Once, my paranoid love

“Shut the fuck up!” he shouted, his frustration boiling over. He forced me to meet his gaze, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and desperation.

Why didn’t you fight back before, Paul?

My words echoed with a mixture of regret and confusion, seeking answers in the shadows of our tangled emotions.

I meant to hurt you, but instead of doing so, I hurt myself.

Instead of punishing you, I am punishing myself.

I’ve never thought of it in this way before.

He instantly yanked me onto his chest.

“Why are you putting up with me like this?” he asked, his voice a mixture of frustration and yearning. “Is it really so awful that you can’t come with me?”

“I killed my mother only for you,” he confessed, a dark truth laid bare. “And I changed myself just for you. I’m trying to be a better man. I’ve punished everyone who has harmed you, and I’m even punishing myself. So, what’s the point?”

The desperation in his voice mirrored the tumultuous journey we had undertaken together.

I bit my trembling lip, a feeble attempt to be strong and hold back the tears threatening to spill. But the floodgates opened despite my efforts. “Paul, it’s too late,” I murmured, the words catching in my throat.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, each droplet carrying the weight of unspoken love of mine.

Hearing my admission, he tightened his grip on me, as if attempting to not let me go.

Paul screamed, “Noo!”

“Elena, it’s not too late.”

“I’m not going to let you go,” he declared, desperation in his voice. Tears streamed down his face. I fixed my gaze on him, noticing the anguish in his eyes.

“Don’t you want me anymore?” Paul pleaded, gently touching my face. I closed my eyes, grappling with the emotional turmoil within me.

What am I supposed to do now? I can’t do anything to Derek now. I continued to stare at Paul, my fingers brushing against his chilled skin.

“I’m sorry, Paul, but I can’t,” I whispered, the weight of my decision heavy on my heart.

“Try to understand,” I pleaded.

“Can you love him as you love me?” he asked, holding my hand tightly. I kept my mouth shut, unable to find the words to respond.

“I know you won’t be able to. If that’s the case, why are you punishing both me and yourself? I hurt you, then why don’t you hurt me? But please, do not leave me,” Paul implored, his arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace.

“I want to live with you and my child,” he said, his voice filled with longing, as if clinging to the last hope. In that poignant moment, I found myself caught between two worlds, torn by conflicting emotions and the choices that lay ahead.

“You promised me at any cost you will not leave me?”

“Then why did you not wait for some days? I told you I will go for treatment,” Paul questioned, his tone shaky, a mixture of confusion and hurt.

“Paul, I-” I began, but the abrupt sound of a gunshot sliced through the air, halting my words. Fear gripped me, and I called out his name, “Paul,” my grip on him tightening instinctively.

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, I felt a wave of pain, as if my own heart had been pierced.

Was this the end? The world around us seemed to freeze, and the only sound that echoed was Derek’s distant voice calling my name.

“Elena!”

But the external world ceased to matter.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Paul, are you okay?” I asked urgently, my hands searching for any sign of life. My touch found his back, damp with an unsettling warmth. The realization hit me like a sudden storm-blood stained my hands.

Tears fell from Paul’s eyes onto my shoulder, his hold weakening.

“Nooo, I won’t let you die,” I screamed, the words escaping my lips in a desperate plea. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tightened my grip on him, refusing to accept the cruel reality unfolding.

“I won’t let you go,” I vowed, my voice quivering with a mixture of fear and determination.

I knew that if he released his clutches, I wouldn’t be able to support his weight, and we were perilously close to a slope, teetering on the edge of an unforeseen abyss.

“Please, someone help me,” I yelled into the void, the echoes of my desperation lost in the vastness of the surroundings. The world felt surreal, suspended in a moment that defied comprehension.

Time seemed to stretch as I clung to Paul, the weight of his life in my hands.

Paul’s POV.

Elena’s arms wrapped around me with a passionate intensity that bordered on desperation. In that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder if she truly understood the gravity of the situation, the imminent danger that lurked not just for me but for the life growing within her. Did she not give a damn about our unborn child?

“Elena, say you forgive me,” I implored, holding her close, the weight of unspoken apologies lingering in the air.

Her response caught me off guard as she simply said, “Shut up and hold me tightly, please,” her voice choked with tears.

A bittersweet smile played on my lips as I seized the opportunity to convey my final message.

“I love you,” I whispered quietly after saying what I wanted, the words hanging in the air like an unspoken farewell.

Just then, I noticed Derek approaching us. Without hesitation, a surge of instinctual self-preservation overcame me. With a swift and deliberate motion, I gently shoved Elena away, breaking our embrace, and in that split second, I lost my footing.

The world around me blurred as I tumbled down the cliff, the descent into the abyss a chaotic dance with fate. In the midst of the whirlwind, I heard Elena’s voice, a desperate call that echoed in the vast emptiness.

“Paul!”

Her cry lingered in the air, a haunting reminder of the choices I made.

The wind whispered through the cliff side, carrying with it the weight of regret and the echoes of a love that had teetered on the edge of the precipice.

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