His voice thundered like a lightning storm in the dark cold night and it hit her in the heart. She hadn’t anticipated for him to wake up. In the blink of an eye, he was standing alongside her. He was faster than normal vampires, much faster.

He grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to face him. His nostrils were flared, his mouth made a flat line and his eyes had a deadly stare. She could feel he was fuming because his grip was not gentle.

"Why are you hurting yourself?" He asked with gritted teeth trying to control the anger which was trying to resurface. He could feel his body tremble with anger and frustration.

"Let me go," she replied as she tried to jerk her arm away from his hold.

"Answer the damn question for the love of anything you find holy. Is it because of me? Are you still hurt because of what happened earlier? Or have I done something to offend you? Tell me the truth?" The air between them seemed to have become charged as both of them seemed to be emitting electric bolts and throwing them at each other. She only glared at him and didn’t answer.

"I swear Aselia if it’s because of me. I will send you far away from me and you will never find me, ever. So, tell me why? Just why?" He didn’t want to see her bloody hands, it will break his heart. So, he focused on her face for now.

"Don’t act so entitled, not everything is about you. And I am not bound to tell you every aspect of my life. Unlike you, I am not the one in love. So it will be better if you would let me go now." She wanted to hurt him as much as possible and she knew how to hit the nail in his heart.

The pain he felt at her words was immense but he understood she just wanted to hurt him to get her way, so he said: "I am not letting you go, not today. I have always given you space when you have needed it. But I won’t allow it if you use it to hurt yourself. I won’t stand and watch you do that."

"What will you do? Huh?" She tried to get her arm free from his hold but it was of no use. He was so much stronger than her.

"I will tie you up and keep you tied up until you come to your senses and stop inflicting self-harm. But under no circumstances I am going to let you go."

Aselia’s rage had hit the boiling point by that time. She didn’t want to be held by him at this point. So she raised her other hand and slapped him hard against his face.

"WHACK!!!"

His face didn’t move an inch but it left a handprint mixed with her blood. She had painted his face crimson, this was the physical and emotional painting of her core state, her current state, her raw state...

The moment her hand collided with his face, she regretted it, not that she was afraid of him that he might hit her back. Because it pinched her in the heart, she realized she didn’t want to hurt him. She braced herself for she expected him to slap her too.

The slap she expected never came, instead, he stared at her for a while with an expressionless face. He then picked her up and hitching her on his shoulder, took her inside. She constantly struggled and lashed out at him, but he didn’t let her go.

"Put me down," she shouted.

Once inside the room he gently put her down on the bed and sat in front of her. He held her wrists and asked: "Did hitting me make you feel better? If it did then you can hit me all you want. I don’t care, just don’t injure yourself." Not in her wildest dreams, had she expected him to say something like that to her. It would have been better if he would get angry at her or shouted at her, maybe even hit her. She would have at least gotten a reason to hate him. She sat there dumbstruck, looking at him with watery eyes. She did not want to do what he had just said.

"Say something, Aselia. Do something? Tell me what it is that you feel. I can’t read your mind and I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me. Have you done this before?" His frustration at the situation was clear from the way he spoke and looked at her.

"Why didn’t you hit me back?" She asked finally. Of all the things, this is what she wanted to ask him. She was still agitated, her emotions were not in sync and her breathing was raspy.

"I dont hit women or use any kind of physical violence against them. I told you that when we first met. And did you really believe I would hurt you? I would break my hand before I raise it to you." Aselia gasped at his words, her eyes widened. Her heart wanted to jump out of her chest, she felt it no longer belonged to her for it didn’t listen to her or her brain. It wanted to go to him, and even though he screamed danger, her heart didn’t see him as a threat.

Xiran on the other hand had been warned by Doctor Wanstine that Aselia could suffer from PTSD and even suicidal thoughts, after what had happened to her. So he needed to keep an eye on her. That’s why he wanted to keep her close at all times. His mind was trying to formulate all kinds of possible scenarios of what might have triggered her. Was he or his words the stimulus behind her outburst? Maybe, another nightmare but he didn’t even feel her get up. He only noticed when he moved and felt his arms empty.

"I want to be alone right now." She finally spoke trying to reel her heart in.

"Sorry, that’s one thing I can’t grant you today." He still held on to her wrists, not wanting to glimpse at her hands. He was afraid she will hurt herself more. Something told him it wasn’t the first time she had inflicted pain on herself.

"LET GO, LET GO OF ME YOU AS*HOLE." She shouted at him, holding back tears that wanted to brim out. He didn’t, no matter how much force she applied but placed her hands on his chest so she could take out her frustration on him. His heart was being pierced right now, he didn’t want to hold her wrists so tightly. He just wanted to collect her in his arms and soothe her.

She finally gave up the struggle and bent over to hide her face in her bent legs. He still held onto her arms as she cried silently. Her body trembled with her silent sobs, her laments filled the room and he wanted to burn this world down for she was crying.

In a very long time, he was lost for words. He had no clue how to calm her down. He didn’t even know what tormented her, she wouldn’t even talk to him.

Her golden hair sprawled all around her. He slowly and unwillingly let go of her hands. She quickly recollected her hands and hugged herself while curling up like a ball.

Time seemed to have ceased to move for Xiran for every second felt like an eternity in hell. Because it brought forth fresh streams of tears from her and all he could do was sit there and watch her cry. He didn’t dare touch her, he knew she didn’t want him to.

He just covered her with the blanket and sat close to her trembling frame. She had covered her face with her arms so he won’t see. But he could see her hands now, badly bruised as blood caked on them. The raw pink showed from under as the white part had peeled off. The rage he felt at the site made him grind his teeth and his eyes went dark. This was supposed to be a fun day why did it have to end in blood?

He got up and fetch the first aid kit from the cupboard. He took her hand but she jerked it out of his hold. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I am already letting you cry as much as you want. So let me tend to your wounds at least." He asked her softly and took her hand again. She didn’t resist this time.

He disinfected them, cleaned all the blood with cotton and applied an antiseptic. He then wrapped both her hands in bandages. It shattered his heart and stole his peace of mind to see her in bandages again.

He raked his hand in his hair with frustration, while he held her hand with his other. The trembling of her body finally stopped and he could hear her soft snores. He wanted to see her face but it was still hidden under her arms. He sighed and without letting her hand go, he took out his mobile and texted Rivan.