Chapter 2
TWO
The Devil
Love is a weak word. Love is temporary, fleeting. People fall in and out of love every day. We love television shows and bullshit flavored coffee drinks. Love is a word used to describe a momentary infatuation.
I’d never say that I’m in love with her.
Obsessed is a better word to describe this desperate need I have for her.
Love is fluffy. Love is comforting. What I feel is painful; as if this burning desire for her has burrowed its way into the very fucking marrow of my bones, refusing to leave me be until I make her mine.
This is an obsession bordering on insanity.
And yet, I willingly revel in this insanity.
I wake every day thinking of her. I spend every moment of every day thinking of her.
I fall asleep each and every fucking night to dreams of her.
Everything I am and everything I have done has been for her.
And soon, she will understand just how far I’m willing to go for this obsession.
Her soul calls to me, begging me to claim her and keep her, even if her mind doesn’t know it yet. I feel it deeper than in my heart or head—the consuming and constant need to make her mine. She’s the other half to my fucking soul. And she needs me to set her free.
Even death will not keep her from me. I will have her in this lifetime and all the lifetimes after. She is mine now and forever, even if she doesn’t know it quite yet. Soon, she will see me.
I’ve been watching her for a long time. At first, it was from afar, existing on the periphery of her life.
But it wasn’t enough. I needed to be closer.
I had to make sure she was safe, even behind locked doors.
Safe from him. I began visiting her secretly at night while she slept, when the shadows and darkness of the nighttime hid my secrets.
It was thrilling to watch her without her knowledge, to see her in her most private moments, completely vulnerable.
I became obsessed with not just the idea of her, but with watching her.
I would observe her doing simple things like lying in bed and reading a book.
But I also watched her at times when I knew she’d want no one watching, times when she thought she was all alone.
Over time, I started to wonder if she knew I was watching.
I imagined her putting on a little show just for me.
When she walked around in just her panties and oversized sweater, bending over to pick something up, I wondered if that was for my watching eyes that stalked her figure from within the shadows.
I knew she would never admit it, not even to herself, but she enjoyed me watching her and fantasizing about her.
Especially when by the light of day she had to pretend to be into him.
Eventually, my need for her grew. I no longer got the same satisfaction by just watching her.
I wanted more and I sensed she did too. I put cameras in her house to see more of her, to have more of her.
It was simple enough to get into her home.
I broke in when she was out, picking her locks with ease.
The smell of her hit me as soon as I entered her room, sweet and floral.
It was just as intoxicating as the rest of her.
My lust for her grew to an almost unimaginable level just from her scent.
I placed cameras, hidden carefully, around her house.
I wanted to watch her every move. I couldn’t control her—not yet, anyway—but knowing that I could watch her whenever I wanted to gave me the power I craved.
But now, I sense my little love is ready for more, ready for us.
The time has come for me to make my move.
To right the wrongs of the past and to finally get the revenge I am owed.
I am not a good man. Some might even call me a monster.
But if I’m the Devil, then she is my Persephone.
Whether she likes it or not, I will drag her to the depths of Hell with me.
Allison Clarke will be mine.