I tried not to show how terrified I was, but it wasn't that simple. That evil look and the light in his eyes didn't portend anything good, I could only hope it was just a bad trick of my mind.

We finished our tea and walked back to the mansion. Bastian posed as if nothing had happened, still smiling when he talked to me.

«Miss forgive me, I have to take care of an urgent matter in my study. I won't be long, please wait for me in the living room if it's not a problem for you» he told me after the maid had joined us at the front door.

«How could I possibly detain you sir, I will wait for you without any problem» I replied, smiling. Bastian left to the upper floor of the mansion and I took the opportunity to walk around the house, I always had that strange feeling.

The house was occuopied and yet it seemed empty, I couldn't put my finger on it. Wandering around the house I opened a door that led me to what appeared to be a huge library.

Shelves upon shelves filled with books of all kinds, I was truly speechless. I ran my hand over some of those volumes, the embossed bindings and the leather of the covers flowed under my fingers. I stopped and randomly picked up one of those books, flipped through it and the intoxicating smell of the paper made me lose track of time.

I looked toward the highest shelves and one volume among all caught my attention; it looked different from the others. Even from a distance I could see that it was much older despite the fine leather binding, it had inlays that went into a particular pattern.

I was curious to read it and grabbed a stool to get to it, in spite of that however it was still too high so I stood up on my toes but lost my balance by leaning forward. I fell and hit my head on the shelf making a small wound, and just at that moment Bastian came in and rushed to make sure of my condition.

He approached as I was trying to get up from the ground and told me not to move, the head injuries could cause serious problems so I sat on the ground. Bastian squatted down in front of me and his face was so close to mine that I could almost hear his breath.

«Coral are you all right ?» he asked worriedly, looked at my wound and again that almost evil look took possession of his eyes.

He watched the blood come out of the small cut on my forehead, took off a glove and ran his fingers over the wound as if to wipe away the blood.

Immediately afterwards he brought those same fingers to his mouth tasting the blood. His eyes went from their usual color to a vermilion red, I could not understand what the hell was going on at that moment but I was completely paralyzed.

«Don't move Coral, I promise nothing will happen» he stated in a calm voice.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

With his free hand he took off his mask, and I finally saw what was hidden behind it. A deep scar ran across his face starting above his eye and ending on his cheek. The eye had been caught in the full extent of that wound, and perhaps that was the reason it was a different color.

At that moment, however, those red eyes were staring at me as if they were going to devour me at any moment. He came even closer to me and all I could do was try to keep my breathing calm. I had never been this close to a man but at that moment that was not what was bothering me.

Bastian placed his lips on my wound and tasted the blood.

«Coral, know that I'm trying to hold myself back but I don't know how long I can» he whispered.

When he moved away from me I saw the long canines that had sprouted and I pushed him away, I was literally terrified and I didn't hesitate for a second to run away. I grabbed my skirt with my hands, lifting it slightly, and ran out of that damn house.

I ran at breakneck speed until I felt safe, I had hoped that for once luck would turn for me too but I was very wrong.

What the hell was that man, why he had targeted me and above all why now I couldn't get it out of my head.

Those questions tormented me for days, I tried to maintain an apparent state of calm even if only so as not to agitate those close to me.

I continued to work at Lady Bipot's, and although Mr. Bastian still ordered garments from us, I was never the one to deliver them to him. I was very sure that if she saw me again something very unpleasant would happen, I was too fond of my life to allow it.

Days and months passed, and I had no news and received no letters from Bastian. I thought that his almost obsession with me was now over. Every night, when I came home alone, I felt like a presence that followed me from afar. Never too close to see but enough to make me feel scared and protected at the same time.

My siblings and I were literally breaking our backs day in and day out and were one step away from paying off our father's debt. A few last days of work would have been enough to make it when tragedy struck. My younger brother Paul was the victim of an explosion in the factory where he worked.

They were very common accidents and we had always been very lucky to come out unscathed, but not this time. We heard the explosion and quickly rushed to the scene, I saw Jonathan and Michael running out with tears in their eyes.

I stopped them and asked them what had happened as I tried to console them. Apparently a malfunction, a simple accident had cost our brother his life. The next day our mother also came home, we wanted to have a funeral but it was too expensive.

That same day, a bouquet of black roses with a note came to us. They were from Bastian, he was also offering us condolences like all our neighbors.I decided to ignore him, I couldn't worry about him right now.

The days became dark and sad, for a while we were unable to return to normal and our work also suffered. We slowed down our pace, and Lady Bipot had noticed it too.

«What's troubling you?» he asked me one afternoon. I had been working on the same embroidery for hours now and it was strange of me.

«Forgive me, I still haven't fully recovered» I admitted, almost on the verge of tears.

«Don't worry, I know it's hard but it will pass soon» she replied gently, trying to console me.

I had been working with her for quite some time now and I saw her much more than my mother. I hugged Lady Bipot and burst into desperate tears, my life was already difficult before but now it was even more so. After consoling me, my boss let me go home earlier that day.

I walked a long way past my house and arrived at the pier on the River Thames, the dark water was calm that evening. My mind was lost in the darkest thoughts and deepest sadness, so I jumped into the water.