CHAPTER 3 - New Villa

Alexander's POV

I knocked and pressed my ear against Anastasia's door, there was no response from the inside. I snatched the handle and twisted it open, revealing my daughter, who was completely immobile on her bed.

Moreover, as I started walking slowly and cautiously towards her bed, I noticed her sleeping with her hands securely gripped on a portrait. When I reached out to take it from her grips, I realized it was a photograph of her with her mother, Pamela.

I took a deep breath as I felt remorse and pity for my daughter. When I got a much better look at her, she was as translucent as a ghost, with dark circles under her eyes. Regardless of the fact that we had brought her to sleep therapy several times, she seemed to have the same night terrors over and over.

I understand how challenging and heart-wrenching it must have been for her to lose her mother and even witness her death at such a young age. She was only five years old when the tragedy occurred two years ago.

I pressed my lips against her forehead, and she flinched at the slight movement. She flung her eyes open and was disoriented for a moment as her eyes fluttered on me, then she sat up and snagged the portrait I was holding.

"Good morning, baby," I said cheerfully, trying not to recognize her cold and hostile behavior.

She just sat there staring at me blankly.

I ran my fingers through her natural curls before she started fidgeting and growling at me, her eyes lighting up with disgust and contempt. "Don't touch me!" she remarked grumpily.

I lost all control for a fraction of a second when I saw her behavior, and all I wanted to do was chastise and lecture her right then and there. But then I recalled Kaylee's advice, and I worked hard to regain my composure so that I won't break my cool.

"Let's have breakfast, then we'll be on our way," I said.

"Will Kaylee come with us to breakfast?" I actually heard her asking.

I gave a nod. "Yes, baby," I replied.

"Okay. I'm not hungry anyway," she emphasized stubbornly.

"How do you know you're not hungry?  You just woke up, and you didn't even eat dinner last night," I insinuated.

"I've lost my appetite," she tried to explain as she turned away from me.

"If that's the case, just double-check your stuff.  We'll be on our way in two hours," I stated.

"Where are we going?" she wondered out loud.

"We're leaving, right? We're moving to a bigger place, baby. Does this ring a bell?" I repeatedly tried to remind her.

Her jaw hit the floor and her eyes widened in surprise, and she came to a halt.

"I'm not coming," she said eventually.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" I wanted to know, my eyebrows furrowed as I started to feel my cool slowly fading away.

"I told you I wasn't coming!"

"Whether you like it or not, you're coming with us! And that is not a request!" My voice roared back at her before departing and slamming the door to her room.

As I pinned my body against her door, I was gasping for breath. And from inside, I could hear her muffled sobs. I closed my eyes in anger and frustration, wanting to punch myself for how I had handled the situation in front of her.

Then I noticed Kaylee's seriously concerned expression, her eyes filled with worry. She may have overheard our argument and ran upstairs to see what was going on. She took a few steps towards me.

"Kaylee, I tried..." My voice quivered as I tried to tell her.

She gave me a comforting smile and pulled me into her warm embrace, soothingly caressing my back as I broke into tears.

***

Kaylee's POV

The defeaning silence in the car was so cold and savage that we got to our new house without even realizing it.

We got out of the car and are now looking at the pristine white villa. It was sold at a lower price, and Alexander jumped at the opportunity to make a purchase out of it, clinging to the hope that everything would start changing once Anastasia was placed in a dynamic place.

Alexander installed the house keys into the door's porthole and pushed it open, revealing a large house with sparkling and exquisite interior decoration. It was crammed with some of the things we managed to gather before moving in.

"It's superb, Alex. It's terrific here, I really like it," I said as my gaze wandered around the house.

"Yes, me as well! I'd say this was a sweet investment!" He grinned. Then he cast a glance at Anastasia. "What about you, baby? Do you like it here?" He strived to ponder.

My gaze was drawn to Anastasia, who was explicitly enamored with the brand-new villa. She refused to comment and didn't even take the time to look at either one of us.

"All right, let's get started!" Alexander proclaimed enthusiastically, clearly trying to ease the tension.

Alexander was busy dealing with everything we had left in the car, while Anastasia sat on the couch and observed the new surroundings. I stood and walked around the house, eventually reaching the second floor.

I was so completely immersed in the villa, as though something had enslaved me, that I completely lost track of time. As a result, I was about to go downstairs when a soft knock on one of the doors managed to draw my attention.

I walked slowly in the direction where I'd heard the knock a few seconds before.

What exactly is this? We've never seen anything like this before. I mumbled to myself.

I was just about to grab the handle when I felt a teeth-chattering coldness on my earlobes, which prompted the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end and sent chills down my backbone. Furthermore, I immediately turned around, deathly afraid, to discover that no one else was present, except for me.

Likewise, I was still frightened to death from what I had experienced when I started hearing the creaking sound of the door as it slowly opened right in front of me.

Slowly and cautiously, I shifted my gaze forward and in an instant, my eyes widened in sheer terror and my jaw dropped open in great shock as I could not believe what I am seeing with my very own eyes. 

A shrill, blood-curdling scream echoed all over the house as everything went black.