All Chapters of Love Me Then Destroy Me: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

154 Chapters

CHAPTER 4 — The Space Between

Point of View: LanaSleep does not come easily.The ceiling above me stays sharp and steady, every minute, fissure and shadow visible in the low light. My body rests, but my mind refuses to settle. Each time I close my eyes, the same emotion returns. Not an image. Not a recollection. Just a sense of being close to something I cannot achieve.I hear footsteps outside the door. Soft. Measured. Nurses changing shifts, carts passing past, gentle voices keeping the night tranquil. This location is designed to cure, yet it feels like a waiting area between two lives.I shift onto my side and push my hand on my chest. My heart is beating steadily now, but it feels like it's protecting me instead of working for me.It comes softly when daybreak comes.When I wake up, the curtains are open. The room is full of warm, gentle sunlight. For a second, I almost forgot where I was. Then I move, and the dull pain in my brain brings it back to me.Someone knocks on the door.Yes," I say.A different nu

Chapter 12: The Soft Enemy

Adrian's Point of ViewThe morning comes in a quiet way.I am awake before the sun fully shines through the windows. The house is quiet, just like it always is at this time of day. I am barefoot on the cold floor in the kitchen, listening to the refrigerator hum and her breathing from upstairs.After I left her room, she didn't scream again.I know it shouldn't feel like a victory, but it does.I wash my hands at the washbasin, but I take too long and watch the water slide over my skin. Today, I tell myself to keep things normal. Easy. You can count on it. She needs a schedule. That's what the doctors said. That's what I hold on to when my gut tells me to do more.I get eggs out of the fridge. Bread from the counter. She used to love the coffee beans in the jar, but she hasn't said if she still does. I still grind them. The warm, familiar smell fills the kitchen, and for a moment it seems like the past is only a room away.I break the eggs carefully. I always do. She used to laugh at

Chapter 13: Sounds of a Fight

Lana's Point of ViewAfter breakfast, the house seems quieter.Not calm. It's just empty, like sound is careful not to stay too long. I walk slowly, letting my fingers run along the wall and counting my steps without meaning to. The hallway leads into the living room, where soft lines of sunlight fall on the floor. Everything seems to be in order. Almost set up.That makes me more uneasy than a mess ever could.I don't know what I'm looking for, but my body keeps moving like it does. There is a pull in my chest that gets stronger the longer I stay still. Adrian told me I could look around. He said it in a soft voice, as if he were giving permission and a warning at the same time.I look towards the kitchen.The trash can is next to the counter and is made of stainless steel. The outside is clean. I don't know why I open it. There is no reason. No thought. Just a sudden urge to look inside.At first, everything looks normal to me. Towels made of paper. Ground coffee. A serviette that i

Chapter 14: The Door That Is Locked

Adrian's Point of ViewI don't sleep.The house settles around us in a soft, fake quiet that makes it seem like it forgives everything that has been said. Even after Lana's breathing slows down, the lights go out, and the rooms go dark, her words stay with me.You hurt me in the past.It wasn't like she was accusing him. She said it like she had just found out. That's worse.There is no ceremony when morning comes. The pale light that comes through the curtains and falls on the floor makes lines that feel like walls. I stand at the window longer than I need to, watching the sky change colour and listening for sounds coming from upstairs.My heart races when I hear her footsteps.I turn when I see her at the top of the stairs. She seems more stable than she did last night, but not all the way there. Her eyes meet mine for a second and then move away. There is caution now. Being aware.I say, "Good morning.""Morning," she says.We move around each other carefully, as if we were strange

Chapter 15: A Dangerous Pull

Lana's Point of ViewAfter the upstairs hallway, the house feels smaller.Not tighter. Not darker. Smaller, like the walls leaned in when I wasn't looking and chose to stay that way.I walk through the living room without sitting down. It looks like the couch is too soft and could hold me down if I let it. The window calls out more loudly. Instead, I stand there with my arms crossed, looking at the glass that shows a woman I still don't know.When I blink, my reflection blinks too. When I frown, it frowns. She looks like a real person. She looks like she lives here.I don't.I hear footsteps behind me.I don't turn.Adrian comes to a stop a few feet away. I can feel the space he leaves on purpose. The care in it makes my heart hurt.He says my name.Gentle. Be careful. Like a question.I tell him I need to breathe. I tell him that this place is noisy even when it's not.He says we can go outside together.Together.The word is wrong.I shake my head. I tell them I want to be by myself

CHAPTER 16 — The Pictures

POV: LanaThe attic smell is like old paper and dust. Light shone in through the small skylight, thin and pale, and caught the edges of objects I had never noticed before. Boxes, some stacked precariously, some half-open, held secrets Adrian clearly thought I shouldn’t see. My hand hovered over a small drawer tucked under the slanted ceiling, the kind of drawer that seemed too obvious and too hidden at the same time.I didn’t know why I went to it. I only knew my fingers itched to move it, to lift the lid, to look inside.Adrian’s voice startled me from behind. He didn’t move fast. His presence was careful, measured.Lana.I froze.

Chapter 17 The First Lie

Adrian's point of view In the house there was uneasy silence. The kind of quiet that pushes against your chest and makes every breath sound louder than it should. Lana was sitting across from me at the kitchen table. We hadn't talked about the picture she had found yesterday, but it was still between us. I had been watching her all morning. I saw her move, I saw her avoid my gaze, and I saw how her hands shook a little as she stirred her coffee. I should have said something. I should have said something. But now words were dangerous. It was dangerous to tell the truth. I only had control. She suddenly looked up. Her look held me in place, sharp, demanding, and unyielding. Adrian.

Chapter 18: The Other Name

POV: Lana Adrian's hand lit up the screen. I had leaned over a little to look when he reached for something on the other side of the table, and I saw the name. Just a line of text, plain and simple. And yet it broke everything. My chest felt tight. My fingers curled up in my lap. The room looked smaller. The air got thick. The light from the kitchen window fell on the table, but it couldn't reach the shadow that was now clinging to me. The name. I knew it. Or at least my body did. My mind was all over the place, stumbling and trying to grab pieces that wouldn't come together. It was like a key I didn't have. Like a door I could feel but couldn't open. It brought back a memory I didn't want to have. The

CHAPTER 19—Putting the Cage to the Test

POV: Lana When I opened the door, the morning air hit me hard. It smelt like wet grass, the light coming up early, and smoke coming from somewhere nearby. My heart raced and pounded in my chest. Every step down the stone walk felt heavier than the one before it. I had taken a choice that was easy but risky. One rule. Only one. Go outside by yourself. The weight of the home behind me, the walls, the windows, and even the memories within kept me in place for weeks. But today I would go beyond it. Today I would check to see if Adrian's cage was just walls or shackles. I strolled carefully down the path, letting my fingers touch the wooden railing of the gate. Every touch felt like it was going too far. Fear was alive in my stomach, twisting and knotting. But there was something

Chapter 20: The Opening of the Door

Adrian's POV It was too quiet in the house. I could clearly hear every thing coming from the corridor to the floors above. The slight rustle of leaves outside, the quiet hum of the refrigerator, and the study's clock ticking away. But it didn't matter since I could sense her faltering. Lana. I felt a warning vibration in my chest when I heard her name. She had gone outdoors. The world outside the barriers I had constructed had been impacted by her. And she was the object of everyone's desire. I had no control over that spark or that recognition. The prison I had built was crumbling, and it had awoken a part of her that I had kept shackled. The small creases beneath my eyes were highlighted by the morning light as I leaned against the kitchen counter. Even though my hands wer

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