Kiss the Villain

Gareth meets with Declan, still reeling from the news of Kayden’s marriage. He notes how he can still feel Kayden in his blood. Declan tells him that Gareth’s grandfather had been present on the night Cassandra was raped and murdered. Gareth denies it, but he understands now why Kayden had such a visceral reaction when they first met and he thought Gareth was attempting to rape Yulian. 

After telling Gareth that his relationship with Kayden was part of the latter’s revenge, Declan knocks him unconscious, kidnaps him, and tortures him.

When Gareth next wakes, he’s bound in a straitjacket and forced to watch videos of Kayden and Cassandra’s happy life on loop. Gareth reflects on how he has always tended to get too attached to people he likes, like his father, his French teacher, and his first girlfriend, Harper. 

He recalls how Harper had a façade like he does. After her mother’s death, her father considered Harper her mother’s replacement and began to rape her. She later died by suicide, and one night, Gareth killed her father after weeks of planning his revenge. Afterward, he informed his grandfather, who helped cover it up, as he had always been accepting of his grandsons’ violent personalities.