Nights Burn With Regret — by Nathan Perez 65

3/3 

There is no place on earth to run from me 

+25 Bonus 

There is no place on earth to run from me 

Violet 

“You’re mine.” 

“Ahh!” 

My eyes snapped open as I jolted upright. My chest rose and fell too fast, sweat beading across my forehead. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might break through my ribs. 

For a second, I didn’t know where I was. I braced myself for shattered glass, the stench of burning metal, and my mother’s cold hand, but none of it came. Instead, I was in a room. 

My hands shook as I dragged them down my face, trying to steady myself. I let out a shaky sigh of relief, but the bitter taste in my mouth refused to fade. 

The same dream again. 

I’d been having them for as long as I could remember. I couldn’t recall what really happened the day of the accident, but I had nightmares about it. For years, they came only in fragments, but lately, they’d grown so vivid that sometimes I could still feel the pain from that day. 

I didn’t know if it was just my mind playing cruel tricks on me, or if these dreams were pieces of something real. But I knew I was close to finally seeing him. 

The man who haunted my sleep. 

I raked my fingers through my damp hair and stared at my trembling hands. 

“She’s a witch, I tell you! She caused her parents‘ and brother’s deaths. I mean, how else could she have survived that injury?” 

“I know, right? There’s something wrong with her. She lost her whole family, and she’s smiling. I’ve never seen her cry. She’s a psychopath.” 

“She should’ve died instead of her family. What a shame.” 

My fists clenched around the blanket, the fabric twisting between my fingers. I could still hear those nurses whispering. 

When I woke up after being in a coma for two weeks, I remembered nothing of the accident. And when they told me my parents and brother were gone, I didn’t even know what to feel. 

It felt unreal. I just stared at the doctors, my mind blank. Back then, I wanted to scream, cry, and demand my family back. But when I saw my little brother Sebastian sobbing so hard, I swallowed it all down. I had to be the big sister he needed, I was the only one who could comfort him. 

Someone had to act like things would be okay. So I buried my own grief. I didn’t cry in front of him, or anyone. 

That was how the rumors spread, branding me a heartless psychopath who killed her family. 

Nobody saw me when the lights were off. Nobody saw me cry under the blanket, biting down on the sheets so Sebastian wouldn’t hear. 

Nobody saw how much I hated myself for surviving. 

A tear slipped from the corner of my eye before I even realized it. I wiped it away quickly with the back of my 

1/3 

There is no place on earth to run from me 

+25 Bonus 

hand, shaking my head hard. 

“No,” I whispered to myself, the word barely audible. “No, Violet, don’t think about unnecessary things.” 

I forced my gaze upward. The morning light was spilling softly into the room, brushing against my face. I blinked against it, finally taking in my surroundings properly. 

This wasn’t my room. 

My room wasn’t this grand. It didn’t have this dark aesthetic mixed with elegance. There were expensive pieces everywhere, but arranged so simply, that it didn’t look overwhelming. Every corner screamed wealth. It was understated, but I could feel the millions dripping from the walls. 

I didn’t need to think too hard. 

Hades. 

I was in his room. 

My stomach dropped. 

What the hell was I doing here? 

The last thing I remembered was him carrying me out of the hall, the cameras flashing, his jacket covering me. And then- 

I froze. My eyes widened in horror. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

I grabbed my hair, tugging at it in frustration. “Don’t tell me… I fell asleep!” 

I squeezed my eyes shut. Oh, God. What the actual hell was wrong with me? I knew who this man was. And still, I got so comfortable in his arms that I passed out? 

My gaze darted downward, my breath caught in my throat. 

I wasn’t wearing my dress anymore. Instead, an oversized, baggy white shirt hung loosely off my shoulders, paired with what looked like a fresh set of men’s boxers. 

Blood rushed to my cheeks. 

I didn’t even want to know. I didn’t want to imagine what happened after. I didn’t want to picture his hands stripping me bare, or wonder if he wore that smug smirk on his face while doing it. 

No. No, no, no. 

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. 

I needed to get out fast. 

This time, I was smarter. I didn’t just bolt. I froze, listening, straining my ears for the slightest sound, the drip of water, footsteps, the creak of the floorboards, but there was nothing. 

He wasn’t in the room. 

Good. 

My legs ached when I slid off the bed, the dull throb reminding me exactly what had happened last night, his 

2/3 

There is no place on earth to run from me 

+25 Bonus 

hands, and his merciless pace. I clenched my jaw and ignored the ache, sweeping my hair into a messy bun with trembling fingers. 

Then, I carefully tiptoed toward the door, my toes sinking silently against the floor. My heart pounded louder than my feet ever could. 

My fingers wrapped around the door handle. My chest rose and fell fast, but I forced myself to breathe slowly, and keep calm. 

This is it. 

The plan was already drawn in my head. I’d block him out completely. I’d avoid every Sinclair, except Roman, because he was still my lecturer, and I needed him for my degree. But other than that? Hades Sinclair would become a ghost to me. He’d eventually grow bored, men like him always did. He’d leave me alone, and I’d go back to my life. 

It wasn’t perfect, my normal life came with its own chaos. My eccentric aunt and her spoiled daughter, the whispers at school, the trauma I carried from my past. But compared to a life entangled with Hades, my old life was a hundred times less stressful. 

I gripped the knob tighter, twisting it. 

Freedom. 

The door cracked open, but I froze. 

My eyes widened. 

Hades leaned against the doorway like he had been waiting all along, blocking the exit with ease. His hair was messy, tumbling carelessly across his forehead, yet somehow it made him look even more devastating. He wore a black hoodie and sweatpants, and perched on his nose were a pair of reading glasses. 

Hot. 

God help me, that was the only word my stupid brain could come up with. 

This man should be arrested for even being this hot. 

He looked down at me, a lazy smirk curling on his lips, arms folded across his chest as if he had all the time in the world. My heart skipped, stumbled, and raced as he bent slightly, towering over me. 

Without warning, his fingers caught my chin, tilting it up. My breath hitched as his glinting eyes locked with mine. 

“You never learn, do you, princess?” His voice reverberated inside me, making my knees weaken. 

He leaned closer, his lips brushing dangerously close to my ear as he murmured, “There is no place on earth to run from me.”