Chapter 8

The atmosphere seemed to freeze over, and Sirius' heart twisted painfully. He'd accepted that Maisie didn't love him, thought of him as a substitute, and didn't trust him. However, he never would've expected her to give the order for someone to sully him. The muscular man moved to stand behind him. He could feel the man's breath fanning over the back of his neck—it reeked. Sirius couldn't imagine what he was about to face. He panicked and cried, "You can't do this to me!" Maisie looked at him like he was beneath her. "So you're scared now? You still haven't apologized for pushing Jace." Tears glinted in Jason's eyes, but there wasn't any hint of fear in them. He even had to hide his smile as he said, "It's only sincere if you get on your knees." Sirius pursed his lips tightly but ultimately kneeled. "I'm sorry. I was wrong, and I hope you'll forgive me. Please let me off the hook." The wound on his knee had yet to completely recover, so the pain shot through him and reached his heart. Maisie looked at him indifferently, her arm still around Jason. Then, she smirked. "You might have apologized, but you still need to be taught a lesson. You have to pay for trying to hurt Jace." She made a signal at Brandon, who whispered something to the muscular man. The man bowed and scraped, saying, "Of course, of course. I'll get it done." Sirius' heart sank. He tried to run, but the man grabbed his leg and dragged him back. Then, he moved his grimy hand higher on Sirius' leg. As the door swung shut, Sirius watched as Maisie left without another look back. He also saw the smug grin on Jason's face. His heart was already dead—despair washed over it and drowned it. He only had two hours left in this world. Why did they have to push him into the abyss and make him suffer a fate worse than death? Why did they refuse to let him go? Sirius started struggling in earnest. The man initially wanted to tease him and play with him, but his breathing soon became heavy, and his hands started touching places he shouldn't have. He even slapped Sirius when the latter tried to hurt him. Sirius' head spun from the slap, and he could taste the blood in his mouth. He couldn't get the man off him, no matter how hard he tried. All he could do was beg the system for help. "I've checked with the higher-ups, Sirius. This is an emergency, so we've opened up a special avenue for you. You can leave this world ahead of schedule once this body dies," the system said. Sirius looked at the open window and forced himself to calm down. Then, he suppressed his disgust and humiliation, pretending to be interested in taking things further. "Don't… don't be in such a hurry. I'll take my clothes off myself. I guarantee I'll make you feel good." The man breathed heavily. He loosened his hold on Sirius, seemingly tempted by the latter's words. Sirius pulled his torn clothes together, acting like he was going to take them off as he slowly backed away. When his back pressed against the window sill, he leaned back without hesitation, falling from the 23rd floor. Would it hurt if he were to fall from so high up? He was scared, but he could also feel a sense of relief. No matter how much this landing hurt, it probably meant nothing compared to the pain Maisie had repeatedly made him feel. Thank God it was all going to be over. The wind howled in his ears as he plummeted. He couldn't help noticing that the stars looked particularly bright that night. Sirius was suddenly reminded of the day Maisie had proposed. She'd held him as they'd looked at the stars, and she'd kept calling him her star. She told him he was the brightest and most precious star in her life. Her words were nothing but lies. From this moment on, they would have nothing to do with each other. They would be from different worlds. Just before he crash-landed, he seemed to hear Maisie's bloodcurdling scream. At the same time, he vaguely heard the system announcing that Maisie's affinity level had reached 100% and that Sirius had completed his mission. That couldn't be. Sirius knew he was only imagining things. With a loud bang, the stars disappeared from the sky. Sirius shut his eyes, welcoming the darkness and his new life.