---
His eyes met mine through the dark.
Not rage.
Not surprise.
Not betrayal.
Just… amusement.
As if he'd been waiting.
---
Riven:
"So, the rabbit finally turns toward the wolf's jaw."
I froze.
The words hit like ice water.
"I—"
"Don't lie," he said softly, stepping closer. "You came here knowing exactly what you were doing."
I glanced toward Noah's cell, praying he was smart enough to stay silent.
But Noah never did anything quietly.
---
Noah:
"Guess I'm not your perfect doll after all, Riven. Looks like he learned how to bite."
A sharp glare silenced him.
But Riven didn't raise his voice.
Didn't even blink.
He just stared at me like he was… proud?
---
Riven:
"Finally. You're waking up."
---
That terrified me more than if he had hit me.
Because he wanted this.
He wanted me angry. Smart. Vengeful.
It meant I was dancing right into his plan.
---
He turned to Noah's cell, gaze sharp.
"Noah, I'll give you two choices. Stay here and rot… or tell me what you whispered when he first saw the chains."
Noah gave a defiant smirk. "Screw you."
Riven nodded. "Rot, then."
---
He grabbed my wrist suddenly, dragging me down the hall, away from Noah's screams as he banged on the bars.
"Let me go—!"
"Not yet," Riven murmured. "We're just getting started."
---
The hallway twisted into another unfamiliar wing — walls covered in oil paintings of masked faces and rooms sealed with metal doors.
He pushed me into one. Locked it behind us.
Then turned.
---
"Do you know what this room is, sweetheart?"
I stayed silent.
He walked slowly to the wall, pulling aside a curtain.
Behind it: a massive board. Photos. Documents. Screenshots.
All of me.
---
My school records.
My online chats.
A photo of me and Noah in middle school.
---
I staggered back.
"This isn't obsession," I whispered. "This is madness."
He smiled.
"No. This is intimacy."
---
He moved closer, voice low.
"You think you're playing me now. But the truth is—I never wanted a puppet. I wanted someone dangerous. Someone who'd kill me or kiss me with the same fire."
He leaned down, his mouth inches from my ear.
"And now that you've become that, you belong to me even more."
---
I shoved him. Hard.
He didn't resist.
He just watched me with fevered joy.
"Good," he whispered. "Hate me harder."
---
Then he left.
---
I collapsed to the ground, heart racing. I hated him. God, I hated him. But part of me feared something worse than his obsession—
That I was beginning to understand it.
---
I had to move faster. Had to outplay him before he broke the last part of me.
---
Later that night, Liam found me in the library.
He said nothing at first — just sat beside me, staring at the fire.
---
Liam:
"You saw the Room of Truth, didn't you?"
I nodded.
"He's unhinged."
"He's in love," Liam said bitterly. "And Riven's love has always been… surgical."
---
I whispered, "I think I know how to stop him."
Liam finally looked at me, eyes sharp.
"How?"
"I need to make him believe I've chosen him completely. No lies. No resistance. Just... surrender."
---
"You're going to become his obsession," Liam said slowly, "to destroy it."
---
I nodded.
But neither of us realized something terrifying—
Riven had planted a listening bug in the library days ago.
He heard everything.
And he smiled.
---
Because love, to him, was a war.
And I had just declared it.
---
[End of Chapter 17]
---