Because he wanted her to run, Adeline didn't. Because he wanted to see her throw a tantrum like a child, Adeline didn't. Instead, she jerked her chin away from him and walked up the staircase without making a sound. She ignored how easily he slamd the tal door open with one hand, when it took her entire body to push it with it creaking.
She ignored the sound of his footsteps following after her quiet ones. She ascended the staircase, feeling his breathing down her back. She walked all the way to the floor where their bedroom was. Past the bodyguards, past the darkness, she found herself standing at their bedroom.
She could practically see his smirk in the darkness. He was most likely gloating now. Gloating at the fact that she was walking to his bedroom on her own accord—as if growing familiar with the action. It was muscle mory now, to stop at his doorway, and walk through.
"Go in. What are you waiting for?" Elias mused from behind her.
Adeline narrowed her eyes. He read her like an open-book. She was suddenly aware of how quickly he turned the tables on her. He knew her well. Too well for her own good. She had just realized the reverse psychology he played on her.
Elias didn't want her to sleep in her bedroom, so she should've slept in his. There were seemingly only two choices at this mont—to sleep in his bedroom, or to sleep in hers.
She chose neither.
Instead, she turned around and began walking down the staircase again.
Now, Elias was not smirking.
"Where are you going?" he demanded, grabbing her wrist.
"To sleep with Asher," she irritably said.
Elias's face turned chilly. The humor left his eyes.
"Don't touch ," she hissed, pulling her hand back.
He yanked her towards him, but her hand flew again, aiming straight for his face. He grabbed her other wrist, until he was holding both of them.
"You will do no such—"
Adeline lifted her knee and kicked him hard in the groin. He choked, buckling for a mont, his grip loosening.
"I said don't touch ," she snapped.
"Are you going to continue behaving like a brat just because you weren't allowed to be a child any more?"
Adeline froze.
"Are you going to throw a tantrum now because the Mardens never allowed you to voice your complaints?"
Adeline glowered at him. What was he? A therapist?
"You can continue behaving like a child, sweet Adeline." Elias straightened up, his face hauntingly calm, his hair wind-swept, and his clothes unbuttoned.
"And I'll treat you like one," he deadpanned.
Adeline narrowed her eyes. She gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to hit him. All of this arguing had tired her out far too much. But she couldn't even think straight in a mont like this. Her childhood friend, her defender, her protector, was locked away in a basent, lost and confused.
Adeline had to save Asher. She needed to save him. He would've tore the world apart just to find her. She wanted to do the sa for him.
"He won't recognize you," Elias said. "He doesn't recognize anyone now. You are nothing but a stranger to him, darling. Not because I tortured it out of him, but because he had done it to himself."
Adeline didn't understand what Elias ant.
"He wanted nothing to do with you, Adeline. Especially after finding out what he was."
Adeline refused to believe him. She refused to think Asher would want to forget her. He'd never do such a thing.
"Ah, I see the hesitation in your eyes. You don't know what he is, do you? My poor, Adeline, naive as always."
If possible, Adeline despised Elias even more. In a mont like this, he still had the nerve to tease her? What kind of sadistic, satanic monster was he?
"Didn't Asher tell you?" Elias softly asked. "Didn't he tell you of what he was?"
Adeline felt like he was toying with her at this point. She wanted to hear nothing more, nothing less.
"Nothing you say will change my mind," Adeline said. She pushed past him, and headed for her bedroom. But his words echoed in her ears.
"He was a hypocrite darling. Always has been, always will be."
Adeline decided in the last minute to enter his bedroom instead. She slamd the doors shut and locked it. She refused to let him have the privilege of sleeping on his bed comfortably or having any access to his clothing and things he needed for his everyday necessities.
She heard his mocking laughter dance down the corridors and straight towards her heart.
- - - - -
That night, Adeline did not sleep. She tossed and turned the whole night, until the sun rose in the horizon. She laid, wide awake, staring at the ceiling, her body entangled in the bed sheets.
Her heart ached all night long, not for Elias, but for Asher. She thought of his haggard expression, his cracked lips, and his bruised skin. Asher did not recognize her. He had looked at her like a starved beast that could rip her into shreds.
She was haunted by his face.
Her closest friend, willing to tear her to pieces. All because he wanted what? Blood?
"How could this be?" Adeline whispered to herself. "All along, he was a vampire? And a Pure-Blood one?"
Adeline squeezed her eyes shut. Her whole life with him had been a lie. He claid he despised vampires, but he hailed from one of the purest of bloodlines. Only Pure-Blood vampires could wipe mories, even if it was his own.
A lone tear trickled past her eyes and slid down her ears. She laid wide awake, staring at the ceiling, even though her heart felt heavy with deceit.
She had thousands of questions running through her mind. Why was Asher down there? Why did he hate his own kind? Why did he lie to her? Why couldn't he tell her the truth? He knew all of her secrets, yet she knew none of his. Was it because he didn't trust her? Was it because he didn't view her worthy enough to know his secrets?
Who exactly was the boy she had spent her childhood with? Who exactly was the boy their family adopted? Why did he despise Elias for being a vampire, when he was also one?
"All along, I knew nothing," she whispered out loud.
Adeline felt betrayed by Asher, betrayed by the trust she had given him, and how little he had given her. If he had told her himself, she wouldn't have been furious. If he had told her the truth, she wouldn't feel this horrible.
Now, her image of Asher was shattered. Even so, he must've had his reasons, but it was difficult for her to co to this conclusion. In a spit of anger, it was difficult to see reason.
Asher didn't even recognize her. How could he possibly rember the reason he lied to her?
Adeline's heart ached like a mountain was pressing into her chest. No matter what she did or said, Adeline would never be able to find closure with Asher, for he had willingly forgotten her.
"But why?" she softly muttered to herself.
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