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Never, ever forget: You are loved. You are wanted. You matter.
To my manic side, Athena, you crazy bitch. Get some sleep, girl.
“If I am the phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so. If I am to be saved it is because your love redeems me.”
Rand’s thin lips press into a straight line and he returns his gaze toward the stage. A look akin to the hunger I feel inside shows in the tension around his eyes. I stare daggers at the side of his head. If he knew what was hanging in the vaults below the stage, it’d wipe that dazzled look right off of his face. Scarlett Day is mine. One of his own men had to learn that the hard way.
The way Scarlett smiles at Rand leadens my stomach. No doubt he’s soaking in the way she’s looking at him and understands the way it affects me because he glances back at me with a satisfied smile. The opera house is meant to be a safe zone, free of violence. Today though, jealousy has me fantasizing about throwing the smug piece of shit over the railing.
“She’s mine.”
My little angel is more savage than she looks. I love her innocence, but her darkness is what calls to me.
My little muse is my addiction, and her voice is my drug. If there is a cure to my madness, I don’t want it. I’d rather welcome blissful oblivion.
“You’re my pretty little muse, Scarlett. I worship your voice. Your body, mind, and soul are no different.” “Even the darkness in my mind?” I ask, not sure why it matters if my phantom accepts my madness. “Especially your darkness.”
“I always knew pleasure would make you sing so pretty. I need you to know that no one but me will ever hear this song from you. The world can have Scarlett on stage, but only I get to hear ma jolie petite muse when she hits those high notes. Tell me you understand.”
“You did good, baby. So good, ma chérie.”
“I’ve studied you for so long that I know almost everything there is to know about you.”
“Don’t leave.” “Jamais, mon amour.” Never, my love.
I thought it’d peaked at obsession, but the tangible grip she has on my chest is indescribable, completely different than any fixation I’ve had before.
“Okay, but why do you know so much about me?” “Because you are everything,” he answers simply.
Upon quick inspection, all my morning and nighttime routine products are perfectly lined up on one side of the double vanity’s black marble countertop. All of them.
He’s already changed into a charcoal-gray suit and white button-down with a rose gold satin tie that matches my dress.
“Mmm… yes. When I told the boutique owner to send their finest, this was exactly what I envisioned. Heads will roll if they stare at what’s mine for too long, but goddamn am I a lucky bastard for getting to look at you all night.”
My heart races at the stranger’s arrival, not to mention how harsh Sol’s tone was. It makes me realize how gentle he’s been with me.
As I wind us through the metallic and rose gold-masked guests, I sneer at every man who looks at her a little too long, silently memorizing each asshole’s mask for a personal shit list to give one of my shadows later. When I peek back at her, Scarlett is oblivious to the looks she’s getting. Her eyes are bouncing left and right at the bouquets and draperies of roses.
She takes a moment to think about her answer, and I lay my arm across the back of the seat, subtly scooting her closer to me in case she tries to flee somehow.
But then the thought of being out on the town, even if it is just Masque, with Scarlett on my arm made me more excited than I’ve been… ever.
“Sometimes happiness is just happiness, ma jolie petite muse. There’s no need to second-guess it. Just enjoy it.”
But the ache I feel when I’m away from her is much more than any obsessed revenge I’ve embarked on. It’s the feeling you get when you find the perfect song, the one you could play for eternity, never getting tired of a single note, and still not want to get to the final measure.
“This is your only warning, Scarlett. I won’t settle for ‘first.’ I’ll be your only. Nothing less.”
“You are my moonlight,” I whisper against her shoulder in a kiss. “And you are my midnight,” she murmurs back,
“As far as I’m concerned, there’s never been anyone but you, Scarlett. No one before you mattered.”
He squeezes me harder before whispering into my ear, “Never leave me, Scarlett. I couldn’t bear it.”
“I love you.”
“Listen, pretty muse. Listen to the song my heart beats for you and admit you know its rhythm.”
My breath heaves in my chest as he lifts my chin to turn my face toward the light before growling. “Who the fuck hurt you, little muse?”
Her black satin dress has a rip in the plunging neckline and a bruise is forming on her cheek. That’s all I need to see to know that someone is going to die tonight.
The blood in my veins burns with rage. This Chatelain fool thinks he can fuck with what is mine? Hurting Scarlet is a direct attack against me and Rand knows it. It’s a declaration of war.
“I am yours, ma belle muse.” “And I’m yours, my Sol.”
