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Ivy nodded, her own gaze unwavering, locked onto his. Fear coiled in her stomach, a cold knot of apprehension, but she refused to let it show. "And yet, here I am," she murmured, her voice barely audible, a fragile whisper against the backdrop of his grim pronouncements. "Wanting to stay."

Vice's expression was a battleground. The harsh lines etched onto his face seemed to deepen, a visible representation of the internal conflict raging within him. His hand stilled on her cheek. "Why?" he asked, the word a choked whisper, laced with a genuine bewilderment. "Why would you choose this? Why would you choose me?"

Ivy inhaled deeply, the scent of leather and something indefinably dangerous filling her lungs. She refused to look away, meeting his tormented gaze head-on. “You want to know why I stay? Why I keep coming back even though I know you’re the storm that could destroy me in the end?”

It’s because you’ve never hidden what you are. Everyone else pretended to be something their not smiling in my face while stabbing me in the back, offered love while they slowly destroyed me not caring how bad they hurt me. But you? You showed me the monster up front. Teeth, claws, and all.

And you’re the first person who’s ever truly saw me. The real me, the mess, the rage. The cracks I tried so hard to glue shut. And instead of running away, you stuck around and still wanted me.

You break me, Vice. Brutally. Repeatedly. And I should hate you for it. I should still be trying to get away from you. But the truth is—

I don’t want normal. I don’t want prince charming riding up on a white horse to save me. I want real. And you—God help me—you’re the most real thing I’ve ever had in my life.

You ripped me apart, but you never leave me bleeding. You rebuild me into something vicious. Something better. Something whole.

Your terrifying. Your the chaos and violence and everything I was taught to stay away from. But I’d rather be destroyed in you're arms than live untouched in someone else’s cage.

So no, I’m not stupid. I’m not brainwashed. I choose you. I choose this. Every scar. All you're darkness and every fucked up part of you. Because you’re the only one who ever seen the fucked up part of me and still wanted me.

“When you're as broken as we are you don’t get the fairy tale love story that we grew up dreaming of but we get somethingbetter. Two people that this world tried to break finding each other in the mists of pain. That truly understand and complete each other and that no one else could handle. And I’d take our twisted dark love story to all that sunshine and rainbows bullshit any day.”

The harsh lines of Vice's face began to soften, the rigid set of his jaw relaxing. For a fleeting moment, he looked younger, almost innocent. He reached out again, his hand cupping her face with a tenderness she hadn't felt from him before. His thumb brushed gently across her cheekbone, a silent caress. "Ivy," he murmured, his voice thick with a raw emotion that surprised them both. "I don’t deserve you.”

Vice pulled back, his expression contemplative, lost in a sea of conflicting emotions. "I've never chosen anyone," he said slowly, each word weighted with a lifetime of pain and regret. "And I’ve never had anyone that choose me. Everything I've ever had was taken from me, ripped away before I even had a chance to hold onto it. But I choose you, Ivy.”

Ivy's heart swelled with a dangerous mix of hope and fear. Love was a treacherous landscape, rife with hidden dangers, especially with someone like Vice, who was a walking minefield of trauma and instability. But she found herself unable to resist the allure of him, the raw honesty that shone through the cracks in his hardened exterior.

Vice's eyes grew dark, the fragile vulnerability replaced by an intense, almost predatory gaze.

Vice's hand moved from her face to her neck, his thumb resting gently against her pulse. He could feel her racing heart, the throb of life beneath his fingertips. For a moment, it was allthat existed, the two of them in their own private world, free from the shackles of their past.

With a sigh, he leaned down and kissed her, his lips tender and gentle, a stark contrast to their earlier passion. It was a kiss filled with promise and yearning, a silent vow to protect her and her daughter. The warmth of it spread through Ivy, filling her with a sense of belonging neither one of them had ever felt before. "What happens now?" She asked him.

Vice's grip tightened around her, his chest rising and falling with each breath. "Now," he murmured, "we live with the consequences of our decisions and trust that we’ve made the right one."

Vice rolled onto his back, pulling her with him so she lay on top of him, her cheek pressed to his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. His arms tightened around her, his hands running over her back in soothing strokes. The warmth of his body was a stark contrast to the coldness she had felt since entering the castle.

"Ivy", there’s something I need to tell you." he says, worry written all over his face. "What?" she asks, her mind racing.

"Ivy it's about-- Vice doesn't get a chance to say anything else. A loud boom makes their blood run cold. Ivy's heart skipped a beat, and she jolted upright, her eyes wide with fear. "What was that?" she gasped, her voice trembling as she looked at him.

Vice's eyes narrowed as he sat up in bed, the sound of his voice firm and urgent. "I don't know,” She climbed off him. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his muscles rippling as hemoved with the grace of a predator. He pulled his black pants on with practiced ease.

The boom grew closer, the ground beneath them trembled. Ivy's eyes were wide with fear as she watched him dress. "Vice," she whispered, "What's happening?"

"Ivy, everything’s going to be alright," he said firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument. He kissed her hard, his hand gripping the back of her neck. "Go to Alice's room and lock the door," he instructed, his eyes boring into hers.

Before she could protest, he pulled away and stalked towards the door, it slammed shut behind him. Ivy scrambled off the bed, her heart racing. She could hear distant footsteps and shouts echoing through the castle. What was happening?

Her mind raced, she quickly grabbed and put on the first thing she could find. The fabric clinging to her sweat-dampened skin. The booms grew louder, the castle's stones shaking with each impact. Her head snapped up, worry and fear written all over her face. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she had to get to Alice.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she ran through the dimly lit corridors, the sound of chaos growing closer with every step. The castle now echoed with the harshness of reality crashing in.

The tremors grew stronger, and the air was thick with the scent of something burning. Ivy's thoughts raced faster than her legs could carry her.

When she reached Alice's door, she threw it open and rushed in slamming it behind her. The room was cast in shadows, the only light coming from Alice’s unicorn nightlight.She was huddled on her bed, her eyes wide with fear as she clutched Pomni to her chest. "Mommy, what’s going on?" she whimpered, her voice small and trembling.

"Shh, it's okay," Ivy soothed her, crossing the room to her side. She pulled Alice into a tight embrace, feeling the warmth of her daughter's body against her own. "Everything’s going to be alright." But even as she spoke the words, she wasn't sure she believed them.