I roll over in bed and watch as the sun fills the room again. The room is light and flowy and exactly what I should need and want. But I need more. I want more.

Just not here.

I want to go back home. I want to hug my mom and tell her how sorry I am, how stupid I was to say those things. But I can't.

I need to stay on the low. Out of sight from the world. With the guy that tortured my best friend.

A knock on the door stops me from thinking about it too much and I immediately climb out of bed. 'Who is it?' If it's Hunter, I swear to god I'll- 'It's Noah.'

'Come in.' A good thing I already dressed earlier. The door slowly opens and Noah steps into the room. 'How are you feeling today?' He asks as he walks towards the big windows on the other side of the room.

'I'm fine, when can I leave?' I ask, ready to run out of this place.

Hunter said that I was allowed to go whenever I wanted, but he also said that it would be a big risk to be outside without the right protection. So he would tell me whenever it would be safe enough.

According to him, it will flow over and I'll be out before I know it.

But I don't trust it. I don't trust him.

'You are free to leave whenever you want,' Noah says in the most boring tone ever, 'But we should probably go for a walk first.' A walk?

'Didn't your boss say that I should lay low for a few days?' He nods and leans back on the couch, smiling at me. 'My boss also said that you needed to go out since you locked yourself in for the last twenty-four hours, plus I'll come with you. There will be no threat and we could finally spend some time together.'

Some time together... I must admit, Noah is not that bad to have around. So far.

That's why I stayed in my room yesterday. Because he wasn't there. And I didn't want to risk bumping into Hunter on my own, so I stayed in here.

Noah had to go and fix something, I don't remember what exactly, so I was alone in the house with Hunter for the entire day.

'Fine, let me get changed then.' Out. I can finally go outside again. 'Sure, I'll be waiting right here. This couch is very comfortable.'

I roll my eyes and walk towards the closet.

Again, a bunch of summer dresses in a bunch of different colors. 'What is it with Hunter and dresses?' I mumble before grabbing a blue one.

'He never buys those for Isabelle or any other girls.' Isabelle? Any other girls? 'So he does this often?' I ask as I head to the bathroom.

'No. You're the first actually.' Then who are the other girls? Who is Isabelle?

'Where did you go yesterday?' I ask as I change into the stupid dress. I just know I'm going to be cold in this stupid dress. But I don't have anything else to wear.

I'm just glad it's a long dress, but the top is so... Open. There's barely any coverage, but it's so pretty.

Just not for this type of weather.

'I went to talk to Romanov, a Russian guy that wanted to close a deal. He needed some pills and we got a shipment of those exact pills about a week ago.' Oh.

'That took an entire day?' I ask as I step back into the bedroom to grab my stuff.

Noah's eyes widen as he takes me all in, making me blush. But also annoying me since he keeps staring at my chest. 'Eyes up here.' He chuckles and looks directly into my eyes. 'Right- what were we talking about again?'

'Forget it.' I say as I put on the only shoes that go with the outfit. White Ballerinas... It's that or heels, and I'm not in the mood for heels.

'I didn't waste an entire day on talking to Romanov,' Noah says as he jumps up and walks into the hall. I silently follow him and glance around the hall again, 'although I must admit that most of my day was wasted on him. He can really be a pain in the ass when it comes to prices, but in the end, it turned out fine.'

How is he so open about this? 'No, for the other part of the day I had to make some calls for our shipment coming in next weeks. We ordered some guns, grenades, even some good knives. Since we were running low.'

'So that's what you did all day?' I ask, catching up to him since he's walking pretty fast. He nods and opens the back door for me. 'That's all I did.'

'Interesting.' I admit, a little shocked that he's talking to me about it. 'You like weapons?'

'According to... Someone, I'm best with knives.' He looks at me and nods, not fully trusting it yet. 'You'll have to show me how good exactly.'

'If I'm still here by the time they arrive, I will.'

We walk down the path around the house, the air warmer than I expected it to be, and a soft wind flowing through my hair.

'Can I ask you a question?' He asks as we walk past the big tree in the middle of the garden. 'If I can ask you one in return?' 'You can always ask me whatever you want, Cataleya.'

I nod and look at him, waiting for his question. He's dragging it out, avoiding my gaze as he walks a bit faster now. 'Are you going to-' 'Not here.'

Instead of walking through the gates, he pulls me towards the little flower garden and looks around. As if he's afraid of someone seeing us. But there's no one around.

'Have you ever... Killed someone?' I inhale sharply and wonder why he's so secretive about it, but nod. 'I have. Why?'

'Did Curzio force you to?' What? I step back a little and look at Noah, making him glance around to see if anyone saw. But no one's here.

Only a few birds on the ground, but nothing else. 'Did he?' 'No, why would you even ask that?'

'I just wanted to know if you had any traumas because of it.' I do. Or I did. I don't know.

'Now that that's out of the way, come with me!' He pulls me after him as if he didn't just ask me one of the heaviest questions ever.

'What are you to Hunter?' I ask, shrugging his question off by trying to get some more information.

'I'm Hunter's second in command,' He chimes as he opens the front gate for me, 'His Leonardo to the Rafael.' What? I frown and roll my eyes when I get what he's trying to do.

'I know what second in command means, idiot.' He chuckles and leads the way, towards a square surrounded by people.

Noah said that he was allowed to take me here, that there wouldn't be a threat. Let's hope he wasn't lying.

'Then you're smarter than they think you are.' He says, still laughing a little. 'They?' Hunter thinks I'm stupid? 'The council.'

Council? Hunter has a council? 'A bunch of advisers that try to keep him in check.' Noah continues while we walk towards the fountain in the middle of the square.

I notice people looking at us strangely, and so does Noah. But he continues to walk around the fountain and stays close to me just in case. 'He has been going against their advice for a while now.'

'Really? Why?' I ask, wishing that I had the power to disappear into the ground.

Everyone around is staring at us. As if we're famous or something. They know.

'Ever since,' He sighs and looks at me, 'something happened. You have to ask him what happened, but I think we should head back. I didn't think people would look at us like this.'

I nod and follow him back to the gates, feeling everyone's eyes burn through my back.

We walk in through the front door and step into the hall. 'What was that?' I ask as I follow him through the hallway.

'Everyone on this block is either a spy or part of the mafia, so they know what happened.' Great. 'And you're telling me Hunter said that it would be a good idea to take me outside?' I ask a little concerned.

He's the one who told me to stay hidden, but he's also the one who suggests I go out?

And now they know. Now people know where I am, who I'm with. Thank god that they don't know my mother's address. I hope...

'Most of those people weren't here two days ago, these are their holiday homes.' He explains quickly, before knocking on a door at the end of the hall. I stay far enough to run back to my room and keep my eyes on the door.

'Come in.' Hunter says from the other side of the door. 'Do you want to come in as well or will we meet you for lunch?' Noah asks, waiting for an answer.

I should go to my room. I should lock myself in there and never come out again. I should stay hidden, just like Hunter said. But I want to know what we'll do about this. About everyone finding out I'm here.

The door opens and Hunter steps out, wearing a white shirt with black jeans. Casual. It looks so casual. 'We'll have lunch first, I'm starving.'

Noah rolls his eyes and rushes after him. As they get closer and closer, I take in the big men walking towards me. They're huge, not as big as Rio and Leon, but big.

They have broad shoulders, piercing eyes that would make any girl tremble, and those lips, god.

'Are you coming?' Noah asks as they brush past me to get to the dining room. I swallow and rush after them, wanting to know how this conversation goes down.

The dining room is filled with food, again, there's too much on the table. It's as if they think we're starving or something. But it all looks absolutely delicious.

There are three plates. One on each side of the long table and one almost exactly in the middle.

I walk over to the one closest to the door and watch as Hunter grins because of it.

'Hunt, we have a problem. Every-' Hunter raises a hand as we all take a seat and keeps his eyes on me. 'Tell me about it later.'

Noah rolls his eyes and waits for one of the waiters to finish pouring some water. Oh yeah, they have waiters as well.

I grab my glass and take a sip, while Noah tries to get Hunter to listen to him, but Hunter seems to ignore his second in command and focuses on me. On my... lips. 'Can you listen to what he has to say?'

He smiles, before taking a sip of his own water.

'How was your walk with Noah, little Bee?' I almost spit out my drink, so does Noah, as we both look at Hunter. 'Little Bee?'

Hunter nods and smiles at me. 'That's your nickname for her?!' Noah asks, almost dying of laughter. 'Yes.'

'No. No, it's not.' He smiles proudly as if it's the best name he ever came up with. 'It is.'

'Little Bee!' Noah shouts, laughing hysterically. I glare at him, before turning back to my food. I want to hit him so bad, but he's all the way on the other side of the room.

'How did you-' Noah can't even finish his sentence without laughing, 'How did you come up with that?'

'She stings like a bee.' Hunter says, taking a bite of his sandwich. 'What do you mean by that?' Noah asks, frowning a little.

'I might've stabbed him.' I mumble, before taking another bite.

Noah's eyes widen and he starts laughing again. 'How did that happen?'

'Someone didn't hear me knocking and was shocked when she found me in her room.' Hunter says, looking at me with that perfect grin of his. 'And that idiot over there,' I tilt my head towards Hunter, before looking at Noah again, 'came into my room without permission.'

'Where did you get the knife from?' Noah asks while he wipes his tears. He's enjoying this too much. 'It came with my lunch.'

'So you stabbed him with one of these?' Noah asks, holding a breadknife in the air, and I nod, as he starts laughing again. 'You stabbed Hunter Steel and he went with it! I can't breathe!' 'We can tell.' Hunter sneers, before looking back at me.

'So I hurt you, how sad.' I say, sarcastically. 'You stung like a bee, but just like bees, we need you for the environment.'

'What could you possibly need me for?' I ask, leaning forward a bit. 'Company.'

Company? It's the stupidest shit I've ever heard, but I chuckle softly and empty my glass.

'So, how was your walk, Little Bee?' Little Bee. Because I stabbed him and because he needs me for the company. Idiot.

'Disturbing.' I sigh as I take another bite. Noah finally stopped laughing and clears his throat. 'About that, I saw Justine's men everywhere. They are still after her.' Justine's men are after me?

Who the fuck is Justine?

'Really? Did they not see you with her?' Hunter asks, intrigued by all of this. 'They didn't care.'

'Who is Justine?' I ask when they both go silent for a while. 'Justine is the owner of the club where the auction was.' Noah explains, before turning back to Hunter.

It's weird that they're so open about most things. With the Curzio's it was the complete opposite. They kept almost everything from us.

'Why would she go through such lengths to get me back?' I can't go back there. I won't go back there. 'You bought me right?'

'You're not going back there, trust me.' He says in a tone I can't describe. It's hard enough to get through to me but soothing enough to calm me a little. Just a little.

'We destroyed her club and she probably knows you have a history with the Curzio's.' That again... 'People are willing to pay a lot of money for that.' He continues, before looking at Noah.

'So what do we do?' Noah asks, quickly looking at me before taking another bite. 'We move.'

Again? I know it's probably the safest option, but I don't want to move. Not with them. Not with Hunter. 'Can't you send me somewhere else?'

'Am I really bothering you that much, little bee?' I roll my eyes at his nickname for me but nod. 'I don't want to be around you if I'm being completely honest.'

'What is it you want then?' He asks, leaning back in his chair a little. 'I just said what I wanted.' I sneer, trying to keep myself from throwing my knife at him.

It is very, very tempting though.

'Is there any way for me to go somewhere else, without you around?' Hunter looks at Noah, who silently gets up and leaves.

I have to talk about that with him because he can't do that to me. He can't just leave me with Hunter.

'Why do you hate me so much?' He asks as soon as Noah's footsteps fade away far enough. 'You killed Neveah's family, you tortured her and threatened to kill her and you have a bad history with... My friends.'

'Your friends?' I nod and keep my eyes on his. Those icy-blue eyes are too bright, too tempting. 'Yes, my friends.'

'They kept you by force, I wouldn't call them your friends.' His tone is bothering me. It's as if he's annoyed by what they did. And it bothers me because he doesn't have the right to.

'And you aren't keeping me here by force?' He leans forwards, placing his elbows onto the table. 'No, because, as I said, you're free to go whenever you please.'

'But you're also the one who said, who showed me that it would be dangerous if I left alone. And you're also the one who promised me something else if I didn't want to be near you.'

Promises. He said he always kept his promises. 'There is something, but it would still be with me around. Just... Far enough to not see each other for days.' What?

'You said-' 'An island. I have an island in the Bahamas. I'll promise to leave you alone unless you come to me, of course.' I roll my eyes, but think about what he just said.

The Bahamas. He has an island in the freaking Bahamas.

'That doesn't change the fact that you killed-' 'I never killed her family. That was my father's doing as revenge for your friends killing my aunt. I had nothing to do with that.' He quickly says. As if it was on the tip of his tongue.

As if he was waiting for me to come back to that. 'And you expect me to believe you?'

'What the hell did they tell you about me?' Not much... But I know what I need to know. Hunter Steel is evil and cruel. 'You tortured Neveah.'

'I only did what was necessary to get a reaction out of Leonardo.' I scoff and get up from my chair. 'That does not make up for what you did, you tortured her and you're acting like that doesn't matter at all.'

'They tortured my mother too. Before they killed her for some foolish revenge!' He says, raising his voice a little. But I don't know what to say. 'They sent her head in a box with her clothes, all because of what my father did. My sister was there, she did not deserve to see that.'

They did wha- No. I step away from the table a little and take a deep breath as I try to blur the image forming in my mind.

'We both did terrible things to each other. So if you want to hate me for it, so be it. But I'm just trying to help you here. I might be their enemy, but I'm not yours, Cataleya.' Cataleya. Not little bee. Not something else.

Cataleya.

'I don't want to go with you.' He nods and seems a little defeated. I like that look on his face. That's why I want to keep the next part in. But I need to know. 'What's the safest thing to do? No bullshit.'

Something flickers through his eyes. Pride. He's proud, but I haven't given in yet.

'If you really don't want to stay in the same house as me, I could ask Isabelle to move out so you can live in her house and she'll live with me.' Isabelle again... 'And I will leave you alone. We'll stay as long as necessary and if you want to leave you just have to say the word.'

A house in the Bahamas. 'Where is her house?'

'At least an hour away from mine.' He understood what I was trying to get at.

An hour away... 'And how do you know no one knows about that place? How do I know it's not just a trap.'

'Because I'm not the enemy,' He keeps saying that... As if repeating it will make me believe it, 'and it's the safest thing I could come up with.'

Safe. I'll be safe. But I'll also be stuck on an island with him. And Noah. And a girl named Isabelle. And probably more people that I don't know about.

'No.' I'm not staying on an island with him. No one else knows where I'll be and I don't trust it. 'I promise you that no one will bother you. It's like you're all alone.' Promise... He's promising shit again.

'Give me one reason why I should?' I ask desperately. I don't want to be living the rest of my life surrounded by bodyguards, in fear, or with people staring at me the way they did today. As if they want to kill me.

'Because you'll be free to go where you please, without being watched by anyone.' But you... I will be watched by him, twenty-four seven. Without being able to go anywhere.

'You just have to tell me if you want to leave and we'll leave. I'll figure it out, but you should at least try it. If you don't want to stay there, I'll find another way. I promise.' He says, trying to convince me anyway.

Living with Hunter Steel, on an island where it's just us. I don't want that either.

Maybe... Maybe I could go back to the Curzio's? If they even want me back.

So far I have heard nothing about Leon, or Neveah... Or Rio for that matter.

I know Neveah and Leon are probably trying to get me back, but I don't think Rio is. He might be too pissed about me going behind his back.

What if he did something to Leon? Or Neveah?

No. He wouldn't kill Leon. And he wouldn't kill Neveah either. Not when Leon is still alive at least.

And he probably wouldn't search for me either.

'Good thing I don't.' Is what he said when I begged him to let me go if he even cared the tiniest bit. He doesn't.

He doesn't care.

The only reason I'll go back will be Neveah. And Rio, being as cruel as he is, will probably lock me in another room and torture me for my betrayal, maybe he'll even kill me...

'A day.' I say, finally accepting the offer. Accepting my fate. It's either this or living with all the other eyes on me until I'm dead. 'A day and if I don't like it, we're- I'm leaving.'

'You need at least two weeks to feel the-' 'A day.' Hunter rolls his eyes and sighs deeply. 'Twelve days.'

This again. Why does he always have to do this? 'I'm not negotiating this with you. A day.'

'At least stay for ten days.' 'Why? One should be enough. If it's really that great, I would be convinced in twenty-four hours right?' He shakes his head and keeps his eyes on me, trying to see what else he could possibly say to convince me.

'Nine days then?' I roll my eyes. 'Two' 'Two won't be enough, you need at least five.' The knife looks very tempting right now 'Four.' I say coldly, watching as his lips curl up. 'Four days it is.' He chimes, smiling brightly at his victory. Asshole.

'You're really full of yourself, did you know that?' Hunter chuckles as he gets up from his chair and slowly walks over to me.

Like a predator. He's a hungry lion and I'm a gazelle, the only one around. I step back, keeping my eyes on him.

I should've kept the knife in my hand, just so I could stab him again if he got too close.

'We should go, the car is waiting outside.' Already? He nods at my confusion and walks past me, not even giving me any second to process any of it.

He knew I was going to give in eventually.

And the anger inside of me starts rising again.

Before I know it, I snatch the knife from the table and run towards him, ready to stab him in the back.

I could've thrown it, but that wouldn't be as fun. I wouldn't see the pain in his eyes because he would simply pull it out before I could look at him from up close.

He hears me and turns around, just before I press the blade against his shoulder. His hands go around my arms, keeping them in place as he presses me against the wall.

'Bees make a buzzing sound.' He says while grinning proudly. I grunt and put less pressure on my arms. He slowly lets go of me and nods. As if he approves of my actions. If only he knew.

I angle the knife in a way that it cuts his hand as I pull it back. He hisses and steps back, a little shocked that I actually cut him. Again.

'They also sting when they're agitated.' He looks at his bleeding hand and back at me, the same shocked look on his face as when I first stabbed him. 'Do not think for a second that I want to be here, because I don't.'

'Clearly not.' He grunts, trying to stop his hand from bleeding by pressing his other hand on it. It won't work. The cut is too long, too deep.

I kind of hope that he'll bleed to death, but I know he won't let it get that far out of hand.

'Go wait outside and tell Noah about what you just did. I'll be there when I'm done fixing this.' He raises his hand and glares at me, before walking to his office again.

I look at the knife and see some blood dripping onto the ground. Hunter's blood.

I should've drawn more, should've stabbed him more, should've hurt him more. But now it's too late.

When I get outside, I see Noah leaning against a black car. He smiles at me and waits until I'm close enough to let out a dramatic sigh. 'So you finally agreed to it?'

Of course, he knew about this too.

'Just four days.' His eyes widen as he opens the door for me. 'Are you sure?' He asks as he shuts the door and climbs into the driver's seat, 'It's the best thing he ever bought, and you'll only stay for four days.'

'Yes.' For now. 'Well, I hope you stay longer. It will be a lot of fun, we can hang if I don't have to do all those stupid chores again.' He complains, chuckling a little.

'Have you been there before?' I ask softly. He's talking about it as if it's heaven on earth, so he must've right? 'Just once. I wasn't allowed to stay there. Isabelle was and I heard she has been living her best life.' Isabelle.

I guess I'll be meeting her soon.

After ten more minutes of Noah telling me how great Blue Island is, Hunter finally gets into the car as well. When I look at his hand, I see that he put some bandage around it, but it's already red and disgusting.

'What happened to you?' Noah asks as he starts the car. Hunter looks back at me and rolls his eyes. 'She stabbed me.'

'Again!?' Noah asks as he starts laughing hysterically. Apparently, it's an uncommon thing for Hunter Steel to get stabbed.

And I did it twice.

'Just drive you asshole.' Hunter sneers and Noah immediately starts driving, still laughing a little.

I listen to their conversation about some deal coming up, trying to recognize some names. But every name I hear is completely new to me.

And to think that I thought that we actually knew something with the Curzio's, about their deals and allies and all that stuff. I was so fucking wrong.

It's nothing compared to all the information I'm hearing right now.

It's as if I'm living in a completely different world right now. As if the other world, the Curzio world, doesn't even fucking exist.

But I know it does. I know it's bigger than this one. They just didn't let us know anything about it. They kept us in the dark. Unlike these two.

When we get to the airport, we head towards another helicopter. I'm guessing they don't own a private jet like Rio and I kind of wonder why, but at the same time, I shouldn't care.

'I truly hope you stay longer than just four days, Cataleya.' Noah says as he hands me some headphones. I roll my eyes and take a seat next to him, not wanting to sit next to Hunter.

He climbs in, grinning to himself, before putting on some headphones as well.

The entire flight takes about an hour. And when we fly across the coral blue ocean, I look down, staring at all the green, blue and brown shades I can see. There are too many to count.

'It's paradise right?' Noah asks as he watches me with a bright smile. I hate to admit it, but it is.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

Blue Island is the most gorgeous place I've ever seen. I can spot a few houses, indeed at a far distance from one another, and a huge mountain on the other side of the island. The beach has white sand and the ocean almost looks fake. It's so bright.

As we slowly ascend to the ground again, I can't wait to jump out. But I have to wait for us to get on the ground.

When the loud noises finally stop, they hop out and look at me. I step out on Noah's side and look around, feeling the different soil underneath my feet.

'I'll take her to Isabelle's house, go get the others ready in the meeting room.' Hunter says. Noah instantly reacts, smiling at me before he heads off towards one of the houses. Near the front of the island.

'This way Cataleya.' Hunter chimes from behind me, making me slowly turn around.

I can already see the big house in the distance and almost gasp for air. At least an hour away from him?

I quickly run after Hunter, who is apparently a pretty fast walker, and follow him towards the house.

Up close, it's even bigger than I thought.

The house is mostly made out of dark wood, giving it a modern touch with all those big windows covering the front.

There's a jeep in the driveway, but there's certainly enough space for at least three more cars.

As Hunter opens the door, I try to glance inside, noticing the dark wood covering the floor. It's shining. As if it has been freshly polished.

There are different decks to get everywhere, but most of the place is just an open space. I can see the kitchen, living room, a little bit of the dining room, the big staircase on the other side, and another closed-off room, all the way from the door.

'Watch your step.' Hunter says. As if I didn't see the three steps he went down to get into the little living room area.

A big sage-colored couch in the shape of an L covers most of the space, with a big tv hanging against a stone wall. There's a fireplace and a fluffy rug underneath the big couch, covering most of the floor.

Three steps lead up to the kitchen, which looks huge, the ceiling a bit lower, making the space look a bit more homey but open and bright at the same time.

As I take in the beautiful place, I glance around for any cameras. There aren't any. At least not that I can tell. Maybe they're hidden?

'Isabelle!' Hunter shouts, making me flinch a bit. I never heard him scream like that. So friendly, yet bossier than ever before.

No one responds and he sighs deeply. 'Wait here.' He walks over to another set of doors on the other side of the room. They lead into a little hall, but I don't know what the little hall leads to.

I hear some murmuring and look around, trying to take it all in. This place is gorgeous and I can tell why Noah said it was the best purchase Hunter ever made. This place is legit heaven on earth.

For a second, just a tiny second, I allow myself to dream about how it could be. How Neveah, Celine, Leon, Marco, Brandon, Rio, and I could live here.

Yes. Even Rio. Because wherever Neveah goes, Leon goes. And wherever Leon goes, Rio goes.

And I would honestly annoy the shit out of him every day. It would be fun.

It would've been. But it won't be like that. Because I'm not here with them. They probably don't even know I'm here.

And I doubt Hunter will let me call Neveah. He'll probably say it'll be too risky or something of that sort.

But she would love it here as well. She loves this interior. Modern but not too modern to make it look like some art museum.

The door opens again and Hunter strides back into the big living space, dragging a girl in a bikini behind him.

She has blond hair, almost as long as mine, and bright blue eyes. Just like his.

Hunter stops on the other side of the little couch area and smiles at me. 'We will leave you to it since you don't want anyone around.' He says sarcastically, dragging the poor girl with him.

She tries to break free, but he's stronger and simply pulls her across the floor. Before they get to the door, as they walk past me, she looks at me.

She's... Angry? Or at least annoyed. But she does not seem pleased at my arrival. Making me wonder if she thinks something is going on between me and Hunter.

Because if she does, I have to convince her otherwise.

Making enemies is not what I want. Especially in a place like this. Where I'm surrounded by unknown people.

As soon as the front door closes, I run-up to it and lock it, making sure that I'll at least hear them when or if they get back.

I turn back around and take it all in again, smiling to myself. Four days. Just ninety-six hours. If it's not as bad as I think it will be, I might just stay here.

At least until it's safe for me to go back to the mainland of course.

I walk around the place, to the kitchen and realize that the whole place is stocked with food, to jumping on the soft couch, to heading to the dining room and watching the beautiful view of the beach, to running towards the other door in the back of the house to see where it leads to.

There indeed is another hallway. A short one that leads to another door. Which leads to the most beautiful garden I've ever seen.

An infinity pool covers most of it, but holy fucking shit. The view is absolutely amazing, the beach right behind it, with plants and enough patio space for huge parties and those beach beds.

Isabelle was probably swimming back here because her towel is still on one of them.

I slowly walk around and look at the house.

There's another floor, hence the stairs, and there's a huge balcony hanging over the garden, leading from one side of the house to the other.

Before I run back inside to see what's up there, I take it all in. Imprinting what this all looks like so that, one day when all of this is over, and I'm able to work again, and I'll have enough money to get something like this myself, I'll build it just like this.

Because this, the island, the house, the interior, all of it, is absolutely amazing.

It all just fits so well together.

I rush back inside and watch as all the doors close behind me, almost automatically, before running up the glass staircase.

On the second floor are more doors, probably leading to some bedrooms. I walk into the first one and almost gasp for air. Perfect view onto the island, the mountainside, and even a little beach.

The bed is facing the big windows. Even the bed is huge. Too big for just one person.

I see that the walk-in closet is filled with clothes. All black or pink, but none of them colorful like the clothes Hunter bought for me.

So this must be Isabelle's room...

I back up, not wanting to snoop around too much, and stop when I see a picture next to the door on one of the dressers.

A picture of three little kids.

Two girls, one boy. Probably about five years old. I recognize them immediately. Hunter, the blue-eyed, dark-haired boy in the middle, being bullied by two blond girls, with blue eyes as well.

Isabelle is certainly one of them. But the other one... I have no clue who she is. But she looks a lot like Hunter, they have the exact same eyes. His sister?

I shake my head, forcing myself to not get into it because it's not important, and quickly walk back into the hall, closing the door as I head to one of the other doors.

The door at the end of the hallway screams my name and I slowly inch closer to it. When I open the door, I'm greeted by the beach again.

The entire back wall of the room is made out of windows and that's when I realize this is the room with the big balcony, running all the way from the left to the right side of the room.

There's an opening in the wall on my right, leading to a bathroom, and another one on the left, leading to a closet filled with... Summer dresses.

I roll my eyes and step back to the bathroom, almost fainting at the sight of it. It's seriously jaw-dropping. There's a big tub facing the beach, a side of the beach that looks a bit closed off, and a huge shower with enough space for at least ten people.

Two sinks, a toilet on the other side, and a freaking sauna. Are you fucking kidding me...

I walk up to the sinks and look at myself in the mirror covering most of the wall in front of me.

To my surprise, I don't look that bad. I just look like I haven't slept in the past month, but that's it.

For most of the day, I roam around the house, going into every room, trying to see if there's something I missed. Something that might be a camera or some hidden mic somewhere. But I find nothing.

When the sun is about to set, I decide to head into the kitchen and prepare myself something to eat. A simple meal.

A pack of noodles I find laying in one of the cabinets. It's not the most nutritious food, but I'm not in the mood to make the most extravagant diner either.

So I just go for it and take my bowl towards the living room. Just as I take a seat on the couch, I hear a car drive up onto the driveway. I put the bowl onto the little table in front of me and brace myself.

The door unlocks, meaning they have a spare key, just as I expected, and slowly opens.

Isabelle steps into the house, carrying a plastic bag as she looks at me. Still annoyed for some reason.

She's wearing black shorts with a pastel pink shirt that she tied at her waist. Showing off her petite figure. But she has some muscle. I can tell.

'I hate Hunter.' She grunts, walking towards the kitchen. I keep my eyes on her, trying to keep her in my sight as I follow her from a distance. 'He's so annoying. Like why the hell- I told him that you wouldn't starve to death, but he's acting as if you can't take care of yourself!' She groans, throwing the bag onto the marble kitchen counter.

I stay near the steps and watch as she takes a few steady breaths. 'Like how stupid can he be, making me drive all the way over here just to give you some food.'

We both go silent and I honestly don't know what to say. I probably should thank her for bringing me some food, but at the same time, I shouldn't.

Isabelle slowly turns to me, waiting for me to say something. Anything. But I stay silent.

'I don't like that I have to move out of this place, just so you can have it for yourself. But I guess it's not the worst thing that could've happened. Also, if you want the door to be locked for sure, use the alarm thingy, right there,' She points at the stone wall with the tv, towards a little tablet hanging there as well, 'The code is four-four-three-six, and you can use it to lock all the doors, but also as an alarm to get notified when anyone tries to get in.'

She walks towards the stairs and stops right there. 'I'm going to grab some clothes and then I'll be gone.'

She runs up the stairs, leaving me a little stunned by all the information she just gave me, but when she finally returns, I see that her annoyance has returned.

'Thank you.' I mumble, watching her as something in her expression shifts. 'There are some pills in the lowest drawer in my bedroom. If you take a few of those, you'll have a fun time. But don't take more than three a day, it will mess you up if you do.' She says, walking back to the door.

'Also, do not, and I repeat, do not take any of my fucking Oreos, I will murder you in your fucking sleep.' She says in the most serious tone ever, before turning back to me, 'I just wanted to say, you're very pretty and I think we could get along and that I would love to have my own room back, because sleeping with all those brainless men is exhausting, but I guess you deserve some privacy. After everything that happened to you.' So they told her...

Wait. Does she think I'm pretty?

'Get some rest, I'll give you a tour tomorrow so you won't get lost when you go for a walk or something.' She says as she opens the door, stepping out of the house.

'Why are you doing this?' I ask, walking towards the door. She stops at her car and turns around to face me, smiling a little. 'The boys, especially Hunter, think we won't like each other. According to them one of us will get too jealous of the other. I would love to show them that we're not as idiotic as they portray us to be.'

And with those words hanging in the air, she climbs back into her car, waving at me as she drives off.

I want to ask her so many more questions, but at the same time, I don't even know if I should trust her.

I close the door and lock it, this time heading towards the tablet to see if she's telling me the truth.

I click a few buttons until it's time to put in a code. Four-four-three-six.

The screen flashes green, then I can hear every lock in the house fall in its place, and I look back at the tablet. It's back to normal again, but I can tell that all the doors are locked.

I guess she was right about that?

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A/N: So do we like Isabelle so far? And what about Noah? I know for sure most of us hate Hunter, right?

Right?

THANK YOU GUYS DO MUCH FOR 400K ON CRISIS OF DESIRE I CAN'T BELIEVE IT AAAHHH!!!

Anyways, if you liked this chapter don't forget to vote and comment on what you liked the most!

I'll see you in the next chapter, hope you have a great day!!!!