How to Handle a Yandere Harem - Chapter 31

Elizabeth stood within the fabricated world Monika had created—a realm so eerily calm that it unsettled her deeply. She could sense Adriel’s presence nearby, his familiar energy drawing her toward him like a beacon. With each step, her anticipation grew, her resolve hardening.

(If I can just reach him…) she thought, her hand involuntarily reaching forward, as if his mere proximity could break the tension in her heart.

But as she neared him, something shifted. An invisible force, cold and insidious, began to coil around her body. Her hand, just inches from Adriel’s back, froze in place. Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat. It was as if her body no longer obeyed her will.

“What… is this?” she whispered, her voice faltering as a wave of panic crept into her thoughts. She tried to force her hand forward again, but the unseen force held her back with a strength she had never encountered before.

Adriel stood just within reach, his back to her, unaware of her struggle. Elizabeth clenched her teeth, summoning all her strength to push forward, but her body refused to move.

(Why can’t I… why can’t I speak?) her mind screamed in silent frustration.

Suddenly, Monika’s mocking laughter echoed through the still air, sending a shiver down Elizabeth’s spine. “Oh, dear Elizabeth, did you really think it would be that easy?”

Elizabeth’s gaze snapped to Monika, who now stood nearby, watching her with a smirk of amusement. “You should know better by now. This is my world, after all. Did you think I would just let you walk up to him? How naive.”

Elizabeth’s jaw tightened. “You think this will stop me?” she spat, her voice trembling with barely contained fury.

Monika tilted her head, her smile widening. “Oh, it won’t stop you forever. But for now… I thought you’d like a taste of what it’s like to be helpless. To be unable to reach the one you care about. After all, I’ve been through this… so many times.”

Elizabeth’s eyes flashed with defiance. “I’m not like you.”

Monika laughed again, the sound sharp and grating. “Aren’t you? I was just like you once. So confident. So sure that I could break through the barriers placed around me. But every time I tried to get close to Akuma… every time I reached out to him… this same force would stop me. No matter how much I wanted to talk to him, to reach him, I was always… denied.”

Elizabeth struggled once more, her body trembling with the effort. But the invisible chains tightened, and her strength waned. (No… I have to… I can’t let this stop me…) She gritted her teeth, but her hands remained frozen in place, as if the very air had solidified around her.

Adriel turned slightly, his profile visible for just a moment, and Elizabeth’s heart lurched. He was right there, so close. But the force, stronger than before, pressed against her chest, stealing her breath. She tried to call out to him, to say his name, but her throat tightened, her voice locked away by the unseen power.

Monika stepped closer, her voice dripping with false sympathy. “It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Knowing that no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be able to speak to him, never be able to touch him. That’s how I felt… every single time I tried to reach Akuma. It’s maddening, isn’t it?”

Elizabeth’s frustration boiled over. “Shut up!” she hissed, her voice cracking under the weight of her helplessness. “I’m not you! I won’t be trapped by this… this pathetic game!”

Monika’s expression darkened slightly, though her smile remained. “Oh, but you are trapped. And the more you fight it, the more desperate you’ll become. Just like I did.” She leaned in closer, her voice a whisper that sent a chill down Elizabeth’s spine. “How many times will you try, Elizabeth? How many times before you give up?”

Elizabeth’s breath came in ragged gasps as she fought against the overwhelming force. (I won’t give up… I can’t…)

But the more she struggled, the tighter the invisible chains became. Her arms began to tremble with the effort, and a cold sweat formed on her brow. Monika’s laughter echoed in her ears, a constant reminder of her powerlessness.

“Stop… mocking me…” Elizabeth muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Oh, but it’s so entertaining,” Monika replied, her tone sickly sweet. “Watching you go through the same thing I did… over and over again. Knowing that no matter how much you try, it’ll never be enough. It’s only a matter of time before you start to despair.”

Elizabeth’s eyes burned with anger, but behind them, a flicker of doubt crept into her mind. (What if she’s right? What if… I can never reach him?)

She shook her head, trying to banish the thought. But with each failed attempt to move forward, her resolve began to waver. The force that held her grew heavier, more suffocating, until it felt like she was drowning in her own desperation.

Monika’s voice grew softer, more intimate. “Do you want to see how I did it, Elizabeth? Do you want to know how I… broke free from them?”

Elizabeth’s heart pounded in her chest as she looked up at Monika, her eyes wide with a mix of defiance and fear. “What are you…?”

Monika’s smile was cold, almost cruel. “I can show you, Elizabeth. I can show you how I freed myself from the chains that bound me. Do you want to see?”

The world seemed to freeze, the air thick with tension as Monika’s words hung in the silence. Elizabeth’s mind raced, her thoughts a whirl of confusion and panic.

(What… did she do?)

And then, before Elizabeth could answer, the world around her began to warp, pulling her deeper into the suffocating abyss.