Owned By The Psychotic Billionaire (Mafia BL)

Chapter 149: ...A Pick Me?

WHAT ORION SAW...

"Because you are a prize," I say, my voice dropping lower, heavy with authority before I soften it back down. "You are the only thing in this world that makes sense to me, Adrien. When you left, everything became quiet and empty. And when I learned what this filth made you do... what he took from you..."

I turn my head, looking over at the bound man on the chair.

A cold look of disgust settles over my features as I look at his pathetic, sweating face.

"I wanted to tear his skin off piece by piece," I say quietly, turning my eyes back to Adrien’s pale face. "But that would be selfish. His punishment belongs to you because he stole your youth. He took the sweet, sharp boy I was planning to claim for myself and handed him over to swine."

Adrien shivers, his body going stiff in my arms.

"You are insane," he whispers, the words barely escaping his lips.

"I am yours," I correct softly, my eyes locking onto his. "I am the only one who truly understands what was stolen from you. He made you beg for food, duckling. He made you kneel for the comfort of a roof that leaked when it rained. Now he will beg you for his life."

Adrien turns his head, looking back at the man on the platform.

The man’s eyes are wide, filled with silent terror. Sweat drips from his chin, splashing into the gasoline below, right near the edge of a floating candle flame. He twitches, making the rope sway, the tiny wooden board rocking gently on the liquid.

I step behind Adrien, wrapping my broad arms around his chest, pulling his back flush against my torso. I rest my chin on his shoulder, laying my hand over his where it rests against my coat.

"Look at him, Adrien," I murmur near his ear. "He is nothing. He is a bug under your shoe. Give me the command. Tell me to kick the platform."

Adrien swallows hard, his throat dry. "I..."

"Do you want to see him burn?" I ask softly, whispering as sweetly as the devil. "Do you want to hear him scream the way you suffered all those times? I can make it very loud, or I can make it very slow."

I feel his heart pounding frantic rhythms against my palm. He stares at the man, his mind processing the sheer weight of what I have placed in front of him.

He suffered because of this man. He spent years carrying the shame and the marks left behind by this rat. And now, I have brought the rat to his feet, bound and dripping in fuel, waiting for a single word from his mouth.

I want him to see that no one touches him and lives quietly. I want him to understand that my hands will destroy anything that ever caused him pain.

This is how I show him that he belongs to me. This is how I give him back his peace. This is how I teach him to choose me.

"Adrien," I whisper, pressing my lips to his temple. "What do you want to do with him? Speak to me. I built this whole world for you today."

His lips part, his dark eyes floating between the platform and my face.

"You really did all this... just for me?" he asks, his voice barely a breath in the scents of the warehouse.

"Every nail. Every drop of fuel. Every flame," I tell him without hesitation. "There is nothing I would not do to bring you back to me."

"This isn’t peace, Orion," he whispers, a single tear falling onto my wrist. "This is horror."

"It is justice," I insist gently, brushing my lips against his cheek. "It is the only way to cleanse the dirt off your soul."

I look down at the tears trailing down his face. A soft, strange weight settles in my chest as I watch his distress. He looks so frail standing here, so overwhelmed by the shadow of his past.

I’ve just decided that I hate seeing him this way.

"This is the very least I could do for you, Adrien," I say quietly, my voice dropping into a solemn tone. "It is the least I can offer, considering I ruined your youth."

Adrien blinks, shifting his weight in my hold. He turns his head, looking at me with deep confusion in his dark eyes.

"What?" he asks, his voice trembling as he tries to pull back to look straight into my face. "You... you didn’t ruin my youth, Orion. I ran from you. I made those choices myself. I ran away because I was afraid of you!"

I look down at him, keeping my face completely calm, my eyes unreadable. A small, bitter smile touches the corners of my lips.

"I clearly did, duckling," I whisper, letting my voice carry an easy, light tone as I brush a strand of dark hair away from his forehead. "I must have done something truly terrible to ruin you... for you to hand that vial of poison to your friend and tell him to use it on me."

Adrien freezes. His breath hitches, his pupils widening as he stares at me in complete silence.

I keep my eyes relaxed, my expression smooth and unbothered, as if I simply mentioned the weather.

He doesn’t know. He thinks that secret is buried in the past, tucked away with the rest of his frantic, desperate plans from back then.

He doesn’t know how much I actually saw, how much I found out, or how deep that night really went.

He thinks he was the only one playing a game.

I do not intend to explain it to him today. I do not need him asking questions about things that belong in the past.

Some secrets are meant to stay buried, and as far as I am concerned, the only thing that matters right now is that he is standing in my arms, safe, clean, and mine.

I simply smile down at his shocked, pale face, wrapping my arms a little tighter around his waist, letting the silence stretch between us and settle over the cold warehouse floor.