Shit. Shit. Shit.

Leon aims his gun at the stairs and I don't blink in fear of him pulling the trigger. Because if he does, he's screwed. We're all screwed.

'You have to get out of here.' All eyes turn to me and I watch as Leon's face turns from anger to confusion. 'What?'

'You'll die if you don't.' I continue, turning to him entirely. 'I'm not leaving without you, Cataleya.'

'You have to.' I say, looking deep into his eyes. Hoping that he sees the urgency.

A few sets of footsteps set off an alarm in my head. 'Please go.' I beg him, trying to shove him back to my room so he can get out through the window.

'Cataleya, I'm not leaving without you.' He repeats before grabbing my arm again.

Leon pulls me back to my room and closes the door, locking it, before running to the window. 'Come on, we have to-' 'You have to go.'

'Leya-' 'You have to leave without me, we won't both make it and I'm not leaving Isabelle here.' They will let it happen again. I can't let her go through that.

'We'll come back for her later, come on.' He begs, ready to throw me over his shoulder to drag me out of here.

A smile forms on my lips because of it. He could do that, he could throw me over his shoulder and make me leave, but he won't. Because he's not Rafael.

Rafael would do that.

And that's exactly why I hate him.

'Cataleya, please just come with me.' I hear sounds coming from down the hall and step closer to him as I shake my head. 'Go. Hunter will kill you if he finds you here.'

'What about you?' He asks cautiously. I can see him fighting with himself as he moves closer as well.

'He won't kill me.' I answer, knowing that Hunter won't. Not yet. I'm still somewhat on his good side. 'Now go.'

'I'm going to get you out of here.' He says as I push him towards the window.

'I-' 'Cataleya!' Someone starts slamming on the door. 'Cataleya, open the door!' It's Hunter. Shit.

'Go.' Leon almost pulls me out of the window with him, but I move back a few steps and fear for the door barging open right this moment.

'I will be back, Leya.' He whispers as he climbs down the wall. I close the window and move the curtains a little, hoping that the seethrough bullshit will cover his tracks while he runs out of here.

There goes my chance...

'Cataleya!' I turn back around and take a deep breath while the door almost breaks in half at Hunter's strength. 'Are you okay?!'

Fuck... I wait a few more seconds and slowly make my way to the door.

What do I do? What do I do?

I shake off the fear and take another deep breath, before unlocking the door. Fake it till you make it...

I bring my hand to my eyes and wipe them as if I just woke up in a hurry. 'What's going-'

Hunter burst through the door and wraps his arms around me. 'Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do I need to get someone to check on you?'

He slowly lets go of me to check if I'm fine, and I continue to act as if I'm barely awake by frowning at him. 'What's going on?'

'I thought you were gone...' He answers with unmistakable concern in his voice. 'I was just... sleeping, what's going on Hunter?'

I just pray to God that he doesn't see through any of it. He looks me up and down, before looking around the room and heading to the closet.

'Someone broke in.' He states, going through all the dresses hanging in the closet. 'Wait, what?'

'Noah got stabbed.' He turns back to me and frowns. 'Didn't you hear anything?'

'I was sleeping.' I'm not that heavy of a sleeper, but he doesn't know that. I think.

'Alright.' He says, turning to the window. No.

I don't know if Leon's far enough already...

'Hunter...' He ignores me and moves closer to the window, making my heart race. Shit. Shit. Shit... 'I'm scared.'

He slowly turns around and shakes his head at me. 'Don't be, no one is going to hurt you.' He mumbles with a soft smile playing on his lips.

I would've smiled back, but he's still determined to get to that window.

And I can't let that happen...

I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly from behind.

'What the hell is going on...' I mumble, wishing that he'll just turn around and look at me. Even if it makes my skin crawl, I need him to look at me.

'I don't know.' Liar... He slowly turns around and cups my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. 'But no one is going to hurt you, I promise.'

If only he stopped that desire inside of him to get to the window. Because as soon as I nod, he turns back to the window.

Fucking hell... Despite my fears, despite my hatred, I pull myself together for, what seems to me, the only way out.

I pull Hunter back and press my lips against his, feeling my blood run cold.

It takes a few seconds for him to react, but when he realizes what's going on, his hands go around my waist, pulling me even closer.

A knock saves me from all of this and makes us both turn to the door. 'Did you catch him?' Jordan asks annoyed at the sight of me and Hunter standing this close to each other.

I step back, brushing my shirt as if I'm ashamed, but I'm disgusted at what I did. 'He's not here.'

'I know he went in here, they-' 'Jordan,' Hunter's voice is strict, making Jordan flinch a little, 'go and help Noah with his wound.'

Jordan stays put for another second or two, before nodding and running back to the hall.

We stay silent while Hunter turns back to me with a billion questions in his eyes.

'I'm sorry, I panicked and I-' He shakes his head and pulls me closer, ready to kiss me again, but I turn my head to the side and hold my breath. 'It's okay.' He whispers against my cheek, before kissing it gently.

'I needed it.' Dear god... 'Where's Isabelle?' I ask, heading to the hall.

Hunter follows me out of my room and keeps his eyes on me. I can tell that he's trying to find out if I'm lying or not. Meaning I need to keep this facade on for a while. 'Is she okay?'

'She's with Noah.' He answers as he grabs my hand to pull me back. 'Everyone is fine.'

'Noah got stabbed, how can that possibly be fine?' I ask, bringing back the shock that went through me when Leon threw that knife at him. 'How bad is his injury?'

'Little bee...'

'We should probably go and see if he's okay, right?' I ask, stumbling back a little.

I need to create distance between Hunter and myself. 'I mean, what if- What if he's going to die?'

'Leya calm down-' 'He could seriously be injured and what if he dies?' I take another step back and look around, stopping at the pool of blood on the floor.

That's where Noah was not so long ago. 'He lost a lot of blood already.'

I can hear Hunter moving closer and slowly turn back to him. 'Who would do this? Why would they attack like this?'

'Cataleya.' He pulls me into his arm, making me shatter on the inside. 'He's fine, they're taking care of him.'

I stay silent, trying to take a deep breath so I can calm down, but it's like my lungs are blocked, stuffed by fear, making it unable to breathe.

Hunter wouldn't hurt me, he cares too much. But he would hurt the people I care about. He would hurt Isabelle. He would hurt my mom.

'Take me to him.' I say, trying to make my way out of his arms.

I need distance again. A lot of fucking distance.

'Please, take me to him.' He looks into my eyes and sighs, before nodding and leading the way.

I follow after him, making sure to keep my distance, but not too much since I'm supposed to be in a hurry.

As soon as we're heading towards the infirmary, I can hear Noah groaning down the hall.

I run past Hunter and slip inside.

Jordan and Isabelle are bickering, while Noah lays on one of the beds, groaning out of pain since no one is taking care of his wound.

'Leya!' Isabelle walks over to me and hugs me tightly, glad that I'm still here. 'I thought you left.' She whispers into my ear.

I look over her shoulder and stare into Noah's eyes who seem to be quite the opposite of Isabelle.

He seems... Annoyed?

Before I can answer Isabelle, Hunter walks into the room, glaring at Jordan. 'Don't just stand there. Help him!'

Jordan instantly walks over to Noah, grabbing a needle and some dissolvable thread to stitch up his wound.

'What happened?' I ask while Noah keeps his anger towards me, even though I'm not the one hurting him. 'Did you see who it was?' Hunter asks while he holds Noah in place.

Noah keeps facing me and I try to swallow the lump down my throat.

He's going to rat us out. He's going to tell Hunter what happened and they'll go after him and-

'I don't know, it was dark.' What?

I try to hide the frown on my face by pacing around the room. 'Was it aimed at someone?'

They all look at me with a frown, 'At me?'

'Stop lying, it was Leonardo Curzio and you were going to leave with him.' Jordan sneers, making Isabelle shrink just a little.

'I was asleep.' Jordan rolls his eyes and continues to help Noah while glaring at me from time to time. 'I told you she would lie.'

I turn to the only person who's still looking at me with doubt in his eyes and frown.

'Are you lying to me, little bee?' He asks as he lets go of Noah and steps closer to me. Isabelle rushes over to Noah and grabs his hand, letting him squeeze the shit out of her if it helps with the pain.

'Why would I lie about this?'

'To protect your idiot friend, why else?' Jordan asks as he wraps some bandages around Noah's leg.

Idiot friend... You piece of fucking shit- 'Leya, can you please go to your room. I'll come by in a few.'

'I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on. Why would Leon be here?' Jordan chuckles with no amusement whatsoever and looks at me again. 'Are you fucking kidding me?'

'What?' I ask. Acting completely oblivious. 'She's lying to you, and so are Noah and Isabelle.'

'Are you fucking kidding me?' I ask a little annoyed that he's trying to convince Hunter otherwise.

If only he wouldn't come up the stairs...

'Leya, just go to your room, please.' I look at Hunter and nod, slowly leaving the room.

My heart is racing like crazy and it only beats faster when I see Martin at the end of the stairs, smiling at me.

'You almost got out, didn't you?' He asks, his voice dark and heavy, as he slowly steps closer to me. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Don't play dumb with me, Valentina.' What?

'Don't call me that.' I say, gritting my teeth.

'Why not?' I hate that he's taller. I hate that he's broader. I hate that he scares the shit out of me, simply by looking at me. 'It is your name after all, isn't it?'

'It's my middle name and I prefer to go by Cataleya.' It's not a lie so I don't have to act.

Really, the only person that ever called me Valentina was Federico, once, and... Rafael...

Wait.

Did he know Leon was going to get me? If so, why was Leon alone?

'I like Valentina more.' The way he says it, is making my skin crawl.

Martin takes the last step forward and looks down on me, smiling a little. 'Such a pretty face would look better with tears running down it.' Psychopath...

'Don't you fucking-' 'Cataleya! Why are you up so late?' Martin grunts at the voice beaming from the stairs.

As much as I want to turn to the voice, I'm afraid of what Martin might do if I take my eyes off of him, so I keep my eyes on Martin.

'Come on, let me take you to your room.' I feel someone grab my arm and slowly let myself get pulled up the stairs.

Martin follows us with his eyes and as soon as he's out of sight, I let go of the breath I was apparently holding, feeling like my lungs are about to explode.

'What the fuck is going on?' I turn to the voice that saved me and shake his hands off of me.

It's Kai. He saved me from that monster downstairs.

'Noah got stabbed.' I mutter as I head to my room. 'What?'

'Leon stabbed him.' I continue as I finally make it to my door. 'Leon?'

'Yes, Leon! And Jordan saw and now he's going to snitch and I kissed Hunter to keep him from finding out and now-' 'Wow, calm down. You don't have to freak out about it.' Kai says, looking at me from a distance.

He looks at me as if I'm insane.

And to be honest, I feel like I'm slowly losing it.

'Leya?' Shit... Hunter's already down the hall, ready to interrogate me to get the truth out of me. 'What do I do?' I whisper, begging Kai to help me in any way possible. 'Keep up the act, I'll see what I can do.'

Before I can answer him, Hunter rushes into the room. A frown forms on his face when he realizes that Kai is standing in my room, talking to me.

We're supposed to hate each other.

'Can you please tell him to get the fuck out of my room?' Kai smiles and raises his hands in defeat, slowly backing out of my room. 'Was he bothering you?'

'Yes, he's always bothering me.' Hunter nods and closes the door behind him. 'I'll handle it.'

What? I hope that doesn't mean he'll torture or get rid of him.

'Now tell me about your escape plan.' Shit.

'I have no idea what happened, like I said, I was sleeping.'

'Why did Jordan say he saw you in the hall?' He asks a little cautious. He doesn't want to accuse me just yet, meaning he still believes me. Even if it's just a little.

'I don't fucking know, he never liked me.'

'Leon is your friend, he's a Curzio, but he's still your friend.'

'I told you, they're not my friends.' I state, taking a step forward to make sure he keeps his eyes on me. And it works.

'Are you protecting him?' Hunter asks, ignoring everything Jordan said earlier.

If he has to hear it, he wants to hear it from me.

But I won't tell him.

I'd rather die than tell him about our little escape plan.

'Why should I?' I ask, crossing my arms while looking at him a little hurt. 'Because you don't want him to get hurt.'

'I couldn't care less if you hurt him, because I don't care about him.'

He nods slowly, tilting his head at me. 'Not even if I killed him?'

My heart hurts at the thought of that and I almost stumble back. Almost.

But I need to keep this act going.

'Like I said, I don't care.' Hunter's eyes widen at my words and I can see a smile playing on his lips again. 'And for you to not believe me, makes me think you don't trust me.'

'I believe you, Cataleya.' He says, stepping closer again. He pulls me into his arms and presses his chin on my head, hugging me tightly. My body starts running cold again and I try to keep my breathing steady. 'I believe you.'

Good...

'So what happens now?' I ask as he lets go of me again. 'I'll handle it.' He mumbles as he turns back to the door. 'In the meantime, Noah will stay with you for protection.'

The door opens and Noah stumbles inside, wincing because of his leg. What the hell?

'Shouldn't he be resting?' Hunter nods and sighs deeply when he turns back to me. 'He can rest while keeping an eye on you.'

I turn to Noah and wait for him to oppose, but he doesn't. 'I don't need a babysitter.'

'He'll be there to protect you if someone tries to come in again.' For fuck's sake...

'Now excuse me, I have to go handle something real quick.' Hunter says as he walks back into the hallway. 'I love you Leya.'

Love.

The word that's supposed to give warmth, the word that's supposed to make you smile, the word that's supposed to make you happy.

It has the exact opposite effect when it comes from him.

It makes me cold, it makes me want to cringe, it makes me want to hurt myself.

But most of all, it makes me miserable.

'Please be safe.' I mutter before Noah closes the door and glares at me.

We both stay silent as we hear Hunter's footsteps down the hall and look at each other.

'Are you kidding me?' Noah asks as soon as Hunter's far enough. 'Why did you agree to it this?'

'Why are you still here?' He counters, moving over to the dresser so he can lean on it for support. 'You had your chance to escape, yet you're here?'

'I was not going to leave Isabelle here.'

He rolls his eyes at me and shakes his head. 'You're going to make her life more difficult now.'

'What do you mean?' I take a seat on my bed and cross my legs, still facing him. 'She's going to be alone most of the time now that I have to watch you like some kid.'

He's annoyed with me. Simply because I'm staying?

'I don't need you to watch me so you can-' 'Hunter won't let me.' He interrupts, taking a painful step forward.

'He thinks you're too precious and doesn't give a single shit about anyone else but you.'

'And that's my fault?' Noah takes a deep breath and slowly shakes his head.

'You just...' He struggles to say what's on his mind, something that he hasn't struggled with ever since we met. 'I just what?'

'I'm going to be completely honest with you.' He starts, taking another step forward.

I get up from the bed again and frown at him. 'Please do.'

I don't need another person to lie to me.

'It would've been so much better if you just left with that idiot. Because it would've saved all of us a lot of pain.'

A strong pound goes through my heart and I wish his words didn't affect me this much.

But they do.

Because I would consider Noah my friend.

'I don't want to have to say this, but if something happens to Isabelle, I will never forgive you.'

'What is that supposed to mean?' I know what it means, but I want it to be a lie. I need it to be a lie.

'You know what it means.' He says, looking straight into my eyes.

He meant every word and I hate it.

I stay silent and feel like running out of here.

Once again, I regret not taking my chance to get out of here. First with my mom, then with Neveah, and after that Leonardo.

So many chances where I could've gotten out of here without this shit.

'Alright.' I say as I head for the door.

Noah groans as he stumbles after me, not saying a thing.

Because Hunter never said anything about me staying in my room. He just said that Noah needed to stick with me.

I walk towards Isabelle's room and almost run over there when I see Martin heading towards her room.

'Don't you fucking dare!' I shout, anger rising to a new level.

It might be because of the painful shit Noah just said, or because Martin angers the shit out of me.

'Look at you, eager to help.' He chimes, turning around to face me. 'I just wanted to check up on her.'

'No need.' Noah grunts, heading over to me. He tries to act tough, but we both know he's exhausted. 'We'll go and check up on her, right Leya?'

I nod and keep my eyes on Martin, who rolls his eyes and heads the other way.

Without letting Noah say a word, I run to Isabelle's door and knock on it. 'It's me.'

She opens the door and pulls me inside, before almost closing the door again. Noah quickly slips in and stares her dead in the eyes.

'Are you okay?' My heart is beating like crazy, but Isabelle looks fine. 'I am, why?'

'I told you, it will only get worse now.' Noah says, turning to me. 'He didn't get here yet.'

'What are you two talking about?' Isabelle asks, standing in between Noah and I, waiting for us to explain. 'Martin was headed to your room.'

Her eyes widen and she looks at me, making me nod in shame. I don't know why, but I regret staying again.

'I'll talk to Hunter, see what-' 'He won't do anything.' I say before Noah leaves this room. 'He knew what Martin was doing and he didn't care.'

Noah shakes his head in disbelief and looks at Isabelle instead of me.

'Is this true?' Noah asks, moving closer to Isabelle. I slowly back up, back to the door, and slip through without either of them noticing.

I head to the window across the door and take a deep breath, looking out on the grass field Leon must've ran over.

'I see straight through your lies.' I almost throw up at the sound of that annoying voice, and keep facing the fields. 'I'm not lying.'

'I saw him.' His hand goes around my wrist and I push Jordan away from me.

He falls on his ass and stares at me in shock. 'He will find out at some point.'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.' I wish I could hurt him more. I wish I could make him shut up about it.

Because even if I had a way out, I'm still here. And Hunter thinks it's because I pick him, so I would like to keep it that way.

'Don't play dumb with me, Cataleya.'

'Seriously, did you hit your head?' I ask, frowning at him as if he's the insane one. 'I saw you.'

'And who does he believe?' A new voice chimes, almost making me sigh out of relief. 'What do you want Kai?'

'I'm taking Leya on a walk, right?' He asks, looking at me. 'She seems rather tired, maybe she should get some rest.'

Jordan grins at me, waiting for me to head back to my room. Instead, I walk over to Kai and head down the stairs with him.

I look back a few times, making sure that Jordan doesn't follow us out of the house, before turning back to Kai at the door. 'Thanks again.'

He shrugs and closes the front door behind us, before taking the lead towards the flower side of the garden. It's beautiful at this time of day, when the sun is slowly rising.

'It seems like everyone is going crazy.' He chimes, looking around the garden, staring at the different flowers.

I stop at a rose, one that I have seen grow and bloom into the most gorgeous rose I've ever seen, and look at it for a while.

It's such a pretty color as well.

Crimson red.

The color of blood.

'Cataleya?'

'Did you know Leon was coming?' He shakes his head and looks around again, as if afraid of being caught.

I can see the servants walking around already, meaning we're being watched again.

'I had no idea.' He answers. I doubt him again, just like I always do when he says something, but the doubt washes away when I see Jordan looking at us through the window on the second floor.

Smiling.

He knows something. He can tell something is going on and he won't let it go.

'We should head back inside.' I mumble, heading back to the door. I'm indeed getting tired. And I wish I would've gone with Leon.

Maybe I wouldn't be feeling so shitty if I had gone with him.

But I guess we'll never know now.

'Are you still wearing black every dinner?' I nod and close the door behind us, nodding at a few of the servants.

Ever since the Jade incident, there have been servants walking around the house to keep their eyes on me. When I asked Hunter about it, he denied it, but I'm not stupid.

They won't allow us to dine together. Just Hunter, Martin, and I.

Isabelle and the others aren't allowed at dinner. They either have to eat earlier or after we're done.

So I'm stuck with them at dinner almost every night.

'Kai, how do you talk with them?' I ask, whispering to keep the others from hearing.

I just know they'll tell Hunter as soon as they pick up anything suspicious.

'I use my phone.' He chimes, smiling at the people walking past us.

Servants.

People who don't get paid nearly enough for all the shit they do for Martin or Hunter

'Can I talk to them?' I ask desperately, almost pulling at his arm. 'You want to-' 'Yes, please?'

I need to know Veah is alright, I need to hear her voice again for all these shitty emotions to disappear. And I need clarification on what the fuck is going on.

He glances around and pulls me into the first room available, shutting the door behind us.

'We have to make it quick.' He says, taking a seat at the little table in the room.

It's an office.

A small simple office.

Kai dials a number and hands me the phone, keeping his eyes on the door behind me.

I bring the phone to my ear and wait for someone to pick it up. Anyone.

'What is it?' Anyone but him. 'I told you to not call me like this, didn't I?'

'I want to talk to Neveah.' I say, trying to keep myself from hanging up right now.

'Valentina?' His voice is soft and... Desperate. But he sounds so relieved. 'Valentina, is this- Are you okay?'

'I want to talk to Neveah.' I repeat, waiting for him to let me talk to her.

I have nothing to talk about with him. I just need to talk to Neveah.

I need intel on what's going on and I know Rio won't give it to me.

'If you don't give her the phone now, I'm going to end this call and-' 'Wait!'

I can hear some movement on the other side and quickly look at Kai, who's rolling his eyes, before walking over to the window.

'North!' He shouts through an echoey space. 'What do you want?!'

'It's Valentina!' He answers before moving again.

'What?!' I can hear Neveah's voice and feel my heart speed up.

They're still together.

Meaning everything Kai said so far is true.

They are truly looking for me.

They're trying to get me out of here.

'Cataleya?! Is it you! How- Wait, is Kai with you? Are you safe?'

A chuckle leaves my lips and I shake my head in disbelief.

This is really happening.

'I'm okay, it's me. God, I missed your voice Veah...' I mumble, feeling something wash over me.

I missed her so much.

'Are you okay? Please tell me Kai explained everything?' I look at Kai, who's smiling at me. 'He did, sort of. There's still a lot of shit I don't understand, but I'll be fine.'

'What's going on over here?' I almost drop the phone at Hunter's sudden voice beaming from behind me.

Shit. No. Shit. Shit!

'Are you-' He looks at the phone in my hand and slowly moves his gaze towards Kai.

'It's not what it-' Hunter lunges at Kai before I can even get through to him and he strikes him hard.

'Hunter!' I shout, throwing the phone on the table I was sitting at.

I can't let Kai take the fall for me.

'You know the risk.'

'It was my idea, so stop!' I shout, making him stop his fist from striking Kai again, as he slowly looks at me.

'What?'

'I-' Come on, I can lie to him. I can and I will if I have to. 'I wanted to tell them to stop searching for me.'

Lying gets harder and harder for some reason, and I hate it.

Hunter frowns and completely lets go of Kai, dropping him to the floor.

'Why would you do that?'

'Because I'm going to stay with you, Hunter.' The words sink in again and he calms down almost immediately. 'Where's Noah?'

'With Isabelle, I told them to stick together and Kai was keeping an eye on me.' I doubt Kai even knew Noah had to keep an eye on me, but he does now.

'Is this true?' Hunter asks, pulling Kai up by his shirt. 'You almost knocked him out, you idiot.' I need to get Hunter away from Kai.

I walk out of the office and hear Hunter run after me, before being spun around, clashing against Hunter's chest once again.

'I scared you didn't I?' He asks desperately. I shake my head and place my hands on his chest, trying to ready myself so I can push him away from me. 'I'm just annoyed.'

'Why?' He asks, looking into my eyes. As if I have no reason at all to be annoyed right now.

'Because you don't trust me, and because you treat me like I'm some kid!'

'I'm just trying to protect you.' He says, grabbing my hand and kissing the bridge of it.

I seriously wonder how I'm still standing in the same room as him. How I'm still breathing the same air as him.

Because I feel like collapsing. I feel like dying.

'I don't need your protection, Hunter.' I say, pulling my hands back.

I've been giving him too much already.

'Please, Leya...' 'I can't right now.' I say as I head up the stairs and run to my room. I lock the door on the inside before Hunter storms through.

I take a seat in front of the window Leon climbed through earlier and stare at the field.

As if I'll see him come back for me right this moment.

'Leya please, talk to me.' Hunter says from the other side of the door. I roll my eyes and take a deep breath, thinking about what I should say. 'Tell me what I need to do to prove to you that I believe and trust you.'

'I need time and space away from you.' Far away from you...

'But I love you...' This feels wrong, using his feelings to my advantage.

But what he did is also wrong. Torturing Neveah, murdering his cousin, letting his best friend get raped, going after the people that are trying to get me out of here.

It's all wrong.

'I need time, Hunter.' I can hear him sigh deeply and already know the pained look he has on his face right now. 'Please, just give me time.'

'Alright.' He mumbles, moving around a little, 'I'll give you time, but promise me you'll come and talk to me later.'

I don't ever want to talk or see him again.

But I'll have to face him at some point.

'I'll see you at dinner.' I answer, staying by the window again as he slowly walks away.

I stay by the window, watching as rays of the sun fall on my face and slowly disappear again.

'Cataleya!' It's Adam. He's moving closer and closer, but I don't move a muscle and don't respond either. 'Cataleya, dinner is ready!'

Dinner with Hunter and his uncle. The two men I fear most in the world.

Shit. Shit. Shit...

I can't do this, I really can't.

I should climb out of the window and just- 'Cataleya, are you asleep?'

Adam is adorable. He's absolutely adorable.

And I wonder why he's working for someone like Hunter.

'Tell them I'll be there in ten minutes.' I mumble, getting on my feet and heading to the closet.

Black clothes and hair up, that's what Kai said, so that's what I do.

It's what I've been doing for the past few days.

Making me realize something that makes my stomach twist and turn again.

'Cataleya!' The voice coming from down the hall is only making it worse and worse. 'Come out already!'

Jordan starts banging on the door as I look into the mirror and try to put on another mask of mine.

He needs to get out of here. Jordan needs to disappear. At least until I'm out of here.

I take a deep breath and head to the door, opening it right before he knocks again. 'I told Adam I would be down in ten minutes.'

'Well ten minutes is too long, Hunter's hungry.' He grunts, basically pulling me down the hall.

I don't even fight back anymore, wanting to safe my energy for whatever it is I'll have to endure next.

Suddenly Jordan comes to a stop, slowly turning around in the middle of the stairs. 'What are you-' Jordan rolls his eyes and looks at me with a frown. 'You might've fooled him, but you won't fool me.'

This again...

'I have no clue what you saw, but I wasn't there.' If I keep up the lie, he'll have to believe it at some point. 'Don't lie to me.' He sneers, taking a step closer, almost making me fall down the stairs.

'I'm not lying and please stay away from me.' I say, taking a step back. 'Now if you'll excuse me, Hunter is hungry.'

I run down the last steps and hurry into the dining room, noticing that all the candles are lit, even the ones that are normally just for decoration, and all the shit on the table seems fancier than usual.

And there are just two plates. Two glasses. Two forks. Two knives. Two spoons. Two napkins.

'You're early.' Hunter says, placing a vase filled with roses on the table.

Red roses.

The roses I saw in the garden earlier.

No... For some reason, my heart starts pounding again.

'Jordan said you were hungry and I didn't want to keep you waiting.'

'I would starve if you needed more time, you know that.' I do. And that's where it gets too much. That's where it gets too absurd.

He's literally obsessed with me. Obsessed in ways that I'll never be for him. It's impossible. Especially after what happened.

'You did this?' I ask, trying to get to my seat on the other side of the table. Just like the first time, our first lunch together, the plates are on the opposite sides of the table. 'I wanted to surprise you.'

'Why?' He chuckles as he takes a seat, and allows the servants to pour us both a glass of water. 'You know why.'

Oh god... No... Please no...

'Are you okay, little bee?' I hate that I can't cover this part up from him. There's been so much going on and I know I won't be able to hide every single thing from him.

'Jordan still thinks he saw me and he's been bothering me with it the entire day.'

Hunter sits back and watches as I take a seat and sip from my water. 'It's tiring.'

'I had no idea, I've been busy the entire day.' he says, opening up something on his right.

Steam comes out of the food and I can't help but lick my lips at the sight of the food they prepared.

Stewed potatoes and ham.

'Did you find him yet?' I ask curiously, needing to know if they caught him or not. Because if they did, he's going to die.

'Not yet, but I feel like we're close.' Shit.

I take another sip from my water, trying to keep my opinion to myself.

'But I'll make sure to talk to Jordan about it, he shouldn't be talking shit.' I nod and watch as he smiles at me, before taking a bite.

The food is delicious, not as tasty as the food with the Curzio's, but delicious.

'Where's Martin?' He doesn't mind the questions about his family members, as long as I don't ask too many questions connected to the Curzio's.

'He left for business, he won't be back for a while.' Is that why he tried to get to Isabelle? One more time?

It makes my stomach twist and turn again, almost making me drop my fork and run out of here. 'He tried raping Isabelle again.'

'We talked and he said he wouldn't do it again.'

'He shouldn't have done it in the first place.' I sneer, gripping the edge of the table as I glare at Hunter.

He takes a deep breath and nods. 'But it was you or her, and Isabelle knows about that too.' What?

'What do you mean?' Was Noah right? Did some of this shit happen because of me? 'Can we not talk about this right now?' Hunter asks, suddenly a little annoyed that I'm asking questions.

Something that only bothers him when he's keeping something from me.

'Alright.' I say, gritting my teeth to put on a fake smile.

'So, little bee.' I tilt my head and look at him, despite wanting to stab him with the knife again. 'Tell me, what do you want for your birthday.' No.

'Nothing, why would you ask that?'

He puts his hand in front of his mouth and quickly chews so that his mouth is empty while he speaks.

And the words coming out of his mouth, make me stop breathing for at least twenty seconds.

'Because it's your birthday in two days.'

----

A/N: A year passed and she's deeper in this mess than she thought she would ever be...

SHE KISSED HUNTER!!?!??!?! Now I better not get shitted on, because she did it to distract him, not because she wanted to!

AND SHE SPOKE TO RAFAEL... For like two seconds...

I hope you guys are ready for the next couple of chapters, because it's going to be wild!

Don't forget to vote and comment, it keeps me motivated

I hope you guys have a nice day/night, and I hope I'll see you all in the next chapter!!!