Chapter 4: “Ghosts and Glimpses”
Now let’s dive into Chapter 4, where Zayne’s terrifying control begins to crack, revealing confusing moments of softness… and Alina discovers something chilling about the burnt photograph.
📍 [Location: Mansion – East Wing Storage Room | Morning]
Alina sits on the cold floor, eyes fixed on the door. It hasn’t opened in hours.
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
(to herself):
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
I should hate him.
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
I should scream and break something.
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
But all I want… is to understand why.
📍 [Door creaks open. Zayne walks in silently. He’s different today — calm. Too calm.]
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
You care now?
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
But starving you doesn’t interest me.
📍 [He places a tray of food down and turns to leave]
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
Who was the woman in the photograph?
📍 [Zayne freezes mid-step]
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
What did you say?
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
Burnt photo. Dark hair. She looked like… like me.
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
(voice low):
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
You don’t get to ask about her. Ever.
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
Is that why you hate women?
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
Is that why you treat me like some broken doll?
📍 [Zayne walks back, his face unreadable. He crouches to her level.]
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
She lied to me.
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
She said she loved me.
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
Then tried to ruin everything I built.
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
I trusted her
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
And so now you punish every woman after her?
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
Only the ones who remind me of her.
📍 [He stands and leaves without another word. Door clicks shut.]
📍 [Later that day — Alina walks to the hallway where Nora waits, pretending to water plants.]
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
You asked about the photo, didn’t you?
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
He lost control. Just for a second.
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
That woman…
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
Her name was Juliet Hale.
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
She was his fiancée.
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
What happened to her?
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
Some say she cheated.
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
Some say she tried to kill him.
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
But Zayne doesn’t talk about her — not unless he’s about to snap.
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
He’s holding onto ghosts…
𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛
And using me to punish them.
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
The question is…
𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 ( 𝚏𝚕'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 )
Will you survive long enough to become more than a ghost too?
📍 [That night – Zayne sits in the dark, staring at the burnt edge of Juliet’s photo]
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
(to himself):
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
Why you, Alina?
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
Why can’t I break you like the rest?
📍 [He places the photo down... and picks up a fresh one of Alina.]
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
You're crawling under my skin…
𝚉𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍
And I don’t know if I want you gone...
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