All Chapters of Love You to Death: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

He built a little villa just for me, and he punished every servant who had bullied me, banishing them all.After that, every morning, a fresh flower wet with dew waited by my pillow. I learned later that he picked them himself in the garden behind the castle, before the night was even gone.He couldn't cook, but for me he learned to make soup. He set the kitchen on fire three times, and the steward got so angry he threatened to quit. The fourth time, he stood in front of me holding a bowl of barely drinkable pork rib soup, sleeves rolled to the elbow, his arms spotted with grease."Taste it," he said. "This one shouldn't make you throw up."I took a sip. It was so salty it turned bitter. But I finished it."It's good," I said.That night, I reached out and took his hand.His hand was cold, but the way he held mine was light, like he was afraid of crushing something."Nora." He said my name."Mm.""Do you know why I didn't refuse when they sent you to me?"I shook my head."Because of

I thought again about the first gift he ever gave me. It was a silver crest, his father's keepsake. When he handed it to me, his fingers trembled slightly. It was the last thing of any value he'd brought out of the castle.Right in front of him, I threw the crest on the ground and ground it under my heel."This?" I sneered. "An old crest? You think you're paying off a beggar?"He bent down, picked it up, wiped it clean, and held it out to me again."Keep it," he said. "It's worth nothing, but—""I don't want it." I shoved his hand away, and the crest fell again, rolling under the couch.He got down on the floor and reached into that gap under the couch. It was not a graceful position, completely at odds with the noble he'd once been. He groped for a long while before he got the crest out, blew the dust off it, and put it in his own pocket.That night, after he fell asleep, I crept up, slid my hand into his coat pocket, and felt the cool silver crest.I couldn't bring myself to give it

He left.After that day, he never appeared at the garage door again. I was the one who'd driven him away, yet once he was gone, I found myself longing for him to come back, even as the curse tormented me.The first day, I thought he'd be like last time, sitting on the bench downstairs, coming back at dawn. I pulled the curtain aside. The bench was empty, just a few leaves blown across it by the wind.The second day, his folding cot was still there, his work jacket still draped over the chair, the leather shoes with the hole in them still by the door. But he didn't come back.The third day, I started listening for sounds at the door. Every time footsteps passed, I looked up. Not one set of footsteps stopped.The fourth day, the curse activated. Not a needle this time. It was a knife, like someone sawing slowly at my chest with a blunt blade. I curled up on the floor, cold sweat all over me, biting my lip to stay silent. This time no one slid a hot water bottle through the door crack. No

When I woke up I was in the hospital, the smell of disinfectant so heavy it made me want to throw up. I turned my head and saw Lucian slumped over the bedside, his black coat creased, the silver crest askew. He was asleep, his brow furrowed, his hand still holding mine, not letting go.I moved my fingers.He woke instantly."Nora." He sat up straight, his eyes bloodshot, a wide dark bruise under them. "You're awake. How do you feel?""It hurts," I said."Where does it hurt?""Everywhere."He tried to smile and couldn't. His lips were shaking."The doctor said your heart's blood vessels were damaged. Ten minutes later and they wouldn't have been able to save you." His voice was level, but his hand was shaking, the hand holding mine, shaking badly."Thank you," I said.He looked at me, his eyes reddening."What are you thanking me for?" His voice finally broke. "You almost died. You almost—"He didn't finish. He pressed his face into my palm, his shoulders shuddering. He made no sound,

The day I was discharged, the weather was beautiful. The sun was bright, so bright it made me squint.I stood at the hospital entrance, looking out at the empty parking lot, not knowing where to go.Then I saw him.He was standing across the road from the hospital gate, in a black coat washed pale, nothing in his hands. He stood there without coming over, without waving, without even calling out to me. He just stood and watched me, like a tree that had been blown by the wind too long, roots still buried, but all its leaves long gone.I crossed the road and walked up to him.His back wasn't as straight as it used to be. His shoulders had slumped a little, like he'd carried something heavy for a long time and finally set it down, but set it down wrong, so it could never straighten again."Why didn't you come inside?" I asked."Afraid you wouldn't want to see me," he said."How long have you been standing here?""Three days," he said. "You were in for seven. The first four I was inside, b