CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
A Love That Watches from the Dark
Mako did not rage when he learned the truth.
That alone terrified everyone who knew him.
Prince Cally sat chained in the underground room beneath Mako's estate — a place never marked on maps, never spoken of aloud. The air was cold, heavy, filled with silence that pressed against the chest.
Mako entered alone.
No guards.
No shouting.
Prince Cally lifted his head weakly, his eyes swollen with fear. He had faced soldiers, power, even death threats — but nothing compared to the calm expression on Mako's face.
"You touched what was mine," Mako said softly.
Prince Cally tried to speak, but his voice failed him.
"I could kill you," Mako continued, pacing slowly. "But death is too merciful. I want you alive… aware… watching the consequences of your choices."
He leaned closer.
"You will breathe only because Linah still believes in mercy."
That was when Prince Cally broke.
Over days, not hours, Mako dismantled him — not with constant pain, but with control. Food withheld, then offered. Hope raised, then crushed. Truth demanded, not begged.
Finally, Prince Cally confessed everything.
Cecilia's name fell from his mouth like poison.
Mako's eyes darkened.
"She smiled at my wife," he whispered. "She stood beside her."
From that moment, Cecilia's fate was sealed.
But Mako did not act.
Yet.
Linah noticed the change immediately.
Mako became quieter, more attentive, more watchful. He touched her more often — not possessively, but as if grounding himself. As if reminding the world and himself that she was real, alive, his.
"Something is wrong," Linah told him one night.
Mako kissed her forehead.
"Nothing that will touch you," he replied.
She believed him.
Five days after the wedding, Cecilia came back into their lives — fragile, desperate, eyes full of false tears.
"I have nowhere to go," she sobbed. "Please, Linah… just for a little while."
Linah agreed, though something twisted painfully in her chest.
From that day on, Linah felt it — the way Cecilia looked at Mako. The way her laughter lingered too long. The way she found reasons to stand close, to brush past him.
Jealousy burned inside Linah like a quiet fire.
She trusted Mako completely — but jealousy is not born from mistrust.
It is born from love.
At night, Linah lay awake, watching Mako sleep, reminding herself: This is part of the plan.
Still, it hurt.
When Mako suggested giving Cecilia a job at his company, Linah hesitated.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Mako met her eyes.
"I need her to believe she's winning."
Linah nodded — though her heart protested.
Cecilia mistook silence for weakness.
She mistook patience for blindness.
The night she followed Mako to the hotel, she believed destiny had finally chosen her. She dressed herself with intention, confidence blooming as she stepped into the room.
She did not see the cameras hidden in shadows.
She did not know Prince Cally was no longer her ally — but her executioner.
When Linah stepped out of the bathroom, calm and radiant, Cecilia's world shattered.
Jealousy exploded into panic.
Mako stood, fully alert, his arm immediately wrapping around Linah's waist — a silent declaration.
"My wife," he said coldly.
Linah met Cecilia's eyes.
"You wanted my life," she said softly. "Now you will live with the truth."
Cecilia screamed as guards entered.
Later that night, Linah finally let the jealousy spill.
"I hated seeing her near you," she admitted, voice trembling. "Even knowing it was a lie."
Mako held her face gently.
"I belong to you beyond jealousy," he said. "Beyond time. Beyond fear."
He rested his forehead against hers.
"I am dangerous," he whispered. "But only to those who threaten you."
Linah closed her eyes, breathing him in.
And in that moment, she understood the truth:
Mako's obsession was not madness.
It was devotion sharpened into a weapon.
And no one who crossed it survived unchanged.
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY SIX