93. Now Or Never

Her son has long gone. Clarice felt miserable and empty inside. Even for a short time, she was happy because she was able to hug and kiss her beloved son. They're even talking for real. Too bad, when her son wakes up tomorrow, he will remember their conversation as part of his dream. She took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling. She didn't know if she would thank Demetria for kidnapping her son so she could see him. Despite what happened, she experienced happiness because she was able to spend some quality time with her son. It might not happen again. She closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep. A few hours later, she finally drifted into a deep slumber. The next day... Clarice woke up late on a beautiful morning. She glanced at the window. The sun was already up in the sky, shining brightly. Time to get up. She left bed, entered the bathroom and started her day. A few moments later, Clarice can be seen leaving her room and going straight to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast. She made delicious pancakes and drank hot coffee. It was already 11:00 in the evening when Demetria joined Clarice on the sofa in the living room while she was reading an old book she found in the storage room. "So, how are you now? Happy?" Demetria asked, expecting her companion to be in high spirits after reuniting with her beloved son last night. Clarice closed the book and put it in her lap. She looked at her captor. "I'm happy, yes, but I also miss my husband," she replied. "Oh, so you miss your husband? Do you want to see him? I can bring your husband here if you want, so you can see him," Demetria offered. "Are you sure? You are not joking, right?" she asked excitedly. "Yes. To complete your happiness, I must bring your husband here for you to see," Demetria replied casually. Clarice's eyes lit up. "Can I also talk to him just like I did with my son?" she asked apprehensively, not sure if Demetria would agree to her request. "Sure," Demetria replied with a smile. Clarice was pleased. Her eyes shone with excitement. "Awesome! Yes, please bring my husband here!" she said enthusiastically, eager to see her husband again. Demetria saw a glimmer of excitement in Clarice's eyes. "I'd like to ask you a question. Do you want to see your husband only once or do you want him to join you here permanently?" she inquired. Clarice fell silent for a moment, contemplating what her decision would be. "I would decide once he arrived. As of now, I'm still confused. I will have a clear answer later after I see him," she replied. "Alright, let's see later what your decision will be. Before I go, I just want you to know that I can also bring your son here to complete your family once you finally decide," Demetria said in a serious tone. "Thank you," Clarice responded gratefully. Demetria smiled. "My pleasure, dear. Alright, I'll go now." Clarice said, "Um, can I ask you something before you go?" Demetria nodded her head. "Sure, you can ask me anything. What is it?" "What do you usually do outside? Besides buy groceries for me?" Clarice asked curiously, frowning. Demetria smiled. "Nothing, just floating around the city and going to places I want to see, meeting some old friends and trying new things before I die of boredom." "Ah, okay, you should go now," Clarice said. She was not satisfied with Demetria's answer, but she couldn't expect her to reveal what she was doing outside the house every time she was out. She picked up the book to continue reading. Demetria stared at Clarice's face for a long time. Clarice notices that Demetria hasn't left yet. She looked at her quizzically. "What's wrong? Why are you not leaving yet?" she asked, raising a brow. "You never wanted to become a vampire?" Demetria asked. Clarice's eyes widened, not expecting to hear such a question coming from her captor. "Clarice, do you want to be a vampire like me?" Demetria asked her a serious question. Clarice met Demetria's penetrating gaze. "If I became a vampire like you, I could also hover in the air, teleport, become invisible and gain immense power like you?" Demetria chuckled. "Yes to all. And I'm sure if you have all those powers you will easily escape this place, right?" "Of course! If I'm already a powerful being, why would I stay here? Are you testing me?" Clarice asked, wondering what Demetria was thinking in her mind right now. "To be honest, I don't want to be a vampire. I don't like sucking other people's blood every day to stay alive," she added. Demetria smiled. "For someone who is a shewolf, you are so weak, you don't even have your own wolf. You have no power, dear. You look exactly like a human to me. If you want to become a powerful being and stop bad people from harming you, you must embrace change and become powerful like me." Clarice sighed heavily. "No, thanks, sucking on another person's blood is not my cup of tea." Demetria grinned. "Interesting answer you have, dear. I respect your decision for now. One day, you will change your mind. Do you have any questions before I go?" Clarice's brows furrowed. "Ah, I remember it now. I have wanted to ask you this question for a long time. That night, I was thrown into the water by my enemy, Kaspar. What are you doing on the cruise ship?" she asked. "I was looking for someone whose blood smelled delicious, so I could quench my thirst for blood. While hovering in the air. It happened that I saw a cruise ship sailing in the middle of the ocean. I followed it, and that's when I saw you sitting alone on the lounge chair. I could smell your delicious blood while floating in the air looking for my victim. When that man threw you into the water, I decided to save you because of your blood. The rest is history..." Demetria explained. "Ah, okay, I got it." Clarice said, realizing that even if Kaspar didn't throw her into the ocean, Demetria would still snatch her from the moving cruise ship to drink her blood. Her path was destined to cross with Demetria on that fateful night of her disappearance, with or without Kaspar on the scene. Clarice bit her lip in sadness. Sailing on that cruise ship is indeed wrong in the first place. If only she knew bad things would happen to her, she would rather spend her wedding anniversary celebration at a candlelit dinner in a restaurant and go home safely with her husband. Too bad she can't predict the future. "And regarding that guy, Kaspar who threw you into the ocean, do you want to know how he is doing now after the incident? You want me to spy on him?" Demetria asked. Surprised, Clarice looked at Demetria, puzzled by her offer. "First you asked me if I wanted Viviana killed, then now Kaspar? Tell me, why are you doing this?" she asked in bewilderment. Demetria shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just bored nowadays, so I volunteer to become your punisher. Unless you want to kill them with your own hands for revenge. What do you really want, dear? I can bring all your enemies here, and you decide how to kill them. If you can't stomach the killing, I'll do it for you. Don't you think it's now time for revenge?" Clarice fell silent for a moment, digesting thoroughly Demetria's offer in her mind. Revenge is easy now because Demetria is willing to be her punisher. But at what cost? Does she have a hidden motive? Silence envelopes the living room. "Dear, I'm waiting for your answer," Demetria said. Clarice cleared her throat. "I'm looking forward to seeing my husband tonight. Yes, please bring him here. As for your offer of revenge, I'll think about it. I'll tell you next week what my decision will be," she replied just to shut her up. Demetria stood up. "Alright, I'll go my way. I'll be back with your husband tonight at 10:00 in the evening," she said and walked away, heading to the main door. Clarice watched her captor step outside and disappear from her sight. She released a deep sigh and pondered all the things she had discussed with Demetria. Revenge is easy now because Demetria will help her get her revenge against her enemy. But what is the use of revenge if she can't leave this place? She will not think about revenge today. Instead, she will focus on how she will escape tonight with her husband's help. The moment her husband is awake, and they can talk freely to each other, she will instruct him to teleport them to Grandpa Eliezer's farm house right away. That way she can escape this place. Demetria didn't know Grandpa Elizer's place. She was confident her captor couldn't follow her there. Then they would get Caden and hide in a far away place that Demetria couldn't find. It's her last resort, no other way! Time is crucial! But how can she convince her husband that they are not in a dream so he will believe her right away and initiate the teleportation process quickly? It's going to be difficult, but she will find a way. She knows that in order to bring her husband to this place, Demetria will freeze him first, then teleport him here. Now the question is, would Demetria wake up her husband for real knowing that he might attempt to take her away if he knew he was not dreaming and everything was real? Demetria is not that dumb. Clarice sighed heavily. One false move is catastrophic. If Demetria discovers her plan of escape, she might kill her husband. She shuddered in fear just thinking about it. She took a deep breath, calming her tense nerves. 'I still have plenty of time for planning,' she told herself. It's now or never! Tonight, she must escape Demetria's clutches!