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I took a quick step closer, holding the gun barely two inches from his forehead. My dad had a revolver at home. I knew how to use it, but I hesitated. It wasn’t as easy as I thought to take someone’s life, yet I was still sure it was the best thing to do. He would never return.

“C’mon, Valeria,” Zyon’s gentle voice cut through the fog that hazed my brain, but I was too far away.

“Kill me, Valeria,” Chester chanted as if he wanted to put a spell on me to end his misery. “Prove that you’re strong enough to avenge yourself.”

“Don’t do it, mon c?ur.” The voice of reason sounded like the soothing melody that kept me alive for the past few months. “The real punishment is to let him live. ”

The tears burned my eyes as I stared at Chester’s repulsive face.

Blood dripped from his mouth. His left cheekbone was purple, and his probing gaze speared my eyes, looking straight into my soul.

He had to feel how much I loathed him. He had to see it.

The hatred floated around me like a stench I couldn’t wash away.

It fed on my emotions, growing to enormous proportions.

“Do it, baby doll,” Chester whispered, pulling invisible strings he attached to me years ago. He wanted to manipulate me to do his bidding like he did our entire marriage. “Kill me, or I will come back, and when I get my hands on you—”

A deafening gunshot resonated through the open space, making me almost jump out of my skin. For a moment, I thought I instinctively pulled the trigger to silence the maniac, but it wasn’t me who fired. It was Zyon.

The golden gun in his hand shone against his black leather glove, and a thin trail of smoke came from the barrel.

His eyes were fixed upfront, and I slowly turned to look at Chester, setting my gaze on him just in time to see him fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

His lifeless body collided with the dirty floor with a thud that punctured my ears like an arrow.

My eyes broadened when the puddle of fresh blood, quickly spreading, appeared under him.

Now, you are reminded of your place. The thought crossed my mind, but I wasn’t able to voice it.

I was frozen in shock, gaping at the half of Chester’s head that was missing.

His empty eyes stared at the ceiling, lips twisted in a snarl.

Zyon cut him off in the middle of a sentence that would never be finished.

He slashed the thin thread of Chester’s life, silencing him forever.

It was exactly what I wanted, but seeing the disaster that one gunshot had caused, I didn’t know how to react.

“Valeria.” A kind voice penetrated the fog that muddied my brain and vision, yet I wasn’t able to tear my eyes from the dead body at my feet. “Valeria.”

A massive body blocked my sight, and I raised my head to look at the man who owned my heart. But I didn’t see him clearly. His face was blurred because of my tears.

“We need to leave,” Zyon said, cupping my cheeks. I blinked, not entirely understanding his words. We couldn’t leave Chester there. The police would find him.

“He’s dead,” I whispered, pointing behind Zyon.

“Yes,” he confirmed, gently turning me away from the corpse. “And we are leaving. ”

“But…” I sauntered on my jelly legs, my knees buckling under my weight. My whole body trembled. “Wait, Zyon.” I stopped, bumping into his chest. “He’s dead.”

“Walk, Valeria,” Zyon commanded, grasping my arms and pushing me outside.

The moment the cold night air attacked my face, I woke up from my daze, realizing the nightmare was over.

I had seen it through my own eyes. The naked body twisted in a weird angle with half of the skull missing was the end of the abuser, who deserved nothing less.

It was the final act of the drama my marriage had become. The climax I waited for.

Peace enveloped me like a transparent veil, and I inhaled a deep, steady breath.

I quivered like a leaf, but at the same time, I finally felt free, like a boulder that gnawed me was lifted from my chest. I should have been horrified, but all I experienced was pure happiness coursing through my veins.

I couldn’t fight the wide smile that split my face when I spread my arms and raised my eyes toward the sky. He was gone. Chester was dead.

“Mon c?ur.” Zyon touched my shoulder, disturbing my moment of satisfaction. “We should go. Malin will take care of the rest.”

Erasing the distance between us, I cupped his cheeks, stood on my tiptoes, and kissed him. He tensed, evidently taken aback, but reacted immediately and reciprocated the attention. My tongue slid inside his delicious mouth, savoring him like it was our last second on earth.

“Thank you,” I whispered, completely out of breath, brushing the back of Zyon’s head. “Thank you for ending it, but it was my job. I wanted to pull the trigger.”

“Never, Valeria,” he said firmly, resting his forehead against mine. “I would never allow you to kill him.”

“Why not?” I frowned, slightly pulling away. “You shot him in cold blood. Why can’t I?”

Zyon placed his hand on my cheek, tenderly stroking my skin. His eyes bored to mine, gleaming like the dark, shiny gems that would swallow me whole. Delightful chills ran up my spine when he looked at me like I was the center of his universe, his queen.

“Because the first kill will stay with you till your last breath,” he explained, leaning closer and brushing the tip of his nose against mine.

“It imprints onto your brain, poisons your dreams, turning them into nightmares. It is a shadow that forever reminds you of what you did. It’s a ghost destroying your happiness.

I don’t want that for you. I don’t want Chester to be forever tied to you. ”

“You were protecting me,” I whispered, knowing I never loved him more than now.

He constantly proved how much he cared for me, yet this was unexplainable.

I assumed Chester wasn’t his first kill, but it would still somehow affect him.

He knew the risk and the consequences and did it anyway. For me. For us.

“Of course, I was protecting you, Valeria,” he replied, kissing my forehead.

His fingers entangled my hair, moving it away from my face before his sinister eyes imprisoned me in his scorching gaze.

“You are mine . I will always stand in front of you to take a bullet. I will shield you from attacks. I will kill for you if necessary. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe and happy. Never forget that.”

“I will do the same for you, Zyon,” I claimed with absolute certainty, clutching the lapels of his coat tightly.

“I don’t need it, mon c?ur.” He smiled, touching my chin. “Just stay with me.” His voice dropped an octave, changing into a plea. “I can’t breathe without you. You’re the reason I live.”

“I’ll stay with you,” I confirmed, standing on my tiptoes, sealing my words with a kiss. “Always.”

“Forever.”