Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 284: Alarna’s confession

This was her chance, her one shot. She straightened her tattered dress, smoothed the fabric as best she could, and tried to tame her hair. But the strands were greasy, tangled, a train wreck no amount of fussing could fix. Her hands trembled as she tucked them into her lap, nerves gnawing at her.

The door opened. Her heart jolted, hope surging, only to plummet into the abyss when she saw who stepped inside.

It was Jian Ci. He moved with a cold precision, his aura tethered at the edge of eruption, filling the room with suffocating pressure. He sat opposite her, his gaze sharp, unyielding, cutting through her soul like a blade.

Alarna scoffed, though her voice wavered. "Did you come to revel in my pain?"

Jian Ci didn’t answer immediately. His silence was heavier than words, his eyes pinning her in place. Alarna’s bravado faltered. She hated him, hated him with every fiber of her being, but fear coiled in her gut. Especially when he looked at her like this. Just like that night in the cave.

Finally, Jian Ci spoke, his voice low and dangerous. "That night.... What happened?"

Alarna’s breath caught. Jian Ci leaned forward, his aura flaring, violet light flickering at the edges.

Jian Ci was sure his memory was accurate, but he really wanted to hear it from her mouth. He wanted to hear how she faked the entire thing and made him take responsibility for her for four years when it was Yu Xi who endured the torturous pain.

The words hung between them, sharp and merciless. Alarna’s smile vanished, her throat tightening. She realized then that Jian Ci wasn’t here to pity her, or to gloat. He was here for the truth, and he would tear it out of her, no matter how deep she buried it.

Her lips curled into a bitter smile. "What is there to know? I drugged you and then we fucked in—"

She didn’t finish. The table between them shuddered violently, flung aside by the surge of Jian Ci’s violet psychic aura. The force struck her like a hammer, sending her sprawling to the ground. Pain lanced through her body, something cracking as she curled up, gasping.

Jian Ci pushed his hair back, his eyes burning, rage boiling in his veins. He swept the table aside with another flick of his power, clearing the space so he could see her trembling form.

"Get up. Sit."

His voice was cold, commanding.

Alarna’s body shook as she forced herself upright, dragging her chair back beneath her. She sat down, her hands trembling, tears streaking her dirt-stained face.

"Now..." Jian Ci’s gaze cut into her. "Do we have an understanding?"

Alarna shook her head quickly, wiping at her tears.

"You followed me that night," Jian Ci pressed, his jaw tight, his aura simmering at the edge of eruption. "What happened?"

Alarna sniffled, her voice breaking. "I followed you to the cave... thinking I could guide you."

Jian Ci’s teeth clenched, fury rising. "But you attacked me," she whispered, her tough exterior crumbling. "I was so terrified you would kill me... so I ran out of there."

Her words dissolved into sobs. For once, she showed a side of herself no one had seen. An emotional vulnerability she had hidden from everyone except her father. Tears choked her voice as she beat her chest, brittle and desperate.

"I just wanted to be with you. I loved you from the day I set my eyes on you, but you wouldn’t even look at me. You didn’t give me a chance. I would have been so good to you."

But Jian Ci’s expression didn’t soften. He wasn’t moved. Her tears, her pleas, only stoked the fire inside him. She thought she could play the distressed maiden and evoke his sympathy, but Jian Ci was beyond sympathy.

His aura surged again, violet tendrils lashing out. They wrapped around her arm, tightening with merciless force. A sharp crack echoed in the room.

Her scream tore through the interrogation room as she toppled over the chair, clutching her mangled arm. The bone had snapped in three places, jagged edges tearing through her skin, blood oozing down her sleeve. Her face was pale, her body trembling, but her eyes... her eyes burned with hatred even as she cowered before Jian Ci’s overwhelming aura.

"I am not here to hear your excuses," Jian Ci said coldly, his voice like steel. "I want to know what happened that night. That’s it."

Alarna’s breath came in ragged gasps. She wanted to spit venom at him, to curse his name, but she knew she was powerless. If she could go back in time, she would ruin the Jian family from the very beginning, crush them before they ever had the chance to harm her. And Jian Ci—oh, Jian Ci—she would chain him in her basement, keep him bound, and make him hers in every way she desired. These fantasies of revenge were the only thing that kept her from collapsing entirely.

"When I finally stopped running," Alarna whispered through her tears, "I realized I couldn’t leave you there alone. So I came back. But I was afraid to go in... so I waited. I crouched outside all night, waiting and waiting."

Her voice cracked, her body shaking. "But it wasn’t you who came out. It was Yu Xi."

Jian Ci’s heart clenched at the sound of that name.

Alarna’s lips twisted. "He came out a disheveled mess, like he had fought with you. After he left, I went inside... and you were on the ground, sleeping, back to your regular self."

Jian Ci sneered, his aura flaring. "So you saw the opportunity and took it."

Alarna’s eyes glistened with tears, but her voice was defiant. "Tell me, what sane person wouldn’t? Who would pass up the chance to be with the person they love? I wanted you, Jian Ci. I wanted to be with you, and I would do anything to achieve that goal. So I lied. Yes, I lied. To be with you, Ci-ge."

Jian Ci’s fist clenched, his knuckles white, his anger boiling over, uncontainable. His aura pulsed like a storm ready to break.

But Alarna kept talking, her words spilling out, desperate, reckless, knowing each syllable was a dagger twisting deeper into Jian Ci’s fury.

Alarna’s voice trembled, her body shaking as she whispered, "Ci-ge, please... let me go. I only did it because I love you. I was blinded by love and did something stupid."

Jian Ci’s eyes burned with fury. "Shut up."