---
I never thought I'd reach this point.
But standing in the dimly lit hallway, Riven's dark presence closing in on me, I realized I was no longer just fighting for survival.
I was fighting for my soul.
---
He was always there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Judging.
But now, it wasn't just about possession.
Riven's game had changed.
And so had I.
---
Riven (whispering):
"You think you can leave me? You think you can escape all of this, us?"
I turned to face him, my back against the cold stone wall. His eyes were smoldering with a fury I'd never seen before — as if I had taken the one thing from him he could never get back.
---
Me:
"I don't want this anymore, Riven. Not you. Not any of this."
He moved closer, too close. His fingers brushed my jaw, forcing me to meet his gaze. "You never had a choice," he murmured, the words like a spell. "You think you can walk away? After everything I've done for you?"
---
I swallowed hard, trying to push the walls in my mind higher, but I couldn't escape the pull of him. It was always like this — a back-and-forth between me trying to push him away and him pulling me deeper into his world.
---
Me:
"I'm not your doll to play with, Riven."
His lips curled into a smile, but there was no warmth in it. Only cold satisfaction. "You never were."
---
The air felt heavy, suffocating. I wanted to run. To leave. But something about his presence held me in place.
Something I couldn't name.
---
Then, without warning, his lips were on mine.
At first, it was a slow, deliberate kiss. One that felt like a claim, a brand being marked onto my skin. But then, it deepened. His grip on my body tightening, pulling me into him as if he could melt us both into one.
---
I wanted to push him away. I tried to resist. But my body betrayed me.
His touch burned me. It wasn't just physical. It was something deeper. Something dangerous.
---
But just as quickly as it started, it stopped.
He pulled back, his breathing ragged. His eyes — they were full of something I couldn't name.
---
Riven:
"You don't belong to anyone but me."
---
The words echoed in my mind, like a curse. And for a moment, I felt it. The weight of his obsession. The heaviness of the chains I couldn't see, but could feel tightening around me.
---
I pushed him away then, hard enough to make him stumble back. My heart pounded in my chest as I wiped my mouth, the taste of him lingering far longer than I wanted.
---
Me (shaking):
"I don't belong to you. Not anymore."
---
His expression shifted then. From rage to something colder. Something darker.
---
Riven:
"Don't make me break you."
---
The threat in his voice was too real. I could see it in the way his body tensed, in the way his fists clenched at his sides. But I stood my ground.
---
Me:
"You've already broken me, Riven. But I won't let you destroy me."
---
He didn't speak for a long while. Instead, he stared at me as if trying to read my soul. Trying to understand what I had become in this mess of lies, desire, and hatred.
---
Then, he finally spoke again, his voice lower, colder than before.
---
Riven:
"Then you better pray you're stronger than I think. Because I'm not letting you go."
---
---
That night, I didn't sleep.
I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, trying to understand what had just happened. What had changed between us.
There was no love here.
Just power. Control. And something darker that neither of us could name.
---
I had no answers.
Only questions.
And as I lay there, trapped in this labyrinth of obsession and lies, I realized something:
I might not be able to escape.
But I could fight.
And I would.
For me.
---
The next day, things were different.
Riven had put on his mask again — the one that showed no weakness. The one that hid the truth of what he was, and of what we had become.
But for the first time, I saw past it. I saw the cracks in his walls. The desperation hidden behind his cold eyes.
---
And that desperation scared me.
---
Later that afternoon, Liam found me in the garden. He didn't say anything at first. He just stood there, watching me as if waiting for me to speak.
When I didn't, he finally broke the silence.
---
Liam (softly):
"You can't keep walking this tightrope, you know."
---
I looked at him, my eyes heavy. "I know."
---
Liam:
"You need to choose, (Y/N). Before it's too late."
---
I didn't say anything.
I didn't need to.
---
Because deep down, I already knew.
---
I wasn't just caught between two men.
I was caught in a battle for my own soul.
And no matter what happened next, I was already losing.
---
[End of Chapter 21]
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