Love Me Or I Die

CHAPTER 8

His warm breath came closer. Lucia numbly lay down. She closed her eyes shut and waited for the torture to begin. However, there was no sign of movement from the man beside her.

She opened her eyes. The man was looking at her with contempt. “You really thought that I liked to touch you?” he sneered. He turned around to cover himself with the blanket.

Lucia tugged at the corner of the blanket and squeezed herself into a ball. The two of them were lying so close on the bed but there was no love between them—only hatred.

What she was not aware of was that Daniel, who had his back towards her, was tightly holding his fingers. A look of slight embarrassment flashed across his eyes. He realized that he had just shown compassion towards Lucia.

Especially the way she had behaved. He had been that soft-hearted.

Soon, however, the corners of his lips curled up. No, she was afraid that he would torture her to her death. There would be a time for that.

Lucia lightly shuddered, and her long eyelashes kept fluttering.

“Sophia... Sophia....The frequent moaning reached her ears. The painful murmuring from the man beside her suddenly awakened her. Every mention of the name caused her heart a bout of spasm.

Her mouth opened and closed but there was no sound.

She carefully reached out her hand and put it on the man’s forehead. She could feel his perspiration.

She could feel her heart aching suddenly. Had he been like this every night thinking of the woman whom he had loved so deeply? If so, would it have comforted him and made him happier if she was the one who had died?

“Sophia”.  He grabbed at her hand suddenly. The grip was so tight that she could not free herself. “Sophia, how could you leave me behind? Did you know? I have waited for you for so many years. How could you leave me?”

The man’s constant murmuring differed from his usual aloof self—the way he was behaving really made one’s heart ache for him.

“Sophia…” Daniel flipped himself over and pulled hard at the hand that was giving him warmth. Just like that, he pulled Lucia and embraced her.

Then, a pair of warm lips covered her mouth. It did not prey on her. Rather, it was gentle and with love. However, the one he wanted was not her.

“Sophia…” It was a voice full of passion that came out his lips. It made her feel even more pathetic. It was her first kiss from him, and yet he treated her as if she was somebody else.

She was not Sophia. She was Lucia.

“Sophia, I love you.” He kissed her with urgency. It tasted sweet and soft. She was his Sophia. She was not dead. She had not left him.

“Be a good girl. Don’t cry.” 

He tasted something salty on his lips, so he moved up to kiss her eyes. He embraced the woman tightly in his arms. He was clearly unaware that he was dreaming. He was even hallucinating. He only knew that he did not want to let go.

Despite that, the woman’s cries got more dismal. The tears kept flowing. No one knew whose heart the tears had dampened or whose sentiment the tears had drowned.

Lucia opened her eyes. Her long eyelashes slightly fluttered. It turned out he could be gentle, and she was willing to forfeit her life if she could have that gentleness.

Daniel kissed the woman in his arms with such longing and passion, and he then hugged her tight. After that, he had seemed to stop, there were no more movements from him. His breathing became consistent again. No one really knew the extent of what he had been suppressing in his heart.

His arms wrapped tightly around Lucia. She didn’t dare to struggle for fear of awakening him from his sleep. When he was awake, he was cruel.

Please let her stay there for a little longer.

"Daniel", her hand gently caressed his face in the dark. “Did you know? I have been waiting for you for too long now, too. If torturing me will make you happy or even make you forget your pain, then I’m willing to submit to you. I will.”

“As long as you won’t suffer anymore.”

She covered her mouth and silently wept.

She won’t hate him. She really won’t.

Her lips slowly morphed into a melancholic smile—it was moving and yet heartbreaking. It was a love so deep that she did not really mind getting hurt.

Even if there was only suffering, hurt and pain.

Even if there it’s only hatred and no love.

She did not regret her choice, even if her heart and body have been scarred and broken. She had herself against Daniel's chest—it was warm. In her mind, she was already contented with nights such as that.

Just let her steal a little happiness, a happiness that belonged to Sophia.

But she raised her head and glimpsed at the wedding photo of on the wall. It was as if Sophia's smile was mocking her, and so she closed her eyes.

When the sunlight seeped in through the curtains, filling the room, Daniel put his hand against his eyes. He was unaccustomed to such a glaring light. He then felt a slight weight on his shoulder, and when he lowered his head, he saw the woman in his arms.

His eyes furrowed, and he reached out his hand to put on her face—it was only the size of his palm. Upon looking closely, he realized he was indeed a beauty. He tried to look for a semblance of Sophia on her face, but he realized how they both were different.

He retracted his hand. She was still sleeping. Her exquisite features on her white porcelain face showed a hint of softness and delicacy, unlike the sun that was currently glaring at him.

His hand moved from her face to the top of her neck. He opened his hand. His lips curled into a smile. If he puts some force into it, her neck might break.

But he quickly retracted his hand. A death like that would be too easy on her.

He lifted his head and looked at the wedding photo on the wall. The Sophia in the photo was smiling sweetly, but she was now nowhere to be found. Her sister is the one to blame! If she had not drive, Sophia would not be dead. And yet, the woman still played as if she was innocent and that disgusted him.

The worst way to torture a woman is not through her heart, not through her body, but to destroy her soul completely. It seemed she loved him dearly.

She loved him so much that even when he cruelly took her body, he could see that there were no traces of hatred in her eyes.

She really loved him dearly.

Men can naturally be cruel towards women they have no interest in. And not to mention, she was a woman whom he hated to the core.

He donned his work clothes and put on a tie. In front of the public, he was the CEO of the Daniel's Enterprise. Thousands of lives were on his shoulders. What he wants, he will get.

He spun on his heels and looked at the woman who still sleeping on the bed in disdain. His lips curled into a chilling smile, but it gradually turned into something extremely ruthless. Daniel was known to be merciless. In the business world, no one blatantly dared to offend him in the open. Otherwise, the consequence would be worse than death.

He was as coldblooded as he could be.