A Mistake That Breathes

🖤 Chapter 2 — A Mistake That Breathes

His grip didn’t loosen.

If anything, it tightened just enough to remind me that I wasn’t in control here.

“Answer me.”

His voice was quiet. Controlled.

That made it worse.

“I told you, I don’t know!” I insisted, panic slipping into every word. “I just—one second I was in my room, and the next I was here!”

Silence.

He stared at me like he was deciding whether I was worth killing.

Not exaggerating.

Actually deciding.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

Think. Think.

You’ve read this story. You know him.

He doesn’t kill without reason.

But he doesn’t hesitate either.

His gaze flickered over my face again, searching. Calculating.

“You expect me to believe,” he said slowly, “that you simply appeared?”

“Yes!”

Wrong answer again.

Something dark flashed in his eyes.

Before I could react, he pulled me forward—hard.

I stumbled, crashing against him, water splashing around us. My breath caught as his other hand came up, gripping my chin, forcing me to look at him.

Too close.

Way too close.

“You smell unfamiliar,” he murmured, almost to himself.

Excuse me—what?!

“I—I just used normal soap—”

“Quiet.”

I snapped my mouth shut instantly.

Good choice.

His thumb pressed slightly against my jaw, tilting my face side to side like he was inspecting an object.

Not a person.

An object.

A problem.

A threat.

Or worse—

A curiosity.

“Your clothes,” he said. “Strange fabric. Strange design.”

Yeah, because I’m not from your world!

My brain screamed, but I swallowed the words.

Say that and you’re dead.

He released my chin suddenly.

I sucked in a breath, stumbling back slightly, but his grip on my wrist didn’t let me escape.

“Guards.”

The word was soft.

But it echoed.

Within seconds, footsteps surrounded us. Dark figures appeared at the edges of the pool, weapons ready, eyes sharp.

They hadn’t been here before.

Which meant—

He had let me be alone with him.

That realization made my stomach twist.

He wasn’t scared of me.

Not even a little.

“She is to be taken,” he said calmly, not looking away from me. “Locked. Watched at all times.”

Wait—what?!

“Hey!” I protested, struggling slightly. “I didn’t do anything!”

No one moved.

Of course they didn’t.

They listened to him.

Only him.

“She may be a spy,” he continued, his tone almost bored. “Or something worse.”

“I’m not a spy!”

He finally let go of my wrist.

Relief flooded through me—

For half a second.

Then two guards grabbed my arms instead.

Rude.

I glared at him, anger finally pushing through the fear.

“You’re making a mistake.”

That got his attention.

His head tilted slightly.

Not in confusion.

In interest.

“A mistake?” he repeated.

“Yes!”

Okay, maybe yelling at the terrifying villain wasn’t smart.

But I was already here, so—

“I’m not your enemy,” I said, trying to steady my voice. “I don’t belong here. I don’t even know how I got here. So instead of locking me up like some criminal, maybe you should—”

“Enough.”

One word.

Sharp.

Final.

I flinched.

Yeah. Bad idea.

His eyes darkened slightly, something unreadable shifting beneath the surface.

“You speak boldly,” he said.

That didn’t sound like a compliment.

“That’s because I’m telling the truth!”

Silence stretched between us.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

Then—

Something unexpected happened.

He stepped closer again.

Not aggressively this time.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Like he was testing something.

My breath caught as he stopped just in front of me, his gaze locking onto mine with unsettling focus.

“You’re either incredibly foolish…” he said quietly.

Or…?

“Or you don’t understand the situation you’re in.”

I swallowed.

“I understand that I’m being kidnapped.”

A pause.

Then—

For the first time—

Something changed.

Not much.

Just a flicker.

But I saw it.

Amusement.

Oh no.

That’s worse.

“You’re not in a position,” he said, voice low, “to define what this is.”

I opened my mouth—

“Take her.”

And just like that, it was over.

The guards pulled me away, my feet slipping slightly on the wet stone as I struggled.

“Wait! You can’t just—”

I stopped.

Because he wasn’t looking at me anymore.

He had already turned away.

Like I didn’t matter.

Like I was already forgotten.

My chest tightened unexpectedly.

Hey. Rude.

But before I could say anything else, I was dragged out of the pool area, down long, cold corridors that felt like they belonged in a nightmare.

Stone walls.

Dim lights.

Endless silence.

This is real.

The thought hit harder now.

This isn’t a dream.

This isn’t a joke.

This is his world.

And I’m trapped in it.

The guards stopped in front of a heavy door, unlocking it with a sharp click.

One of them pushed it open.

A room.

Small. Bare. Cold.

A prison.

They shoved me inside.

I stumbled but didn’t fall this time.

Progress.

The door slammed shut behind me.

The sound echoed.

Loud.

Final.

I stood there for a moment, breathing hard, trying to process everything.

Then slowly…

I sank to the floor.

“This is insane,” I whispered.

But deep down, I already knew the truth.

I wasn’t just inside the story anymore.

I had become part of it.

And the villain?

He didn’t trust me.

Not yet.

But something in his eyes before I left—

That flicker of interest—

It lingered in my mind.

Because in the original story…

He never spared anyone like this.

Which meant one thing.

I had already changed something.

And I didn’t know if that would save me—

Or ruin everything.

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