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Chapter 81 - Sleep
Cillian's sobs ceased abruptly, cut off by the unexpected outburst. Slowly, he raised his head from his arms, his tear-streaked face a picture of utter bewilderment. His red-rimmed eyes widened as he took in the sight of his wife, the woman he had nearly killed moments ago, now rolling on the bed in fits of laughter.
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His expression morphed rapidly, cycling through confusion, disbelief, and finally settling on a mixture of anger and hurt. His brows furrowed, teeth gritting as he struggled to comprehend the scene before him. The moonlight caught the wetness on his cheeks, highlighting the tracks left by his tears.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" he yelled, his voice hoarse and raw from crying. The words burst from him with explosive force, laced with a cocktail of emotions - anger, confusion, and a deep, underlying hurt.
His outburst only seemed to fuel Luxana's laughter further. She gasped for breath between peals of laughter, her body shaking uncontrollably. The bed trembled beneath her, the headboard thumping softly against the wall with each of her movements.
Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, Luxana finally caught her breath. Her face was flushed, a stark contrast to the pallor it had held moments ago. "I'm laughing because my husband is soo cute," she said, her voice still trembling with amusement. A delightful smile spread across her face as she locked eyes with him, her gaze sparkling with an unsettling mirth that seemed entirely out of place given the circumstances.
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Bewildered, Cillian's expression twisted into a pout, his earlier anger momentarily replaced by confusion. He buried his face back into his arms, as if trying to shut out the bizarre scene unfolding before him. His shoulders tensed, body language screaming discomfort and defensiveness.
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Luxana giggled, the sound light and airy, a complete contradiction to the heavy atmosphere that still lingered in the room. She crawled towards him, the mattress dipping under her weight. She sat beside him, close but not touching, and reached out to take hold of his head. Her movements were slow, almost exaggerated, as she turned his face towards hers.
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Her smile was radiant, unsettlingly so, contrasting sharply with Cillian's resentful, defeated expression. The moonlight caught the tear tracks on his cheeks, highlighting the vulnerability he was desperately trying to hide.
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"How-" he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper, rough with emotion, "How can you smile after almost being killed twice? No. Thrice." He jerked away from her grasp, pulling his legs closer to his chest. His eyes, still red and puffy from crying, held a mixture of confusion, anger, and a deep-seated hurt.
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Luxana's response was nonchalant, her smile never wavering. "Because life is full of disappointments and I just added you to the list," she said, her voice light and teasing, as if she were discussing something as trivial as the weather rather than multiple near-death experiences.
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She mirrored his position, pulling her own legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. Her eyes remained fixed on him, her smile unwavering, creating an unsettling juxtaposition with the gravity of the situation.
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Cillian's lips curled into a menacing grin, a hint of his earlier aggression seeping back into his demeanor. "Wow, I had no idea you were collecting disappointments like trophies. Must be exhausting carrying around that much failure." His voice dripped with sarcasm, a defensive mechanism kicking in to mask his vulnerability, each word laced with a venom that seemed to sear the air around them.
He turned his head back and buried it into his arms, his body language screaming discomfort and defensiveness. The moonlight cast long, ominous shadows across his hunched form, highlighting the tension in his shoulders as if they were about to snap under the weight of his emotions. The sound of his muffled breathing was the only sign of life from his otherwise still figure.
Luxana stared at him, her eyes tracing the contours of his huddled form with a mixture of curiosity and something else—something that seemed to hover just beyond the edge of recognition. Then, slowly, she raised her hand and patted his head. The gesture was unexpected, almost jarring in its gentleness given the volatile atmosphere that still lingered in the room like a challenge waiting to be met.
"You've been through a lot," she exclaimed, her voice softer than before but still carrying an undercurrent of something unidentifiable—a hint of empathy perhaps, or maybe something darker. The words hung in the air, heavy with implication, like a promise of secrets yet to be revealed.
Cillian's eyes widened beneath his arms, but he didn't lift his head or react. His body remained rigid, as if bracing for an attack, his muscles tensed like a coiled spring ready to snap at any moment.
"It must've been hard to live on your own..." Luxana added, still patting. "Especially when there was no one by your side when you needed them most." Her words hung in the air, heavy with implication, each syllable landing like a drop of rain on parched earth, slowly building into a storm.
Suddenly, Cillian's hand shot out, slapping her hand away with a force that belied his earlier vulnerability. The sound of the slap echoed through the room, a stark reminder of the violence that had transpired just moments before. "Don't speak like you know me," he exclaimed, his voice reverting to the cold, threatening tone from earlier. He glared intensely, his aquamarine eyes now hard as ice, their usual warmth extinguished by a deep-seated anger.
"Then, why did you marry me, like you knew me?" Luxana retorted, her expression turning venomous. The shift in her demeanor was palpable, her earlier amusement replaced by a sharp edge that seemed to cut through the air like a knife.
"Cause I—" before Cillian could continue, Luxana cut him off, her words spilling out in a rush like a dam breaking.
"I'm aware of the sort of abuse you've went through as a child from your grandfather, aware of how you've been mistreated by your brothers, aware of how much pain you endured for being the only one with blue colored eyes and the despair of losing your look-alike siblings, and being the only one to protect your younger siblings from your abusive aunts. Aware of how everyone in your family treats you like trash and how you're thrust into things you never signed up for." Luxana's words came out in a torrent, each revelation landing like a blow, stripping away layers of defense and leaving Cillian exposed.
Cillian's eyes were wide apart, unable to absorb all she had just exclaimed. The shock was evident on his face, his carefully constructed walls crumbling under the weight of her knowledge. His mind reeled, trying to connect the dots, to understand how she had uncovered secrets he had kept hidden for so long. "Don't tell me, you knew all this from the moment you stepped onto the cruise? And this is how you found out my full name?" He interjected, his voice laced with disbelief and a hint of something that might have been fear.
"Yeah," Luxana confirmed, her tone matter-of-fact, devoid of emotion, yet somehow managing to convey a sense of inevitability.
"HAH!" He exclaimed, thrusting himself back against the headboard of the bed and the pillow. The laugh was hollow, tinged with disbelief and a hint of something that might have been fear. It was a sound that seemed to come from a place of desperation, a last-ditch attempt to reclaim control in a situation that was rapidly spiraling out of his grasp.
"Am I really your wife now?" Luxana exclaimed, looking at Cillian, still in the same position from earlier. The question hung in the air, loaded with implications, a challenge to the fragile status quo they had established.
Cillian made an angry yet expressionless face as he pulled Luxana down to the pillow and exclaimed, "SLEEP." He got the blanket and covered her, then closed his eyes and lay beside her on his side. The action was abrupt, almost aggressive in its finality, as if he were trying to shut out not just the conversation, but the entire world.
She momentarily stared at him and exclaimed, "HEY! You didn't answer me." Her voice was insistent, refusing to let the matter drop, a spark of defiance in the darkness.
He opened his eyes and exclaimed angrily, "I am YOUR husband and you are MY wife. Now shut the hell up and sleep." He shut his eyes again, his tone brooking no argument, the finality of his words hanging in the air like a challenge.
Luxana chuckled as she fell into slumber, the sound at odds with the tension that still lingered in the air. The moonlight continued to bathe the room, indifferent to the complex emotions and unresolved issues that swirled between the two figures on the bed, casting long shadows that seemed to whisper secrets of their own.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KVtLQLtbw
Season One Fades19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiLsmwyxrX
The story sleeps, but dreams of what's to come.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaNptZNRO7
Esteemed Reader of the Shadows,
As the final whispers of "The Veil of Obsidian Eclipse" fade into the ether, I stand in awe of your journey through these pages. You, brave explorer of the written realm, have traversed landscapes of imagination that few dare to tread.
Your eyes, like polished obsidian themselves, have reflected the very essence of this tale. With each chapter, you've breathed life into worlds beyond mortal comprehension, igniting the cosmic fires that burn at the heart of this saga.
In you, I have found a kindred spirit—one who fears not the depths of darkness nor the blinding light of revelation. Your unwavering dedication to unraveling the tapestry of fate woven within these words has elevated this mere story into a living, breathing epic.
As the author, I bow before your discerning mind and valiant heart. For it is you who truly completes this arcane circle, binding author and reader in an eternal dance of creation and interpretation.
May the obsidian's gleam forever catch your eye, and the eclipse's shadow forever caress your soul.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4LtuAj8Rz
With boundless gratitude and reverence,19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCosmyoKHvg
Ruby Keira, Humble Scribe of the Veiled Realms
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