Chapter 404 — A Curse or A Blessing? (12)

Chapter 404: 404 — A Curse or A Blessing? (12)

"What are you doing?"

Raniel immediately turned around, his face brightening as he saw the person he had been waiting for.

For a brief moment, all his worries seemed to disappear. He had been waiting for Ilyan to come, waiting for him to look at his hair and tell him that he was still beautiful, that he was still the same person he loved regardless of everything.

"Ilyan, I’ve been waiting—" The words died on his lips. The smile slowly slipped from the corners of his mouth as he took in his lover’s expression.

Ilyan stood frozen in the doorway, his eyes widened as he took in Raniel’s appearance. His gaze shifted from the short silver hair framing the omega’s face to the strands scattered across the floor, before finally settling on the small dagger in his hand.

For a moment, he couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

Raniel had always had long hair. Ilyan remembered running his fingers through those soft silver strands, remembering how they fell past the omega’s shoulders whenever he removed his blindfold. He had never imagined Raniel would cut them off, let alone with a dagger.

"Raniel..." he whispered, taking an uncertain step forward. "What happened? Why did you—"

He stopped, noticing the trembling in the omega’s fingers and the way his eyes were already growing watery.

Something wrong must’ve happened to him, he told himself.

Raniel had removed his blindfold earlier, and his eyes were not hideous but crimson red. And that was why he could see his partner’s expression so clearly.

Ilyan’s eyes were wide, his jaw hanging slightly open as he stared at him. His lips trembled, and for a moment, he looked as though he had just witnessed something horrific, something monstrous.

Just like everyone else. Just like the people who had looked at Raniel with the same expression before his cursed eyes took their lives.

At first, he wasn’t aware of such eyes; however, now that Ilyan had taught him how to change his eyes, he began to read expressions.

The alpha blinked repeatedly, as if he could not recognize Raniel.

His Ren.

Before he could figure out what had happened or ask why Raniel had done this to himself, the omega suddenly looked at him as though he had done something unforgivable.

"Oh, Ilyan..." Raniel choked out, tears immediately welling up in his eyes.

"Ren, why are you?—"

The omega lunged forward, pushing Ilyan back before he could finish speaking.

"Ren, wait—"

But Raniel couldn’t bear to hear another word. He was far too heartbroken.

"Wait, Raniel! What’s wrong? Talk to me!"

The omega pushed the alpha out of his room, forcing him to step into the hallway. Then, he stood in the doorway, looking at his lover with tear-filled eyes and trembling lips.

He wanted to ask him why.

Why was he looking at him like that? Why couldn’t he just smile? Why couldn’t he tell him that he was still beautiful, that nothing had changed, that he still loved him?

But the words refused to come out.

"Raniel, please tell me—"

Raniel slammed the door in Ilyan’s face, cutting him off.

The sound echoed through the room, leaving him alone with his darkest thoughts.

H-He called me Raniel?...

The omega bit his bottom lip. He had been wrong.

Ilyan—he also found him disgusting—repulsive.

The one person who had promised to love him, the one person who had made him believe he could be loved, had looked at him as though he were something horrible.

He will hate me now.

Raniel stumbled backward, his breathing growing uneven as he pressed a trembling hand against his mouth.

He won’t come back to me.

His chest tightened painfully.

I look so—

He couldn’t even finish the thought.

With tears blurring his vision, he turned toward the mirror again, hoping that perhaps he had misunderstood. Maybe his reflection wasn’t as terrible as he thought. Maybe Ilyan’s expression had meant something else.

But the moment he saw himself, the little hope he had been clinging to crumbled.

He looked strange. Everything about him looked wrong.

A strangled sob escaped his lips as he glanced at the dagger still in his hand. He didn’t even remember picking it up again. His gaze shifted toward the mirror, and suddenly, he couldn’t bear to look at it anymore.

Without thinking, he grabbed the heavy bowl from the table and threw it at the glass.

The mirror shattered almost immediately.

Pieces scattered across the floor, reflecting fragments of his face from a dozen different angles. Silver hair, tear-streaked cheeks, trembling lips. No matter where he looked, he could still see himself.

Raniel let the bowl fall from his hands.

He sank to the floor, staring at the broken pieces around him as tears streamed down his face.

He had only wanted Ilyan to tell him he was still beautiful.

Was it too much to ask?

***

Barely a few minutes had passed when Raniel heard a loud bang coming from the window.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he slowly rose from his mattress and tiptoed toward it, wondering what could have caused such a noise.

Is it a thief?

He almost laughed at himself for the thought. Why on earth would anyone consider stealing from him? There was hardly anything of value in his room, and even if someone had been foolish enough to break in, he could easily have dealt with them himself, killing them within a second.

The high priests wouldn’t even bat an eye—just as they didn’t when he had killed those alphas who used his body as they pleased until he decided it was beyond him to deal with them and their needs. Everyone used to tell him that alphas were all like that. And he believed it—until Ilyan.

If an alpha wanted to control himself, he could. They weren’t mindless monsters. They simply disguised themselves as the victims who were lured by omegas whereas they were the ones constantly abusing omegas.

However, no one saw it that way. Alphas and omegas were rare, and the latter far too weak physically to shield themselves—financially and physically.

Before Raniel could dwell on any further thought, the window shattered, and Ilyan jumped inside.

The silver-haired man gasped, his heart racing. It wasn’t dread or fear that made his heart pound so violently, but nervousness.

Had it been a thief, he would have simply ended them without a second thought. However, things were different when it came to Ilyan.

How was he supposed to face the alpha after he had practically kicked him out of his room?

Raniel bit his lower lip hard, pressing his teeth into his soft skin until he tasted blood.

The alpha turned toward him, his gaze stern and his expression unreadable. He didn’t look anything like the caring man Raniel knew so well.

Instead, he appeared... angry. So angry that, for the first time, he didn’t immediately reach out to stop Raniel from biting his lips, nor did he try to calm his anxiousness with gentle words or a comforting touch.

And somehow, that frightened Raniel more than anything else.

Ilyan had never looked at him this way before.

"A-Are you going to l-leave... me?" He stammered, his breathing heavy and uneven.

He looked hurt, and betrayed.