“You’re not my girlfriend, Bunnie. I don’t date. So quit acting up…”
___
Those words hurt. They hurt like hell and at the same time reminded her of who was standing before her.
It was Klaus, the guy who broke her heart over and over again with every make-out session with other girls. She had learned the art of not letting it get to her… but this?
This hurt like hell, making it hard for her to breathe.
Klaus didn’t realize how much his words had affected Morticia, not until a tear rolled down her cheek. The scowl on his face softened.
“Bunnie… I…” He took a step forward, but she stepped back, staring at him in disbelief. His voice was soft. “I didn’t mean to snap at you like that… you just always seem to get everything wrong.”
“Yeah, I did,” she croaked. She sniffed, suppressing the urge to cry in front of him.
“Hey…” Concern etched onto his face. She snapped.
“It was just a fling. You were right,” she added. “And that fling is never going to happen again.”
Klaus watched her turn away from him, and her steps hurried as she left the room.
He grabbed the bottle of alcohol and took a swig, heading back to the pool, his emotions in turmoil.
“Is she okay? She seemed upset,” Zara, the girl close to him, asked as he stepped out.
“Everyone get out,” he demanded curtly, taking another drink.
“What, Sin? We just got here an hour ago…”
Klaus shot him a glare. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“Fine, fine, Sin,” the guy grumbled, being the first to leave, followed by the other girls. They knew better than to upset Klaus further when he was like this, so they gave him space.
Meanwhile, Morticia hurried to her room, hoping Vincent wouldn’t see her broken expression.
“Innocent demon… uh, Mom asked if-” Vincent didn’t finish his sentence when Morticia slammed her door shut with a loud thud.
He frowned. “Morty, are you okay?”
Morticia took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice.
“I’m fine, Vince. I’m just tired!”
“Okay… I’ll be heading out for a drink,” he said before she heard the door close.
Morticia let out a gasp, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle a scream. She rushed to her bed and buried herself under the duvet, letting her cry out slowly.
Her heart felt like it was being squeezed, colliding with her chest. The world seemed to close in on her, making it hard to breathe.
“It hurts,” she whimpered.
—
Rhea was still in class when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and saw Morticia’s name on the screen.
Glancing around, she lowered her head to answer.
“Babe, I’m in class right now. You know my schedule…” She hadn’t finished when Morticia’s broken voice came through.
“Rhea… can you come over?” Her voice was low and soft, and Rhea could tell she had been crying. “Please,” she added.
“I’ll be right there,” Rhea hung up.
The class still had an hour left, but she couldn’t wait that long, not when Morticia sounded like that.
She glanced at the young professor, who was busy writing and explaining on the board. The class had over 400 students, making her nervous since she was in the middle.
Taking a deep breath, Rhea grabbed her bag and headed for the exit, careful not to catch the professor’s attention.
“Where are you going, miss?” The professor’s voice made her flinch.
She met his gaze, along with the stares of other students.
“I’m… I’m pressed,” she lied.
“Then why are you taking your bag? Are you leaving?” he asked, and she heard some students chuckle.
“It’s an emergency,” Rhea said, turning to leave quickly.
On her way out, she bumped into Jamie.
“Hey,” he greeted, but she turned to leave immediately.
“Rhea, wait!” Jamie called after her, and she paused. “Have you seen Morty? She wanted to talk to me. I called her just now, but she didn’t pick up.”
“Oh… um… I don’t know. I’ll see you later,” Rhea shrugged and left, leaving Jamie blinking in confusion.
—
Dimitri had woken up a few minutes ago, her gaze remaining glued to the ceiling. Her face was pale, a red mark on her neck, bandages wrapped around her stomach and arm.
The memories played before her like a nightmare.
She loved Sin with every fiber of her being, yet she couldn’t have him. She thought she was his favorite since he slept with her the most. It made her feel special, but all of that was shattered now.
She was nothing to him.
The door creaked open as Simon stepped in.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, but she didn’t respond.
“Demi,” he crouched beside her, worry etched on his face as he held her hand.
“I want to be alone,” she croaked, her voice hoarse.
Simon sighed. “Are you hungry?”
“I said go away,” she demanded, but he stayed silent for a long while, his gaze fixed on her.
“It was Nica,” Dimitri broke the silence. “It was that bitch Nica who snitched on me.”
She continued, “She was the only one I told about the hunt on Morticia. She must have told Vincent, her crush. That bitch, I want her dead.”
“I can’t kill anyone, not with Void’s order,” Simon muttered, hating that he remained a puppet to a man he had never seen.
“Who the hell is Void?”
“I don’t really know. I became a puppet to him the day our parents died in that train crash. He gave me the only path to survive, with you.”
He continued, “I would’ve killed Klaus and Vincent if it weren’t for Void. I would’ve slit their throats for daring me. I would’ve burned their bodies before my men, for spitting in my face… but I guess that can’t happen since Void himself cherishes them too. And every move I make, he knows.”
Dimitri studied her cousin’s face. They had grown up and fought side by side.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, noticing the unmistakable dark intent flashing in his eyes.
“They’re stronger together, more like brothers. The more they roll and stick together, the more dangerous they become. They wanted to leave, but I didn’t let them… now the dogs I trained have bitten me, and they’re about to do more.
I’ll separate them. Make them hate each other, doubt themselves… I just need one of them to make one wrong move. One move that’ll make the other lose his mind… then I’ll strike,” Simon smirked darkly.
“What about Nica? I’m sure she told Sin about your attack,” Dimitri reminded him, not wanting Nica to slip away unpunished.
Simon’s gaze locked onto Dimitri’s. “She’ll get what’s coming to her.”
—
Vincent watched Nica as she served him his favorite drink. Unlike other times, she didn’t speak or smile.
They had been talking recently, ever since she started this job.
“What’s with the sulking?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just can’t believe you and Sin would be that impulsive,” Nica mumbled.
“She almost killed my sister. If I had arrived there one minute later, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion,” Vincent said, his voice low enough for only her to hear.
“You could have handled it differently. Now Simon will be after us, especially me… I snitched on him, not once but twice. Sin scared the hell out of me the first time, and as for you, I told you because I care about Morticia… and you…” She paused, nervously sweeping her hair back.
“Stop worrying. Simon won’t do anything. Not without the mysterious person, Void.” He slid the empty cup toward her, requesting more.
“What the hell is Void anyway? How did you even find out someone like that exists?” Nica asked while serving him another drink.
“Long story,” Vincent said, taking several sips.
“I know how badly you want to quit, but it’s not going to be easy,” Nica said in a low voice, and Vincent only smiled.
“Are you two into each other or something?” Old Evan, the owner of the shop, questioned.
Nica stayed silent while Vincent replied, “I have a girlfriend, Uncle.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. Nica swallowed, her smile faltering.
“Oh,” Old Evan blinked.
“What do you mean ‘oh’? Don’t you remember Sienna?”
Old Evan recalled. “Right, you two are still together. Wow, I thought you had split already since I haven’t seen her.”
“She’s on her internship. Quite busy, but she’ll come around soon.”
As they discussed, Nica played with her fingers, biting her lip.
“Alright, Uncle. I’m leaving. My mom is returning tonight,” Vincent said, his eyes flicking to Nica, who quickly smiled. “I’ll see you around, Nica.”
She nodded and watched him leave.