I lock the door behind me and look at the bed, Isabelle is sitting on the edge of the bed, facing me with tears in her eyes.

'I can't believe him.' I say as I walk over to the other side of the bed. 'Leya it's fine, it's not like he can murder his uncle.'

'He could.' She looks me dead in the eyes and starts laughing, wiping her tears away. 'And he should.'

'He said he was going to talk to him about it, so we just have to wait and see what happens.'

My blood is starting to boil again and I hate that Isabelle doesn't want me to talk to Hunter about it. 'He raped you, Isabelle, he deserves to be punished for it.' He deserves death.

'Can we just stop talking about it?' She asks as she lays down on the bed. The bed we're sharing now because she's too scared to sleep alone.

Something I completely understand.

And ever since we moved to this horror house, I would much rather have her here as well.

'I just want to take a long nap and never wake up,' She says, wrapping herself in the blankets, 'ever.'

'I'll allow you to sleep until dinner, okay?' She groans and rolls over, before throwing her thumb in the air. 'Go rest.' I mumble as I head to the door, closing it behind me again.

It's getting pretty late already and I haven't seen anyone today.

'Leya?' Until now.

I turn to Noah and watch as he moves closer to me. 'What's up with Isabelle?'

'She's not feeling well.' A frown forms on his face and he heads to the bedroom door. 'She's trying to sleep so let her be.'

I pull him with me, towards the living room or anywhere else, as long as he's away from Isabelle.

'Where is everyone?' Mostly Hunter since I have a bone to pick with him. 'We're all working on some stuff.'

'Some stuff?' Noah has never been secretive before, so I wonder why he's doing it now. 'Hunter didn't tell me what it is exactly, but he's going to inform all of us later.'

'Where is he?' Noah stops and frowns at me, slowly grinning at my question. 'Why do you want to know?' God...

'Because I want to talk to him about something.' I say sheepishly, smiling at him. 'And why is that?' I want to smack the grin off his face, but that would blow my cover, so I simply roll my eyes and continue my way down the hall.

'He's in his office, but he needs time to-' 'Thanks.' I chime, fastening my pace towards Hunter's office.

'Leya!' I burst through the doors and smile at Hunter, who looks at me with a frown, but a soft smile as well, with his phone against his ear.

I nod, close the door behind me, and take a seat on one of the chairs in front of him.

'One moment.' He mouths, before leaning back in his chair, keeping his eyes on me.

'I told you I needed those pills last month.' He says, his voice a little darker than normal. 'Don't forget who you're talking to here, I already gave you a week extra and they need their pills.'

Pills... He told me about some pills a while back. I don't remember the name, but he said something about a delayed shipment and annoyed associates.

'Just get it to them and make sure to compromise.' He sneers, before hanging up his phone.

He takes a deep breath, as if to calm himself down, and looks at me with a soft smile again.

'You know I love seeing you, little bee, but what are you doing here?' I control my need to cringe at his little nickname for me and smile back.

'I just had some questions.' He nods and leans forward, placing his elbows on the desk and intertwining his fingers. 'If it's about the incident with Isabelle, I'll handle it.'

'Incident with Isabelle?' How the fuck can he- 'Martin was drunk and-' 'That's no excuse for what he did, he should not have touched her.'

'I'll talk to him about it and-' Here goes nothing... 'Did you know I saw him that night?' It takes less than a second for Hunter to pick up what I just said. 'What?'

'I ran into him in the hall before getting to Isabelle.' Something shifts in his eyes and it takes over, something dark and angry. 'He could've done the same thing to me.'

It doesn't matter if he did or didn't. What matters is that he pays for what he did.

'Why didn't you tell me this before?' He asks, slowly rising from his chair. 'I didn't have time to tell you.' And because Isabelle told me not to get involved.

'Noah!' Hunter shouts, making me flinch a little. He has never shouted like that before.

Noah bursts through the door and looks at us. 'What's going on?'

'Get her out of here, I need-' 'I'm not going anywhere until you promise me that you're going to punish your uncle for what he did.' I say, keeping my eyes on Hunter.

Something dark floats through his eyes and it slowly fades away, as I keep looking at him. 'Leya, I don't think now is the right time...'

'It is, trust me.' Martin can not get away with this shit.

'Leya-' 'It's fine.' Hunter mumbles, dropping back in his seat, rubbing his temples. 'Alright.' Noah sighs and leaves again, closing the door behind him.

What the fuck was that about?

'Are you going to do something about it?' I ask, crossing my arms as I look at his face. He's staring at his desk, hopelessly searching for an answer.

An answer he should already have.

Yes.

Because he has to do something about this, he can't let Martin go unpunished for raping Isabelle.

'Look if you're not going to do it, I will. And trust me you won't like it when I do so you better-' I stop when his eyes lock with mine, trying to stand my ground once again.

I'm acting nice, but I cannot drop this with him.

He has to do something about this.

'I don't want him near you, so I'll handle it.' He states, his voice cold again. 'That's the only reason?' He's not doing it for Isabelle, he's doing it because I'm telling him to.

'I was going to handle it regardless.' Yeah right...

'Okay.' I say as I get up from my seat again. 'Wait,' He says, 'Please stay.'

I turn back to him and slowly sit back down, keeping my eyes on him. 'We have to talk about something.'

'We do?' He nods and smiles a little, the tension in his shoulders lessening by the second. 'Yes, I just don't know where to start.'

This better not be a love declaration...

'Little bee, I'm sick.' I look at Hunter for a second and take him all in again. 'You don't look sick.'

'It's a sickness you can't see.' What the fuck is he talking about?

If he's going to say that he's in love, I swear to god, I will- 'I am bipolar.'

I actually want to laugh, because he can't be, but the look on his face says it all. He actually is.

'Bipolar isn't a sickness, it's a disorder.' He sighs deeply and takes a seat across from me. 'That's not what my family thinks.'

'How come I haven't noticed?' I ask, knowing he's going to come up with a bullshit lie.

'Because I can't bring myself to show you that side of me, even though I almost slipped.' He almost slipped? 'I get if you don't believe me, but it's the truth.'

'Explain it to me.' He tilts his head up, finally looking me in the eyes, and nods. 'I was diagnosed when I was five and I have had my ups and downs with it, but I'm managing it now.'

'How?' He shakes his head, a chuckle escaping his lips as he does, and smiles at me. 'It's going to sound insane.'

'Say it.' I say, feeling something rush down my back when he takes a deep breath, trying to avoid my question.

'Ever since I met you at the party, my switches or mood swings, what the fuck you want to call it, have been less intense.' What?

I mean, is he even telling the truth right now? Of course not. There's no way.

That's not how disorders work... Right?

Even if it does, what the fuck does it mean? Because if he thinks it means I'll stay with him forever, he's wrong.

'I know you don't believe a single thing I'm telling you right now, but I swear to you that I'm telling you the truth.'

No way. There's just no way.

'And I still want to give you the world. I still want to give you all you want, everything you desire, because you make me feel normal.'

I take it all in, letting this new information fill the last gaps I have on Hunter Steel.

And everything makes sense now.

'Hunter?' He looks at my lips again, smiling a little. 'Yes?' 'I'm staying with you.'

His frown makes me shift in my seat, but I don't break under his stare. 'Really?'

'I like it here, so I don't see why not?'

'Even if it means you'll probably never see Neveah again?'

'It would be better if I could just talk to her from time to time, but I don't see her taking any actions.' Don't make it too easy for him...

'Really?' I shrug and look away for just a second, trying to convince him that I'm struggling. 'I can't say I won't miss her, but I feel like I need a fresh start.'

'A fresh start?' I nod and smile at him. 'A fresh start that you're going to give me.'

Something lights up in his eyes. He likes the sound of our future together. A future he has been describing a million times by now.

'I'll give you more than a fresh start, Cataleya.' As long as I stay with you...

'I know.' I chime, getting up from my seat before heading to the door. 'I'll see you at dinner.'

'Uhm- Yeah.' He stutters, probably going back to work.

Until it's time for dinner, I hang out with Noah and talk about his feelings for Isabelle again. He keeps asking questions about the incident, but I promised Isabelle that I won't talk to him about it.

When it's time for everyone to meet in the dining room, I head to my bedroom and open the door. Isabelle is still sleeping peacefully, tightly wrapped in the sheets.

'Isabelle! Dinner is ready!' I almost fall when I hear Jade screaming behind me.

I didn't even know she was following me.

She runs to the bed and tries pulling the sheets off of Isabelle, continuing to shout at her, 'Dinner is ready! Dinner is ready!'

She came with us to this manor, since Martin was too busy to notice. I doubt he cares to be honest and I like having her around.

'What do you want, Jade?' Isabelle groans as she turns around, yawning and stretching as far as she can. 'Dinner is ready!' Little Jade repeats, running around again.

Even at this hour, at the end of the day, she's full of energy.

'How about you go and eat already, we'll be there in a few minutes, okay?' Jade looks at me, smiles, and runs out of the room again.

'She's like a little tornado.' Isabelle groans, before getting up from the bed. 'She's adorable.'

Isabelle yawns again, before stumbling to the bathroom to freshen up.

She asked me to not leave her alone for too long, only if she would be sleeping, despite Martin not being here.

And I said yes because I feel bad for her.

'How was your nap?' I ask as she follows me down the hall. 'I needed it to be longer.' She says, smiling a little. 'You can sleep as soon as you ate something.'

She had trouble eating the first few days so she needs to keep her eating schedule up.

'Thank you for helping me with this.' She whispers, smiling at me again. 'That's what friends are for, right?'

Something lights up in her eyes and I feel something warm settle in my heart. Out of everyone here, I think I could consider Isabelle my friend.

'I honestly don't know what I would do without you at this moment.' She grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly, tears welling in her eyes. 'You don't have to do this alone.'

'What are you two talking about?' Ben asks, standing on the opposite side of the hall leading to the dining room. 'Nothing, now fuck off!'

Ben chuckles lightly and heads into the dining room, followed by us.

We all take a seat at the table and look at the food, taking it all in. 'Let's dive in.' Noah chimes, grabbing a few greens and some steak, before indeed diving into his plate.

'You guys are insane.' Isabelle laughs when all the others go insane on the food.

For dessert, there are a bunch of different cakes, baked by Jade and Hunter himself.

I'm a bit hesitant to eat them at first, not because they baked them, but because they don't look fully baked yet.

'Do you like it?' Jade impatiently asks as I take a small bite out of one of the cakes. And all I can do is smile because it's actually not that bad and she's just so cute. 'It's good.'

She squeals and jumps into my arms, before rushing out of the room again.

As soon as most of them are done, they rush out of the room to work on something. They're all being secretive about it, making me wonder what it is even more.

I don't hear the door close when Jade runs out, but keep my eyes on Hunter instead.

'Hello, Cataleya.' A new voice purs from the other side of the room.

Well, not a new voice. I know exactly who it is, but I never thought I would see him again. Let alone here.

'Carter? What are you doing here brother?!' Noah shouts, almost jumping out of his chair out of excitement.

The man, the traitor, keeps his eyes on me.

'What are you doing here, Kai?' His name pours out of my mouth like venom.

All of this happened because he betrayed us, and I don't think he even cares.

I look at the others at the table. Noah seems happy to see his old companion, Isabelle does not seem to give a single shit, and Hunter... Hunter's eyes are pinned on me.

He doesn't care that I caught him staring at me, and slowly looks at his old friend.

I blink a few times, before following his gaze towards Kai.

'Oh right! You two know each other!' Noah shouts at the realization that his friend knows exactly who I am.

Kai probably knows me better than all the others in the room.

'What are you doing here Kai?' Hunter asks calmly. A little cold if you're talking to an old friend.

And then I realize that they might not be friends anymore. For whatever reason. They look at each other, but not with warmth, with hate. Pure ice-cold hate.

'I came here to talk to you.' Kai states, finally turning to Hunter.

'And why is that?' Kai looks at the others in the room, as if he can't say what he wants with us around.

'Spit it out, Kai.' Hunter sneers, almost throwing his glass onto the table.

The dark Hunter, the one that I met on the first night, returns. But again, not towards me. Towards someone else.

Towards his old friend.

'I just wanted to ask if you would be willing to let her go.' What?

'She's free to go as she pleases, but why do you care?' He believes me? If so, he's a lot more ignorant than I thought.

Kai turns back to me and sighs deeply. I can tell that he's trying to communicate with me, without alerting the others, but I have no idea what he's trying to say.

Plus, I don't trust him anymore.

'How have you been?' He asks casually, making me frown.

'I should kill you for your betrayal.' I groan, trying to keep myself from running up to him so I can kick his fucking ass.

'You wouldn't be able to, you're too soft.' My mouth almost falls to the fucking floor when I realize what he just said.

'Oh, you're dead.' Isabelle chuckles and looks at me.

Anger builds up and before I know it, I grab the knife that was lying on the table and rush over to Kai.

I press the blade into his skin, not cutting him just yet.

'Told you!' Noah shouts before laughing hysterically.

His laughter fills the room, but it's not the only thing I hear. My heart is pounding like crazy, but I'm not backing down.

Kai deserves to die. He deserves to die because of what he did and I won't hesitate to-

'Celine's pregnant.' Hunter states, making me look over my shoulder to look at him, before turning back to Kai.

'What?' I breathe, trying to process what he just said.

'Is that true?' I ask, pressing the knife a bit deeper into his skin, cutting him just a little to make him bleed.

And all he does is nod.

I lower my knife, not wanting to leave Celine to raise their kid all alone. Even if that means she ends up with a deadbeat man like Kai.

'A very bold move for you to show up again, Kai.'

I step away from Kai and turn to Hunter, who has clear anger, no rage, in his eyes. 'We have lots to discuss, I need your help.'

'Where have you been this entire time?' Kai inhales sharply, glancing at me and Isabelle, before turning back to Hunter. 'I would rather discuss this in private.'

What the fuck is going on? 'He'll tell us either way and you know it.' Isabelle chimes, rolling her eyes at Kai. He simply shrugs and keeps his eyes on Hunter, waiting for an answer.

Hunter seems to consider it, nodding at Noah, before getting up from his seat. 'Ladies, if you'll excuse us.' Noah chimes as both Hunter and him get up and head to the door. Are you fucking kidding me?

There's a minute of silence as we listen to their footsteps fading down the hall.

'You're playing with him, aren't you?' Isabelle asks as soon as the door closes. For a second, just a second, I think about telling her the truth.

But I feel like I shouldn't be doing that here, so I shrug.

'You should really become an actress because you almost had me fooled.' She says as she gets out of her seat and starts heading to the door as well.

I follow her lead out of the room and head back to my bedroom with her.

'I have a plan and in order for that to work, I need Hunter to trust me.' I whisper as I close the bedroom door behind me.

She looks me up and down and frowns for a second, 'If it involves hurting him, I won't stand for it.' Shit.

'It doesn't, I just need to get out of here without him knowing or coming after me.' I need to get away from all this mafia-related shit and go back to my normal life.

And I feel like I just ruined my chances of escaping by telling Isabelle.

She's his best friend after all and she would never-

'Take me with you.' What? 'When you leave, take me with you or at least come back for me and get me the fuck out of this shit.' Is she for real right now?

'You want to leave?' I ask, moving closer to her. 'You think I want to stay after what happened?'

'What about Hunter?' She takes a shaky breath and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, facing me. 'I just need to get away from all of this.'

'Okay.' I say, gently grabbing her hand. 'I'll take you with me, I promise.'

She jumps into my arms, hugging me tightly, and sniffles softly. 'Thank you.'

I'll make this work... I have to. 'You can go back to sleep now, I'm just going to check up on Jade one last time.' I say as I head back to the door.

It's a thing I do every night. I tuck her in and read her a book, before heading to bed myself and-

'Cataleya.' I cringe at the new but at the same time not new voice behind me, and slowly turn around. 'What are you-'

My voice dies out when I see the pained look on his face and the cut in his lip.

There's blood dripping onto his shirt and he's rubbing his right arm. 'Please tell me you're okay?' What the fuck?

I turn around and keep walking towards Jade's room. 'Just- Leya wait!' He spins me around, keeping his hand on my arm, and I pull away, shoving him to the ground.

He groans. Louder than he should be if he wasn't hurt already.

'What did they do to you?' Barely twenty minutes passed since they left the dining room, so if it was them, they were obviously in a hurry. Why am I even asking?

'You sure got stronger.' He says, rubbing his ass a little. 'What are you doing here, Kai?'

He looks around cautiously, as if to keep others from hearing, before looking back at me.

'I need you to keep up the act.' 'What act?' I ask, acting completely oblivious.

Kai chuckles and steps away when I take a step forward, ready to hit him again. 'Just trust me on this and keep doing what you're doing.'

What the fuck is his deal? 'Trust you?' I ask sarcastically, walking towards Jade's room again. 'Look I know I messed up, but I'm-' I stop in my tracks and almost fall when he walks straight into me.

'I don't think I have it in me to trust you again, so go kiss Hunter's ass for whatever it is you need him, but keep me out of it.' I say as I turn back to him. 'And if you even think about putting Celine in a messed-up situation again, I will slit your fucking throat.'

'I would never-' 'Oh, but you did.' I say, turning away again. 'And stop following me!'

I can hear him sigh deeply behind me as I turn around the corner, and head towards Jade's room.

As soon as I make it up the stairs, I feel something cold rush down my back at the sight of the shadows playing on the floor. They look sinister in some way.

And the candles are surely not bright enough to light everything up.

The door is opened far enough for me to slip through, and I look inside.

Jade's laying in bed, all crawled up against no one other than Hunter Steel. And she looks so cozy.

My breath hitches. The sight of him reading Jade a book is doing things to me. He would be an amazing father...

I lock my eyes with him, shocked that I'm not shaking my head or insulting him however I can.

Because I should. That's what he deserves. My hate. For hurting Neveah the way he did. But no.

No, instead I am laughing with them.

Laughing at his goofy grin, the way he's holding his little cousin, the way his tie isn't done properly, the way his rolled-up sleeves are covered in flour from the baking earlier, and at the silly jokes about our future together.

The future he promises to give me if I stay by his side. Not that that's going to happen...

The book in his hands looks so small and vulnerable, yet so safe and perfect.

He's sweet and kind and treats me with respect. He listens to me.

But he also kills and lies to me, he knows about Isabelle being assaulted and won't do anything about it.

It's making me sick to my stomach that I can even fake being nice to him.

Over the past few months of staying by his side, I've been noticing some patterns. And I think I finally have a clear picture of who Hunter Steel actually is now.

Because he told me the final missing piece.

'Look who's lurking over there.' He chimes as he nods his head my way. Jade yawns, suddenly drained of energy, and smiles at me. 'Come over here, Cat!'

I walk over to the bed and take a seat on the opposite side of Hunter and as soon as I do, she crawls over to me, placing her head on my thighs. 'Can you read me a story?'

'Didn't I just read you one?' Hunter asks, smiling a little. Jade shrugs and looks at me with the cutest look on her face. And I know I won't be able to resist.

'Didn't we read all the books already?' I ask as I brush some hair out of her adorable face. 'Can you make up a story then?'

Hunter chuckles softly and gently pulls Jade more to the middle of us two. 'How about we come up with a story together?' He asks, making Jade smile out of excitement as she tries to get comfortable, moving a bit closer to me again.

'Only if you're up for it.' Hunter says, looking at me. I shrug and make sure Jade's comfortable, pulling the sheets up all the way.

'There once was a princess called Jade.' I can hear her gasp for air as she looks at Hunter, waiting for him to continue. 'Oh, right.' He chuckles and looks at the little girl between us, 'She lived in this big castle and had lots of dogs.'

'Can I get a dog for my birthday?' She looks at me, as if I'm supposed to answer her question, but I keep my eyes on Hunter. 'We'll see about that, okay?'

'Fine.' She mutters, pressing her face against my leg. 'The princess was very happy and wanted to go on an adventure.'

'She went through the forest and survived scary storms and dangerous animals hunting for the most beautiful crown ever.'

Hunter says, ending his sentence by looking at me again.

'See, there was this legend of a crown being on the top of the mountain on the island she lived on.'

'Like us?' She yawns and slowly closes her eyes, making me smile.

Whenever it comes to her, I just can't stop smiling.

'Something like that.' I answer as I look at Hunter again.

He seems mesmerized by the sight of me, looking at Jade, and I have to tilt my head and frown at him for at least five seconds for him to realize that it's his turn.

'Instead of finding the crown, the princess found something else.'

Let's play again...

'She found a beautiful castle with a bunch of nice people inside.' His eyes widen for a split second and I can't stop smiling. He's seriously buying this?

'The princess befriended the people and actually enjoyed her stay, despite her believes.' I doubt Jade picked up anything he just said, but he's not saying it for her.

He's saying it for me.

As some kind of confirmation. As if I haven't told him plenty of times that I'm staying with them. As if he sees through some of my lies.

'And she decided to stay with them, enjoying her life in this castle instead of the lonely one she was in before.'

I was far from lonely before all of this happened. I mean, it was less eventful, that much I can agree with, but I never felt lonely.

I always had Neveah or my mom, even some family in Spain that I could talk to if I really wanted.

But he doesn't need to know that.

'And they lived happily ever after.' I finish for him, looking at the already sleeping Jade on my lap.

'Did you mean it?' He asks, whispering now. I shrug and keep my eyes on Jade, afraid that if I look into his eyes too long, he'll see straight through my lie.

'I did mean some of it.' Lying became so easy the moment I knew what effect I had on him, 'Did you?'

'What part?' He asks. I can feel his eyes on me. 'All of it.'

'I've never lied to you, Cataleya.' I look up, trying to catch a glimpse of something in his eyes, but now he's the one looking away.

I have a hard time believing that...

'Thank you, Hunter.' I say, despite not actually feeling the need to even say it. 'What for?' 'Taking care of me... Even though I've been so mean to you.'

'I didn't expect you to act any differently, but I'm just glad we're past it.' So we're past it... Finally.

'So am I, you're indeed not as bad as I thought you were.' He looks up at me again and smiles. 'I told you.'

I playfully roll my eyes and tilt my head a little, 'Don't get too full of yourself now.'

He chuckles and exhales slowly, looking at my hands for some reason. Let's see if he's not joking around...

'What did you guys talk about?' I can tell that he's kind of hesitant about it, but not because he doesn't want to tell me.

He doesn't know how to tell me without making it seem bad.

'Just some stupid stuff about that doctor, I think her last name is Dufort or something.' Celine...

I know he knows exactly what her name is, meaning he's trying to get something out of me. 'She snitched on me the first day we met.' I say, hating every second of this. 'Really?'

'Mhm,' I nod and look into Hunter's eyes, 'I honestly don't think she liked me that much.'

'Why didn't you kill Kai then?' Right... 'Just because she doesn't like me, does not mean I'll make her a single mother.' He chuckles and Jade shifts a little, making us go silent for a second.

As soon as we realize she's still asleep, he looks at me and smiles. 'You're too good for them anyway.'

'So you're saying I should've killed Kai?' He shrugs at my question and sighs deeply. 'I just wish everything wasn't so complicated all the time.'

'What do you mean?'

'Kai came to ask for help so that we could take his precious Celine Dufort away from France, but he knows that we barely have the necessities or time to go to France and take her.' Take her?

It's making my blood boil that Kai indeed came here to take Celine further into this mess.

'And he has the audacity to ask me for help, after barely helping me in the first place.' Hunter scoffs and looks at me as if I should agree with him, but I have no clue what he's talking about.

And he realizes it sooner than I expected. 'He wouldn't let me take Celine and Neveah without a small fight and he was being a bitch about some of the conditions.'

Wait, what? 'Really?' He nods and chuckles to himself, while I look at Jade again. 'He's insanely in love with her.' Maybe I should talk to him...

Just to see what's up with that.

'So you're not going to help him?' Hunter takes a deep breath and turns around, fully facing me now. 'I told Noah to beat the shit out of him, to teach him a lesson, but I just know he'll ask again tomorrow.'

'And what will your answer be?' If he's going to hunt for Celine, he would have less focus on me and I could probably easily take Isabelle with me. But it could endanger Celine and her child and I don't want that.

She doesn't deserve that, so that won't be an option.

'That depends on what he has to offer.' He admits, looking into my eyes again, 'I don't help people for free.'

'I didn't give you anything for all the things you did for me.' Not that I need him to, because I didn't ask for any of this shit. 'You didn't have to, because you do something for me already, remember?'

Right. The part where I make his switches less intense. 'That's-'

I almost jump up when I hear the door open wide.

'Hunt!' Hunter glares at Noah who stormed into the room.

I quickly look at, the still sleeping, Jade and thank god that he didn't wake her up.

'What is it?' Hunter whispers, obviously annoyed by the fact that he stormed in like an absolute lunatic.

'We have news.'

'About Curzio?' What? My heart skips a beat. My mind immediately taken over by one person and one person only.

Rafael Adriano Curzio.

I haven't heard about him in a while.

It's as if Hunter tried to keep me in the dark, to keep me away from anything Rafael-related.

And I don't know if I should thank him for it or not.

'Yes.' Noah answers softly as he tries to catch his breath.

He obviously ran up the stairs to find us and didn't think about the fact that Jade might be sleeping here.

Hunter climbs out of bed and turns to me. 'I'll be right back, okay?'

I nod and smile at him, hoping that everything will be fine when he returns.

'Make sure she stays asleep, please?' I nod again and rub Jade's back a little.

'I'll be here.' I whisper as he walks towards Noah. They both leave the room, leaving me with sleeping beauty.

One day, I'll have children of my own. I wish they'll be as lovely as Jade is.

She's fierce, adorable, and an absolute bundle of joy.

How come she was produced by such a monster like her father?

So far, I haven't seen Martin that much. We've only spoken a few words to each other, but that man scares me to death.

More than Hunter or Rafael have.

He's cold, ruthless, and harder than anyone I've ever seen.

Rafael and Hunter have fears, they told me all about them. But Martin Steel, Skull, whatever name he goes by.

Martin doesn't have any fears. He's the thing people fear.

'Cataleya?' The door opens a little and Noah peeks his head around the corner. 'Yes?'

He steps into the room and takes a deep breath, before walking over to the bed.

'Hunter wishes to see you.' He does? 'He's in the dining room, waiting for you.'

'What about Jade?' I ask, gently rubbing her back again.

She looks so peaceful, so innocent.

'I'll stay with her. She'll still be here when you get back.'

I nod, get up, and head to the door. The dining room it is...

I walk through the empty, creepy-looking halls of the manor and head to the dining room.

Everything is dark, with nothing but a few lit candles throughout the halls. And those shadows still make my skin crawl for some reason.

As if everything is changing at this moment.

'Hunter?' I hear movement coming from behind the door and wait until he gives me permission to enter.

'In here.'

I open the door and get in, glancing around the dark room to find his frame sitting in a chair.

He's drinking scotch and looks up with tears in his eyes.

'What happened?' I rush over to him and take a seat in the chair next to him.

'Curzio killed my family.' What?

'What? Why?'

A soft chuckle leaves his lips and he points at me.

'Because of you, of course.' No...

'Rafael wouldn't go through all of that for me, trust me.' He chuckles again and gulps down on the last bit of scotch in his glass, before filling it up again.

'Don't play dumb, Cataleya.' He sighs, hurting me just a little. 'I'm not-' 'Cataleya, please don't anger me more.'

I stare into his blue eyes and take in his beauty, almost drowning in his eyes again. 'Please.'

I nod and keep my eyes on him, watching as he continues to drink at least half of the bottle on the table.

He looks like an entirely different Hunter than less than ten minutes ago. An entirely different person.

'I need to come up with a plan.' He says. More to himself than to me. 'So maybe I should get revenge and kill his cousin?' Leonardo?

'I heard he's in England as well.' He is? I keep my facial expression as straight as I can and cross my arms. 'Killing Leonardo won't help. It will only make it worse.'

I can't let him kill Leon.

He snickers and brings the glass bottle to his lips, chugging it like an alcoholic.

'Fuck it, right?' No.

He sighs and wipes his tears away, making me wonder why Rafael decided to kill his family.

It can't be because of me. He doesn't care.

It's probably because of the fact that he broke into his house, into his territory.

'I mean, I have something he wants most in the world.' Hunter smirks.

He nods at my confusion and points at me before taking another sip from the bottle. 'You, of course.'

'He doesn't care about me like that, trust me.'

He places the glass bottle on the table and sighs deeply, sounding a little disappointed if you ask me.

'Of course he does. He's been after you ever since I got you.' What? 'I just didn't tell you, why else did you think we kept moving?'

'But-' 'Why else do you think we moved to his weakest place in Europe?' Hunter's voice sounds mocking.

It hits me like a truck, all this new information is too much at once.

Rafael was looking for me all along. He wants me back. He's trying. He's finally fucking trying.

'Maybe I should pay him back?' Hunter's voice turns dark all of a sudden, scaring me just a little.

'What?' He nods and jumps up from his chair. 'Maybe I should.'

Something shifts in the air. Something dark and inhuman, something that I don't like. Not at all.

'Hunter what are you-' He rushes over to me, pressing me flat on the table in front of me.

I scream before he presses his hand onto my mouth, trying to keep me silent so I won't be waking everyone up.

'Maybe I fucking should.' He grins as he turns me around to face him.

He keeps me on my back as he hovers over me, keeping me in place by pinning my hands against the table.

'You promised you wouldn't hurt me!' I shout as I try kicking him off of me.

It's no use. We both know it. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep trying.

'Circumstances changed.'

'Hunter please!' I try hitting him, but he's faster.

I've never seen him like this. It's as if he's a little version of his uncle, angry and ready to kill.

He looks into my eyes and gasps for air before climbing off of me.

He's shocked by his own deeds and throws the glass bottle against the wall, letting it shatter across the room.

I jump up and run to the other side of the room, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

'I'm sorry- I-' 'Fuck you!' I sneer, before running to the door. He opens his mouth, but simply sighs and lets me go.

I run down the hall and almost trip over my own feet, feeling the urge to get the fuck out of here right now.

I feel like I can't breathe.

I need to get out. And I do.

I rush towards the front door and throw open the door, running into the woods because it's the only place I can go.

The wind is cold, but my body is on fire, fear taking over.

I almost trip again and lean against a big tree in the middle of the forest.

I need time to process this.

They are looking for me.

Not just Neveah, not just Leon, but Rio as well.

That sick fuck.

I kept comparing them. I'm such an idiot...

Hunter was different from Rio and I thought that it meant he was a nice guy, some kind of savior.

But I was wrong. He's worse.

He might act all nice and innocent, but he's way worse than Rio could ever be.

Rio didn't fake anything. He didn't hide his anger like Hunter did. He has always been honest with his problems, instead of sugar coating them like Hunter did.

He would never scare me like Hunter just did.

'Cataleya!' Shit. I should've kept running. 'Cataleya, please!'

There's no way I'll get out of this shit.

But I can't. I can't go back in there. He'll lock me up, do whatever it is he wants to take revenge on Rio and-

'I'm sorry! Please forgive me!' No. No. No!

'Please, I'm sorry!' He's closer than I thought and I try to stay as silent as possible in hopes that he'll just walk past me.

I promised Isabelle I would get her out. I promised her I would.

'Forgive me, please!' I almost break down in tears, not because I care, but because Hunter scares me to death.

I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here right now.

'I lost control.' He mutters, barely loud enough over the wind brustling through the trees. 'Please forgive me...'

I take a deep breath and look around, trying to see where he's standing exactly. 'Leya, please come back inside.'

There's no way I'll survive, I barely have a clue where we are. But I can't just go back in there.

To think that I tried getting to know him better and better, especially after our conversation earlier today.

I felt like I knew everything about him, but he still seems like a complete mystery now. He'll always be a mystery.

'I had no control and it won't happen again.'

'How do I know you're not lying?' I ask as I step away from the tree, hearing some branches break as he turns towards me.

'Here you are-' He tries to move closer, but I take a big step backward, keeping my eyes on him.

'You scared the shit out of me.' You still do. But I've been so good at acting, there's no way I can stop now.

'I never meant to scare you.' I bet you didn't... Piece of shit...

'I'm so sorry.' He repeats, slowly taking a step forward, 'I'm so fucking sorry.'

'It's okay, you-' I have to catch my breath, my heart beating like crazy, almost shooting out of my chest, 'you lost control.'

'I'm so sorry.' He repeats with tears in his eyes.

It's the fact that he fears himself right now, he fears himself with me around, that makes me feel a bit calmer than I should be.

'It's okay,' He shakes his head as I force myself to take a step forward, hating myself for touching his arm, 'I told you, I already made my decision.'

He looks into my eyes as I place my hand on his jaw, feeling something cold run up my spine.

I cringe at myself for even breathing near him, but I have to do this.

'I'm with you.'

----

A/N: Another (kinda) cliffhanger! What do you guys think will happen next?

I want to thank you guys for being patient with me and supporting me with this story! I can't believe how much has changed since I started Crisis of Desire and it's all thanks to you guys! <3

I hope you have an amazing day/night and I hope to see you in the next chapter!