{TRIGGER WARNING! TRIGGERING CONTENT! DO NOT READ IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, THANK YOU! Otherwise, enjoy!}



Hunter walks over to me and leans over the back of my chair, smiling devilishly. 'There's something I have to tell you.'

I hate that he's standing so close to me, but contain the urge to throw up and smile.

'This early in the morning?' I ask, even though it's almost past two in the afternoon.

'Are you kidding me?' Noah asks, taking a seat across from me, 'We trained for three hours straight and you took a nap, how is it still supposed to be morning?'

'She didn't nap, we just hung out in her room.' Isabelle says, looking at the boys strangely. 'But nobody's talking to you.' Oh god...

'Noah just shut up.' I say, staring him dead in the eyes.

He's still pissed about us not telling him what happened between Isabelle and Skull, but I won't be the one to tell him.

And Isabelle has been ignoring him whenever he asked, so this is how he's acting towards her.

'I wasn't talking to either of you, so could you please give us a moment.' Hunter says, glaring at Isabelle and Noah.

They both sigh deeply and leave the room even though they just walked in, leaving me all alone with Hunter.

No... I told Isabelle about what happened and she almost ran to Hunter's room the moment I told her.

But I told her I'll keep up the act for just a little while longer.

At least until we're certain there's a gap between the guards at night.

Because yes, he hired guards.

They roam around every night, but I think there's a gap between the shifts.

I've been watching them for a few nights and I realized that they sometimes come in late around midnight.

Soon we'll leave around that time. If we're certain that they miss their shift.

'You look tense.' He says, taking a seat next to me.

I keep my eyes on him and shake my head, smiling a little. 'Noah just wrecked me with training today.'

'Well, then you might want to stay in your room for the rest of the day.' He says, looking deep into my eyes. 'And why is that?'

Just as he's about to answer, the front door slams open, the sound of it echoing through the halls.

What the fuck is that? I get up from my seat and watch as Hunter does the same, instantly walking over to me to somehow protect me from whatever it is that's going on.

'Leya you need to-' The door to the dining room bursts open and I stumble back, actually wanting to hide behind Hunter. 'She needs to talk to me.'

It's Martin Steel.

'No, she does not.' All the blood in my body runs cold when Martin looks directly at me, his crusty lips curling up just a little. 'I feel like she does.'

Hunter takes a deep breath as he turns around to face me. 'Please go to your room.'

I don't even respond and simply slip past him and head to the door. As I almost rush past Martin, I can feel his hand on my wrist as he pulls me back, making my arm hurt like hell as he keeps me in place.

'She's not going anywhere until I get to talk to her.' His grip is tightening and it's hurting more and more by the second.

Hunter shakes his head and takes a step forward, reaching for something in his back pocket. 'Let go of her-' 'Or what? You'll shoot me?'

Within seconds Hunter has his gun pointed at Martin, who instantly lets go of me. I step back and keep my eyes on both of them as I head to the hall, ready to run to Isabelle and lock us up in a room.

Tonight we're leaving.

'Leya?' I almost snap around to hit whoever it is, and I should, but I need to get to Isabelle first.

'Leya, why are you in such a hurry?' Kai asks as he trails behind me. 'Have you seen Isabelle?' 'She's at your room, but what's going on.'

'Go and see for yourself.' I say as I turn to head to my own room.

At some point, Kai stopped following me, because when I make it to my room, he's not around.

'Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?' Isabelle asks, looking at me all worried and shit. Because I have...

'Martin's here.' Her eyes widen and she stumbles back, her back clashing against the bedframe.

'Wh- what do you mean?' She asks, trying to steady herself, 'Hunter didn't say an-anything about that.'

'He wants to talk to me and Hunter told me to go to my room.' She shakes her head in disbelief, trying to process what just happened.

It's as if she's replaying that night in her head. Time and time again.

'Isabelle, listen to me.' Her mind is all over the place and I can tell she's freaking out too much to process what I'm about to say, but I have to tell her.

'I need you to grab an extra set of clothes when you sleep in my room tonight.' I mumble as I walk over to her, grabbing her hands in mine.

She's shaking. God...

'Wh- Why? What's- I don't understand.' I nod and take a deep breath, trying to calm down in hopes of her mirroring me in some ways.

'We're leaving tonight.' It takes a few seconds for it to click, but when it does, she nods, ready to leave as we speak.

There's just no way we will get out right now, there are too many people outside.

'Okay, I'll just-' A knock on the door makes both of us go silent.

Whoever is on the other side of the door knocks again, a little more annoyed this time. 'Who is it?'

'Someone who wants to see you just as much as you want to see them.' I recognize the emotionless voice and head closer to the door.

'What do you want Jordan?' He chuckles darkly but doesn't move. 'Get out and come with me.'

'Why would I do that?' Isabelle stays by the bed, keeping her eyes on me. 'Because Hunter wants to speak to you.'

I don't care about what he wants.

'Tell him to come and get me himself.' Isabelle shakes her head and walks over to me, grabbing my hand. 'You should go, if he gets here he'll ask more questions.'Shit.

I know she's right and I know Hunter won't let anything happen to me. I mean, he could still kill me, but I doubt he will. He was about to shoot Martin... 'Okay.'

As I open the door, I see Jordan standing at the other side of the hall, ready to walk away already.

'I'm coming.' He rolls his eyes and heads down the stairs, towards the main hall.

When I head back to the dining room, Jordan stops me and shakes his head, 'He's in the basement.' What?

Hunter didn't want me in the basement before, it would be too dark for me according to him, so why would he ask to meet me there?

'Come on.' Jordan says, getting a little impatient, as he opens a few doors and waits for me to follow.

I stay a few steps behind, ready to run if he tries to pull anything.

'In there.' He points at a closed metal door and smiles at me. 'Good luck.' What?

The door opens and Hunter looks at me with a faint smile on his lips. 'Leya, I wanted to tell you, I swear.'

I step through the door, and look inside, realizing that it's just a dark and empty room.

'What's going on?' I don't care about the fact that he didn't tell me that Martin was coming today, I truly don't.

I just want to know what the fuck is going on.

'He told me that he was coming over soon, but I didn't expect him to get here today.' He continues, trying to convince me of his innocence.

'I don't care about any of that, what did you want to talk to me about?'

'You- You don't care?' Shit... He's second-guessing me already. 'I'm angry, of course, but I need to get back to Isabelle.'

'You should stay away from Isabelle while Martin's here.' What? 'Why?' I ask as if I can't put two and two together.

But Hunter wouldn't go that far, right? He wouldn't let Isabelle go through that shit again, right?

'He's not done with her yet.' He mutters, looking at the ground, ashamed he even said a thing. 'What-' Before I finish my sentence, I rush to the door, which is closed, and pull it open.

It's the heaviest shit ever and it takes me a while to open it. But when I finally do, I bump into something hard.

Or rather someone hard.

'Good to run into you.' I stumble back and almost hide behind Hunter again.

Almost.

'I was just leaving.' I say, trying to get to the door again, but he's faster and closes the door right behind him. 'I don't think so.'

I turn to Hunter, waiting for him to say something, but he's too focused on glaring at Martin to even acknowledge me.

'Did you know that she's Federico Lorence's daughter?' My eyes almost widen at Martin's words, but I somehow manage to stay cool.

'I did.' Hunter answers coldly, trying to get closer to us. 'And did you know that she's supposed to produce heirs for Jayson Nadora?'

Shit... 'I did not.' He answers in the same tone as before, unbothered and cold. 'But he's not getting her since she doesn't want to be with him.'

Skull or Martin, whatever he goes by, starts smiling at me. 'Don't you, Cataleya?'

I never hated my name more than this moment. It's just the way he says it, it makes my skin crawl in the worst ways possible.

And I hate every second of it.

'I don't even know who he is.' I haven't met him in person yet. And I doubt that, even after meeting him, I want to bear his children.

'That doesn't answer my question.' It feels like my heart is about to shoot out of my chest, straight at Skull's feet. 'She doesn't have to answer your question.'

In one swift move, Skull turns around, facing his nephew. 'You like her that much to talk to me like this?'

'This has nothing to do with me liking her.' But it does...

Because he doesn't like Isabelle enough to protect her from him.

'I'm going to give you two options, Hunter.' Skull says, grinning from ear to ear.

Just the look on his face is making my skin crawl.

'Push her in.' The metal doors screech as they open and Jade stumbles inside, instantly falling to her knees.

What the fuck is all of this?

I crouch down to her, helping her back up as she cries onto my chest. 'What-' She's all bruised up, barely breathing, and looks at me with tears in her eyes. 'It hurts.' What the fuck?

This has to be a dream. There's no way this is actually happening. She's just fine...

'Martin, what the hell did you do to her?' Hunter asks, his voice dark and cold again.

This is the other Hunter. The Hunter he's trying to hide from me because he's afraid of what I might think or do because of it.

But right now I want him to explode.

Because it's clear that Skull did this. He beat up his own daughter. 'I'm doing something I should've done a long time ago.' Skull says, stepping closer to Hunter, while I scan for any visible bleeding injuries.

No blood, just bruises. And I can tell she's having a hard time catching her breath.

'She's you're daughter!' Hunter shouts at him, stepping closer as well.

They're face to face, one of them angrier than ever before, while the other just stands there nonchalantly, almost smiling at what he did.

'You have two options,' Skull continues, not giving a single fuck about Hunter's anger. 'You either kill her...' My heart drops and I almost let go of Jade.

'Or you kill her,' He points his crusty-looking finger at me and I almost throw up, 'And walk out with one of them.' What?

I stare at Hunter, in awe that he's even thinking about it, and look at Martin again.

'You can only walk out with one of them.' Martin says, smiling widely as he heads back to the door. 'You have ten minutes.'

'He's not going to do either of those things!' I sneer, almost breaking at Jade's cries in my arms.

She's in pain. So much pain.

Martin simply turns around, looks at me for a while, before heading back out the door. Hunter doesn't make it in time to keep the door open and I curse at him for standing still too long.

'She needs to see a doctor, something is wrong with her breathing.' I say, trying to see if there's something I can do.

Hunter moves closer and I automatically flinch, making him frown.

I know he cares about both of us, but he's not in his right mind right now.

'Please just- Open the door, she needs medical help.' I say, keeping her close to me.

'Let me help her.' I shake my head at him and step even further away while Jade takes another painful breath. 'Kill me and take her to a doctor.'

'I'm not going to kill you, Leya.' My heart sinks to the floor and I wish I could pull a gun out of nowhere and shoot every Steel except Jade.

'Hunter, don't you fucking dare.' I warn, ready to strangle him any second now. 'Cataleya, I have to.'

My breath hitches in the back of my throat and I feel the bile coming up as well. I'm ready to throw up any second now. 'How can you- She's your cousin.'

If there's one thing I know, you don't betray or kill family.

'You should've shot him.' I say, pointing at the door.

He nods, ashamed that he didn't, and looks at Jade, whose breathing is getting heavier and heavier by the second. 'Just kill me and take her to the hospital, please.'

I can't believe I was ever going to beg him for anything, but here I am.

'Cataleya...' I shake my head and try to keep myself as steady as I can. 'She's too young to die, just kill me.'

'You're young as well.' I should've killed him. I should've killed all of them before.

'Hunter, you can't even be thinking about this!' I sneer, realizing he's a lot closer than I thought he was.

He rips Jade out of my arms and literally throws her across the room, her body flopping down instantly, and it takes me a few seconds to move again.

I rush over to her and pull her closer, making sure Hunter stays away from her this time.

But he clearly isn't done yet and tries to push me to the side.

'Hunter!' It's as if he's not here. As if he's not in control at all. 'Stop!' I continue, but it's no use.

He's going to kill her. If it's by pushing me on her or choking her himself, he's going to kill her and keep me alive.

He's going to kill her, his own blood, to keep me with him.

'I'm sorry Leya.' He presses me against Jade, basically using me to suffocate her, and I try pushing him off.

'No-' Tears form in my eyes as I feel my heart tearing a little, 'Stop, please!' I've never felt this weak in my entire life because I'm not strong enough to push him off.

As if training for those two months didn't do anything.

'Hunter!' I feel his hand go to my waist as he picks me up and shoves me to the other side of the room, before hitting Jade just once.

But he hits her so hard that her head clashes against the wall and I think I can hear her skull break at the collision.

And just like that, the wheezing, the cries, the whimpers, the hazy sound coming from her throat, everything just stops.

I can feel Hunter's eyes on me, but I don't dare to look him in the eyes, afraid of what I might see, and just sit there, staring at Jade's body.

She's dead.

A sweet girl who didn't do anything wrong is dead.

'I had no choice.' Hunter says as he moves over to me. I crawl away and ready myself for a fight.

Because I know there will be one.

'Stay away from me!' I sneer as I can already feel the numbness go through my body.

It's a familiar feeling I know all too well.

A feeling I've been trying to hide all this time because I thought I figured everything out.

Fear.

Pure and honest fear.

'Leya, you have to-' I smack Hunter across his face as he tries to reach for me again, and jump to my feet, trying to pull the door open again.

I can't stay in this room with him. I can't stay anywhere near him ever again.

'Leya!' He pulls me back, against his chest, and I push him with all my might, barely making him flinch. 'Let go of me!'

He doesn't.

Of course, he doesn't.

'Understand-' 'You murdered her! There's nothing to understand, let go of me!' He stays close, keeping me tightly against his chest as the door opens, almost slamming against me.

Martin steps inside, looks at Jade, and nods impressed. 'Glad that's over.'

'What the fuck is wrong with you!?' I shout, not caring about what it might do to me in the end.

They killed her... Not just Hunter. They both did.

I knew Martin didn't care about Jade that much, but this is too much.

His daughter is dead and he doesn't even fucking care.

'Get her to her room so we can talk.' Martin says, making me flinch in Hunter's arms.

I'm not staying here... I'm not staying here...

'Now.' He says, making Hunter hold onto me even tighter.

My legs go numb and I stay right where I am, almost tumbling down, but Hunter pulls me through the hall.

Just as we pass the front door and head to the stairs, I gain some control again, and I push him away, dropping to my knees.

I wish I didn't care. I wish I didn't care about Jade or Isabelle, so that I could just run out of this house right now.

'Come with me.' He says as if nothing happened at all. As if he didn't just kill his own cousin. 'No-'

He sighs deeply and pulls me closer, throwing me over his shoulder as if it's nothing new.

'Help! Anyone help!' I don't know why I'm even trying since they're all on his side. 'Help me!'

'Noah is out training with Kai, so he won't come and save you now.' No...

I know Noah would be the only person who wouldn't turn the other way, but he's not here.

I kick at him and try to get him to drop me, but he's made out of steel and doesn't fucking budge.

'Hunter, let go of me!'

'You know I won't hurt you, so please be quiet.' He groans, walking up the stairs with me on his shoulder.

I don't care if I would fall and break an arm right now, I need to get away from this psycho.

But he doesn't drop me and makes his way to my bedroom, which is empty.

Where the fuck did Isabelle go to?

When he finally puts me on the ground again, I try to run to the door, but he's standing over there.

I make my way to the windows and throw them open to look outside.

It's at least fourteen feet high, there's no way I'll survive that drop without breaking anything, but I'm willing to risk it.

'Don't even think about it.' Hunter says desperately, 'you won't get far.'

He's right about that, but I have to try.

Flashbacks of something similar go through my mind, but that was entirely different.

Rio didn't kill anyone back then.

'Listen, Leya.' I can hear the desperation in his voice, and I hate it.

I hate him.

'Please, look at me.' I slowly turn around, staying by the window to jump out if I have to. 'Let me go.'

He looks away again, taking a deep breath. 'You've stayed for so long, why leave now?'

'You murdered Jade.' I say, my hands shaking like crazy. 'I had no choice. It was you or her...'

Are you fucking kidding me? I can't believe my ears or eyes, because he looks so calm about it.

The fact that I want to leave now is affecting him more than the fact that he just murdered his little cousin.

'Did you expect me to kill you?' I almost throw up all over the place as my stomach drops again. 'You're sick.'

He would pick me over anyone, including his own blood. His own little innocent cousin.

'She was just a kid!' I shout, trying to create as much distance between us because Hunter scares the shit out of me. 'She would've died anyway.'

'You just needed to get her to the hospital! She had a whole life ahead of her!'

He shakes his head and takes a step forward. 'Don't you fucking dare.' Hunter sighs and stays right where he's standing.

'He punctured her lungs, she wasn't going to make it Cataleya.' I lean against the wall for support, feeling like I'm either going to blackout or throw up any second now.

'Let me go, please.' I beg for the last time, wanting to run out of here and just live in the forest to get rid of him. 'I can't do that, Cataleya.'

No... Every time we've talked about me leaving, he said he was fine with it. As long as it was just me.

But not anymore.

'You promised.' He stares at me and I flinch because of the look in his eyes. Shit.

'I know.' He says, no ounce of regret in his voice.

'You promised we would be happy, that you wouldn't scare me, that you-' my breath hitches in the back of my throat, and I step back until my back meets the cold wall behind me.

'I truly wanted you- us to be happy Cataleya.'

'You didn't keep your promises.' I sneer, unable to keep my anger in anymore.

I want to hurt him so much, but I don't dare go near him.

Hunter scares me to death. Especially after what he did to Jade.

'I know.'

I hate that he doesn't seem fazed at all. He does not give a single fuck about the fact that he killed Jade.

'Why?' A tear escapes.

I'm glad that I didn't tell Hunter anything about the way I felt. About the way his words made me think that there was even the slightest possibility of me being happy with him as a friend.

Because all of that is gone now. Vanished when said he was killing her and keeping me.

'Because you took too long.' He mumbles.

His eyes meet mine and I want to shout at him.

He's lying.

But I couldn't care less.

It was stupid of me to believe him in the first place, to believe that he would give me the world, just like he said.

Because in less than three seconds, three miserable seconds, he took the most important thing from me.

My freedom.

Because I had it. I had it, to a certain extent, but I had it.

And now it's gone.

All of it is gone.

'Just stay here, I'll come back to talk later.' I shake my head as he heads for the door and rush after him, hating the fact that he's suddenly able to react faster than before and slam against the locked door.

He locked me in.

'Hunter! Open this door!' I can hear his footsteps fade away and pull on the handle, again and again, waiting for something to break or change, but nothing happens.

I head back to the window and look outside, feeling my legs go weak again, and almost falling down to my knees.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

This can't happen again, I need to get the fuck out.

Silence. Just silence. No more running Jade, screaming to play princess. Just silence. No...

I can't help but cry at the thought of all she could've accomplished if she was given the chance to live...

She's gone.

She's gone because Hunter didn't want to lose me.

He killed her.

'Cataleya?' I hear the familiar voice from down the hall and immediately run towards the door. 'Noah!'

'What's going on?' He sounds confused, but I'm not buying it. 'Open the door!'

'I don't have the key, but what's going on? Where's Isabelle?' Isabelle... Shit.

If Martin went to her room, she- 'Go to her right now and do not leave her side!'

'But what about-' 'I'll be fine, just go!' He stays silent for a while, but doesn't move either. 'Noah!'

'I'll go, just... I'll see what I can do, okay?'

'Just keep Martin away from her even if it's the last thing you do!' I shout, looking around the room to see if there's anything I could use as a weapon.

'Shouldn't I open this door first?' God... I take a deep breath, trying to set myself straight for just a second, but it's all too much. 'He raped her, so don't you dare leave them alone!'

I know I told her I wouldn't say a thing, but he's leaving me no choice.

Without looking at him, I can tell Noah is shocked. But I need him to get to Isabelle right now.

'Help her, Noah.' Please...

'I'll be back for you later, I promise.' He mutters as his voice fades down the hall.

Something washes over me, but it's not enough for the fear to disappear.

I stay by the door and take a seat on the floor, trying to calm down again.

Nothing seems to work.

And it's not until I start thinking about a certain someone, that I'm able to calm myself down again.

Breathe... Can you breathe for me, just breathe...

His words keep repeating in my head and like some miracle, it works.

I hate him for it, but it works.

After what feels like days I hear the door unlock and I move to the other side of the room, back to the window.

The door slowly opens and I look at the vague frame forming there because of the light shining in.

I shouldn't be wasting time just sitting here. I should be running for my life now that the door is finally open. But I can't.

'Cataleya.' I flinch at the sound of my name and try to match the voice to a face.

As soon as it clicks, as soon as I realize who I'm talking to, I snap.

Kai...

I jump to my feet and dry my face, glaring at the door.

He's not at the door anymore, but still in my way.

I push my fear aside and look at him, he's all bruised up again.

As if training with Noah wasn't training at all. As if it was just simply a way to beat him up.

'Are you okay?' He asks, slowly walking closer to me.

'Why shouldn't I be?'

I don't have to tell him shit. I don't have to let him see that I am scared shitless, even though it's crystal clear already.

He tilts his head and takes another step forward, almost clearing a path towards the door.

If I'm quick enough, I could slip through.

'What do you want?' It's no use asking, but I just need him to take one more step so that I can get out of this room.

Yet, he stays put. As if he's nailed to the fucking floor.

'Listen Leya.' He turns to the still open door and sighs deeply. 'I need you to listen carefully.'

Why is he- He rushes to the door and closes it gently, before turning back to me. 'What are you doing?'

'You need to act like you're fine, like nothing is going on, like you love Hunter for protecting you all this time.' What?

He must be insane if he thinks I'll be able to even look at Hunter after what he did.

'Why would I do that?'

He looks at the door, listening for footsteps, but there are none. 'Neveah.'

Neveah?

What the hell does she have to do with any of this.

'From now on wear only black, hair up and do not sit near the windows at dinner.' What?

I want to ask more, but I shouldn't even be talking to him.

He's the reason all of this happened in the first place.

'Why should I believe a word coming out of your mouth right now?'

He takes a deep breath, looks at the door, and turns back to me with his hands hanging by his side.

'I'm trying to help you here.' He whispers annoyedly. As if that helps with the rage I feel towards him.

But something's different. He's more... Genuine this time?

I'm still not fully trusting it though. He seemed genuine last time, and look where that got us.

'Why?' He steps closer, clearing a path to the closed door.

I should be leaving, running for my life, hoping that I'll be faster. But I want to know what it is he has to say.

'Because I want you to meet Leroy, to be a part of his life.'

My heart stops for a second. Leroy...Celine was pregnant...

They have a son now.

He wants me to meet his son. He wants me to be a part of their child's life.

He wants to help.

'What do I do?' I ask, not needing to know anything else about his motifs.

'You need to put on a show Cataleya, can you do that?'

I shake my head. There's no way I'll be able to be in the same room as Hunter or Martin after what he did to Jade.

'I can't.' I can hear her cries echo through my mind again. She was so innocent, yet he took her life. 'I can't.'

'You have to because I'm not sure when they'll get here.'

They... 'Neveah and Leon?' 'The other one.' He mumbles, swiftly walking towards my closet.

The other one... Is he talking about Rafael?

Rafael wants me back. He's fighting to get me back.

He rummages through my clothes and nods.

'Wear black, hair in a bun, and sit as far from the windows as possible. I'll take care of the rest.'

He looks at me and waits for me to respond, but I can't do it.

I can't go into a room and have dinner with these monsters. There's no way I'll survive an entire dinner without wanting to puke my guts out.

'Kai, I can't-' 'Yes, you can. If anyone can do it, it's you.' He states, trying to keep his voice down so that we won't get caught.

'You have to if you want to get out of here, so please-' I nod and sit on the bed again, keeping my eyes on his. 'I'll try.'

That's all I can do.

Try.

And I will.

I'll try to ignore the fact that I have to sit in a room with monsters. Two monsters who killed their family.

One a daughter, the other a cousin he loved as if it was his own daughter. Martin didn't care for Jade, he never would, that's why he told Hunter to kill her if he wanted me to stay alive.

But Hunter cared. He cared about Jade as if she was his own daughter, that's how she made it through.

Or so I thought.

Because he still killed her. He killed her because he's sick.

And I have to act like I care for him.

Impossible...

But I'll try.

If I want to make it out of here, I have to.

'Anything else?' I ask as I try to get my shit together again.

Faking it, especially after what happened today, will be hard. But it will be my only way out.

'Scream as if you want me out of your room.' What?

Kai moves closer and places his hand on my shoulder, making me flinch and move back. 'Don't touch me.'

He might be helping me right now, but I don't like to be touched at all.

'Scream at me.' He places both hands on my shoulder and I push him off. 'Get out of my room!'

I see what he's trying to do and try shoving him towards the door. 'Scream for Hunter.'

My mind blocks the words from flowing out, and it takes me a few seconds to get it out, 'Hunter!'

I don't want to see him. Not now, not ever again.

But it's the only way out.

So I'll take it.

'Hunter! Help me!' I shout as I push Kai back to the door.

The door swings open and Hunter runs inside, his eyes roam around the room and when he spots Kai standing this close to me, he tenses.

'Get the fuck away from her.' He states, his voice cold again.

Kai raises his hands and backs out through the door, not even looking at me as he leaves.

'Are you okay?' I shake my head and can feel my legs trembling again.

'I can't do this.' I tremble, more to myself, hating that I'm not able to do something this simple, 'I just can't.'

'No one is going to hurt you, Leya.' Hunter steps closer and I fight the urge to flinch, staying right where I am. 'I won't let anyone hurt you.'

I don't care if anyone else would hurt me right now. I just need to get the fuck away from Hunter Steel.

'I know.' I mumble, still not looking at him in fear of breaking entirely.

I somehow need to convince him that it's fine. That I'm fine with what just happened.

'Hunter, I'm sorry.' I tremble, placing my hand on his hard chest.

His heart beats against the palm of my hand, and it's the only thing that makes me feel like he's human.

And it helps with the fear.

More than I thought it would.

'You killed her because of your love for me and I see that now.' He frowns in disbelief, looking at me. 'You didn't have a choice.'

I say, pressing myself even more against him.

'I'm sorry.' I could throw up any second now. 'I was just so scared.'

Hunter gently pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around me, before pressing his head against mine.

'It's okay, you don't have to be scared.'

'I just-' 'No one is going to hurt you, Leya.' He says, lifting my face up to meet his gaze. 'You don't have to be scared of anyone.'

Anyone but you...

'Cataleya, no one will hurt you.' He whispers against my lips, making me shiver out of fear.

But he leans in closer, placing his head on mine. 'No one will hurt you, because I love you.'

No...

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A/N: So Kai told her about the plan? Will he betray them again?

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