You know what this is, Lianne. You have tested its powers yourself.”
My eyes widened in astonishment. I do know its power. My wish came true because of it! Then, fear started to creep into my skin.
“I did some research of my own and I found out that virgin or not, your blood is still as potent as it is. I may not know what happened why the dead Garlow didn’t live again after that stupid priest offered your blood to him, but I am willing to try my chances now.”
He quickly drew out a Swiss army knife inside a drawer near the master bed, then presented it to me. I stared in horror as the blade mocked me with its sharpness.
I didn’t take long to realize what he was actually planning. My heart lurched and my hands went clammy and stiff.
No. Not again.
I didn’t want to experience the slicing pain again. That moment when that wicked priest pressed the dagger on my chest with its sharp blade, it had traumatized me. I didn’t want to feel that again!
“Cain, don’t do this! Please reconsider! Please, don’t do this to me again…”
My voice broke out into sobs, and my tears continued to leak, but he showed no signs of sympathy.
“Be still. This will only hurt a little, ” he comforted, but that didn’t lessen my distress.
He took my right arm and pointed the knife on the ulnar region of my forearm.
Good that he wasn’t eyeing my chest, but a cut was still a cut. Wherever part of my body that was. And a blade still drew pain. An incising pain.
“Cain, no…”
It was my last plea before I closed my eyes and waited for the blade to pierce my delicate skin. I waited for the contact in agonizing seconds until I heard a large explosion nearby.
Quickly opening my eyes, I saw Cain looking as stunned as I was. Another big explosion ensued and it effectively shook the ceiling above us. The crystal chandelier even wildly swung back and forth, and for a brief moment, the bedroom lights flickered and then dimmed, and then flickered again, until it stabilized.
Adrenaline was pumping all over my veins that it heightened my senses.
I saw Cain’s alarmed expression before he stood up and walked towards the monitor room. I stood up myself, intently watching him as he scrambled to look for any sign of commotion in the screens.
“Shit!” I heard him curse loudly.
As I neared the entryway, I immediately saw what the cause of his panic was.
There were angry flames enveloping the whole garden of the west wing, the gazebo already bursting with it and half damaged. Near the garden, a wall was destroyed, leaving a large gaping hole and more fire and smoke.
On the other screens, I saw a white smoke covering all of the hallways, except the one hallway that led to Cain’s room.
Even the dungeon was covered with white smoke. Ruen must still be there. With that kind of explosion, fire would likely spread quickly — all the more reason why I should go to him as soon as possible.
Cain turned around to face me, his expression that of anger. Just pure, utter anger.
“Come with me!” he demanded, then grabbed my arm and hastily dragged me out of the room.
“Let me go, Cain! Let me go!”
I struggled to free myself until we reached the main door.
“Stop fighting Lianne! You will come with me whether you like it or not!”
***
POV: Ruen
I heard the loud explosion outside the dungeon. It seemed like it was an advanced explosive device for it caused such a tremor in the ceilings and walls. I wondered who caused it, but I had an idea who they were.
Good. It’s about time.
Thick dust fell onto my head and the floor as another explosion ensued. On the first explosion, I saw the two men already in a guarded position, alarmed of what was happening. They eyed me twice, probably thinking that I might escape in this kind of situation.
But really, I couldn’t. The chains in my hands were too tightly bound. I still had a lot of reserved energy left, however. As much as I wanted to free myself now, I had to make sure that no consequences would present itself. Those men might be quick enough to pull the trigger on me and that wouldn’t be good.
By the second explosion though, I noticed them becoming fidgety and nervous. They both looked at each other and finally, fear reigned over them. They hastily ran out of the dungeon, leaving me to fend for myself.
I smirked. “Hmf, cowards.”
I then tried to wriggle out of the chains. The dust had been continuously dropping from the ceiling floor as what I could expect from a century-old mansion, and smoke began to creep inside, which my big guess was sleeping gas.
Just in time. One of my colleagues, Holt, made it inside the dungeon and quickly gave me a gas mask.
“Jesus Christ! What has happened to you?!” A stunned Holt asked me. With those big goggles covering his eyes, I could still see how he skimmed the length of my body, specifically, my bloodied clothes.
“I ran into some… setbacks, ” I just plainly answered.
He handed me my trench coat after he unlocked the last of my chains. “Here take this. You will need to cover those open cuts. Are you sure you will be fine?”
“Yes, I am. I can still stand.” I stretched my legs and rubbed the sore of my wrists and knees.
“Then, where are we heading to?”
I didn’t know exactly where we should start, but my instincts told me one place only: Cain’s bedroom.
I hope I am not late. I honestly hope that I am not late. My chest tightened just by thinking of that possibility.
I met with four of my colleagues on the first floor of the mansion who already had a thorough search on the floor and found no one. Well, except for Cain’s guards of course, whom my ‘friends’ had easily disarmed.
“Check the rooms again, ” Holt ordered for me, and so the four went back on the first floor hallways the second time.
The Soulisse Mansion hadn’t changed much. It was still as magnificent as ever with a sole grand staircase leading up to the second floor. She must be in one of the rooms there. I hope my other colleagues who were scouring the second floor would yield some good results.
I was almost at the top of the grand stairs when I heard gunfire from nearby and then followed by another.
And then before my mind could process, two individuals suddenly emerged from a hallway across the foyer on the left side.
I took out my gas mask to see properly, and there she was being held captive by Cain who was already holding an auto-revolver.
“Ruen!!!” I heard her cry out. I was all ears when I heard her voice. I missed that voice so much. I just wanted to capture it and put it in a music box.
In a flash, I climbed to the top of the grand stairs and stopped right at the landing. Cain, who immediately saw me, pointed out his gun and pulled Lianne back to his side.
“You stay where you are, ” he ordered in a finely sharpened tone.
I did stop but I pointed my own pistol back at him.