The house was quiet that evening.
Not peaceful—ominous, as though the walls themselves held their breath.
Loraine sat on the edge of the bed, tense, watching Jason move around the room.
For the first time, she felt curiosity mixed with fear.
"Jason," she said softly, voice barely audible. "Tell me… about before. About… who you were."
He froze, his back to her.
The First Crack
"I don't talk about it," he said finally, voice low, like gravel rolling down a dark slope. "It's dangerous… for both of us."
She tilted her head, unsure. "Why? What happened?"
He laughed—bitter, broken, a sound that made her stomach knot.
"You think the world is cruel now?" he asked. "You have no idea. I've seen it worse. I've been worse."
The Story Unfolds
Jason sank into a chair, hands clasped over his face.
"I wasn't always… like this," he said. "I used to trust. I used to love… and it destroyed me."
Loraine's chest tightened. "Who… hurt you?"
"Everyone," he said softly. "Those I trusted. Those I wanted to protect. They left me bleeding in every sense of the word."
"You… you weren't human?" she whispered.
His eyes snapped to hers. Red under the dim light. Not glowing this time—anger, pain, grief.
"I am human," he said. "But they made me something else. Something stronger. Something… unforgiving."
The Truth of the Obsession
He stood abruptly, pacing.
"When I met you," he said, voice shaking with desperation, "I didn't plan to be like this. I didn't plan to need you. I didn't plan to feel… everything."
She frowned, heart thudding.
"You hurt me," she said. "You've hurt me… and yet, you call it love?"
"I… I can't help it!" he shouted. Tears ran down his cheeks, but his hands clenched like steel. "Every time you move away, every time you flinch, every time you even breathe without me knowing—I feel it in my bones. I lose control. I… I can't stand it!"
Confession and Fear
She backed away instinctively.
"I… I don't understand you," she said softly.
"I am… a shadow of every betrayal I've ever known," he said, voice breaking. "A storm shaped by loss. And when I hold you, I swear I'm not cruel… I'm terrified. Terrified of losing you, of being abandoned again. And sometimes,"—he shook his head—"I lose myself."
Loraine's hands shook. She wanted to cry, wanted to run, wanted to scream.
"Why are you telling me this now?" she asked.
"Because," he said quietly, moving closer, "you're awakening. You're seeing me clearly. And I cannot hide from you anymore. Not that I want to."
The Weight of Truth
She swallowed, heart hammering.
His eyes, red and bright in the shadows, were filled with pain and fear.
And beneath it all—a terrifying possessiveness.
"I've been broken before," he said, voice low and dangerous. "And I will break anyone who takes you from me."
She realized the magnitude of the truth: his love was a storm, unpredictable, all-consuming, and terrifyingly rooted in his past.
She didn't know if she could survive it.
Questions That Burn
Can Loraine forgive someone whose entire being is shaped by past betrayals?
Can love exist when fear and obsession are entwined?
And when Jason's past shapes every move he makes… will she ever truly be free