Chapter 10
"Zayden"
( Care for her )
As I sat in my chair, the darkness of the night lingered, like a shadow refusing to dissipate. My mind was a battleground, where memories of the past clashed with the harsh realities of the present.
The image of a child, with a heart full of kindness, morphed into a haunting nightmare of blood-soaked streets and gunfire.
I jolted awake, my heart racing like a wild stallion, its rhythmic beats echoing through my chest. The silence of the night enveloped me once more, but my thoughts were far from tranquil.
My gaze drifted toward the basement, where Nala lay, a prisoner of her own secrets. Was she truly innocent, or was she a mastermind of deceit? The question taunted me, like a whispered secret in the wind.
I rose from my chair, my movements mechanical, and headed toward the kitchen.
The warm glow of the morning light spilled through the windows, casting a golden hue on the room. My maid, her face etched with concern, stood by the stove, preparing breakfast.
"How is she?" I asked, my voice low and measured.
My maid's eyes, like two pools of fear, filled with tears. "Sir, I kept her in cold water, even submerged her head, but she didn't talk. All I heard were her screams and her please to kill her."
I felt a pang of unease, like a whisper of doubt in my mind. How could someone endure such pain and remain resolute? Except those who have feel it . Like me .but what the worse has she gone throught ? .
Why am I thinking about her .I should hate her . I should her torture her and get to know about kaiden's truth and then all I have to do is to kill her . Was it that difficult.
I'm a monster.who have kill many and torture them to hell. But still I'm getting confused by a girl .I collect my thought and calm myself.
I decided to look at her face after torturing .
As I descended into the basement, the air grew thick with tension. Nala lay on the floor, her pale face a testament to her suffering. Her lips, once full of life, had turned blue, like the faint hue of a winter sky. Her pretty face that I felt a hint of joy when. I first saw her .and it would be different of we meet under different circumstances.
Something inside me shifted, like the gentle rustle of leaves in an autumn breeze. I felt a pang of guilt, of sympathy, for this girl who had been broken by my hand.
I rushed to fetch blankets, wrapping her in them to warm her chilled body. Her shaking subsided, and she clutched the blankets tightly, like a lifeline.
Why was I feeling this way? She was my enemy, a murderer.
I had to hate her,
but somehow, I couldn't.
I cleared my thoughts and left the basement, deciding to focus on my work. I rush to my room pick up my cars keys and walkback again to the main door .
"boss you haven't have breakfast yet " my maid yell from behind .
"I will eat it at office . I'm running late " I tell and Drive my car to office. Om my way there a road ahead but why do I feel like it isn't . I fell a huge pain. It's been many years since I feel this feeling the pain . I thought I could never feel it again but it hurt still it's hurt no matter how much I try to forget I can't . I hate it . I hate myself but I hate kaiden more then me .
If...if he haven't done this . If he haven't kill my family . If he haven't torture me . I would have been different. I would have been the one like when I was kid . Everyone loves me then . I was a good student, son , brother , neighbors.
I used to be the favorite and a role model for everyone .
I help everyone no matter what are the consequences cause my father always help me if I'm in difficult situation . He always does this .
He carry me . He used to tell me that *there's nothing as bad people. We have just done something bad*
He used to tell me that we shouldn't hate anyone .
Even in the stories. He says that a murder is a bad thing . He won't even let me use the word murder or curse world .
Whenever I talk in anger or I shout at someone . He become mad at me . He doesn't shout. He just stop talking to me . He always says be kind . Ve kind zayden .
These memories are hunting again .
I can't see road anymore everything is blurry cause of my tears .
I was so immersed in my thoughts that I forget that I'm speeding up .
Suddenly someone came Infront of me I apply break .
I remove my tears to see if that person is okay .
He's okay but he shout at me saying you cross red light are you blind. You must be out of your mind . I ignore him .
But one thing that he says is right I must be out of my mind to think about these things .
I should think about it .
I try to make my mind empathy .
And drive straight to my company .
. The office beckoned, a sanctuary from the turmoil within.
As I walked through the corridors, "boss, are you okay ? Did you get any information ?" Harper ask as soon as he saw me .
"No, Harper" I say sadly .
"Well I want you And Aidyn in my office in five minutes"
After some time there'sa knock on my office door "come in" I said and then Harper and Aidyn came inside.
"You ask for me" Aidyn said "yes I have something important to talk about" I said and then explain all the story of Nala with them . Harper and Aidyn awaited my instructions, their faces set with determination.
"I trust you both," I said, my voice laced with emotion. "Harper, you've been with me since the start. Aidyn, you saved me . You are still mysterious but still I don't think you have that much courage to betray me . That's why I trust you."
Aidyn's expression turned serious, his eyes narrowing like a hawk's. "What's bothering you, Zayden?"
"I don't know what to do," I confessed, my words barely above a whisper. "Nala… she's not talking, despite the torture."
Harper's voice was cold, like steel on ice. "Give her to me. I'll make her speak."
I know it's necessary but I feel bad for her and I fell bad more by not saying it aloud .
Maybe what we were doing isn't rightt at all. But for justice .
Aidyn nodded in agreement, his face set in stone. "You have to do this, Zayden. For your family's sake. Remember what they did to them?"
I hesitated, torn between my desire for revenge and my growing unease with the torture.
"Handle her," I instructed Harper. "Make her speak, but don't kill her. And give her scar too badly. I mean don't torture her to much just talk to her .You know she's a girl "
Harper's grin sent a shiver down my spine, like a winter breeze on a cold night.
As they left, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was losing myself to my thirst for revenge. I hated what I had become, but I saw no other way.
"*I would have to be cruel to end the cruelty."*
But at what cost to my soul?
Would I find redemption, or would I succumb to the darkness that had consumed me?
Only time would tell.