[AUSTRALIA]
Hudson sighed, resting his head on the shiny black chair. His head pounded as if it might split at any moment.
Ever since Cassius left, he had been the one handling the company work. It wasn’t easy, but he was glad he could use it to distract himself.
He had been avoiding Indigo and burying himself in work.
A text came through on his phone, and as his gaze fell on it, he saw Indigo’s message.
~Hey, how are you doing?~ she texted.
He sighed and replied that he was fine. As he put his phone down, it rang with her call.
For the first time in many days, he picked up.
“H… Hudson?” She stuttered on the other end, seemingly not expecting him to answer.
“Hey, Dee. How are you?” he asked.
“I… I… am fine… you?” she stammered again.
“I’m good.” The words sounded like a lie to his own ears.
“You sound tired. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy. With Cash not around, my workload tripled. I just have a slight headache right now.”
“Have you eaten lunch?”
“No.”
“What? It’s almost evening!” she snapped. When he didn’t reply, her voice softened. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”
“I’m hungry,” he muttered.
“I made your favorite. Lucky you! I’ll bring it over.”
In the next ten minutes, Indigo came to the office. She smiled when their eyes met.
“Here,” she stepped forward and placed the meal on the table. His eyes never left her. “Uh, I forgot to bring you water. I hope you have some here.”
Hudson nodded and finally averted his gaze to the food. “Thanks.”
She walked to the couch and sat down, watching him eat.
“H-how have you been?” she asked, her voice revealing how nervous she was.
Hudson stopped eating and gave an honest reply. “Not good.”
“Me too,” her voice was barely above a whisper.
They didn’t speak again until he ate the last bite.
“Uh… thanks a lot.”
“I bought some medicine for your headache too.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“No, you should-”
“I’m fine, Dee,” Hudson cut in, a bit colder this time, and he regretted it the moment their eyes met. “I’m sorry.”
He stood and adjusted his shirt. “I need to be somewhere. Thanks for the meal,” he said as he moved to walk past her, but she held him back.
“Please, let’s stop this. I can’t take it anymore. It feels like I’m going crazy with how cold you keep treating me. I… I love you, Hudson. Please, don’t treat me like this. I love you, and I’m sorry,” she poured out her emotions in one breath.
Silence followed her words, so she continued. “If you don’t want this, then…”
“Then what?” Hudson asked, thinking she would talk about going back to France, but she didn’t.
“Then I’ll kidnap you and force you to be mine. Or I’ll find some weird witch to cast a spell on you so you’ll stop torturing me and fall in love with me,” she flared, stepping forward.
Her serious gaze made Hudson laugh lightly. “What?”
“I’m serious. I can’t believe you’re giving me sleepless nights. I can’t take another one.”
Hudson stared at her for a while, then stepped forward. “That was really funny. I never knew you had that possessive side of you. It’s cute.”
Indigo swallowed as he closed the distance between them. His hand reached for her face.
“I have sleepless nights because of you too,” he confessed, and her eyes flashed with relief. “I’m sorry I made you worry…”
Indigo immediately stood on her toes and crashed her lips against his. Hudson dove his fingers into her hair and kissed her back.
Their lips moved in sync as Hudson pinned her against the table.
“I love you,” they both whispered to each other, breathless as they broke the kiss.
—
**[SPAIN]**
With a soft moan, Tatiana’s brow furrowed as she slowly woke from her deep slumber. Her vision was blurry, but she recognized the figure sitting on the couch opposite the bed.
His gaze was intense, his aura cold.
“Rebel,” he rushed to sit beside her.
“Cash?” her voice croaked, and his heart broke.
“Yes, I’m here,” he whispered.
“This isn’t a dream, right?”
Cassius kissed her forehead deeply so she could feel it. He wrapped his strong arms around her, and she did the same, tighter.
She buried her face into his chest, inhaling the scent she had missed so much. His scent and the gentle way he caressed her head slowly calmed her nerves.
“Cash, I-”
“Don’t,” he cut in gently, a subtle anger in his voice. Tatiana could feel it.
He coaxed, “You need to rest, okay? Don’t talk, my love,” he kissed her hair as she sobbed lightly, her tears soaking his black shirt.
Soon, her eyelids grew heavy, and she slowly drifted back to sleep.
As he heard her steady breathing, Cassius ran his fingers through his hair. His bloodlust was still there. He wanted to kill. He wanted to destroy. It intensified every time he saw the bruises on Tatiana.
Tristan, Maximus Wallington, and every single person in that chain.
He couldn’t wait to get his hands on them. He recalled how Maximus ended up hospitalized because of the burns from the accident Cassius had schemed.
He would have ended him there if it hadn’t been for his grandfather stopping him.
Fuck! He wished he had finished him and savored his screams till the end.
With his hand still gently caressing Tatiana, Cassius stared into space, his mind racing with thoughts.
Slowly, he got off the bed and carefully covered Tatiana with the quilt. Again, his anger surged at the sight of her bruises.
“Watch over her, Vuk,” Cassius said to the white dire wolf in the corner. The wolf whimpered in response and stood guard.
He headed straight to where Fernandez was being kept. Fernandez looked up slowly, his body naked and covered in bloodstains.
“Hello, friend,” Cassius greeted, his voice and aura menacing as he took slow steps toward him.
“H… Hey,” Fernandez stuttered, his body trembling in fear.
“How are you doing?” Cassius asked, stopping right in front of him.
“Are you here to torture me? Just kill me instead! I’ve told you everything, but you’re still not letting me go!” Fernandez almost yelled.
“I’ll let you go,” Cassius said.
“Really?”
“Hm,” Cassius nodded, shifting his gaze to the burning furnace. As he stared at the fire, one thought rang in his head:
*Burn them all.*
*Burn them all.*
*Burn them all.*
“Can you sing?” he suddenly asked Fernandez.
“S-sing?”
“Hm… I almost lost my wife. I need a song from you to clear off my anger,” Cassius responded, and Fernandez’s face twisted in confusion.
Cassius’s expression was terrifying. The man was more than scary.
“I asked you a question,” Cassius’s cold voice snapped him back to reality.
Fernandez shuddered and shook his head. “No… I can’t… I can’t sing.”
“Alright, I’ll teach you. It’s not hard,” Cassius smirked and walked over to the fire. He grabbed a stick with a burning red tip, embers sprinkling off it.
He approached Fernandez with slow steps.
“What are you doing?”
“About to teach you how to sing.”
“I don’t want to learn!”
“You don’t get to choose. The best voice is the one refined with fire.”
Fernandez’s face fell. The man before him was terror itself.
The acrid smell of charred wood and smoke filled the air, making Fernandez’s stomach churn.
“No, please!” he begged.
Cassius’s gaze lowered to the length between Fernandez’s legs. His dick.
“Such a perfect place to make you sing out loud. Don’t you think?” Cassius smirked.
“No!” Fernandez tried to move, but the chains held him in place.
Soon, his screams filled the entire place.
“Arrghhh!!!”