In her mind, she had already strangled this devil to death for saying those words. He was messing with her again! Why was it that every time she made up her mind, he would find a way to shake up her resolve? What made him this possessive of her?
Turning her back on him, she picked up her discarded dress and her shoes, all lying by the foot of the bed. Walking towards the bedside table, she took a look at the pills he had prepared for her last night. At least, he cared about her.
Was it really that impossible for her to get out from under the devil's shadow?
Or should she rather provoke this devil and be killed by him instead?
"Well?" His voice brought her back to reality. She pouted and threw the nearest pillow at the infuriating man laying on the bed, which he easily caught in mid-air.
"You're making my life miserable," she hissed instead.
Eli grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, making her fall on the soft bed. Her dress and shoes once again fell on the ground. He then crawled on top of her and pinned her hands above her head burying his face in the crook of her neck. She felt his lips tracing the trail of hickeys he had left on her skin last night. Ririna bit her lower lip to stop herself from moaning under his ministrations.
"You're so unfair to me…" She heard him whisper against her skin, "Kissing me, seducing me on my own bed, and then leaving me hanging. And you got some nerve to call another man's name while you are in bed with me," he continued. Ririna was left flabbergasted with his words.
Why would she ever do that? She had never been with another man except for him. Well, unless she called Skyler's name while she's drunk and sleepy. Her thoughts halted at the idea.
Did she call Skyler's name while she was with Eli last night? Did she say something that she wasn't supposed to say? He was the only one who could confirm what she said in her drunken state.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, hoping he would reveal more of what had gone on last night. She pushed his body away from her, breaking his kiss on her heated skin.
"Oh, you don't remember seducing me last night and calling your Sky? Who is Sky? Is he your boyfriend?" he asked. His body was still hovering over her so she could feel his warmth against her body.
"No!" Ririna exclaimed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Why would I lie to you?"
"He better not be, or else…"
Her brown eyes widened in horror. Did she say Sky's name? What the hell was wrong with her? She just gave that devil a reason to find out about their son. She really wanted to pull out her hair in frustration.
Bad. Really, really bad.
I can't believe I just exposed my baby to this devil!
Looking back at Eli, she could see that he was checking her. She couldn't tell if he was angry or not. He brushed his nose on her cheeks and trailed down to her jaw… and then her neck. When his lips reached her left shoulder, which was still tainted by a pinkish stain from her previous injury, he placed a gentle kiss on her scar before biting down hard on her shoulder.
She screamed and thrashed underneath him. What was he doing to her? What was he? An animal marking his prey or a werewolf marking his mate?
"Eli! Oww! Goddammit!" she yelled as she tried to free herself from his grasp.
The devil finally lifted up his head and looked at her. His lips flashed a smile that made her body tensed up. He just smiled at her;did it mean he had enough of her and would kill her soon?
Oh, she's going to miss her baby. It's a good thing that she had already put her gramps as Skyler's legal guardian—if ever something happened to her. She just didn't expect to meet her end this soon. Ririna felt like she was about to cry.
Dying in the hands of her only love and leaving her own baby to this wicked world. Did she do something horrible in her past life for her to suffer in this lifetime?
"You finally said my name." He grinned at her. He looked genuinely happy while saying it.
What is this all about? She blinked.
Ririna grimaced and scowled back at him. Here she was thinking the worst, and then there was him, happy just because she said his name? She didn't know Eli could be this childish.
"So what if I did?"
"So you're finally admitting you really haven't lost your memories, eh?"
Oh, all this time, he already knew that she was faking losing her memories. What else did he know about her? What about Skyler? Then she remembered him asking if Sky was her boyfriend. Such a silly devil, getting jealous of his own son. Not that he knew that he has one.
No. She must resist. She couldn't allow to give him a chance to hurt her. What should she do now? She knew he wouldn't give up easily. He would persist until she fell into his hands again.
How could she move on completely if he kept breaking her defences?
Staring up at his handsome face, she knew that she wouldn't be able to outrun him. If there's one thing that she knew about him, it was that he was a man of conquest. Eli would do whatever he could to achieve what he wanted. Now, that he had his eyes set upon her, Ririna knew that the possibility of him finding out about Skyler, and the deathly game she recently joined would be revealed sooner than later.
There's something different about Eli this time. Although his usual attitude was still the same, the way he looked at her seemed a bit different and unusual. He looked at her like he was yearning for her like she was about to vanish into the thin air. Was he afraid that she would leave again?
"I'm not the same as before," she whispered to him, her eyes never leaving his. Eli let go of her hands and kissed her forehead.
"I know."
"I can't help you with the missions anymore."
"You don't have to," he replied, his lips brushing against the side of her face again.
"I can't protect you anymore."
"I will protect you."
"I'm walking on a different path now."
"I'll follow you," he whispered in her ear before kissing along her jawline.
"We have different worlds."
"You are my world."
Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. Why was he telling her things she could only dream of before? Why now? Why was he complicating her life?
When she didn't respond, he lifted his head and saw her confusion at his words.
"What do you want then?" she finally asked.
"You," he instantly replied, "You beside me. Don't you ever run away again. I'll never let you go. If I have to kill, I will. If I have to court you forever so you won't leave again, I'll do it." He narrowed his eyes at her; his tone made a shiver run up her entire body.
She looked at him in utter astonishment.
Such words that Ririna never thought she would hear from the lips of the devil. Was he professing his love to her? Did the devil finally learn what love was? Didn't he tell her before that someone like him doesn't know what love means? Didn't he say devils are incapable of love?
Did he really love her, or did he just want to possess her just like before?
If he loved her, would that mean the devil now acknowledged that she was his weakness? Someone that could be used against him, be used to ruin him?
With Eli's ruthless and cruel personality, he would never let anyone use someone against him. There were so many times that the devil had been threatened, but what did his enemies receive in the end? Only his wrath and cruelty.
Gamaliel Park was like an impermeable wall. She doubted if there's anyone that was capable of understanding what's going on in his mind.
Could she really trust the words of this devil? She mused.
Skyler hated going to school. He knew he had to because his mommy told him so, but he really didn't like staying in this country. He was born in France, and he grew up in Holland. This country didn't seem to amaze him with anything.
If it wasn't because of his mommy and his favorite gramps, he would have asked his mommy to go back to Holland.
Every day, he was bullied by older kids in his school. Telling him terrible things about him and his mommy. He didn't mind them taunting him, but he couldn't keep quiet whenever they say something bad about his mommy. Usually, he would just brush off their mean words, but there were times that he couldn't help but be angry and cry.
He didn't have a father. That's what they were saying. In his young mind, it really didn't matter since he never felt lonely just being with his mommy. Also, Mommy said he had a father who had to be somewhere far away from them because she had to protect him.
Too many bad people wanted to hurt his Daddy, and they would hurt him and his mommy if they found out about his existence. That's what his mommy said as to why they weren't with his daddy.
Mommy said he was her and Daddy's precious little baby, and he believed her.
His mommy was a beautiful lady. Many times he had seen guys trying to woo his mommy, but she would always tell them no. Mommy always told him she didn't need anyone else except him. She didn't need a man to be happy. Some of her suitors were mean! Some of them wanted to get rid of him as soon as they married his mommy!
Little Skyler was shocked when he saw his mommy punch one of her suitors in his face when he suggested sending Skyler to a private school far from her. He never saw his mommy get so mad; she was so scary! He wondered if his Daddy was as scary as his mommy when he's mad. Would Daddy punch them like how his mommy did?
Weeks ago, he met Auntie Ginny's soon-to-be-husband when they went to the shopping mall. He learned that Uncle Evan was his daddy's brother, although Uncle Evan insisted that they were only half-brothers. When Uncle Evan asked him if he wanted to meet his daddy, Skyler was tempted to go with him; but he remembered his mommy's words so he resisted.
Uncle Evan said he looked a lot like his daddy. They both have the same dark locks and gray eyes that were quite a prominent trait within the Park Family. The only difference they had was their hairstyle. His daddy's hair was silky and straight while little Skyler had wild and spiky hair. Uncle said he was the mini version of his daddy which made him so happy.
He was silently eating his favorite chocolate mousse cake that his mommy made before she left to celebrate Auntie Ginny's birthday with her friends. Jiro approached him and sat beside him. They watched as the twin girls of their Auntie Erica build fortresses using blankets on their sleepover.
"Hmm… Mommy is unfair. I should have gone with her instead of playing with girls. Do you know that girls have cooties?" Jiro asked Skyler.
Skyler blinked at the other kid's words, his gray eyes showing confusion.
"What are cooties?" he asked as he turned his head to his friend.
"Germs! You will get sick if the girls touch you!" Jiro explained.
"Ohh…" Skyler only nodded at him.
Silence followed then. Only the sound of Skyler's fork to his cake and the giggling of the twins could be heard in the room.
"Do you know Uncle Evan's brother?" Skyler asked Jiro.
Jiro knitted his tiny brows and scratched his head.
"Do you mean Uncle Eli?"
"Eh? I thought his name is Gamaliel Park?"
"It is! But we call him Uncle Eli. Uncle Evan calls him the devil and a monster. He said Uncle Eli will eat me if I misbehave tonight. He is scary when he's mad. " Jiro cringed when he remembered what his Uncle Evan said earlier.
Jiro brushed his red shirt and took a toy sword from the toy box. He left Skyler in the corner and called the twin girls within their blanket fortress.
"Hey! Let's play Power Rangers! I'm going to be the Red Ranger! Let's find a monster!" Jiro called.
"Noooo!!! Monsters are scary. I don't like monsters. I want to be a fairy. Wahhhh…" Hanna, one of the twin girls, cried and hid within her pink 'hello kitty' blankets.
Skyler continued watching them silently as they played—him finishing his cake. After brushing his teeth and donning his blue rabbit pajamas, he joined Jiro on the bed. The girls were on the other bed already asleep.
"Do you have a daddy?" Skyler asked Jiro out of the blue.
"Yes, but Mommy said he's gone and will never come back," Jiro replied. He was also wearing his favorite pajamas and turned to his side to face Skyler. "But my daddy was bad! He made my mommy cry, and he hurt other people. Why? Do you miss your daddy?"
Skyler shook his little head. He never missed his daddy because he never met him before. Jiro's daddy made his mommy cry. Would his own daddy make his mommy cry, too?
There were so many times he heard his mommy cry when she was working late in her paintings. Skyler always wondered what made her cry.
"I haven't seen my daddy yet," he said.
"Why? Who's your daddy? Did your daddy leave you?"
"No. I don't know where he is, but Uncle Evan said his brother is my daddy."
Jiro laid his head on his folded elbow to serve it as his pillow.
"Uncle Eli is your daddy?"
Skyler nodded.
"Do you want to see your daddy?"
He nodded again but… "Mommy said I can't meet him. I don't know where he is," he said solemnly.
"Let's find your daddy! Don't tell your mommy yet, alright?" Jiro grinned, and Skyler smiled back at him.
Skyler fell asleep dreaming that he had seen his daddy up-close that night. His little heart hoped he would meet his daddy very soon.
The next morning, Skyler was so excited to come home. He really missed his mommy, but when he came back, she wasn't home. Where did his mommy sleep? Why didn't she come home?
His babysitter told him not to worry because his mommy might have slept at Auntie Erica's place. Skyler was a bit uncomfortable. He never really liked having a babysitter look after him. He wanted his mommy!
It was already past noon when Skyler heard a car stop in front of their home. He ran downstairs from his room to greet his mommy.
When he reached the front door, he noticed his mommy slip out from a black car and a man following behind her. He looked familiar. The man was taller than his mommy. He was talking with her. He caressed his mommy's hair, and then he kissed her head before sliding back into the car and leaving her behind.
Skyler knew that man. It's his daddy! He had seen many of his pictures in his mommy's newspaper and on the television. He was sure that it was his daddy who dropped his mommy back home.
See? It wasn't true that he didn't have a daddy. His daddy looked so cool and handsome—much better than the daddies that his classmates have.
His face brightened up; he finally saw his own daddy! He would tell Jiro next time that he had seen his daddy from afar. Now that he saw him, he wanted to meet him soon.
Would Uncle Evan still help him if he requested to meet his daddy this time? His young mind started working. It seemed hard to plan how to find and meet his daddy without his mommy knowing it.
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