Chapter 5

Artemis Thaleia's Perspective

"Do we really have to put that restraint?  Sin is just going to dress up himself." I said to Agent Segovia, who was putting a restraint on Sin's leg.

"I feel like that's too much.  I don't think he's capable of running away, considering his state. He gained back some of his strength, but that won't be enough for him to escape from here."

Sin glanced at me. I looked away from him.  He doesn't talk much, and if he does, he'll only talk when it's just the two of us in the room, like when I'm cleaning his wounds.

"Dr. Belmont, we're just following orders from Detective Belmont. Besides, this man is a monster. There's no need to be considerate of him," Agent Enrile countered, which I chose to ignore. Once done with Sin's restraint. Agent Segovia stood up and gawked at me.

"What are you waiting for? Get out, now."  I said in between gritted teeth as they stood by my side, refusing to leave.

They looked at each other and scratched their nape.

"Detective Belmont said we shouldn't leave you alone with Sin." Hearing that pushes my button.

I put the stethoscope on the table with a loud thud.  I looked up at them with a furrowed eyebrows.

"If you won't leave this room. I'll be the one to leave then. It'll be up to you to dress Sin up and clean his wounds."

The agents remained still. I nodded my head to acknowledge the choice that they had made. I snatched my bag from the table and was about to leave the room when they stopped me. 

"Fine, we're going out, but you must hurry up and don't talk to him," Agent Enrile blurted.

"If you want this to be done and through. All you have to do is leave and let me do my job here," I mumbled as I was wearing my gloves and mask.

Sin raised his hand in the air.  I blinked a few times before I grabbed the hem of his shirt that I placed on the table.

"You're much better now and recovering well. You knew that your trial is next week, right?" I asked.

Our eyes locked in for a moment, and I froze as I felt the same drastic beating of my heart that I would feel whenever he crossed my mind

"I'm sure I'm going straight to jail. They didn't offer me a chance to get my lawyer to help me defend myself. They only gave me an incompetent one from PAO," Sin shared. 

Sin's breathing became heavy; I stared at him for a moment.

With the number of cases he will face, I'm sure he'll end up in prison. That's what should happen. That's what I want to happen, but I don't know why I felt annoyed when I found out that they didn't let Sin take a lawyer. 

But on second thought, no lawyer in their right mind would accept Sin and defend him.  The country hates him, and if they have the chance, they might kill Sin themselves.

"You need to go to jail and pay for your sins. This is your chance to change yourself to become a better person. Everyone is capable of changing, Sin."  I looked at him again only to see him staring at me seriously

"Doctor, people like me, we don't really change. We change our persona to deceive others, but not because we want to change ourselves to become better. We don't get better. We become more evil."  

Sin popped a smirk on his lips.

"If you want me to pay for my sins, to get retribution for killing your mother and all those other people, then kill me yourself. Just kill me, Artemis Thaleia," he said calmly and closed his eyes.

I was stunned. I felt something tingle in my chest at the thought of killing him. I don't know why I can't bear to do that now when that's what I wanted to do to him before.

What's happening to me?

"Why would you want me to kill you instead?"  The moment Sin opened his eyes, I saw an emotion on it.  My knees tremble and go weak.

I stood up and put my hand on the table, and then I removed the gloves and mask I was wearing.

"You are the first person who understood me. You tried to understand me beyond what you can actually do. I want to surrender my life to someone whom I like...that's you, Doctor."  

I harshly turned to him.  "I won't do that, Sin. I won't kill you...I don't want you to die."  Those words came out of my mouth smoothly.

I grabbed my bag that was on the table and walked straight out of the room.  

"You're done, Dr. Belmont?"  the agent by the door asked me.  I nodded and made my way out of the building.

****

"Wait a minute, Doctor. Artemis Thaleia Belmont, are you telling me now that in your eyes, Sin is innocent?" Saffron asked. 

"Not exactly innocent, but he's a psychopath, I think..." Saffron gave me a questioning look.

"You think? You're not sure?"

"I mean, who the hell in their sane mind would bomb a train station for no good reason —"

"Crimson Cruorem, your patient," Saffron immediately answers. 

"I've seen him having a nightmare, Saff. He was traumatized when his father made him kill his mom." Saffron's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"That could be the trigger for his mental health illness." Saffron nodded.

"When it is proven in court that he has a mental illness. He will no longer be imprisoned and will instead be sent to a mental facility for treatment," I continued.

Saffron narrowed her eyes on me once more. 

"Thaleia, it sounds to me like you don't want him to be put in jail anymore. Have you forgotten how much you want him to rot in jail? You'd even make a deal with the devil if that's what it takes to have him and his mafia punished."

"I still want him to go to jail. I want him to pay for his sins, Saff."

Saffron nodded at me again and took the bag of chips from my hand. 

"Great, you said it's impossible for you to like him, right? There's no way you'd fall for him. And that should remain that way. You can't, Thaleia, you must not,"  she murmured, which made my smile fade.