Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty
Chapter 36: You’re toying with me!!

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: You’re toying with me!!

But Xalor couldn’t stop himself and leaned in; the familiar scent of him wafted up to him. It was a scent he both detested and found oddly compelling. Despite the rage building within him, he inhaled deeply, trying to break the mix of emotions it stirred. The scent was a bittersweet echo of their past, a reminder of what once was, now twisted into something painfully saddening.

But unaware of all his emotions, Cassian, who was pinned helplessly against the wall, was on the brink of emotional collapse. He had been heading back to his quarters silently; his mind was filled with numerous thoughts.

He didn’t know when this unknown figure had appeared from nowhere. The oppressive aura of murderous intent pressed down on him, making it hard for him to breathe, and the hold on his neck was painfully tight. The place where Xalor’s hand gripped him burned with a strange, searing heat, a sensation that left Cassian feeling both confused and frightened.

This is a pure nightmare, Cassian thought as he felt the man’s breath on his face. What kind of sick joke is this? Why is he so close, and why does his touch feel so... unsettlingly? The sensation of Xalor’s breath against his cheek, the warmth mingled with the intense pressure, and all—it was just too overwhelming for him.

He really doesn’t know how to respond or from where this man came from. And why he had pin him on the wall. Like he had stolen something precious from him, and he couldn’t wait to extinguish the very life of him.

Cassian shuddered uncontrollably when he felt something gazing on his cheeks. He was unable to clearly see Xalor’s face through the blur of his tears and the overpowering sense of dread.

The close proximity made Cassian feel incredibly exposed; every breath Xalor took against his skin made him shiver. The touch of Xalor’s nose on his cheek was both unsettling and strange.

In a low, husky voice, barely audible but clear to Cassian, Xalor asked, "Why did you come back? Why can’t you leave me alone? Leave me! I can live without you."

Cassian was stunned by the pain in Xalor’s voice. His tears stopped for a moment, and his heart ached painfully, though he didn’t understand why. His lips moved to answer, but no sound came out. He was silent, his struggles fading away as he listened to the tortured voice.

Cassian’s throat felt dry; his voice caught in a knot of fear and confusion. His mind raced, but no words would come. The intense pressure on his neck and the heat from Xalor’s touch made it hard to think clearly. The anguish in Xalor’s voice was like a cold dagger, piercing through his resolve and leaving him paralyzed.

Xalor’s grip seemed to tighten slightly, but his voice remained low and broken. "You don’t understand what you’ve done," he murmured, the words laced with a mix of sorrow and desperation. "You always come back, but you never really stay. It’s like you’re toying with me, only to disappear again."

Cassian could feel the trembling in Xalor’s voice, a stark contrast to the earlier menace. He tried to focus on the words, to grasp their meaning, but his own fear clouded his thoughts. The touch that once burned now seemed almost gentle, as if Xalor were trying to hold on to something that was slipping away.

Xalor’s eyes, filled with a deep, unreadable pain, searched Cassian’s face. For a moment, the rage seemed to waver, replaced by a raw, vulnerable sadness. "Then why come back?" Xalor asked, his breath ragged. "Why keep coming back if you only bring this torment?"

Cassian’s mind swirled with a storm of emotions. He looks at the deep eyes, which directly bore into his eyes. The pain was clear in them.

The intensity of Xalor’s grip lessened slightly, as if he were battling with his own inner demons. The room seemed to shrink around them, the only sounds being the heavy breaths they shared and the silent clash of emotions.

Xalor’s expression remained a mix of pain and disbelief; he continued without getting any response. "Why does it feel like you’re always tearing me apart?" he asked, his voice cracking. "Why does it feel like every time you come back, it’s just to remind me of what I can’t have?"

Cassian’s eyes filled with tears again, not from fear but from the weight of Xalor’s words.

The silence that followed was heavy, charged with unspoken words and raw emotions. Cassian’s heart pounded as he looked into Xalor’s eyes, trying to find some way to bridge the gap between them.

Xalor’s grip on Cassian’s neck relaxed slightly, though his eyes remained fixed on Cassian with a mix of hope and despair. The intensity of his emotions seemed to waver, torn between anger and the aching need for understanding.

"Do you even know what you mean to me?" Xalor asked quietly, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and sadness. "Every time you come back, it’s like you’re igniting something I thought was long extinguished. But then you leave again, and I’m left with nothing but the ashes."

Cassian’s tears fell freely now, mingling with the sweat on his face. He shook his head, feeling the weight of Xalor’s pain. "I didn’t realize," he wanted to say, but the words refused to come out of his lips.

Xalor’s eyes became indifferent, though the pain was still evident. He took a shuddering breath and slowly eased his grip on Cassian.

The room fell into an uneasy quiet, both of them grappling with the weight of their emotions. Xalor’s gaze remained locked on Cassian, a mix of longing and anguish in his eyes.

Cassian looked into Xalor’s deep, inky eyes like he was going to lose himself in them, and he found his lips moving again.

Finally, Cassian managed to force out a whisper. "I didn’t mean to... I never wanted to hurt you." His voice was barely audible, trembling with emotion. "I just... I didn’t know."