CHAPTER 3

...MARISSA...

...✧⁠✧✧⁠✧✧⁠✧✧✧...

He didn't let me clean myself and guided me to our bed. As we lay down, he fell asleep within minutes, his breathing deep and steady. I stayed awake, my gaze fixed on his face, tracing the lines and contours I had come to love so deeply.

This man is my life. I love him so much that I would do anything for him. He's the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me.

It all began six years ago. Six years since he entered my world and changed everything.

Six Years Ago

I was in the morgue, examining a particularly striking body. The man had passed away under unusual circumstances, but what captivated me were his eyes—clear, piercing blue, like the Caribbean Sea. Even in death, they held a haunting beauty that I couldn't look away from. As a coroner, I'd seen many bodies, but these eyes were unlike any I had ever seen.

I was lost in those mesmerizing eyes, when my phone buzzed with a notification. I tore my gaze away from the lifeless face and reached for my phone. It was a message from a chat room on the dark web. It was from a chat room on the dark web. I often surfed these rooms.

A month ago, I started chatting with a man named Paimon. Our conversations were dark, filled with shared fascinations and secret desires that most people would find disturbing.

As I read his latest message, my mind wandered back to the body in front of me, and I couldn't help but wonder what Paimon would think of those beautiful, blue eyes.

Paimon Whatcha doing?

Lilith: Admiring the most beautiful dead eyes. You? What are you doing?

Paimon Taking out the intestines of a 15-year-old boy.

Lilith: Does it feel soft?

Paimon: What, the intestines? Well, yes, they're so soft, like cotton.

Lilith: I want to touch them too! Well, I want to touch something else too, but it looks like I'll have to wait for that lollipop. But seriously, I want to see that boy's heart. Can I?

Paimon: Sure, but let me warn you, it's covered in blood.

Lilith: I don't mind. I love red; I love blood. .

A few seconds later, he sent me a photo of the boy's heart, covered in blood. The sight of it made me lick my lips and swallow hard.

Lilith: If I said I want to eat it...

Paimon: You want to?

Lilith: Maybe.

Paimon: Let's meet, and I'll treat you to dinner. But what meat do you prefer—animal or human?

Lilith: Of course, human, but I don't want old, dead meat.

Paimon: We'll see. But let's meet.

Lilith: Okay.

Paimon: How about tomorrow?

Lilith: Sounds great.