funbook-pk Chapter 336: How could you be so cruel?
Chapter 336: How could you be so cruel?
The bedroom door opened softly with a quiet creak. Rory immediately whipped her head toward the sound.
A tall figure stepped inside against the backlight, carrying an elegant breakfast tray in his hands.
"Vincent?" Rory stared at the man walking toward her in shock.
She had suspected Yuel. Or Vangar. Maybe even Xarion or Jasper.
But Vincent? He was the one person she had never expected.
"It’s me." Vincent set the tray gently onto the nearby table before walking to her side.
Then he reached out and tenderly tucked the loose strands of hair beside her face behind her ear.
Rory looked at him, brows slowly knitting together. The man standing before her was clearly still Vincent.
The same face. The same voice. And yet somehow... he felt like an entirely different person.
Those fiery phoenix-like eyes had become abyssal black, dark enough to swallow light itself.
The feather-shaped mark between his brows seemed alive now, as though black flames flowed beneath the skin.
"When did you wake up?" Rory asked quietly.
As she lifted her hand, the chains attached to her wrist clinked sharply through the silent room.
"...Was this your doing?"
Vincent reached out. His cool fingertips brushed lightly across the golden restraint around her wrist, his gaze lingering on it as though admiring a masterpiece crafted solely for him.
"Yes." He admitted it openly.
A faint smile even curved his lips. "Don’t you like it, Rory? I had it custom-made specifically for you. The size is perfect. It won’t hurt you at all."
His thumb slowly caressed the delicate skin beneath the metal cuff, sending a cold shiver racing down her arm.
"Why?"
Rory stared at him in disbelief.
Had he gone insane? Had he actually chained her up?
"Why?"
Vincent gave a low laugh, as though her question amused him. The sound vibrated softly in his chest.
Then he leaned closer, lowering himself beside her ear. The cool scent clinging to him—like snow-covered pine forests after winter storms—wrapped around her instantly.
"When I opened my eyes," he murmured softly, voice low and dangerous, "you were sleeping beside me. And in that moment... I suddenly thought... locking you away... making you belong only to me... might actually be a wonderful idea."
Rory’s mind blanked for a moment.
She could barely process the meaning behind his words.
Lock her away?
She stared at the face inches from hers and swallowed hard.
"Vincent... do you remember what happened before your rebirth?"
Had the rebirth process burned his brain?
Hearing that, Vincent slowly straightened. A slow smile spread across his lips.
"Of course I remember. I remember everything."
He lifted his other hand, cool fingers gently catching her chin. The grip wasn’t painful, but it carried an unmistakable force she couldn’t resist, tilting her face upward until she met his eyes.
"I remember," he said quietly, "that you abandoned me. You sent me back to the Firebird Clan."
As he spoke, he leaned down again. His long black hair spilled forward like silk, several strands brushing against her cheek with icy softness. Those black eyes reflected her stunned expression perfectly.
"Rory... How could you be so cruel to me?"
He sighed softly, sounding almost wounded. A disturbingly fragile kind of grievance colored his voice.
"Haven’t I already done enough? You worry over Jasper. You coax Nix. You spoil Yuel. You said you didn’t want children... yet you still gave Yuel a child. And even Xarion—that cold-hearted bastard—gets special treatment from you. But what about me? What did I get? You decided you didn’t want me anymore... and just threw me away."
"I didn’t—" Rory tried to explain, but Vincent cut her off before she could finish.
"You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I don’t need your excuses to lie to me."
The smile on Vincent’s lips deepened, cold and unhinged.
"I understand things clearly now. The only way... is to lock you up. To keep you beside me, where you can never leave. That way... You’ll belong to me forever. To me alone."
He had definitely lost his mind. Rory was certain the rebirth had burned something wrong inside his head.
She stared at him while her thoughts raced frantically.
She couldn’t provoke him right now. Not until she figured out exactly what state he was in. If she angered him further, who knew what irrational thing he might do next? And where had he even brought her? Had Yuel and the others realized she was missing yet?
"Mm—"
Before she could continue thinking, sudden heat pressed against her lips... Followed immediately by sharp pain.
Vincent had bitten her.
His dark eyes fixed on her with terrifying dissatisfaction.
"Were you thinking about Yuel and Xarion again?"
His voice was so cold it seemed capable of freezing the air itself. Jealousy and fury churned violently within those pitch-black eyes.
Rory winced instinctively and tried to pull away, but his hand held her jaw firmly in place, leaving her nowhere to escape.
"Answer me!"
Vincent’s voice rose abruptly, the final thread of restraint snapping completely. The madness in his eyes surged out unchecked.
He stepped forward suddenly, pressing her hard into the soft bed behind her.
Clink—
The chains around Rory’s wrists rattled sharply from the force.
Vincent leaned over her, his tall body swallowing all the light around them. Both hands braced themselves on either side of her body, caging her completely within his embrace.
"You like them that much? So much that even when you’re with me... you’re still thinking about them?"
His voice sounded raw and shattered, like a beast driven into a corner.
Rory didn’t even have the chance to respond before he crushed his lips against hers again. Vincent kissed her like a man who had completely lost his sanity.
Like he wanted to devour her whole... To cover every inch of her in a scent that belonged only to him.
Rory could feel the overwhelming storm of emotion pouring out of him, and she didn’t resist.
Instead, she found herself wondering—had Vincent really suffered that much all this time? Was that what had driven him into becoming like this?
But her compliance only seemed to make matters worse. Rather than soothing the beast spiraling out of control, it was like pouring fuel onto fire.
The bed curtains swayed gently with the disturbed air currents, fractured shadows dancing across their tangled forms.
The metallic chains chimed softly from time to time, sharp against the heavy silence.
Rory could feel the tension and trembling in Vincent’s body, as though he were using every ounce of strength he possessed to fill some vast emptiness inside himself.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before Vincent finally buried his face against the hollow of her neck. His burning breath spilled across her skin, his voice hoarse and broken.
"Rory... Tell me you’re mine. That you always will be..."
Rory’s throat was painfully dry, her voice rasping weakly.
Exhausted beyond words, she lifted an arm that felt as though it had been shattered and pieced back together, gently stroking his hair as she softly soothed him.
"I’m yours. I always will be."
She was too tired to keep her eyes open. After only a few quiet words, sleep dragged her under completely.
Before losing consciousness, she vaguely heard the man beside her mutter something dark and dissatisfied.
Then Vincent seemed to lift her into his arms, and once again, that familiar sensation of weightlessness and helpless unconsciousness swallowed her whole.
...
By the time Vangar and Xarion finally tracked them down, there was no trace left of either Vincent or Rory.
"Damn it."
Vangar stared at the empty house before him, his expression terrifyingly dark.
"What kind of ability did that bastard awaken after his rebirth? How the hell is he moving this fast?"
Xarion looked equally furious.
"The rebirth flames must’ve burned his brain to ash if he actually dared kidnap Female Master."
"Vincent’s gone completely insane."