Chapter 2

The heat of a succubus was tormenting. With every second that passed, I felt like I was being scorched alive.

I dug my nails into my palm, fighting to stay conscious. My fingers trembled as I pulled up a familiar number and pressed call.

The line clicked after several long rings.

"Louisa, stop crying to me for advice. Stuart is your boyfriend. And I… what am I to you?"

Hearing that cold, low voice on the other end, a sudden ache welled in my chest. I choked back sobs, but my voice still trembled.

"But he's the only one I've ever been with… besides him, who else could I choose?"

Joe Dixon's voice sharpened, grinding with irritation, sleep instantly gone. "Louisa, it's three in the morning in Morland. Do you take me for a dead man, answering your call at this hour?"

I wiped my tears, aggrieved. "Joe… I think I might be dying. Stuart hasn't come home for several cycles. The pain is unbearable. I can't hold on."

A loud crash erupted on the other end, something shattering into pieces. Then came his furious roar, "What in the world! How the hell is Stuart taking care of you?"

I clutched the phone in silence as tears streamed down.

Joe went quiet for a moment, then finally spat, "Wait for me. I'm coming back."

I sat in my room, body wracked with the fire burning hotter, sharper, until I collapsed to my knees. I pressed my forehead to the ground, desperate for relief.

My mind blurred. In the haze, I seemed to see Stuart again—the once shy, lively boy. But he had changed, his love gone, swallowed forever by time.

Tears blurred my vision until my face was soaked.

I don't know how much time passed before a heavy pounding rattled the front door.

"Louisa! Open the door!"

That voice… was so familiar.

Summoning what little strength I had left, I crawled to the door and managed to pull it open. A tall, broad figure rushed in immediately, gathering me carefully into his arms, his voice coaxing and gentle.

"Louisa, wake up."

I felt warmth envelop me, his chin resting lightly atop my head, his cool breath calming the fire that had been consuming me. My body, exhausted and empty, seemed to regain a flicker of strength.

"Joe." My voice cracked, a tide of grievance spilling free.

"It's me. I'm back," he whispered, holding me tighter.

Sobbing, I poured out everything, all the indignities and loneliness I'd been enduring. My tears soaked through his clothes.

Stuart had changed. The moment he confirmed our relationship, his warmth vanished. In just days, he grew cold and distant. But I am a succubus—I need love to survive. His indifference terrified me.

I tried to mend the rift, pressing myself into his arms, pretending to be curious, asking about whatever he was looking at with a smile so bright it hurt.

But Stuart's face turned instantly cold. He snapped the phone shut, shoving me away with disgust.

His brows furrowed as he scolded me, telling me to behave, to be a proper wife instead of seducing him and distracting him from his "great ambitions."

"You're draining my focus!" he'd said.

I stumbled, sprawling onto the ground in humiliation.

His face flushed with anger as he loomed over me, shouting. The more I bowed my head, the louder his reprimands became, until he had berated me the entire afternoon.

"Everything about you from head to toe is just petty feminine trickery. I don't even want to look at you!"

With one last roar, Stuart had grabbed his phone, slammed the door, and left.

Only I remained, kneeling on the icy floor, my blood and spirit slowly consumed.

His love for me had vanished. And with it, the life of a succubus withered.