Love Turned Bitter

"Choose your last words wisely," sneered the villain.

Shaking her head, Amanda looked up, lifting her face from between her knees. "I love you."

"Nice try, Amanda. But you can't fool me twice with the same trick. Try something new—but be careful." His gaze bore into her soul as he hissed the warning.

Sobs wracked her body, uncontrollable. Everything that had happened in the past few days flashed before her eyes. If only I had held my ground a little longer, Victor would have been mine.

"Are you scheming against me again, Amanda?" Victor asked, turning away from the pitiful sight before him.

"No! Please, no. Stop killing me with your words," she gasped for air before adding, "Kill me with your sword if you must." She tried to rise from the wet ground, trembling, her body weak from where she had been thrown against the cold floor.

Moving closer, he pressed the tip of his sword under her chin, tilting her face upward. His eyes searched hers for a moment before he sneered, "You came to finish me off, sweetheart?"

His vicious gaze, filled with hate and anger, froze over her bloodstained face.

Teary-eyed, Amanda asked, "If I really wanted to... did I ever have a chance?"

"Mmm... yes, actually, you did. Once." Then, grinning cunningly, he added, "But that's when I seized the opportunity. And now—look who's dying instead."

"I—I’m sss-sorryyy. I know my mistake," Amanda cried.

"Oh! Now you do. Of course you do, my love." He stepped closer, bending down with a cruel smile. "But now, it’s too late, sweetheart."

With a sob, she whispered, barely audible, "Loving you was never a mistake..." She swallowed hard, her lips dry and bleeding. "But believing them was."

Her heavy eyelids fluttered as the dim and deceiving world around her faded. In one last attempt for mercy, she murmured, "Can you give me... one last chance? Just a hug... pl-e-a-s-e..."

Her breath grew shallow. The world turned completely dark.

Victor, devoid of regret or pain, simply watched—his gaze fixed on her as if waiting to confirm her final departure.