I faced the buzzing screen down when I saw it was beginning to annoy her. But after turning it down and seeing her irritation, it was apparent my shocked silence was the problem.So I answered, "I'm sorry, but I can't,"Kyra clenched her jaw, "Took you five minutes to turn me down; see, I'm trying to like you.""Me too," my voice rose over hers, "Listen, Kyra, I do respect you, not fusing over kicking me out, but as you explained, that is Adler's private place. He doesn't want to be disturbed, and you? You're throwing me to my death.""Oh please," the irritation was in her voice, "What are you? Five? I know, and you know, the last thing Adler will ever do is point a gun at you."There was something about being this close to Kyra; she made me feel weak and vulnerable. Speaking to her, I understood that I wasn't the strong woman I lied myself into believing, and I accepted it. Accepted the weakness and admired her from afar.But there was no way. No damn way I was going into the room o
I prayed for darkness, but the lights decided to be steady; I wished for the unconscious, but for the first time, the universe resolved to consider me.The dripping sound persisted, his blood wasting on the white tiled floor.Just like I suspected, the darkness oozed out from him. It was in the intensity of his gaze, his scattered hair, looking slept on and wearing a black rumpled polo shirt. His eyes looked like they had been rubbed countless times.I tried opening my lips, but nothing escaped them; the sound was stuck with the lump in my throat.He poked his head out the door, staring down the empty hallway. A few seconds passed, and his attention was back on me, eyes on my fraying hair I didn't have time to brush down."It's cold out, and you're barely clothed." The deep, hushed voice came from above me, "You shouldn't be here, Lily." Adler let his eyes graze down my t-shirt; although braless, he didn't stick to my chest. He stretched forth bloody hands, "I got a cardigan in there,
"It's owner killed my mother."That pendant still hung over the mirror while I continued to play the deadly version of Spot the Difference and kept on failing. I couldn't lie to myself; this was Dad's pendant.It couldn't be a coincidence that it appeared in the hands of Adler.My lips moved, but the voice refused to form; I felt the warm tears creep to my lids as I swallowed.I thought... I thought I had finally found peace and protection, but all this while, I was not even close to being safe. Instead, In my ignorance, I had settled with danger, danced with it, and let it hold my hand.I was the daughter of the man who made Adler the monster he had become, and he didn't know. If he did...Oh God!I wanted to run, flee the room and even the manor. The death I would meet outside this place would be more lenient than what I'd go through if he found me out.Despite the cardigan, I trembled, and my damn eyes began to fill again; gosh, I wanted to be knocked out, and when I woke up, all o
The more I spoke, the harder she shook her head in denial."There's no way Adler could have dad's pendant if they hadn't crossed paths! Eva, listen to me!"I had picked myself up from my dust immediately she knocked at my door, looking pale and rubbing her arms for warmth as she walked in.Just like me, she wanted it to be a joke so badly; just like me, she was crushed in denial. At one point, she covered her ears, refusing to hear more.All I wanted was to shield her, away from it all; I didn't want to believe I dropped her right in the middle of chaos myself.Right now, she sat on my bed all frozen up, her hair sticking to her face, reminding me of the helpless fifteen-year-old girl who had run to me, excited to see my shoes and puzzled as to why I came alone."I want to see your shoes, Lily. Are they pink? Why are you crying? Where is Dad?""I'm sorry, Evie. I'm so sorry."Seven years later, here we were right with the victim of my father's crime, with the monster my father intenti
KYRAWhy was everyone suddenly so sensitive? Urgh, get a life, people, and emotions running high and low. It was just the early hours of the morning, for goodness sake.She wasn't one to readily admit her mistakes; she glared it down until it became the other person. But she couldn't dodge this guilt. This time around, she did make blunders.Or had she?For all she knew, Adler would never cause harm to Lily; she'd even like to say her plan had worked because minutes after Lily had raced out of Donna's room, Adler was walking out of his.Reading Adler was futile. One never knew what he thought, all thanks to that poker face, but this time, his body language had said it all; Boss was worried.Ha, Drama.Then what was the cause of Lily locking herself up in her room? Had Adler accidentally snapped at her? Did the anger at the intrusion of his personal space apply to everyone?If that, then maybe she overestimated Lily's hold on Adler, and she did mess things up.It still didn't warrant
AUTHOR'S POV.EVA]She sat on the bed, feeling the compass pendant in her pocket, staring at the wall but seeing nothing. She was alone.Alone.Eva hated the word, hated that she had been trapped in its cold embrace since her life fell apart.Having to look after their sick mother, peeping out the window, hoping the footsteps she heard and loud bang on the door were Lily's and not the loan sharks.But she always ended up disappointed, for they would be there, the buffy men, waiting to pounce on the first head that would walk out the door.Lily always got that covered, chained the door, and warned her, 'Call me immediately you see them; do not say a word until they leave."And it kept her alive, safe and locked in, that for some time, she forgot how dangerous the men were and spat at them whenever they banged at the door more forcefully than they should.But one day, they suddenly stopped coming, but if anyone expected it to return to normal, then quite the opposite happened.Lily got en
ADLER"Why would he desire your contact?" Rune's disbelief was evident on his face, making it clear to everyone in the room. "Is he that deranged?"Adler gazed at the card torn from the envelope. He regretted not having the sense to look into it from the very first minute it was handed over to him by Rune.Weeks later, he found himself gripping its edge, the red number glaring back at him. Adler would have called had Ruslan not grown impatient and chosen not to wait any longer.Whoever this Ruslan wanted attention so bad he was doing everything to get it, and lucky him, it was just sparking the Don's interest. His surroundings were void of civilization, just crumbling stones and half-demolished buildings, miles away from the manor and almost at the outskirts of Campania.His men were behind him, and the long, freshly painted, blue shipping container was the only evidence of life in this god-forsaken place. He could feel Rune's eyes watching the sides of his face."What is it, Rune?"
"Fuck he's scarred," Rune whispered behind Adler; the rigidity in his movement and the loss of sly was enough to prove he didn't like the spot he was placed in.Adler's eyes drooped. Grey pupils, damp and combed back light brown hair, with a body frame vibrating for a competition, Rune was right, Ruslan was scarred."Not impressed," Adler muttered, stepping back from the screen.His lips twitching, Ruslan shook his head, "I didn't fix liar in your list of attributes, but you're one?"Adler chuckled, rubbing the side of his face, "Fine. I am impressed but by your willingness to dig your grave yourself." He wished there wasn't a screen separating them. Would the smug smile still be on Ruslan's face, "How long have you been obsessed with me?""Everyone knows of the reaper," Ruslan shrugged, "You're like some supervillain. All you leave is a body, so it's tough to pin you down,""This is the part where I feel flustered?""You've certainly earned it," Ruslan shrugged. "What you did to Vla