Chapter 2

"Enjoy!

Every tear that falls from my eyes bears your name,

And every beat in my heart whispers 'I love you.'"

I glanced at the peculiar Asian guy repeatedly before attempting to ignore him, directing my gaze to my wine glass. Today, I'll drink and get intoxicated without any convincing reason to do so!

It's just a whim, one of the youthful escapades, a desire to try something new if I can.

"What's your name?" The guy asked as I sipped my wine.

I lowered the glass, staring at him with a puzzled look. He was strangely calm, not asking for anything but seemingly content with observing. There was no warmth in his expression; he seemed ready to devour me tonight or tomorrow!

"Alicia," I finally answered after a long pause, refocusing on my glass, trying to ignore the strange feeling his gaze brought. However, his inquiry was not the only thing he wanted.

He was undoubtedly a serial killer, and I might be his next victim. I've heard a lot about recent murders in this neighborhood.

"Do you come here often?" he asked again, and I scoffed, gesturing to the waiter for another glass.

I finished my first glass quickly, unsatisfied despite the sharp taste of the wine.

"I only come here once a week to drink," I replied, not convincing him at all. I tried my best to ignore him, but the wine's effect was beginning to show. Without hesitation, I grabbed my second glass.

"Aren't you going to ask for anything?" It was my turn to question him, but he seemed indifferent, pulling a weathered paper from his black jacket pocket and unfolding it on the table. It was a peculiar sheet filled with what resembled ancient symbols and sigils, something I had read about in mythological books but couldn't recall.

He looked at me with his calm gaze, revealing a hint of what he wanted.

"I wanted to play a game, and since I couldn't find a partner, I chose you!"

"Chose me?" I replied with a tipsy tone, not fully grasping his words. He nodded calmly, and I found myself intrigued by the idea of playing with a stranger while being intoxicated.

"I'll ask you some questions, and you must answer honestly. If you're honest, you can ask anything of me when it's my turn, and I won't refuse."

He added with mystery, challenging my resistance to the drowsiness that crept in.

Suddenly, it sounded intriguing! Playing with a stranger while I'm intoxicated. Won't he fear that I might ask for something strange?

"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice giving me an odd sense of unease. If he were someone I knew, I would have concluded that he was angry about my presence in the bar.

"I came to drink to forget my troubles," I replied. He looked at me, narrowing his eyes, clearly unconvinced. He asked again with a hint of seriousness.

"What troubles are these?"

"My mother died three months ago, and I don't know how it happened. Her last words were for me to find my father, whom I've never known. It's absurd, and I don't know where to start the search. And we have this silly tradition of constant wandering that didn't even stop after my mother's death!" I continued, then started laughing and clapping like a madwoman. I didn't understand what I was saying, and I could barely focus. The strange man next to me was ready to ask again, but I stopped him, questioning him instead.

"Tell me, stranger, have you ever fallen in love?"

His eyes widened slightly, then he fell silent, staring at me coldly. It seemed like five minutes of silence before he finally spoke, summarizing his words as much as he could.

"Love is for the weak. I don't fall in love; I only get what I want, then I kill."

"His response was more frightening than unsettling... This seems illogical!

He kills after getting what he wants? Does that mean he will kill me when this ridiculous game is over?

"Have you ever been intimate with a man before?" he asked boldly and coldly, pushing me to burst into laughter, though if I were sober, I would have slapped him. I caught a glimpse of him staring at my neck, specifically at that violet mark left by Greg, understanding the purpose behind his question!

I hadn't done anything; it was just a mark he left when trying to make me yield to his disgusting requests two days ago.

"Don't you find this disgusting? Being intimate with someone devoid of any feelings towards you? Of course, I didn't!" I spoke, and his cold, unchanging gaze surprised me. I wondered why he suggested playing with me if he was going to stare at me like this the whole time.

I chuckled sarcastically, then returned to holding my own wine glass, finishing what remained of the drink in one go before placing it down, turning my attention back to that stranger.

"It's my turn to ask for something," I said, trying to remind him. He nodded, prompting me to speak.

"Beware, for everything we do in intoxication, we regret!" He warned with his rough voice, and I wasn't in a state to manage his words with my mind or comprehend them. I stared at him, narrowing my eyes skeptically, realizing that his features were somewhat familiar, as if I had seen the shadow of this guy somewhere before!

I paused, focusing on his lips that drew my eyes. His upper lip had a charming mole just below it, and I wondered how those lips might feel above mine...

"Kiss me, stranger!"

I don't know how the words escaped my lips, but I indeed asked him for a kiss without thinking about the consequences, just as he had warned me earlier.

I became completely foolish when I'm drunk.

He didn't hesitate for a moment, advancing towards me. When he did, I noticed the paper he had placed on the table glowing with a flame-like color, just like the tattoo on his neck, which I believed matched the one I had seen somewhere before...

I felt his hand reaching towards me, bringing his face closer to mine. At that exact moment, I noticed the paper on the table glowing with a flame-like color, similar to the tattoo on his neck, which I believed matched the one I had seen somewhere before...

I felt his hand reaching towards me, bringing his face closer to mine. In that moment, our lips met in a kiss that made me feel a swarm of butterflies in my stomach.

"It was the first time I felt my body respond to a kiss. I could feel the blood in my veins boiling in a strange way, as if I were ablaze. I wondered if it was the effect of the alcohol. I felt it deepening with each passing moment until it stole my breath, and he seemed entirely at ease, just as it pleased me.

He pulled back a few inches, resting his head on my forehead after taking every breath from my chest. He looked at me with dazed eyes without uttering a word. I then noticed how cold his skin was.

"Do you feel cold?" I don't know why I asked, but I couldn't refrain from doing so. It was just a curious question from a drunken girl who didn't know what she was doing. I saw him trying to hide his smile before he spoke.

"It's strange that you care about the feelings of someone you don't know while you're freezing on a tree branch beside me!"

He added sarcastically, and I looked at him in surprise, feeling a cold breeze pass by, widening my eyes for a moment. Can a drunk person imagine impossible things like this?

How did we end up on the top of a tree in the middle of a forest when he had just been kissing me inside the bar?

"You won't remember anything, so why not tell you a secret?" he said, creating an eerie feeling within me.

His creepy smile returned as he approached me again. There were only a few centimeters separating our faces, and he noticed my tension but didn't care. He continued speaking.

"I don't want you to forget this. I am a curse that has befallen you, and you will have to face it soon!"

He concluded his strange words, and a sense of fear and discomfort grew within me. My heart began to pound rapidly, scared. I wished I had chosen to sleep instead of going out and drinking at a time like this.

The stranger took advantage of the fear that had entered me and pulled me to sit on his thighs. Before I could ask what he was doing, I let out a loud scream when I felt something piercing my neck.

Were those fangs?

He moved away after a while, looking at me, and his terrifying gaze intensified. His mouth was stained with my blood, while his eyes glowed a frightening crimson.

Oh God, what did I get myself into?!

Seconds later, as I looked at him, I felt my body collapsing under the tree trunk, gradually losing consciousness until I completely faded away. All that crossed my mind was that I would die today, inevitably.

Is this how it ends?

Chapter Two is done.

What do you think of the chapter?

Your expectations?"

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