The Devil's Favourite Obsession

Cixi’s mouth flew open to gasp for air as if she had been dragged from underwater, her lungs burning and her throat raw. When she opened her eyes, her body was flat on the floor, her limbs were cold and heavy against the bare surface.

She sat up with a groaning force and touched her arms, her neck, her stomach. It was solid and not translucent. Her body was warm, not cold. She pressed both palms against her chest and felt her heart hammering behind her ribs. She was back in her body, feeling tangible and alive and not a ghost.

She turned to check on Melisha, who was still sleeping. The child’s small frame rose and fell beneath the blanket, undisturbed, dreaming whatever seven-year-olds dreamed about when the world was still kind to them. Atleast to her!

The wall clock read six in the morning.

Cixi peeled herself off the floor. Her legs were unsteady, and her mind felt unstable from being dragged across rooftops and forced to watch a woman die in a windowless warehouse while a man sharpened an axe. Yet she carefully and soundlessly walked to the bathroom before planting herself before the basin and staring at her own reflection.

Her hair was a mess. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her skin carried the pallor of someone who had not rested at all, because she hadn’t rested mentally. She was a scatterbrain.

First, she had committed suicide. Not once, but twice.

Second, she had met Cassian Crown, who first saved her and informed her she belonged to him until her family’s debt was repaid. It seemed her parents were not her real parents, and somewhere out there, her biological parents were alive...?

Third, she was once more kidnapped and was about to board the shipping container.

Fourth, she succeeded in getting shot.

Fifth, she almost died, only to be cursed by a Grim Reaper with immortality.

Sixth, not only might she be immortal, but it was also possible she would be forced to witness horrific deaths every night!

Cixi found herself dazed and horrified.

How did everything come to this?

Her breathing grew heavier with each thought. Her hands trembled. Her knees buckled, and she slumped forward, catching herself on the edge of the basin with both hands.

She twisted the tap, and cold water rushed out. She took the water in both palms and splashed it on her face. She wished it were. To her dismay, it had become her reality, glued to her soul.

Once she straightened up and glanced at her reflection again, a sudden shock caused her to jerk back, almost slipping on the shiny bathroom floor.

Breathless, she froze, her gaze locked onto the mirror. Yet, what she saw was not her own reflection, but Cassian, lounging on the couch, shirtless, his belt unbuckled and trousers unzipped. A woman with dark hair, a tan body, completely naked, sat between his legs, and and her head moved faster and faster. Cassian, however, remained expressionless, his eyes fixed somewhere beyond her, as if caught in a trance.

She tilted her head and watched Cassian’s handsome face, ignoring what the other woman was doing to him. But his lack of expression or emotion was confusing.

’Had her curse extended to Cassian as well?’ She asked herself. ’Would she be seeing him through mirrors...? But why?’

What in the world was happening to her life?

Unbeknownst to her, she drew nearer to the basin, lifting her hand and pressing her damp palm against the mirror where Cassian’s image lingered. In an instant, everything faded away. Her reflection was back as it was supposed to be in the first place.

”Curse of Immortality.” She whispered to herself once more. And the next moment, a rage followed.

Who wanted such a sick existence, and why her of all people? When so many others had ended their own lives for failing a test, for a boyfriend or girlfriend who cheated on them and left, and for reasons far simpler than hers, not a single one of them was cursed with immortality. They were allowed to leave, yet Cixi was denied it.

She wanted to grab the Reaper by the cloak and demand answers that made sense, but last night, before she could utter a single word, she had been yanked back into her body like a dog pulled on a leash.

And now here she was, forced to live another day of disappointment while knowing that when the night returned, she would be dragged out of herself again to witness more people dying mercilessly.

Then something struck her, reminding her of something very important.

The woman in the warehouse had begged to save her children, whose address the killer had fished out of her purse...