Chapter 9 Untitled Chapter
Kendrix turned sharply. Skyler was leaning against the wall near the stairs, arms crossed, like he had been there the whole time.
“Don’t do that,” she snapped immediately.
He raised his hands slightly. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You exist too loudly.”
That made him huff a short laugh.“Not bad.”
Kendrix studied him for a second.“You were there earlier.”
Skyler didn’t answer right away. That pause again. She hated that pause.
“You were in the office,” she said more firmly.
He scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
“So you know what that was.”
Skyler looked away briefly.“Some of it.”
Kendrix stepped closer.“Some of it?” she repeated. “Are you serious right now?”
“Kendrix…”
“No.” Her voice sharpened. “Everyone keeps doing that. Talking like I’m half a story they’re not allowed to finish.”
Skyler sighed.“It’s not that simple.”
She laughed once. Short and bitter.
“There it is again.”
Skyler frowned slightly.“That phrase isn’t helping you.”
“It’s the only honest thing anyone keeps saying.”
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Downstairs, something moved. A distant door closing. Kendrix didn’t look away from Skyler.
“Say it,” she said quietly.
He blinked. “What?”
“Whatever you’re all avoiding.”
Skyler hesitated. For the first time, he actually looked uncomfortable.
“I can’t.”
That was enough. Kendrix stepped back slowly.
“Of course you can’t.”
She turned away, but Skyler spoke again.
“It’s not about you not being important.”
That made her stop. Her shoulders tightened slightly.
“What?”
Skyler pushed off the wall.“It’s about timing.”
Kendrix laughed under her breath. “Timing?” she repeated. “You think my life is about timing right now?”
She turned back to him.“Do you know what it feels like,” she said quietly, “to wake up and realize your entire life might be a lie?”
Skyler didn’t answer. Because there wasn’t anything good to say to that.
Kendrix nodded slowly like she already expected that.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “Didn’t think so.”
She walked past him. This time he didn’t stop her.
Downstairs, the study door was open slightly. Kendrix didn’t mean to stop. But she did. Roberto was inside. Standing near the window again. He was still like he hadn’t moved in hours. Skyler wasn’t there. Neither was Bash. Just him.
Kendrix stayed in the hallway, hidden just enough, watching. He wasn’t speaking. Wasn’t pacing. Wasn’t doing anything a man like him should be doing after what she heard earlier. Just standing there. Like he was thinking too deeply about something that didn’t have an answer.
Then, quietly he said.“You shouldn’t be standing there.”
Kendrix stiffened. He hadn’t turned around. But he knew. Of course he knew.
She stepped forward slowly into view.
“I’m not hiding,” she said.
Roberto finally turned. His expression was unreadable again. But different from earlier. Tired in a way she didn’t like.
“You are,” he said simply.
Kendrix crossed her arms.“Everyone in this house keeps talking in circles.”
Roberto didn’t respond immediately. His eyes stayed on her. Not cold this time. Just focused.
“You shouldn’t listen to conversations you’re not ready for,” he said.
That sentence again. Kendrix laughed softly.
“You really love saying that.”
She stepped closer. “Tell me something. If I’m so not ready, why keep me here?”
Roberto didn't move. Then he said,
“Because letting you leave would be worse.”
That landed heavier than it should have.
Kendrix stared at him.“Worse for who?”
Roberto didn’t answer. Not this time. He just looked at her,and for the first time since all of this started, he didn’t feel like Lucifer. He felt like someone holding something back so tightly it was starting to hurt. And that scared her more than anything he had ever done.
Kendrix didn’t wait for the silence to finish swallowing the room. Because if she stayed one more second, she knew she’d start asking questions she didn’t want answers to. And Roberto standing there like that, quiet, controlled, and almost restrained, was worse than when he was cold. That version of him felt more honest.
She turned away first and walked back to her room.
Not fast enough to look like she was running. Not slow enough to feel like she was thinking. Just enough to disappear from whatever that moment was turning into.
Behind her, she didn’t hear him follow.
That bothered her more than if he had.
Her room was still the same. Too big. Too clean. Too fake.
Kendrix shut the door and leaned against it for a second, just breathing through her nose like that would settle something inside her. It didn’t.
“Worse for who?” she whispered again.
Her own voice sounded stupid in the empty room.
She pushed off the door and paced once.
Then stopped.
“No,” she said under her breath. “This doesn't make sense.”
Kendrix exhaled sharply and started walking. Not really thinking. Just moving because staying still felt worse. She took one step. Then another. Then she stopped.
The quiet in the room pressed against her again, and suddenly Roberto’s voice came back anyway.
You shouldn't listen to conversations you're not ready for.
Kendrix shut her eyes briefly. “Stop it,” she whispered to herself. “Just stop.”
But her thoughts didn't stop. They kept circling. The photograph. The necklace. The name Lucifer.
Her fingers tightened at her sides.“No,” she said again, firmer this time. “I'm not going to stay here like this.”
She turned toward the window, and stopped again for a second. Just a second, like her body was checking if she was serious. Then she scoffed under her breath.
“Don’t start,” she muttered. “It’s just a window.”
Still, she didn’t move immediately. Her eyes stayed on it longer than necessary.
Outside, the city looked normal and alive.
Far away enough to feel unreal. Kendrix swallowed once. Then walked over slowly,
like she expected the glass to argue with her. Her hand touched the frame. It felt cold and real. That grounded her more than anything else in the room.
She hesitated just for a moment, then shook her head slightly.
“No,” she whispered. “I need answers.”
And before she could change her mind, she pushed the window open.
The air that hit her face felt different immediately. Loud and free.
She climbed out carefully, lowering herself onto the outer ledge. For a second, she paused there. Looking back into the room. Like part of her expected someone to be standing there, but there was only silence.
Kendrix exhaled slowly.“Good,” she muttered. “Stay that way.”
Then she moved. Careful steps along the narrow side path. Not fast. Not panicking.
Just deliberate. Each step felt heavier than it should have, like the house was trying to keep her in place without touching her. She ignored it completely.