Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Seraphina
Three entire days and I’d heard nothing from Sergio. Not even a call to find out if I was fine. Well, he hadn’t talked to me. I didn’t know if he was alive or dead, and I had no way to find out.
He left me with his maniac friend and expected me to heal with this psycho in the house with me. He was fucking everywhere. The only place I could escape him was the bathroom, and I didn’t know if the creep had put cameras in there, too. At this point, anything was possible with Kai.
When I woke up, I’d find him sitting near the door glaring at me like he could kill me at any moment.
And when I went to bed, when he thought I was asleep, he slipped inside my room and just stared at me.
A few times, he stood so close I could almost feel the heat from his body.
I held my breath waiting to see whether he’d try to smother me in my sleep or something.
It was all very weird. At this point I didn’t think I was any safer with him than I was with Dorian.
I didn’t understand the animosity he had towards me, but it was freaking me out. I excused all the stuff he did in high school to antagonize me when he was supposed to be looking out for me. But we were adults now. This shit was just weird for a grown ass man to be doing.
“Where are you, Sergio?” I mumbled as I looked out the bedroom window.
My anxiety was at a new high especially not knowing anything that was happening.
And I’d been kept as a prisoner in this room.
I still had no clue where I was. I hadn’t been allowed to leave this room, and I didn’t think Sergio had ordered it.
I think this was all Kai. He was trying to punish me for some reason.
“If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to go crazy.”
Dr. Vlahos came every two to three hours to check on me, but Kai had been keeping our interactions to a minimum.
Each time I asked her to get me out of here, she only looked at me with fear.
I assumed she was afraid to go against Sergio or maybe Kai had threatened her.
If anything happened to her because of me, I didn’t think I could ever forgive myself. So, I would keep her out of it.
And even if I escaped, where would I go anyway? I had no idea where Sergio was and where the hell, he had brought me.
At least the scenery was beautiful. This was the first time since I’d been here that I’d been able to get out of bed to get a better view of outside. Dorian had done a number on me this time. I was lucky I was alive.
Or maybe not.
But the view had been the only thing that had kept me calm, especially without Sergio around. I hated being in the dark about everything, and Kai wouldn’t tell me shit when I asked. He just looked at me like I was the cause of all his problems.
He preferred to be anywhere other than here with me, and I understood because I’d rather be anywhere than here with him too.
I watched a young woman around my age glide by the window on a vintage-style bicycle, its frame a soft mint green.
Her dress fluttering in the wind was patterned with wildflowers in different shades of blue.
A light brown woven basket fastened to the handlebars was full of tomatoes, leafy greens, and red onions.
She wore a deep blue headscarf, knotted under her chin.
It framed her face and hid her jet-black hair, which peeked out in loose strands near her temples.
And as she passed, she smiled. It didn’t look like she was smiling at anyone in particular, but it was the kind of smile that screamed she had everything she wanted in life.
Never in my life had I been so envious of a stranger, but I couldn’t help the ugly feeling of jealousy rising inside me.
I wished, for the briefest moment, I was in her shoes, and she was in mine. That was a terrible thought to have because I shouldn’t wish my life on anyone.
My body stiffened at the sound of the key entering the lock. It was another reason I couldn’t get out of this room. Kai locked me in. I didn’t believe Sergio ordered it either.
I continued to keep my attention on the view, hoping it was Dr. Vlahos, or it would be even better if it were Sergio.
The old knob rattled, then the door creaked open, and I knew it was Kai. Every time he came around the entire energy of the room changed. And not for the better.
“You’re up?”
I faced him. He sounded disappointed.
He’d be a nice-looking man if he didn’t look like he wanted to strangle me all the time.
“Where’s Sergio?”
Every time he came in here, I asked about Sergio and every time he got angry. Like now. However more than anger blanketed his face then it hit me. This man hated me. The question was why.
“He’s busy.”
“I don’t care if he’s busy. I need to talk to him now.”
Now I was scared. Something was wrong with Kai, and I didn’t want to know what. I just needed to be away from him.
He chuckled then sat in the chair he always used when he came in here. “And you can’t tell me what to do, Princess.”
“What the hell is your deal, Kai?” I asked, my anger rising. “I’ve done nothing to you for you to treat me like you have. You’ve been this way since high school. We’re adults now. You should be far past this stage of bullying. It’s time to grow the fuck up!”
He stood slowly, like someone waking up from the dead. My body screamed at me to run, but I was still too banged up to move. The bathroom was the only option, and I would never make it before he reached me.
“I want you to leave.”
I backed away from him until my back hit the cold glass of the window.
His eyes locked onto mine, but they weren’t looking at me. They looked through me like rage had clouded his vision. “You fucked up everything.”
His voice was low and sharp.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered, my heart hammering inside my chest.
He laughed, but there was no humor in it all.
“Of course you don’t, Princess.” The nickname I hated always dripped with contempt.
Even more so now. “You played him like a goddamn fiddle. Sergio used to see me. Trust me. But then you came along with your soft voice and pretty ass. Willing to fuck him so you could keep his attention.”
I blinked, stunned. Sergio? His hate for me was all about, Sergio? I never interfered with their relationship because I knew how much Kai meant to Sergio. No matter how bad he treated me, or how scared he made me feel, I never got between their friendship.
“You think he loves you?” Kai’s voice cracked as more rage bloomed inside him, and fear inside me. “You’re nothing to him.”
He was close now. Too close. And terror rushed through me.
“I just need to make you disappear,” he said like he was talking more to himself than me.
His hand shot out so fast, wrapping around my throat like a vice. I clawed at his wrist, my instincts kicking in, but his grip only tightened.
“You took him away from me before,” he hissed. “And I won’t let you do it again.”