(Triggered Warning: This chapter contains a sex scene and inappropriate words. If you're not comfortable reading it kindly skip it and move to another chapter)

Vic had been standing guard outside Nathan and Crystal’s room all night, and by the time the sun began to rise, he was famished. There hadn’t been any problems all night, and it seemed that everyone was asleep, so he didn’t see any reason not to go downstairs and toast himself a bagel. He was only gone for about three minutes, but when he returned, he immediately regretted going. From the hallway, he could hear what was going on in the bedroom, and he knew right away what had happened: The medication that Christine had given him was not the antipsychotic his boss usually took. Now the other Nathan was in control; the He who called himself Gerald.

Vic let the bagel drop to the floor, and when he barged into the room, he was not surprised by what he saw. “Sir!” he shouted. “Stop it!”

Nathan lifted his head and turned around. Then he looked Vic in the eyes, smirked, and said, “Get the fuck out of here.”

“I won’t!” Vic exclaimed. He charged, but Nathan grabbed him by the arms, threw him across the room, and he hit the wall so hard that the plaster cracked.

“I’ll teach you to mind your own business!” Nathan roared.

Vic’s mouth was covered with blood, and because of the pain, he could barely speak. “You can’t kill her...” he whispered.

“Can’t I?” Nathan laughed. “There is no such word in my vocabulary,” he said. “Nathan...” Vic groaned. “Don’t do this... You’ll regret it...”

“My name is not Nathan!” Nathan shrieked. “It’s Gerald! Got it? Gerald! Gerald! Gerald!” Who the fuck is Gerald? - Crystal wondered.

Her head was spinning, but she was still alive. If not for Vic’s distraction, though, she would have been dead already. She tried to wrap her head around the situation, but nothing seemed to make any sense. There didn’t seem to be a reason for Nathan’s behavior. Before, he had wanted to protect her. Now, though, he was trying to kill her, and he was no longer responding to his own name....

There was a knock at the door, and everyone turned to see who was there. “What do you want?” shouted Vic. “Haven’t you done enough?”

Christine smirked at Vic but ignored his words. She turned to Nathan instead. “Brother!” she shouted. It appeared that she’d been out riding. She dropped her whip on the ground, took off her gloves, and leaned against the door.

Nathan glared at Christine. “Am I your brother?” he asked. He figured that the last thing he needed was kinship or love. Christine smiled devilishly. She wanted Crystal to die, but not like this. She wanted Crystal to suffer more so that she could get back at Nathan for what he did to Zeus. Once he came back to himself, he would realize what he’d done, and it would destroy him. “You are my brother,” she replied. “And I won’t allow you to kill this woman.”

Nathan looked down at Crystal. Her face had turned a ghastly shade of purple, and her body was trembling. She was barely conscious, and he felt nothing for her. “Give me a reason to let her live,” he said.

“My sister-in-law is pregnant with your child,” Christine explained. “She provided you with this woman for you to use as a plaything. She is meant to satisfy your needs if you know what I mean.” Wink. Wink.

Vic stood up suddenly, pointed at Christine, and called her a liar, but his outburst didn’t faze her. She looked him in the eyes without fear, smiled, and took a brown medicine bottle from her trouser pocket.

When Vic saw it, he froze. She had him over a barrel, and he knew it.

Nathan turned to Vic and said, “Is it true?”

Vic bowed his head and said, “It is as she said. The woman is your plaything.”

Nathan began to laugh hysterically when he heard that, and it took him a few minutes to settle down. Finally, he said, “What a coincidence. It just so happens that I’m hungry.”

Christine smiled at Vic, and she ushered him out of the room. Once Nathan was alone with Crystal, he scooped her broken body off the ground and dumped her onto the bed.

‘“Wh-What are y-you g-going to d-do?” Crystal stammered.

“What do you think?” Nathan asked. He pulled his shirt over his head and said, “Since you are my playing, I intend to play with you!”

Crystal was terrified, but in the state that she was in, she could not move. She watched as his hands roamed over her body and stripped her of her clothes. She squeezed her eyes shut as he teased her breasts and tweaked her nipples. Her breasts were soft and plump, and they were two of the few places that remained undamaged. He placed his hand flat on her chest, and then he brought it up to her neck in a way that suggested that strangulation remained on his mind. His hand came away, though. Instead of throttling her, he grabbed her chin and ordered her to open her eyes.

“Wh-what d-do you w-want?” Crystal asked as she forced her lids open.

Nathan scowled at her and said, “Who did this to you?”

Crystal frowned. What game is he playing? - she wondered. “Why should I tell you?” she asked.

Nathan: “Only I can touch my things. All invaders must die!”

Crystal: “Whoever Did this must die?”

Nathan nodded.

Crystal: “Let me go, and I will tell you.”

Instead of letting go, Nathan slapped her across the face. “Don’t get smart with me!” he roared. “Tell me who it was!”

Crystal smiled coldly and said, “You did it!”

“Bullshit!” Without warning, Nathan slapped Crystal’s wet core, and as she shrieked, he forced two of his fingers inside of her. “I told you not to play any games with me,” he said. “Maybe this will teach you to tell the truth.” He increased the pressure to emphasize what he was saying, and then he demanded to know if she’d been with another man.

Crystal had given up on the truth, though. She knew that no matter what she said, he wouldn’t believe her. So, instead of defending herself, she spat a bloody wad of phlegm in his face and said, “No one will ever be loyal to you, and no one will love you. You are unworthy of lo -!” But, unfortunately, her last word was cut off as he began to throttle her again.

A minute passed, and Nathan looked Crystal in the eyes. “What do you have to say for yourself now?”