Chapter 12

Rai’s POV

I walked out without looking back, my steps steady, controlled, like nothing had just happened behind me, like I hadn’t just stood there watching her fall apart over something as small as a rabbit.

Or at least… that’s what I told myself.

I didn’t stop. Didn’t slow down. Didn’t care to see what she was doing after.

By the time I got into the car, my jaw was already tight, irritation sitting heavy in my chest as I shut the door harder than I needed to.

“Drive.”

The car moved immediately, smooth and quiet, but my head wasn’t. It kept going back to her.

That look on her face.

The way she rushed me without thinking, grabbing onto me like I was something she could stop, like I would actually listen to her.

I let out a low scoff, leaning back into the seat, my eyes fixed ahead but seeing nothing.

A rabbit.

She cried for a fucking rabbit.

My fingers tapped slowly against my thigh, my expression darkening as the thought settled deeper.

Not for herself. Not when she was dragged into this life. Not when she saw Carlos life taken in front of her. Not when she stood in front of me, shaking so badly it looked like her legs would give out any second.

Not even when I told her to shoot. But that rabbit…

That was where she broke.

My jaw clenched harder, a quiet irritation rising in me that I didn’t quite understand. It didn’t make sense. Nothing about her did.

I shifted slightly, running my tongue over my teeth as I exhaled slowly, trying to push the thoughts away, but they stayed, stuck there like something unfinished.

She didn’t fight for herself. Didn’t resist. Didn’t even try.

She just stood there and took it… like she had already accepted whatever was coming to her.

But the moment it wasn’t about her, the moment it was something else, something small and helpless…She moved.

Fast….Without thinking, like it mattered. Like it mattered more than she did. My fingers curled into a fist. Why?

Why would she care about something so useless… and not herself? I didn’t like that. It sat wrong in my chest in a way I couldn’t explain, like something was out of place and I couldn’t fix it.

I leaned my head back slightly, my eyes narrowing as her face flashed again in my mind. The tears….The fear.

The way she looked at me like I was something she couldn’t understand… like she was trying to figure me out even while she was scared of me.

A faint smirk pulled at my lips. Good.

She should be scared. That’s exactly what I am.

But still…My expression hardened…That moment… when she grabbed me.

My brows pulled slightly as I replayed it. She didn’t hesitate….Didn’t stop to think, Didn’t even look scared of me for that one second.

She just moved…For that rabbit, Not for herself.I didn’t like that. I didn’t like that something that small could get a reaction out of her when I couldn’t… when everything I did to her didn’t push her that far.

I could have killed it, I should have, That was the whole point. To make her do it, To break that softness in her eyes. To show her properly what this world is.

But instead…I let it go…Silence filled the car again, heavier this time as the realization sat with me.

Because of her, because of the way she looked at me…Because of the way she begged without saying a single word,Because for a second…

I didn’t want that look in her eyes to disappear. I went still. My expression darkened immediately at the thought.

Annoying. Fuck! She was getting annoying…Too soft….Too weak. Too…

Different. I dragged a hand through my hair, irritation building again as I shifted forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees. I shouldn’t be thinking about her this much.

She was nothing, just another girl, just something brought into my world, something to use., something to break. That’s all she was supposed to be.

But my mind didn’t listen,It kept going back to her…To the way her hands shook, to the way her eyes filled so quickly, to the way she looked at me like she was already breaking from the inside.

My lips twitched slightly. “She didn’t even hesitate…” I muttered under my breath, more to myself than anyone else.

The driver stayed quiet, like he knew better, and I didn’t bother acknowledging him. I leaned back again slowly, my gaze hardening as my thoughts settled into something clearer.

I don’t do this…I don’t sit and think about people…I don’t replay moments…I don’t care enough to.

But this…

This was different, and I didn’t like it. Or maybe…A slow smirk spread across my lips.

Maybe I did…She was going to be a problem. I could already see it. And problems like that… I don’t ignore them. I deal with them.

Or…

I keep them close…Very close.

My fingers tapped once against my knee as my eyes darkened again. “She cares too much…” I said quietly.

Then my smirk deepened, slower this time.

“Let’s see how long that lasts.”

Because in my world… things like that don’t survive. And if they do, I make sure they don’t. But her…

My gaze narrowed slightly as I looked ahead. I wasn’t going to rush it. No.

I wanted to see it happen slowly, I wanted to watch it. Break.

Piece by piece. Until there was nothing left of that softness in her eyes. Until she stopped caring, Until she looked at the world the way I do. Cold.

Empty, Done.

A low chuckle left my lips.

“Let’s see, Fiorita…”

My voice dropped, quieter now, but heavier. “How long you last.” And for the first time in a long time…I felt something close to anticipation.

Not for blood…Not for power. But for her.

And that alone…Should have meant something.

But I ignored it.