Chapter 127: I fell asleep

Chapter 127: 127: I fell asleep

Venom’s eyes snapped open. He pushed himself off the floor, his sharp gaze darting back and forth between Nova and Anah before he finally found his voice.

​"I just regained consciousness," he stated rigidly, his fists clenching tight at his sides.

​"Mhm." Anah offered a knowing smirk, not uttering a single word.

​Cassian, still processing the absurdity of the last ten minutes, looked at Anah in confusion. "Did you just call him an alien?"

​Anah let out a dark chuckle. "Oh, you don’t know?" She turned her mismatched eyes back to Venom, her gaze piercing right through his tough exterior. "Your loyal bodyguard hasn’t been entirely honest with his boss."

​The tension in the room instantly spiked. Venom stiffened under Anah’s scrutiny, but he forced himself to look directly at Cassian. "I have my reasons for keeping certain things hidden," Venom said, his voice low and firm. "But I swear on my life, Cassian, I would never do anything to hurt you."

​"Do you honestly think you would still be breathing if you posed even a fraction of a threat to my husband?" Nova interjected coldly. Her blue eyes locked onto Venom, radiating a suffocating, lethal pressure. "You would have died a thousand times over already had you been a threat."

​Venom stared at Nova for a long, heavy moment. His knuckles turned white from how hard he clenched his fists, but he eventually lowered his gaze in submission. "I will go find someone to repair the door," he muttered, turning on his heel and swiftly exiting the ruined office.

​Silence descended upon the room. Cassian sat utterly still, his eyes fixated on the glowing blue protective box still hovering gently in the air above his desk.

​"I get it now," Cassian murmured, a sudden, boyish grin breaking across his face as he looked at Nova. "I can’t believe I actually married a fairy. You really are a fairy."

​Anah rolled her eyes so hard she nearly strained them, shaking her head in profound disappointment at the mafia don’s romanticized conclusion.

​Nova’s expression went completely blank. "You really see me as a fairy? You and Raymond truly share the same brain cell," she muttered.

​Ignoring her reply, Cassian reached out, took Nova’s hand, and pressed a tender kiss to her knuckles. "My beautiful, violent fairy, can I get a kiss?" he asked.

​Nova couldn’t help but smile. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "You still have work to do, right? Go ahead and finish. I will be right here."

​Cassian’s smile widened. He scooped Nova up into his arms and then shot a pointed, territorial glare toward his desk, where Anah was currently sitting.

​Anah, who was lazily admiring her fingernails, felt the glare and looked up. "What?" she demanded, her tone dripping with annoyance.

​"Get up," Cassian ordered simply.

​With an exaggerated scoff, Anah rolled her eyes and vacated the leather executive chair. Cassian immediately took his rightful seat, pulling Nova down to sit comfortably sideways across his lap.

​"With you this close, my work will go much faster," Cassian murmured against Nova’s neck, pressing a deep, lingering kiss to her skin.

​Nova chuckled, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I bet it’ll be a lot slower."

​"It just might be," Cassian laughed, his hand gripping her waist as he pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss.

​Disgusted by the display of affection, Anah brushed off her skirt. "I’m going to find something to eat," she announced to no one in particular, turning and walking out through the shattered doorway.

​Stepping into the quiet executive hallway, she immediately spotted Venom. He was leaning against the wall in the shadows, his face darkened with internal conflict, his fists still clenched tight.

​Anah chuckled softly and was about to walk past him, but Venom’s low, dangerous voice echoed through the corridor.

​"Who are you?" he demanded.

​Anah paused, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Someone you cannot afford to mess with," she replied smoothly. "You should keep your little hidden thoughts buried deep within yourself, little alien. Otherwise, you cannot even begin to imagine how horribly you will end."

​Venom pushed off the wall, his eyes narrowing. "You can’t kill me."

​Anah turned fully to face him, a terrifyingly cold smirk stretching across her lips, though her eyes remained dead and unsmiling. "How can you be so sure I can’t kill you?"

​Venom raised his head, staring intently into her mismatched eyes. He took a slow step forward, and then, without warning, he lunged. He threw himself into Anah’s embrace, his arms wrapping tightly around her as he buried his face directly into her chest.

​Anah didn’t flinch. She didn’t even look surprised by the sudden, highly inappropriate contact. She simply stood there.

​"That’s not very polite, little alien. Throwing yourself at me like this," she mused dryly. "If you wanted to bury your face in my breast, you could have just asked directly."

​Venom violently shoved himself away, his face instantly flushing a deep, embarrassed red. "I—I just couldn’t help it just now. I’m sorry," he stammered, entirely thrown off balance by his own impulsive action.

​Anah raised a single, elegant eyebrow. "Kid, do not hug me recklessly. It would be incredibly hard to explain to that hot-tempered girl inside," she said, gesturing vaguely toward Cassian’s office. "But, of course, if you really feel the need to hug me, just tell me in advance next time." She smirk.

​"I don’t want to," Venom snapped, hastily retreating back behind his cold, guarded persona. "You just... looked a little familiar. That’s all."

​"Keep your thoughts to yourself," Anah warned again, her voice dropping its teasing edge. She turned around, took two graceful steps forward, and vanished seamlessly into thin air.

​Venom stood alone in the quiet hallway, glaring intensely at the empty space where Anah had just stood. His brows knitted together in deep frustration.

​"Why did you do that?" Venom muttered to the empty air.

​The shadows stretching across the floor suddenly warped and rose, materializing into a solid, dark figure beside him. The entity slowly took shape until it became an exact, flawless duplicate of Venom.

​The shadow-clone smiled wickedly, staring down at his own palms. "To confirm if it was really her, or just an imposter. And it is. It’s definitely her... and she absolutely recognized me," the shadow said, a twisted excitement lighting up his face.

​Venom’s scowl deepened. "What exactly is your deal with her?"

​The shadow turned to him, his smile widening. "You mean, what is ourdeal with her?" he corrected. "There is no ’deal.’ I just like her."

​"Her, or Nova?" Venom demanded, looking increasingly agitated.

​"Her. She is far more mature than Nova."

​Venom was rendered speechless for a long moment, staring at his darker half. "What do we do now? She looked like she could kill me without a second thought."

​"It’s not that she look like she can kill you—she absolutely can kill you. No doubt about it," the shadow corrected casually. "It would be best if we fuse together quickly so that you can regain your complete memories."

​"And after that?" Venom asked.

​"After that, we run," the shadow stated, all traces of humor vanishing from his face. "This world is going to be ruined at the hands of those two women. Trust me, you do not want to be here to witness the apocalypse they bring."

​Venom’s eyes widened in genuine shock. "What about our previous plan?"

​"There is no need for that anymore. Now that she is here, the board has changed. We need to save our own necks first."

​Venom fell silent, processing the massive shift in their reality. His brow furrowed as a sudden, sharp wave of anger hit him. "Right... earlier, in the office. Why didn’t you help me out? I almost got completely possessed by that female bitch!"

​The shadow shrugged unapologetically. "I fell asleep."

​Venom stared at him in utter, furious disbelief. "You actually have the guts to sleep through an attack, and then admit it to my face?!"

​"Tsk. So what? Even if she had eventually managed to kill you, I would have just revived you," the shadow scoffed. "Besides, it’s not like that low-level psychic could actually permanently kill you anyway."

​"I was bewitched!" Venom hissed, his fists trembling with rage. "I almost got mind-controlled! Why are you so damn unreliable?!"

​"Keep your voice down," the shadow warned, his eyes flicking toward the broken office doors. "The two lovers will hear you."

​Venom took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to rein in his explosive temper. "Fine." He shot one last, ice-cold glare at his duplicate before turning and storming down the hallway, radiating anger.

​The shadow frowned, watching Venom leave. "Your temper these days is getting out of hand," he murmured to himself.

​With a soft shift of the ambient light, the shadow dissolved back into darkness, vanishing into thin air without leaving a single trace behind.