Chapter 677

Evaline:

The words hit harder than anything else he had said so far.

“What does that mean?” I asked, panic rising instantly. “Damian-what did you do p>

His expression didn’t change. It stayed cold, detached, like he’s talking about something insignificant. “I just made sure that old hag won’t create trouble for me later p>

My stomach dropped. “No I whispered, shaking my head. “No, you p>

“She was in the way,” he added. “I already did her a big favor by playing her grandson for so long. Or she might have died the day she would have seen his dead body p>

My heart clenched painfully. “P-please… please tell me she’s al p>

“I said I took care of it p>

The finality in his tone made my breath catch. Fear surged through me, sharp and overwhelming.

Because I knew him. I knew what he was capable of, what he had done before, and the things he had justified with that same calm voice.

“You are worrying about the wrong person p>

The way he spoke these words, it made fear grip me from deep inside. It wrapped around my chest, tightened in my throat, clawed its way through every thought until I could barely breathe under its weight.

But then I forced myself to pull myself together, because fear wasn’t going to get me out of here.

Fear was what he wanted, what he had always wanted.

And I refused to give him that again.

Not anymore.

Not like before.

A shaky breath left me as I forced myself to steady, to gather the broken pieces of myself and push them into something… stronger. Something that could think. Something that could fight.

I lifted my gaze to him and really looked at him.

At Damian.

Not the illusion he had worn.

Not “Charles p>

But him.

The monster I had once been too weak to stand against.

“What do you want?” I asked. My voice was still unsteady. But it didn’t break this time.

His expression shifted slightly, not in confusion but anger… something closer to disbelief. Like I had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.

And then, his hand came up without warning, gripping my chin firmly once again. His hold hard enough to make me wince as his fingers pressed into my skin.

“Still pretending you don’t understand?” he murmured.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to react more than that.

His grip tightened just a little.

“For someone who clearly remembers everything,” he continued, his voice low and controlled, “you are asking a very stupid question p>

My pulse thudded in my ears.

“Tell me,” he went on, his eyes locking onto mine, “what other reason could I possibly have p>

A cold dread settled deep in my stomach.

“I’m taking you back,” he said, sounding simple, certain, and absolute.

“And then,” his thumb brushed lightly against my cheek – mockingly gentle, “we are going to live the way we were always meant to p>

My breath hitched as he finished softly – “Together p>

The word echoed in my head. It was twisted, wrong, and suffocating.

A sharp and violent chill ran through me, and it had nothing to do with the freezing ground beneath me or the damp air around us.

It was him.

It was always him.

The weight of his words pressed down on me, threatening to drag me under again. But this time, something inside me refused.

A humorless chuckle suddenly escaped my lips. The sound unexpected, dry, and almost hollow.

For a split second, he stilled – just slightly, just enough for me to see it.

He looked surprised, probably because he had never heard that from me before. Not directed at him. Not like this.

I lifted my head as much as I could, meeting his gaze despite the pain in my wrists, despite the way my body screamed at me to stop.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said.

The words came out clearer than I expected. Stronger. Even with everything working against me.

Something flickered in his eyes.

But I didn’t stop.

“I don’t have anything to do with you anymore,” I continued, my voice steadying with every word. “And I never want to see you again p>

The silence that followed was… dangerous. It felt overwhelmingly thick and unpredictable, but I pushed anyway.

Because I wasn’t that girl anymore. I wasn’t the weak Eva from the past who always stayed quiet, who broke, who endured.

“And if you are that desperate for a family,” I added, my lips trembling slightly but my voice holding, “then go back to your mother and sister p>

I didn’t even see it coming.

The sound came first.

Sharp.

Loud.

Then the pain.

My head snapped to the side as his hand connected with my cheek, the force of it sending a burning sting across my skin.

For a moment, everything went blank.

A ringing filled my ears. My vision blurred. And my head got filled with countless memories of similar incidents from the past.

My heart clenched and my lungs started to protest as the memories overwhelmed me to point I stopped seeing and hearing anything else but them.

And before I could pull myself together, his hand was in my hair – fisting it harshly and yanking my head back.

A gasp tore from my throat as pain shot through my scalp.

“Look at me p>

His voice had changed. Gone was the calm and the softness. What remained was something far more dangerous.

Raw.

Possessive.

Unhinged.

He forced my face upward, his grip unrelenting as my eyes watered from the pain.

“What makes you think,” he said slowly, his each word sharp and deliberate, “that I’m asking for your opinion p>

My breath came out uneven, but I couldn’t find my voice to speak.

“You don’t get a choice,” he continued.

The words settled just like those silver chains around me that were keeping me bound – heavy, cold, and final.

“I’m telling you how things are going to be.” His grip tightened again. “The time you wasted without me?” he added, his voice dropping lower. “That’s over p>