85. So Tempting!

Demetria observes Clarice's face, watching a myriad of emotions flash in her eyes. Minutes passed but Clarice was having a hard time deciding. "It's okay, you don't have to decide right away. I will give you one month to decide. Take your time, dear," Demetria said casually. "Wait... If you bring my son and husband here, they can never go back to their old lives, right? They will stay here and die like prisoners for the rest of their lives, just like me?" Clarice asked the most important question of all. Demetria nodded her head. "Yes, of course. Once they arrive here, they can never leave again. And if your husband insists on leaving this house, I will punish him. Don't blame me if I end up killing him. I suggest bringing your family here so you can be reunited with them. I'm just being kind to you and your family. It's my way of reuniting the three of you in one place. You should be thankful for my generosity." Clarice swallowed the lump in her throat. Tears shimmered in her eyes. What a hard decision to make. "I'll think about your offer. Give me enough time to decide," she said sadly. Demetria looked astonished by Clarice's answer. "Oh, dear, I thought you would say yes right away? I was surprised, you seemed to be hesitating to reunite with your family." Clarice breathed deeply. "You will never understand how difficult this situation you put me through..." she said dejectedly, knowing that no matter what she says Demetria would never listen to her arguments and protests. Demetria raised a brow in exasperation. "What? Difficult? How come? I'm trying to bring your family here so that you can be with each other every day. Your problem is considered solved. All you have to say is yes!" "Exactly, you gave such a good offer to me, but on the other hand, you are trying to add two more prisoners to this house of yours. My husband and son will have to leave everything behind and give up their lives to join me here," Clarice said despondently between tears. Demetria's forehead puckered. "What's wrong if your husband and son give up everything to be reunited with you?" Clarice was shaking her head in absolute distress. "Can't you see? You are interrupting their lives, forcing them to give up their bright future in order to be imprisoned with me in this mountain. That's not the quality of life I envisioned them having. You have already destroyed my life by turning me into your blood feeder, and now you are going to do the same to my husband and son. Can't you understand what I mean?" Demetria sighed. "You misunderstood my intention, dear. I will not bring them here so I can feed on their blood. I bring them here so that you will never feel sad and lonely anymore. Don't worry, I will not suck their blood. Your blood alone is enough for me. Trust me, I will not harm them," she said reassuringly, her tone sincere. Clarice still couldn't be convinced by Demetria's assurance. "You will never understand my worries because you are not in my shoes," she said wearily. Demetria threw her hands in the air and shook her head in annoyance. "I don't understand you at all. You have so many worries... why don't you just grab the chance and be reunited with your family? No buts... just say yes!" Clarice was having a hard time deciding. "If you really care about my feelings, why don't you just release me so that I can be reunited with my family?" she challenged her instead. Demetria shook her head. "No way! I will not release you. You are mine from the moment I save you from the ocean!" Clarice's eyes were swollen with tears. She is in an absolute mess right now. The urge to be reunited with her husband and son was so strong she was tempted to say yes to Demetria's offer. Demetria saw the suffering in Clarice's eyes. For a moment she pity her. "Alright, I will not force you to decide right away. Take your time," she said casually and walked to the staircase to go to her room. Clarice sat in the chair and started crying pitifully. Demetria looked over her shoulder and halted in her tracks. "If it is hard for you to decide, why don't I ask your husband? Let him decide on your behalf. If he says yes, then no need to feel guilty. He truly loves you if he is willing to give up everything just to be with you." Clarice's head snapped. She looked at Demetria. Fear and confusion were plastered on her face. "What do you mean? You are going to talk to my husband and tell him about my current situation?" she asked in disbelief. Demetria smiled. "Yes, I can do that. I have already seen your husband up close, and I know where he lives. It's easy to follow, spy on or talk to him anytime I want." Clarice gritted her teeth in anger. "You are playing God, Demetria! You are playing with our lives. Live him alone! Aren't you feeling guilty at all?" she asked resentfully. Demetria sighed and shrugged, not affected by Clarice's outburst. "Oh, come on. Don't try poking at my conscience. I'm playing God because I can. I make my own rules and I don't give a damn about what others think of me. I'm trying to bend a little to give you happiness. And now you are trying to make me feel bad about my intention to help you. Are you out of your mind?" "That's exactly the point. You are messing up my mind and my life big time! You are playing with my life. You are cruel! Have I done you any harm to deserve this?" Clarice retorted miserably. Demetria huffed. "You are trying to paint me as the worst person in the world. Really? You easily forget that if I didn't save you from the ocean you are now lying dead inside the shark's belly. Without my help, you are already a skeleton right now. Give me credit for saving your life. You are still breathing right now because of me. I even offered to bring your family here so you can be reunited with them out of the goodness of my heart. Yet you have the nerve to say I'm cruel?" Clarice kept her mouth shut, too tired to argue with someone like Demetria who feels and behaves like she is God, the most powerful of all beings. Annoyed, Demetria proceeded to her room on the third floor. Clarice, on the other hand, went to her room to think and analyze her decision carefully. While she was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling with tears in her eyes, she realized that bad things might happen if she agreed to Demetria's offer. Her husband, Alpha Callum, will surely agree to Demetria's offer and then later on find a way to kill Demetria so they can leave the house. If fate favors her husband, they will eventually escape and Demetria will die. But what if Demetria killed her husband and son first? That would kill her inside and shatter her sanity, putting guilt heavily on her shoulders, and she would regret her decision for the rest of her life. That's why she's afraid of accepting Demetria's offer. Knowing her husband's temperament, he would fight Demetria to death. Someone will surely die in the end. And she was scared that it might be her husband who would die because Demetria was more powerful and capable than him. No! She can't accept such things happening to her loved ones. Right now, in the eyes of many, she is already presumed dead. For her husband's and son's safety, they must continue to live. As for her, she is already dead, so why bother? Let them continue to believe she is already dead. She has no chance of escaping anyway. She already felt dead inside, so why include other people in her shitty fate? Her husband will never feel happy living at the top of the mountain for the rest of his life. He might be fine for several days, weeks, months or even years. But later on he would get tired, restless, and he would end up planning for Demetria's death. And when her husband and Demetria fight, she knows already who will end up the winner. Then there is her son, Caden. She can't bear trapping her son in this house on top of the mountain, surrounded by ocean water with no proper education and away from his peers. It's such a sad and lonely place to live. This place is not fit for a child to live in. No... She had already made up her mind. She won't accept Demetria's offer, no matter how tempting it is. She will just accept her fate and suffer in the dark as long as her husband and her son are safe and living a good life in their natural surroundings. She is content with that painful reality. Even if one day she finds a way to kill Demetria, how can she leave the mountain if she has no power to teleport to other places? That's the problem. She has no superpowers at her disposal. She can't even help herself. She is too weak! Tears of sorrow sprang from her eyes. She cried noisily inside her room, not caring if Demetria could hear her loud crying all the way to her room. She doesn't care anymore. That night, Clarice slept with a heart filled with sorrow, knowing her fate with Demetria was already sealed.