CHAPTER 61: A PROMISE AND A CURSE...

Chapter 61: A Promise and a Curse

"You know... I hate the idea of loving him now... I feel like I will never know him... did he lie about wanting to kill Dad?" Danielle whispered with a trembling heart. "If he did not lie, then why is he here? Why is he working for him?"

A voice broke the silence behind her.

"Because I want to protect you, bunny."

Danielle spun around and saw how Theo stepped out of the shadows with his posture never once bent. His eyes were locked on her like she was the only thing that mattered in this entire world.

She tried to speak and be angry....Danielle tried to tell him he had no right to call her that anymore...

But unfortunately, Theo reached her faster.

His hand cupped her cheek and his lips pressed against hers with the force of desperation and fire.

It wasn’t very gentle or innocent how one would expect.

To Danielle, this felt like every fear and every longing crashed together like two storms finally touched in the ocean.

Danielle’s hands pressed against his chest. She pushed him back with a gasp.

"Stop!" Her voice cracked. "You cannot just do that!"

Theo stared at her. His breath was harder and uneven. "I want you alive. That is all that matters."

"Alive?" Danielle repeated. "By lying to my father? By serving him like one of his soldiers?"

Theo stepped closer again. "I am lying to everyone." He looked down and clenched his fists. "To your father. To my father. To the world that wants to choose my path for me."

Danielle’s eyes were filled with confusion and anger like something she just couldn’t name.

"You said you wanted to kill my father," she whispered. "Is that still true?"

The answer came without hesitation.

"Yes," Theo said. "But not now."

Her heart slowed painfully. "Why?"

Theo met her gaze again.

"Because if I kill him now, they will kill you."

"What?" Danielle breathed.

Theo stepped closer and lowered his head until their foreheads almost touched.

"You became the only thing they can use against me. If I kill Elias, Ethan takes you. If Ethan touches you, I destroy this entire world." His voice turned into a promise. "So I wait and fight and pretend. Until it is only me and him left."

Danielle shook her head slowly. "You confuse me. I do not know what you are anymore."

Theo smiled sadly. "I do not know either. I only know I am yours."

Danielle looked away, trying not to cry. "Why did you let Felix track you secretly? Why did you let me think you were leaving me forever?"

"Because I had to make sure your father trusted me," Theo answered immediately. "Felix was too eager to spy. I knew he would find me, and I knew very well he would drag you home. And once you were here, Elias would protect you."

She stared at him like he was both a genius and a curse.

"My father murdered my mother," Danielle muttered. "Do you understand that?"

Theo swallowed hard. "Yes."

"And you still plan to kill him."

"Yes," Theo repeated. "When you are not in the crossfire."

"And your own father... does he know you betrayed him?"

Theo’s silence was enough of an answer.

"Ethan escaped during the rescue," Theo admitted. "He is out there and he wants to hurt you. But he will not get close."

"How can you be sure?" Danielle asked in fear.

Theo lifted her hand and placed it against his chest where a small metal device was clipped to his uniform.

"Because I put a tracker under his skin," Theo said. "If he steps within a mile of you, I will know."

Danielle’s eyes widened. The realisation hit her like lightning...

"You went there knowing that he would break you apart...You let him beat you because you needed him close enough to put that thing into him."

Theo nodded and let out a shaky sigh. "I would crawl through hell for your safety."

Danielle stepped back, clearly feeling overwhelmed by all of this.

Tears started slipping down her face before she could stop them.

"I do not understand you," she cried. "You say you like me. You say you want to protect me. But you bring danger right to my home. You work for my father. You make me feel safe and then you destroy it. I do not understand what you are doing to me."

"Then let me make one thing clear."

He took her face gently between his hands. His thumbs brushed her tears away, but they kept coming.

"I am lying to every man who ever tried to control us. I am hurting every monster who ever wanted you dead." His voice trembled. "But I will never lie to you about how much I love you."

Danielle started to shake and tried to push his hands away. It was really hard to understand this person standing in front of her...

"Theo please," she begged, "stop saying love like it means something."

Theo bent a little closer just so his breath could ghost over her lips.

"It means everything," he mumbled...

Danielle cried harder...

"I do not want to love you," she confessed. "Love kills and hurts people.... Love ruined my mother and it will ruin me."

Theo pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. It was not forceful like before.

This time it felt more gentle and maybe heartbreaking.

"Let it ruin me instead," he hushed into her lips.

Danielle couldn’t fight anymore. She collapsed into him and her tears soaked into his uniform. Theo’s arms wrapped around her like he was holding together the only fragile thing left in the world.

He buried his face in her hair and breathed in like she was oxygen.

"I am here, bunny...and I will protect you."

Danielle clung to him even as her fear tried to push away.

Because no matter how much she hated it...She needed him more than anything.

Theo held her tighter, lifting her slightly off the ground as if fearing she would vanish if he loosened his grip.

He kissed the top of her head and whispered one more promise... a promise that tasted like blood.

"I will kill anyone who tries to take you away from me."

"Theo, you are a liar..."

"I want you, Danielle..."