Alia's laughter hadn't even died down when the heavy door swung open once again. This time, Viktor entered.
His expensive blazer was off, and his shirt sleeves were partially rolled up. Beneath his usual stoic expression lay a strange restlessness today. His eyes were bloodshot and his gaze slightly glazed over making it obvious that he had consumed a significant amount of wine. He walked toward the bed with slightly unsteady steps.
Alia looked up at him from her position on the bed, her mocking smile widening. Seeing Viktor in this drunken state, she couldn't restrain herself any longer.
Alia: (In a voice laced with disgust and contempt) "What happened? After sending your friend to my room, are you trying to calm yourself with alcohol? Do you have no shame, Viktor?"
Viktor said nothing. He simply stared at her with those bloodshot eyes. His intoxicated gaze swept over Alia's bold nightdress and her bare legs. He gripped the bedpost with one hand to steady himself.
Alia: (Standing up and walking right up to him) "You run a billion-dollar empire, yet your hand doesn't tremble when you do something as low as handing your wife over to your friend? Do you think getting drunk can cover up thirteen years of sin?"
Viktor took a step forward, the strong scent of wine hitting Alia. In a low, slightly slurred voice, he spoke only one sentence:
Viktor: "Shame? Do you really think this mafia blood holds a weakness like shame, Alia? Everything I do has a reason... and the wine? I only drink to tolerate you."
His silver hair fell over his forehead, and in that moment, he didn't look sophisticated he looked primal and dangerous. Alia realized that even though Anashia was gone, the night was only just beginning. She knew all too well how terrifying a drunken Viktor could be. Viktor moved even closer, his alcohol-laden, warm breath hitting the nape of Alia's neck. He reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her cheek, but there was no tenderness in his touch only a sense of cruel ownership.
Viktor began making vile comments in his slurred voice.
Viktor: "This nightdress you're wearing... who is it for? To show off to Anashia, or to tempt me? Thirteen years have passed, but the defiance in your body hasn't faded. That DNA of yours is quite something, isn't it? Age doesn't touch you, only beauty grows and you seem eager to flaunt that beauty to everyone."
Alia didn't look at him. Filled with intense disgust, she kept her face turned away, her gaze fixed on the dark skyline of Seoul through the window. Every word Viktor spoke felt like a poisonous arrow, but she turned herself into stone.
Viktor: (Whispering even closer to her ear) "What happened? Why aren't you speaking? You were laughing quite a bit with Anashia. Does he feed you apples better than I do? Or does his touch satisfy your billionaire ego a little more?"
Alia clenched her fists tight. She could feel Viktor's intoxicated fingers tracing the lace of her nightdress.
Alia: (In a steady voice, still looking away) "Your breath reeks of wine, Viktor. But your mind reeks of something far more rotten. Do you think being drunk gives you the power to humiliate me? You're wrong. You're only belittling yourself."
Viktor tried to force her chin toward him with his hand, but Alia kept her body rigid. Even the cool air of the AC couldn't dampen the primal aggression of a drunken Viktor. Across the bed, Elena stirred slightly, perhaps sensing the toxic atmosphere between her parents even in her sleep. Viktor's rage and intoxication merged into something monstrous. Alia's defiance and her refusal to look at him struck his ego like a whip. In his drunken state, he lost all sense of restraint.
Suddenly, Viktor used all his strength and slapped Alia hard across the face. The sound of the slap echoed through the silent room. Unable to withstand the sudden blow, Alia lost her balance and was thrown onto the bed. Her thin nightdress and disheveled hair sprawled across the bedsheets.
At that moment, the door was locked from the inside. No one from the outside world had the power to protect Alia from the Mafia Lord's wrath.
Alia clutched her stinging cheek in pain, but she didn't shed a tear. Instead, when she looked up, her eyes held a terrifying coldness. She realized that Viktor raising his hand was actually a sign of his defeat.
Viktor leaned over the bed, swaying, his bloodshot eyes looking as if they wanted to consume her. With the door locked, the suffocating atmosphere in the room became even more dire. Across the bed, Elena may have flinched at the sound, but no one was safe from Viktor's madness tonight. After that slap, Alia thought Viktor would scream more or order her out. But what Viktor did next surpassed even her wildest imagination. Alia stared in utter disbelief.
In the heartbeat following the strike, Viktor's aggression suddenly transformed into a strange, silent melancholy. He stumbled and fell to his knees on the floor in front of Alia. The man who had been roaring like a lion moments ago now gripped the bedsheet tightly in his fists, bowing his head.
Then came the biggest shock for Alia. Viktor rested his silver-haired head near Alia's feet and began to sob. A Mafia Lord, whose name makes all of Seoul tremble, was now broken at his wife's feet.
Viktor: (In a choked, weeping voice) "I wanted to hate you, Alia... I wanted you to belong to someone else so I could be free from this curse of our DNA. But I can't! Every time I try to hurt you, I end up destroying myself."
Alia sat frozen like stone. She couldn't believe this was the same Viktor who had struck her seconds ago. In his drunken state, Viktor clung to Alia's bare feet.
Viktor: "Kill me, Alia, but don't look away from me like that. For thirteen years, I haven't kept you in a cage—I've actually kept myself imprisoned in the cage of your love."
This version of Viktor felt more painful to Alia than the slap itself. She didn't know whether to push him away or surrender to this bizarre situation. Behind the locked door, Viktor's total surrender threw Alia's entire mental state into chaos. She realized that as much as Viktor was a killer, he was an even more deeply broken man. Viktor's sudden surrender lasted only a few moments. His sobs abruptly twisted into a demonic laugh. When he looked up, the tenderness and remorse were gone—replaced by a chilling psycho persona.
With a sudden jerk, he gripped Alia's hands so tightly that she felt the pressure deep in her bones. His fingers dug into her soft skin, yet a cold, thin smile played on his lips.
Viktor: (In an incredibly low, cold voice) "Did you think I was begging for your forgiveness? A mistake... a huge mistake, Alia. I was only testing to see how much pleasure you'd take in my weakness."
He pulled her hand toward his face, his intoxicated eyes filled with a bizarre mania. Alia sat motionless; she knew Viktor was like this. He could wither away in one moment and turn into a monster the next.
Viktor: "The DNA flowing in our veins doesn't allow us to be normal. I will hurt you, and then I will sit at your feet and weep that is my love. You actually love this madness of mine the most, don't you?"
Viktor yanked her closer by her hands. Alia was forced right up to him, their breaths mingling.
Alia: (Looking directly into his eyes) "You are sick, Viktor. You know I'm not afraid of you; I only feel pity for this version of you."
Viktor laughed even louder at her words. Digging his nails slightly into her wrist, he said, "Pity? You never pity kings, Alia. You either worship them or hate them. And you... you will be trapped in this madness of mine forever."
Behind the locked door, Viktor's dual personality pushed Alia into a deep state of uncertainty. She realized that escaping Viktor's psycho love meant death or something far worse. Viktor's psycho laughter stopped abruptly. His eyes fixed on Alia's reddened cheek—the exact spot where he had slapped her just moments ago. Her skin there was flushed a deep red from the insult and the blow.
Viktor tightened his grip on Alia's hands so she couldn't move. Then, with agonizing slowness, he brought his face close to her cheek. Alia closed her eyes in pure disgust, but she was helpless against Viktor's drunken obsession.
Viktor extended his tongue and slowly licked the reddened part of Alia's cheek. There was no tenderness in that touch; it was a bizarre, primal aggression. It was as if he wanted to taste the mark of the injury he had inflicted.
Viktor: (In a very low voice, whispering against her cheek) "Look, Alia... I am the one who wounds you, and I am the one who wipes it away. This pain of yours is like an addiction to me. This red hue on your cheek is the most beautiful jewelry I've ever given you."
Alia's entire body shivered with revulsion. She could feel Viktor's hot breath and the scent of wine spreading across her face. This perverted behavior was pushing Alia past her breaking point.
Alia: (Gritting her teeth) "You are a beast, Viktor. You aren't human."
Viktor pulled back from her cheek, that same devilish smirk returning to his lips. He bit her earlobe lightly and said, "I never said I was human. We entered that laboratory as humans, but we emerged as monsters. And you... you are the better half of that monster."
With Viktor's psycho love and twisted actions, the air in the room became even more toxic. Alia realized that tonight, Viktor didn't just want to break her physically he wanted to annihilate her soul.