Chapter Twenty Two

"R -" my voice caught in my throat as I stepped into the room, searching for him to join me for dinner.

What once felt like a coping mechanism a month ago now resembles the haunting narrative of a story I’m desperately trying to avoid.

Ro stood by the window, gazing out at the backyard as he did every night, staring into the darkness that enveloped it.

After bringing him home, we agreed to wait until the case was resolved before selling our house. After much deliberation, we decided to leave Willow Crest and move to LA while we figure out where we truly want to settle.

I know Ro isn’t thrilled about this plan; he’s never been fond of city life. However, considering what has happened here, I don’t think we can remain for much longer.

It’s the memories that torment us more than any actual spirits lurking here, and they will not only haunt us but also wound Ro deeply.

Our relationship has been mostly stagnant over the past month, but perhaps that’s for the best—for both of us. He needed time to escape the hell he was trapped in, and even though he’s physically free now, his mind still lingers in that place, revisiting the manor and its memories.

I approached my husband, gently placing my hand on his shoulder. He flinched at my touch, surprised, before he steadied himself and turned to face me.

I offered him a small smile, but his response was subdued.

"Did Reese and Darius discover anything?" he asked, referencing my earlier phone call with our friends, during which he had stepped out to come up to our room.

Reese and Darius were in Egypt visiting Elijah Montgomery, who had claimed over the phone that we were losing our minds and speaking nonsense. He insisted that his wife had died, providing testaments from friends, family, and death certificates as proof. However, that alone wasn't sufficient, so with the consent of both state and legal authorities, as well as his own, Reese requested to exhume the grave.

The DNA found in the body indeed matched that of his deceased wife, confirming his story. Yet, what left us all perplexed was the revelation that the DNA we discovered on items left behind by Willow also corresponded to his wife’s DNA.

It was utterly bizarre.

We were completely in the dark about Willow's whereabouts after we rescued Ro, and how someone presumed dead could still be alive.

There was no sense to it.

"Nothing that would assist us, so they've decided to return and should be catching their flight by now," I told him, taking his hand and guiding him with me.

He followed as we made our way to the dinner table.

I served our meal and settled down beside him.

"What's troubling you, Ro? You seem a bit lost in thought." My worry was evident; he had pulled away from everyone, especially from me.

He took my hand in his, gently stroking the back of it with his thumb, then brought my fingertips to his lips, kissing them softly.

"Mrs. Rowan, I’ve never asked this before, but how did you even find me?" His eyes sparkled like crystals in water, fixed on me as he awaited my response.

"It's Abella from the town development department, the architect. Polly provided me with her address and phone number, asking me to contact her for assistance. When we asked about the manor during our call, she sent over an old map of the town and noted something peculiar: there were two maps, one new and one old, each indicating the manor's location slightly different. She requested that I investigate further. We realized what needed to be looked into, and Darius assigned Reginald, his VP, and Ace to the task. The findings were indeed surprising. Later, I paid her a visit to gather more details."

I scooted closer to him, intertwining our arms and resting my head on his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh.

"What matters to me is that it's all going to be over, Ro. I never want to return to that place; it was terrifying. More than anything, the thought of losing you frightens me the most." Even the memories, just by mentioning them, send chills down my spine.

He hummed softly, not prolonging the conversation, and we quietly finished our dinner.

Ro helped me with the dishes, and we turned in for the night early.

In the middle of the night, I was jolted awake by voices.

"Ro," I mumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes as a yawn escaped me.

Out of habit, my hands moved to Ro's side of the bed, but I froze, quickly scanning the room for him. The bed felt cold, indicating he had been gone for a while.

"Ro... Ro..." I called out, hurrying to check the bathroom, the closet, and then downstairs, but he was nowhere to be found in the house.

Panic began to creep in, my breath becoming uneven.

A clink.

I turned my gaze toward the backdoor at the end of the hallway.

Another clink followed by another. The metallic sounds echoed with my hurried footsteps as I made my way to the gate, drawn by the noise, and pushed it open.

I froze in place when I saw Ro beside a man in a black death mask, along with Willow.

My heart raced in my chest, my gaze fixed on their faces, then shifted to Ro, who was gripping a shovel. He was digging in the flower bed where he had planted the Salvias, she had given him.

Fuck!!

I should have taken care of that earlier, but it slipped my mind.

"AMIR." His name echoed with my cries, breaking through whatever spell had him entranced. He halted his movements and turned to face me.

His body glistened with sweat, still clad in the trousers he had worn to bed.

I inhaled deeply, but a wave of fear washed over me as Willow signaled her guard, forcing my husband down onto his knees.

Willow yanked his hair, causing him to groan in pain. His gaze remained locked on me as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

Each breath felt like fire in my lungs. It was pure torment.

I noticed Ro; he appeared aware, yet his body seemed unresponsive.

When she finally released him, her pink lipstick smeared across his lips, I could see the revulsion etched on his face.

"Why are you doing this?" I yelled, stepping closer, only to halt when she pressed a knife against his throat.

With a sinister smile, she dug the blade into his skin, and a thin line of blood trickled down, staining the dagger red.

The light from the guard's lamp cast a harsh glow, intensifying the pain etched on my husband's face as he struggled against the enchantment binding him.

Inside, I was not just panicking; I was teetering on the edge of madness. Seeing Ro bleed was unbearable.

"Let my husband go!" I screamed at her, clenching my teeth in fury.

She paused, withdrawing the knife slightly, and fixed her gaze on me.

I gasped, my legs trembling beneath me. The only thing I felt was fear. One of her eyes was completely white, while the other held the familiar shade of grey I remembered vividly. Her face bore no expression except for an unsettling smile that revealed her bare teeth.

She pulled the knife away from Ro's throat and licked the blood off the blade.

A whimper escaped my lips, and icy shivers coursed down my spine.

Is Willow even human?

A whirlwind of thoughts clouded my mind.

Instead of attacking me, her guard retreated to a shadowy corner of the garden and returned with a leash in hand. Before I could process what was happening, my legs gave way, and I found myself crawling backward, horrified by what I had just seen.

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

Tied to the leash was a man moving on all fours, but his limbs were not human. They were connected to the body of a dog.

A scream escaped my lips as he released the leash, and that creature charged toward me.

With each step it took, my screams grew louder, mingling with my sobs.

His face was a patchwork of stitches. I was paralyzed with fear, and just as it was about to reach me, I completely lost control.

That grotesque face loomed closer, and my voice vanished, leaving me in a state of shock as my limbs turned liquid. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and terror enveloped me. A sharp pain blossomed in my chest, my back pressed against the cold ground, and my hands scraped and bleeding.

My breathing quickened, becoming a struggle to pull air through my nostrils. My mind was blank as I watched Ro fight against Willow's hold.

"Ro," I managed to whisper.

I saw them forcing Ro deeper into the ground. His platinum blond hair damp and smeared with mud. His pale skin that recently started gaining color was again marked with cuts and bruises. Whatever they were trying to make him do, I couldn't stand to witness my husband being tormented.

"Hel...p...m...e..." I gasped, my voice barely audible.

Then the guard approached, seizing my hair and dragging me toward Ro.

"We found what we needed. The ring is here," Willow smirked at her guard.

The ring they sought was buried by Ro, but I couldn't recall when or how, my memories hazy.

The guy with death mask, I remember him, he’s Luhak, her father.

He nodded at her and took the knife she offered. Gripping my wrist, he forced the knife into my hand and pushed it inside Ro, who cried out in agony, his blue eyes pleading with me.

He screamed as I was compelled to drive the knife deeper.

No sound remained, only the dagger and Ro's cries echoing in my mind, his blood staining my hands. Everything else faded into silence around me, suspended in time.

Visions of our first meeting, our laughter, the walk down the aisle, the vows we exchanged, and the small bow we made together with a red ribbon, a cherished family tradition from my grandmother, flooded my thoughts.

Amidst the pain and tears, I could see Ro's lips moving, whispering gently.

"I love you, Mrs. Rowan."

My tears flowed more freely as the dark spots began to cloud my vision.