Page 22 of Scent Of Obsession
“Your uncle is an impostor.” He ground out the words between clenched teeth with the authority of a man who was not to be crossed. “His faults, not your own. I’ll give you a generous compensation if you’re worthy of my time. Needless to say, your uncle will pay a consequential price if you refuse my kind offer.”
“What kind of price?” It seemed like a choice, but we both knew I had none. I was a bug trapped inside a spider’s web.
He edged closer, his breath near my nape. “You’ll make that perfume. Willingly or by force. Unless you prefer I take something else from you.” His eyes lingered to my curves before he hit me with a deadly stare.
I folded my arms on my chest. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I can.” His voice hardened ruthlessly. “How do you think you arrived here in the first place?”
A knife-sharp grin twisted his mouth, and the hair on my skin raised on alert. “I was the escort of—” His eyes latched on to me, making me second-guess my next words, “—a friend.”
“The one with a stolen invitation.”
“How did you—” I stopped midsentence. “You knew I was coming. How? Did you make that happen?”
“Odds.” He rolled his tarot card between his fingers with ease. And then, he made it disappear. “Yourfriendis the one that brought you to me.”
“And how did you know he would?”
“If you believe the rumors, I can read anyone’s soul. The rest is just gamble, and I never lose.”
From the start, it had all been a game. Adonis was the pawn from the moment the invitation was delivered to him. I was the bait. He was the puppet master, orchestrating everything from afar.
“Why did you bother doing all of that?” I swallowed, feeling tingling on my fingers.
“Because, little witch, you’ve passed my test.” His hands gripped the table behind me, his body closing in on mine. The sudden proximity stole my breath. “Which brings us back to the point. The only reason for your presence here.”
If he could truly read my soul, he’d know that I would sacrifice everything to revolutionize the world of perfume and to bring to life my dream. He didn’t have to bargain with me, only to tempt me with a scent. He could use me, play with me, but I’d do the same. “What perfume are you expecting me to do?”
He thought this through, his dark eyes surveying me with such intensity that it was hard to hold his stare. “Not today.”
He swept into the darkness, becoming one with it, his black coat easily interpreted as the Devil’s cape. And just like that, I knew he was done with me—for tonight.
The chill running down my spine was a warning.
Welcome to hell, Lily.
Dead branches click-clacked on the windows.
The breeze howled like the shrill of a banshee.
The creaky floor filled the dead silence.
I was inside what I should call my bedroom, in which the twilight struggled to penetrate. The space remained dimmed, despite the fact I had pushed the curtains away from the windows and lit up all the lights.
Another clear sign the manor was ruled by a ghost was that I had my phone back. It was placed symmetrically on the center of the bed, a detail that screamed of perfectionism and rigidity. A detail that leaves no place for mistakes.
I rushed to my phone, swallowing down the disappointment when I saw I hadn’t received any messages from my uncle. On the other hand, Adonis had filled my notifications with some calls and messages after Radcliff’s party.
Adonis: Where are you, Lily?
Adonis: Lily? Can you at least reply?! I’m beginning to worry here.
Adonis: Call me as soon as you get this. Can I come to your place?
I took a shaky breath. I had to call Adonis. At least someone was worried about me, even though he had left without me. It wasn’t probably his fault but Radcliff’s. I stared upon the balcony. The trees were prison bars with the impossibility to break free from them. The more the darkness thrashed around the bedroom, the more the chills in my core spread.
I brought the phone to my ear, hearing the first beep. I locked my eyes with the spindly fingers of the spooky oak tree. It felt like they wanted to catch me and keep me there. The dying limbs seemed to grow closer, the moonlight shrinking under the force of the obscurity of the sky. Another beep. The nature around the manor was perishing slowly, probably in the image of its owner.
