’’What?’’

’’What do you mean, Yahza? That we should leave now?’’ The demon doctor asked as they continued to argue over the kitchen island. Dawn was slowly making an appearance that day as the two demons stared heatedly at each other in the dark space.

Yahza’s frown deepened as he leaned over the cold, marble surface. The depths of his resentment were already too great, clouding his rational thinking.

One of them already died a brutal death all because of this seductress without doing anything wrong. It was only right for him to be bitter and angry.

But the demon doctor would never understand his pain. They had already suffered so much for an insignificant human life just because she happened to be the apple of His Highness’s eyes.

Yahza’s hands balled into a tight fist on the table as he raged within.

’’Do you even hear yourself when you speak? Should we disobey a royal command and risk getting my brain fried into crisp?!’’

Yahza’s eyes looked up to meet the demon doctor.

’’It’s already been two days for God’s sake! His Majesty will return soon with a cure and we wouldn’t have to humiliate ourselves further to watch over a human—’’ the demon doctor jumped when Yahza slammed his clenched fist hard against the marbled table enough to leave a scary crack.

The demon doctor took a few cautious steps back while wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

’’I would rather just end her life now than humiliate myself further and keep wasting my demonic powers on her,’’ Yahza said through clench teeth and the demon doctor kept staring at the demon in disbelief.

’’She was the reason Apophis died such a humiliating death. He did nothing wrong to deserve that.’’

Apophis died?

The demon doctor shook his head now, starting to wonder just how many innocent demons got to be the sacrificial lamb simply because His Royal Highness couldn’t accept that his human mistress was bound to die in a few days.

Hell, the peak life expectancy of these brainless ants was at most seventy-five years. What was His Royal Highness going to do then?

Find silly ways to make her become immortal or something?

The demon doctor frowned in irritation, while hissing at the thought.

I will have to cut quick ties with them before that time comes. Who knows, we might be asked to lay down our demonic cores just so the forbidden romance between His Royal Highness and the seductress could last a few more years.

’’Let’s leave this place so she could die and return to Hell.’’

The crazy suicidal demon said and the demon doctor turned his eyes over to him like he had been possessed by something.

Yahza then stood straighter, adjusting the dark suit on him as he had this unforgiving look on him, preparing to leave the place. But the demon doctor was quick enough to grab his hand, stopping him from leaving.

Yahza turned to the demon doctor, throwing him a hard and questioning look.

’’What are you doing?’’ the demon doctor asked, while laughing nervously.

’’Honouring Apophis death.’’ Yahza removed his hands from the demon doctor’s painful grip.

’’Are you out of your mind?’’ The demon doctor said with a strained smile, restraining himself from beating the hell out of whatever is wrong with his head.

Yahza gave the demon doctor another cold look and said, ’’You can remain here and be the human’s wet nurse all you want out of fear. But I am leaving this place.’’

The demon doctor gasped as Yahza summoned his shadow magic to leave. But the demon doctor held onto his hands seconds before they both got swallowed by the shadows, leaving the kitchen in a deathly still silence.

One that came right before a storm.

*

*

*

That morning, Corrine’s eyes moved under her eyelids before her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, her vision remained as though her eyes were being covered with a white nylon, blurry and dense. Only the faint light of the rising sun tearing through assured her that she could still see.

Her entire body felt weightless and unbearably heavy.

There was an aching at the back of her throat she could not describe and for a moment, even her hearing seemed to fade with every heartbeat.

Tears filled with regrets flowed down her cheeks as she remained on the bed.

So, this is what dying feels like?

She blinked, gripped by a strange fear and tightness in her chest of closing her eyes and not being able to wake up again.

But they said she still had one more year left.

Why does it feel like she barely had a few hours left.

Anais was a very strong girl. So strong she was determined not to make it that easy for death to take her now. She still had more fight in her and also that voice.

She turned her head to the side, closing her eyes as she tried to forget it.

She pulled herself up the moment her vision was clear enough to see shapes and colors. To make out where her bathroom door was at and get ready to go to work.

Even if today was her last, she would rather wish to die while working and chasing her dreams than lay curled up on the bed and pass away in her sleep.

That would have been a very sad and weak way to give up on life. Her father used to say to those who died in their sleep. And she wasn’t ready to give him the satisfaction of knowing she died in such a way.

So, with great effort, Corrine moved her legs over the bed and placed her feet on the ground. She gasped at the very cold touch of the bedroom floor and wondered if it was her. There was a glitch in the weather nobody is aware of to make everything so unusually cold.

She stared around, picturing every part and corners of her room. Engraving every last moment and picture of it in her. Those were the sweet things she will be carrying along with her to see Ruby again.

She sighed, using all of her strength to rise from the bed but paused when her phone placed on her bedside table buzzed with a notification. It took her great effort to reach her phone. She could barely see it, knocking over her bed lamp in the process of reaching it. The crash of the lamp made her jump as her hands trembled over the device.

How did I even get here?

Weren’t I just at a fancy dinner with Malachi a while ago?

She unlocked her phone and saw it was a message from Berry. Hell, the words were so blurry they looked as though they were melting together.

She groaned in great pain, the muscles around her eyes squeezing together when her head hurt more than before.

Corrine blinked her eyes several times and finally, her eyes cleared just enough to read her message.

Sorry Boss, but we won’t be able to make it to work today. Lin’s ulcer started making a fuss again and we had to reach him in time to take him to the hospital. We will return tomorrow morning to make up for all the work we didn’t do today.

Also, Boss, are you alright? We didn’t see you come to work after your date for two days.

T–t–two days?!

Corrine blinked, feeling her head doing another ugly spin as she was this close to dropping her phone.

I’ll come over tonight to check up on you once Lin is fine. I am very worried about you, Boss. Stay safe, Boss.

Corrine dropped her phone feeling strange and wondered what happened enough to make her sleep for two days! Without even being aware of it.

Whatever.

Corrine pulled herself up and headed over to the bathroom to prepare for today’s work.

Whatever had happen could wait. She probably wouldn’t even survive this week with the way she was feeling. She might as well make every single day count without drama and overthinking everything.