The Price of Love Is Death

All because I saved George Larson from an asthma attack when we were kids, I became his obsession.

On the day of my parents’ funeral, I was kidnapped right from the service. When I woke up, I found myself in bed at the Larsons’ residence, with a marriage certificate lying on the nightstand.

George stood by the bed, his eyes filled with affection as he said, “Luna, welcome home.”

I did not want to marry George, for I did not love him. However, every time I tried to run away, George would show up out of nowhere and drag me back. No matter how hard I tried, I could not shake him.

After seven years of being entangled in that toxic mess, George finally found someone else. Her name was Annie Atkins, and she had a beauty mark under her left eye, just like mine. Not only that, but her eyebrows, eyes, and figure were also eerily similar to mine. Even our fashion sense was almost identical.

Annie’s social media was filled with pictures of her and George, looking every bit like the perfect couple. She acted like the Larsons’ daughter-in-law already.

Thinking that George had finally moved on, I laughed and congratulated him on finding someone new. However, George then ran his hand over the scar on the back of my neck, his gaze soft.

“Luna, I know you don’t want me to touch you, and you hate attending events with me, but I’ve found a solution!

“I’ll shape her into someone just like you. She’ll take your place in public, doing everything you don’t want to do.”

I reached up to touch that scar too, feeling overwhelmed with despair.

Once George left for work, I shivered and opened my hand, revealing the phone I had stolen earlier. A terrifying thought crossed my mind.

For seven years, no matter what I did to try and escape, George would always appear, furious, and drag me back. Even when I had gotten rid of all the guards and destroyed every hidden camera…

I untied the ropes binding my wrists, took a deep breath, and carefully made my way outside again.

As I got to the backyard, George’s phone buzzed.

“Target is about to exit the safe zone. Should the stun alarm be triggered?”

“Target has exited the safe zone. Stun alarm will be triggered.”

I stared at the phone, and a familiar pain shot through the back of my neck.

Of course.

I had always thought the dizziness and slow movements I experienced whenever I tried to run were the lingering effects of my last suicide attempt. However, I knew now that the scar on my neck was no accident. George had implanted a tracking and stun device in my body.

That was why every time I tried to escape, I would become sluggish and dizzy until George came and dragged me back himself.