The Haunted’s Kiss of Regret and Repentance

“Hey sweetheart, did you miss me, my love?”

I screamed, but my voice was stuck in my throat, and I felt a chill run up my spine as Rian walked closer to me. This time, I clearly saw the damage that the rope did to his neck. The flesh was bleeding, and it turned both purple and red.

This time, I heard footsteps running in my direction, and I felt relieved when I realized that those footsteps were probably Perry and Kath’s. They must have felt that something was wrong or that they heard Rian’s voice.

“Now that you have her, Rian, make sure she doesn’t get away from you this time. It will be a pity if you have to sacrifice more for her to be yours.”

The voice was demonic as if it was multiple men with hoarse voices speaking all at once. I couldn’t force myself to turn around and look at the two people standing behind me.

“I won’t lose her again, my friend. I believe that Shyne has already had enough of the chasing that we were doing. Right now, you need to leave us alone, so I can fulfill my desire of being with the love of my life.”

My knees trembled as I felt Rian go near me and touch my right wrist. His cold dead hands were enough to nail me in place and make my lips tremble in fear.

The look of both anticipation and pure possession was enough to shut my lips and cry in painful sobs. The two entities behind me laughed hysterically as Rian began to pull me out the door of my flat. He took me into the darkness once again. My feet were numb, and yet it moved on their own as if it was being controlled by a powerful source I didn’t know.

I pulled my hand away from Rian, and with just barely enough force, I was able to kick his balls and shock him, but all I could do was kneel and close my eyes as I felt hands grip my head. An ear-piercing scream left my lips as I woke up sweating bullets.

Perry fell on the bed as Kath instantly stood up to check on me. I was panting, and I was gripping the sheets as if my life depended on it.

With fresh tears falling from my eyes, I hugged Kath tightly and sobbed loudly. Perry rushed over and rubbed my back as the both of them fell silent and allowed me to cry my heart out.

I shook uncontrollably as I remembered Rian’s dream and those men that I didn’t see clearly. I knew that something big and terrible was about to happen, and I was terrified of what it would be.

“Shyne, sweetie, what happened to you? You’re still shaking. You need to drink a glass of water, so just lay down while Perry gets you some water.”

I lay down and continued to sob as I covered my face with the bedsheets. I couldn’t stop crying as I remembered how terrified I was when I realized that Rian was no longer the only one that I had to worry about. Everything was getting complicated, and I now had two more terrifying entities torturing me.

“Hey cousin, you need to speak to us when you’re ready. Shyne, you can’t just hide behind that bedsheet. As much as I want you to just cry your heart out, we all know it won’t solve anything. You need to talk to us, Shyne, so we can help you more.”

“I-I saw Rian again. This time, he had two demonic men behind me. I-I thought it was the two of you, but I was wrong. I couldn’t move because it felt like I was frozen by fear and something else.”

I told them every detail of the dream, and I saw the shock mirrored in their eyes. I was amazed that I finished speaking to them about the details of the nightmare without breaking down.

“This is serious, Shyne. You really need to go home. I bet aunty Lyna could still get you someone who can help you get through all of this.”

“Kath is right, Shyne. I believe that it’s for the best of you to go home now and get the help you need. Don’t worry, I’ll go home with you now.”

“I’ll help you fix your things, Shyne, while Perry calls Izzy to get everything ready. I believe that your mother can send someone to get the both of you, and the secret bodyguards you have will help you.”

I remember the time I fainted on the bus when Rex was with me. It only happened because I made sure that I lost the guards my mom gave me. However, now is the perfect time for them to guard me, and I will make sure they won’t fail me just in case I faint again.

The entire ride, I felt heavy, but not as much as I did when I was in our flat. Perry was sitting beside me as I stared outside the bus. I could have driven and asked my mom to get me a driver, but I liked bus rides ever since I was a kid.

I was lost in thought as I looked at the passing scenery outside the bus window. I remembered the only time I was with Ryan that I had a moment of pity for him. The only moment that I felt like I wanted to try and acknowledge the possible future we could have had.

Three years ago…

“I am still amazed at the thought of you wanting to go out with me, Shyne. I mean, you came from a family of royalty-”

“That is such a big fat lie, Rian. I am not part of the royal family. I am anything but royal. It just so happens that my family has a more privileged lifestyle than normal people. I am still a normal person in every way possible.”

“Yeah, but you are definitely filthy rich, honey. I mean, your family rules the business in this city, and you are the heir to that throne. It must be amazing knowing you have all of that money and power in your hands.”

“That’s not true at all, hon. Once again, you are dead wrong about my life and how it really is. I have no freedom, you know that. It’s the reason why I keep trying to get away from the civilian guards my parents kept giving me.”

“So, how did you lose the guards on your way to my house? I don’t expect you to use a car since you still can’t drive one of those properly without dying. So I expect that someone helped you get past those stalking guards of yours.”

“You said I was the heir to the throne of the De Leon clan. Since that is practically true on many levels, I still have a huge influence. Huge enough to get people to make fake decoys, so my bodyguards won’t notice me leaving the school by using the gate at the back.”

Rian and I were lost in our own world while we were lying down on his bed. We were both enjoying each other’s company, and for the first time, I completely forgot that I only came to him for entertainment. For the first time, I saw Rian as a person who was worth my life story.

“You still haven’t answered my question, honey. Why did you choose me out of all the guys that I assume are your suitors?”

Rian was now rubbing my arm and cuddling with me as I stayed silent. I was contemplating whether I would tell him the truth or not. It was the first time I enjoyed his company without having the worry of getting caught.

“I chose you because you are NOT what my clan wants for me. You are FAR from what I am expected to choose, and so I chose you. I’m sorry if I don’t have anything more romantic to explain.”

I saw the disappointment in his eyes, and for the first time, I was angry at myself for being such a jerk to him. I kissed him to pacify the hurt I ignited in his eyes, and for a moment, it worked.

However, my means to pacify the situation ignited a different fire that I knew was coming. As the hours passed by and the fire died down, I felt sadness creeping inside me while Rian lay beside me, catching his breath.

My phone rang, and the caller was one of my classmates whom I had a massive crush on. Rian must have seen the look I had, and he quickly snatched my phone.

“Hey! What the heck are you doing, Rian?! Give me back my phone! That call is important. Now give it back to me!”

“Shut up, Shyne, and tell me who that caller is? Why are you suddenly excited and blushing when you see the name? Are you cheating on me with this guy? Does he take you in his bed too, Shyne?!”

I slapped him hard, and his cheek looked like it was going to throb like crazy, and it turned a bright red. I felt anger boil inside me, and I saw the same anger in Rian’s eyes.

Rian quickly grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to him. I struggled but refused to make noise so people wouldn’t go rushing into his room while the both of us barely had clothes.

“Get off of me, stupid! Let go of my wrist, Rian. You are hurting me!”

My voice was like a whisper, but it held all the intensity of a silent shout. Rian suddenly pushed me, and he was now above me.

“I’ll make sure you will never even have the AUDACITY TO THINK of that man, my love. I’ll fill every empty place you have so you won’t have an inch to offer that man.”

Rian covered my mouth the entire time that he punished me out of his own jealousy. I wanted to fight back but felt useless as he was far more robust than I could ever be.

Finally, Rian kissed me slowly and nearly crushed me while he tried his best to cuddle me. My eyes were red from crying, and I could feel my eyeballs sting with the number of tears that I produced.

“Now, my love. Make sure you remember every touch I gave you. Remember that you are mine alone. I can take that man down if I want to because you are mine.”

I stayed silent as I began to fix myself and applied just enough makeup to hide the bruises I had. I set my face to look as fresh as possible, and I stared back at Rian as we both looked at each other’s reflection in the mirror in his room.

“You crossed the line today, Rian. Out of everything that you could have done to me out of jealousy. You chose to do this to me just to tell me you own me?”

I whispered to Rian and made sure the words I said held the venom I felt from anger. I looked at him accusingly, but what made my blood boil was the hidden triumphant smile he tried to conceal with a cough.

“How can you tell me you never wanted it when you can’t deny that you loved every second of it, my love? Shyne, no one will ever make you feel the way I do, and I’ll spend every moment proving it. Not even time and death can separate us.”

I wanted to slap Rian, but I felt suddenly cold with the words he had said. The terms didn’t feel empty, but they felt threatening. It was like a promise from Rian that you know will come true somehow.

I then saw Rian get up and take the hairbrush he had and brush my hair. Rian hated my hair, but he loved touching it even if I complained that I had a lot of falling hair.

“I love you, Shyne. I love everything about you, and I don’t care if all I have for tonight is your hair on my brush. This is enough for me to have a memory of you, my love. Weird as it may be for you, I know that we are destined to be together forever.”

As I stood up, Rian led me out of his room. However, as I was about to head out, I saw Rian’s slightly opened drawer with a notebook in it. The notebook had the words “Mine” written outside. I had a sudden cold feeling that the notebook was about me.