Cursed With Loneliness(End)

"I spent an entire day inside the destroyed mansion, trying to process everything that happened. Tears continuously spilled from my eyes yet no sound came out from my mouth. I was dead on the inside."

Teenage Rio endlessly roamed inside the mansion with tears spilling down her face. With blurred vision, she took in the destruction caused by her powers.

Her mouth occasionally opened and her throat moved yet no sound came out.

Night soon arrived, darkening the insides of the mansion. Since the lighting destroyed almost every single object inside the mansion, no source of lighting was available.

Only the light of the moon coming from the windows illuminated the dark empty mansion.

Teenage Rio wandered back to her empty room and crumpled on the floor. Curling up into a ball, she closed her eyes without wiping her tears.

Lex prevented himself from going forward and hugging her. He knew that the scene in front of him was just a part of Rio's memories.

"The next few days were a blur for me. Allen made sure that the incident never made it out. No one knew what happened to my family. The government began searching for replacements to put in the city two weeks after my parents absence.

Allen put some dummy people in the position and soon began to rule the underworld as well as the normal side of the city. I came back to my senses a week after everything took place."

The next set of memories appeared one after the other. Rio inherited all of her parents money and business by going to the city.

She began to rebuild the mansion and also started investing the money she had. Lex was surprised to see that the workers rebuilding the mansion were clones of each other.

The construction industry was ruled by a major company which possessed employees with the cloning powers. The clones did all the work for the company.

A month later, the entire mansion was redesigned from the inside. Being satisfied with her work, the now adult Rio visited a graveyard in the city.

She built up a shrine for her brother and sat in front of it for a few hours, talking about the all the changes she made to the house and how she was progressing with her stuff.

"I decided to hire some maids and butlers to help around the mansion as well as cook for me. I also managed to increase my money a lot and started buying things for entertainment. The house began to look alive again."

Lex watched Rio interacting with the maids and butlers in the house. She teased them from time to time, smiling at their reactions.

Her methods of teasing were obviously different than the ones she used on Lex. Rio's playful nature was coming back to life after having some help around the mansion.

"Five months passed since the incident and no news of Allen reached my ears. He was busy healing his paralyzed self and taking control over the city. I thought that I could still live my life after what happened in the past. I was wrong.

One night, every single person inside the mansion vanished silently. All I found inside the house was a letter from Allen, stating that unless I came to him, he wouldn't allow me to interact with any other human."

Lex watched Rio traveling to the city in hopes of finding someone. But no matter where she went, people vanished from her sight.

Lex had no idea how Allen was able to make humans vanish the moment Rio appeared in their line of sight. 

"He emptied every mansion in the area, putting me in seclusion. I tried to hire people online, offering high pays. Some genuine people showed up but when they left, they met Redrum. 

Allen sent a video to me explaining that he offered every one who showed at my mansion two choices. One was to take a lot of money and forget everything related to me whereas the other was for them to come and join me at the mansion."

Lex remembered how Redrum offered him the same choice. He wasn't moved by the money and instead chose to stay with Rio.

"Without fail, every single one of them chose the money option. Obviously their choice didn't matter since Redrum was going to kill them in the end. Allen just wanted to show me that I would always stay alone." Rio fell silent.

Her memories showed her roaming around the empty halls of the mansion. She entertained herself with electronics but they couldn't erase the feeling of loneliness.

"I could buy anything I wanted by using delivery since the delivery boys weren't actual humans. Allen wanted me to stay alive until my spirit was broken. When that happened, he hoped that I would go back to him."

Lex had no words to describe Allen. In his eyes, the man was an obsessed psychopath who should have been locked inside a psychic ward.

The only reason he pursued Rio was due to her beauty and despite being rejected, he kept on trying to make her life hell.

[ I don't understand what people like him are thinking. There is no way that Rio would love him after all the things that he has done. ]

'Humans are the most twisted creatures, Elfie. We call demons evil but the real evil resides inside humanity. People say villains are made but that's not always true. Some people are born twisted.'

[ That's true as well. I feel sorry for Rio… ]

Time continued to pass by as Rio grew older. The mansion remained empty and no one stepped foot inside it for two years.

"I thought that I was cursed with loneliness. I was ready to die inside this mansion without going to the outside world." Rio paused, a smile appearing on her lips. "By some miracle, you ended up at my doorsteps."

Rio's memories showed her meeting with Lex and how she was surprised by his appearance. 

"I was surprised by how you treated me. Your behavior was quite normal, except for the double take you did while looking at my breasts." Rio chuckled.

"I looked at the words on your shirt!" Lex protested.

"Yeah, I believe you. I thought you were like the others in the past but when you refused Redrum's offer, I had to save you." 

"Of course I chose you. Who wouldn't chose a top notch teasing beauty like you." Lex smiled. 

"Many wouldn't." Rio replied with darkened eyes.

"I don't care about them. No matter what happens, I will choose you." Lex replied firmly. 

Rio was taken aback by his words. Except for Victor, Lex was the first person who she was truly close with. Hearing his words of affirmation reduced the ache and trauma of her past.

"Lex, can I say one thing?" Rio asked gently.

The memories around them vanished and the duo returned to her room. Tears formed at the corner of Rio's eyes, glistening in the light.

"Of course, go ahead." Lex nodded.

A tear fell down Rio's right cheek. Despite that, a beautiful smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you for choosing me."

***

Some psychologists say that if you are crying and the first tear falls from your right eye, it is a sign of happiness. It worked as a symbol for Rio feeling happy about her encounter and interactions with Lex xD.