Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
He pulled back slightly, his eyes raking over me. “You’re beautiful in this dress,” he remarked, his voice dropping lower, more intimate. “I can’t wait to take it off you later.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I knew my face had flushed under the weight of his words. I had barely gotten used to the dress, but he already had plans to remove it. I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond, but his gaze never wavered, and when I finally spoke, my voice was a soft whisper. “Your parents are here and can see us,” I reminded him, though I wasn’t even sure if it was a protest or an excuse.
He smirked, unbothered. “So are your aunt and uncle,” he countered smoothly, his hand tightening on my waist, pulling me closer.
A reminder of the two of us being cousins—something I had accepted in a manner that made me cling to him even more, and he knew it. He leaned in again, his breath warm against my ear. “And do you really think they would care if I bent you over here and now? They would be elated.”
“Stop it,” I hissed, a mix of embarrassment and desire flooding through me.
He laughed softly, a deep, rich sound that sent a shiver down my spine. "I missed you," he said, then followed it up with something in Latin that emphasized the point, a phrase so fluid and intimate, that it washed over me like a caress.
I swallowed, feeling my resistance melt under his gaze. "I missed you too," I whispered back.
His grin widened, his eyes darkening with satisfaction as he turned me with the music, pulling me even closer to his chest. My heart pounded in time with the beat of the song, and I let myself fall into the moment—until my gaze landed on the centerpiece hanging above the head table. My eyes narrowed as I tried to make sense of it, the ornate design catching the light in a way that made it almost look like...bones?
“What the hell is that?” I asked, still keeping my voice down, unable to hide my shock.
Alexander laughed, a deep, amused sound that vibrated through my chest. “Over there,” he nodded toward another table, one full of gift-wrapped boxes, as if trying to distract me. Beside it was a dog with a red bow around its neck, a Rottweiler that looked eerily similar to the one that had taken down Nicolette. It wasn’t the moment to bring her up, or to focus on the fact that he’d gotten me a dog because I’d mentioned always wanting one. I was trying to focus on the fact that the centerpiece above the table was—.
"You know that’s not what I meant," I murmured, dragging my eyes back to the gruesome sight.
He chuckled, far too at ease. “Ah, you must mean the masterpiece Phoenix made us.”
I blinked, my stomach twisting as I studied the centerpiece again. Slowly, the horrifying truth settled in.
“Is that the guy from...the cliff?”
Alexander's grin stretched wider, a mix of pride and dark amusement. "Yes," he whispered, his eyes gleaming. "William. Phoenix thought it fitting that we honor him in our own special way."
William’s arms were tied back at grotesque angles, ribbon threaded through them like some twisted decoration. His eyes—what used to be his eyes—were now replaced with bundles of blood-red flowers, the petals slightly drooping as if they wept in mockery. His lower half was gone entirely, covered in an elaborate floral arrangement that somehow made the whole display even more horrifying.
Someone had made that.
The artistry, if you could call it that, was disturbingly precise.
Flowers were woven into flesh; ribbons twisted through his limbs as if his body had been repurposed into some macabre piece of decor.
"Phoenix," I whispered, realization dawning. Of course, it was him. The twisted genius behind this nightmarish masterpiece.
Alexander tilted his head, a dark smile on his lips as he leaned in closer. “Beautiful, isn’t it? He’s the perfect centerpiece for us. A tribute.”
I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
My stomach churned, a nauseous feeling curling inside me. “Someone… made that.”
Alexander’s grip on me tightened slightly, a silent reminder of who I was, where I was, and what this meant. "Not just someone," he corrected softly, brushing his lips against my ear. "Phoenix made it... for us."
"It’s… fitting," I whispered, the words foreign on my tongue but no less true.
The horror of what I was seeing began to dull as if my mind was rewiring itself, molding to fit the world Alexander had pulled me into.
His smile widened as if sensing the shift in me. "You see it now, don’t you?" he murmured, his lips grazing the side of my neck.
"How perfect this is. How perfect we are."
I nodded, barely conscious of the motion, my gaze still fixed on William’s flower-filled eyes. "It’s perfect," I agreed. The words felt wrong, but they also felt inevitable. The ribbons, the flowers, the intricate, grotesque display—everything had its place. Everything was a part of this twisted world I was now a part of.