SEBASTIAN

She hates me. I'm furious.

I want to burn this whole place to the ground. Fire everyone. Destroy everything. If that's what it takes to find her, so be it. How dare they lose sight of her? My Melisa. She's out there, alone, and every second I don't have her near me feels like a blade twisting in my chest. I trusted them to keep her within reach. And they failed me. No... they failed her. And for that, they'll pay. I don't care how long it takes. I'll find her. Even if I have to tear the world apart. Why? Why does she look at me like I'm a monster, like I'm the one who broke her? I gave her everything - everything. Safety. Warmth. A place where no one can ever touch her again. I silenced the ghosts in her past. I made them bleed to hurt her. And yet... she runs from me. It hurts. It hurts when she looks at me like that. Like I'm the monster in her story. I never wanted to be the villain. I just wanted her. To protect her, to love her in the only way I know how. But every time she pulls away... Every time she flinches or hides her eyes from mine. It tears something inside me. She doesn't understand. She doesn't see how much I need her. How much I've done, how much I've become... for her. And still? I'm the monster. She screams as if I'm the villain in her story, when I'm the one who rewrote it just to keep her safe.

Why do you say such cruel things, Melisa?

Why do your words cut deeper than any blade ever could? Is it because... you love someone else?

No.

No, no, no, no - NO. There is no one else. If there is... If another man has touched her, kissed her, looked at her the way only I should. I swear by the stars, I'll rip him apart. Slowly. Piece by piece. So he can feel what it's like to die for love. Because she is mine. I memorized the way her lips curve when she talks in her sleep. I count her eyelashes like rosary beads, praying she'll love me back. I bathe in the scent of her. The shampoo she uses, the lotion she applies, the perfume that clings to her pillow. Every inhale is sacred. Every breath she takes... I breathe with her. Looking at her face makes me insane. I couldn't sleep. But then - she screams. She calls me insane. She curses me. Like I'm a stranger. No, darling. I am your shadow. Your storm. Your home. I hear her cries, and my heart shatters into pieces, but then I get angry. So angry. Because love shouldn't hurt like this. You made me this way, Melisa. You carved your name into my bones. You made me feel again, and now I can't shut it off. I want to hold you and protect you. I want to punish you for running. I want to kiss your tears. I want to make you cry out my name until your soul remembers who you belong to. And still... when you sleep... You're beautiful. So quiet. So soft. My lullaby wrapped in skin and sorrow. Melisa. My Melisa. Even if you hate me now, I will make you love me later. Because you are mine. In this world or the next. And I. I will burn the world to keep you.

"Melisa! come back here, I will be good please, I will really do my best to love you and care for you." She shook her head, trembling, her voice breaking with terror.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed, eyes wide with fear. I stepped forward, desperate, unhinged.

"Why do you keep running from me, Melisa? Come back here!" My voice cracked with rage and heartbreak. "You bitch - come back!" She turned, tears in her eyes. "I don't want to be with you! I don't want you! Leave me alone!" My chest tightened like it had been stabbed. "Why... Why do you hate me so much?"

"You kidnapped me!" she cried. "And now you're trying to kill me!" I froze. Her words hit harder than a bullet. "No... please," I whispered, voice shaking now.

"I won't hurt you, I promise. I'll be good. Baby... come here. Just come to me." But she kept stepping back, further, further, like I was a nightmare she was praying to wake up from. She was crying, trembling, holding that pathetic stick like it could stop me. "Stay back!" she shouted. Even in fear, she was beautiful. Such a cute little thing, my little bunny, pretending to be brave. I took a slow step forward.

"No one can stop me, Melisa." My voice is low, dark. "You really think that will kill me?" I smirked, eyes burning. "Do you want to see how I kill?" "You monster!" she cried.

"Just leave me alone - set me free!" "No." I shook my head slowly. "You will not be set free. You're here now, Melisa. With me. Where you belong." I lunged forward. She stumbled back in shock, her body trembling. I grabbed the stick and threw it aside with a clatter.

"Come here, little bunny..." I growled, my desire and obsession spiraling into madness. She fought me, pushing against my grip, and then. She slapped me. The sting on my cheek was sharp. Without thinking, I struck back. She turned, eyes blazing, no longer just afraid, but furious. Yes... that's right. Be mad at me, baby. Be angry. Hate me. I can take it. I laughed, a twisted, broken sound, and smiled, grabbing her by the hair, pulling her close. "You're mine, Melisa. You always have been." She didn't touch the breakfast I prepared for her. Not a single bite. The hazelnut waffles with yogurt and orange peel, her favorite. I even made it the way she liked: crisp edges, soft inside, just like she always posts about online. I watched her enough. Studied her enough. I know what she loves. Still, she rejected it. So I walked into her room again, the tray in my hands steady. "You have to eat now," I said gently, placing the plate near her. "And make sure you eat it, okay?" Her eyes burned with defiance, her voice sharp. "I don't want your food. I don't want anything from you. I want you to let me go." I smiled. Not because I was happy, but because I needed to remain calm. I ignored her protest, choosing instead to sit beside her bed, placing the fork on the napkin neatly. "It's delicious," I whispered, watching her. "I know you love waffles." She scoffed, crossing her arms. "Your food tastes like trash. You think you know me? You don't even know how to cook. This - " she gestured at the plate like it was poison " - is disgusting." Unbothered. Like her insult didn't land. "Alright," I said with a nod, standing up, collecting the tray again with eerie grace. "You didn't like it... that's okay."

"I want to go home!" She screams again like a fucking insane this bitch so stubborn I told her to shut up and she didnt listen. "If you keep shouting like that Melisa I really cut that tongue out of you, and besides this place is a private and sound proof no one really can hear you here, so give up that damn hope." She stared in tears. A pause. The silence between us thickened, and she expected me to snap. But I didn't. I just stared at her, still smiling, unchanged. Calm.

I walked slowly to the door, voice soft as velvet. "What do you want from me?" She asked and in fear. "You?" I looked at her - she didn't seem to believe me. "Were you stalking me from the start? Were you the one sending me those flowers? What about the food? What about those fingers?" I moved closer, gently lifting her chin while she sat on the bed, chained. A brave, fearless bunny - it only excited me more. "I'll make something else. Something better. Something sweeter, just for you." I glanced over my shoulder before turning to leave. "I'll keep cooking until you smile, Melisa."

"You know the police are coming - they're going to find you!" I laughed, hard. Was she serious right now? "Melisa, Melisa, Melisa? Do you really think the police can help you now? I don't think so." I smirked, grinning at her as she kept struggling against the chains. "I hate you! Go to hell!"

I grabbed her hair - softly - only to brush my lips against hers. "We're already there, Melisa? with me." And with that. I closed the door behind me, leaving her alone. I want to make sure this is going to be the last time you will escape Melisa. But not free. Because I can't help myself anymore if she runs away with me.