Chapter 51 Flashback!
|| Author POV ||
—Flashback—
One and half years ago
Killian leaned back against the couch’s headrest. His gaze followed the man who just exited the room after a brief conversation.
The sky outside had begun to dim into hues of blue and violet as the evening slowly took hold of the island.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Velaris Island.
He had to come here for a mission. Another name on a list. Another step deeper into the shadows.
Killian sighed, craving fresh air. Rising from the couch, his coat hugged his frame perfectly and he stepped out of the room.
The sea air hit his face as he made his way to the shore. With a flick of his lighter, smoke curled from his cigar and twisted into the cool evening air.
He finally halted before the sea and his eyes scanned the horizon. The sky had deepened to a soft blue, the cool evening air brushed lightly against his skin. His breathing was steady though he desperately needed the calmness.
His mind was tangled by the relentless chaos of his schedule. He needed a moment of quietness to clear his restless mind.
Suddenly, the air shifted to wild and electric. The seaside glowed under the blue and violet hues almost magically.
Annoyed, Killian flicked the cigarette to the sand and crushed it beneath his boot and inhaled deeply. The shore was silent and empty. He stood there motionlessly.
Then, his gaze snapped to a small figure nearby. A frail girl bent over the sand.
Her hair was catching the breeze like strands of silk. She was alone with a soft smile on her lips as she molded shapes in the grain, lost in her innocent world.
Killian didn’t move, his eyes locked on her small graceful hands that moved through the sand and the way her fair skin caught the fading light like a doll kissed by the dusk.
Her fingers danced in the sand, tracing patterns like they held meaning only she understood.
‘What is a kid doing here alone at this hour? Killian wondered.
She looked small and young. Maybe a teenager.
Then she tilted her head up, gazing out at the sea before her and his breath hitched.
Lavender eyes.
His stare sharpened. Darkened as those rare orbs caught the sky’s violet glow. Her lashes were long, kissing the tops of her cheeks while she focused on sea water.
Something unfamiliar twisted in his chest. He clenched his jaw. He didn’t know why he swallowed hard.
But it wasn’t just her eyes.
It was her face.
So heartbreakingly beautiful. So sweet it ached. Her lips held a rosy pout. Her cheeks were softly flushed from the cold breeze. There was something painfully pure about her like she had never been touched by cruelty.
Killian clenched his jaw tighter.
He didn’t know her name. Didn’t know why he couldn’t look away. But in that moment she looked like everything he wasn’t allowed to want.
His fist tightened at his side. She looked like a doll. A doll that should belong to him!
Killian knit his brows together in sudden frustration.
“Fuck!”
He hissed under his breath and dragged his eyes away toward the crashing waves.
Why the hell was he taking in every inch of her face like she mattered?
“Rosalie...!”
A new voice echoed through the shore, pulling her attention. Killian’s head turned sharply, gaze snapping back to her while the girl looked behind.
Rosalie.
Her name looped like a whispered spell.
Rosalie?
Killian didn’t know why it struck him like that. Why it refused to leave his mind.
But something about her, her name, her face and her innocent presence felt dangerously unforgettable under the dark blue sky.
Her eyes were wide, naive and sparkled like the evening stars. Killian swallowed clearly annoyed at himself for staring.
What the hell was he doing?
His gaze flicked to the boy walking toward her. A young man. The girl stood quickly, brushing sand from her skirt before folding her hands in front of her obediently and fiddled with them.
She looked like she’d shatter if the wind blew too hard.
“Rosa, are you done? Come back inside. Mom’s waiting.” the boy called out.
Rosa stood still, watching her cousin brother coming toward her. Kevin.
“Coming.”
That sweet voice. Killian’s breath hitched.
Soft. Calm and melodious.
His brows furrowed as he watched her walk away with those small delicate feet that barely made a sound against the sand.
What was this feeling?
Killian’s eyes tore away and snapped back to the restless sea. He inhaled sharply.
No.
He shouldn’t be thinking about her. She was just a girl. A mere girl!
|| At midnight ||
Killian tossed restlessly on the bed. Sleep refused to touch him. Ever since he returned from the shore his mind hadn’t known peace.
Those eyes.
That soft innocent smile flashed before him like a haunting illusion.
“Fucking hell!” he growled under his breath.
Frustration took over him. Killian took his phone from the nightstand and slipped out of bed. His bare chest catches the faint moonlight that crept through the curtains. His breaths were sharp, nose flaring as he ran a hand through his hair and stepped out onto the balcony.
He stood by the railing before his eyes flicked to the time, almost three in the morning. What the hell was wrong with him?
A girl.
Just a girl he saw by the shore and she was driving him insane.
Killian tried to reason with himself. She looked young, maybe a teen. He didn’t even know her age. And no matter what he wasn’t the kind of man to cross that line.
Still the unease inside him wouldn’t settle. With a frustrated exhale, he reached for his phone and dialed. After two rings, Chris picked up and his voice came groggy. “Yeah?”
“Chris.” Killian’s tone clipped “I need you to find some information on someone.”
There was a pause before Chris asked “Someone from the island?”
Killian’s eyes narrowed into the night. “Yeah.” he muttered. Then after a beat, he added coldly “A girl named Rosalie. I want everything, family, address, school, age. All of it. Within a few hours!”
Chris let out a quiet breath. “Got it. Should be easy.”
The call ended.
Killian stayed still with the phone clutched in hand. The night breeze brushed against his bare skin. His jaw ticked.
What the hell was he doing?
What was it? Curiosity?
Whatever it was, he was letting it consume him.
And somehow he didn’t want to stop.
|| THE NEXT DAY ||
Killian made his way toward the swimming pool. His eyes were vacant as they fixated on the shimmering surface.
His hand reached toward the buttons. Each button of his shirt came undone slowly, his mind still looping the image of the unknown girl. Those lavender eyes and that innocent smile. It haunted him all night.
He put his phone by the pool’s edge and dove in. The cold water hit his skin but it couldn’t quiet the heat rising in his chest.
No matter how deep he went, he couldn’t escape those damn lavender eyes!
Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Killian swam back to the edge with water cascading down his chiseled frame and he reached out before answering.
“Boss, the information you asked for. I’ve collected them.” his man reported.
Killian’s eyes sharpened. “Leave them on the table and get out.”
He ended the call.
Running a hand through his soaked dark hair, Killian stepped out of the pool.
Wrapping a robe around his body, he glanced around the empty space.
He’d reserved the entire pool for himself like he always does.
After reaching the hotel room, Killian headed straight to the table without pause. He picked up the file and flipped it open. His sharp eyes scanned every lines and details.
“Rosalie Sinclair.” the name curled off his tongue.
He exhaled sharply through his nose, annoyed at himself for the way her name tasted so sweet and addictive on his tongue.
Lives in the city.
Orphaned.
Living with her aunt and her son.
What surprised him the most is that she was staying in the same hotel as him. He chuckled.
But then his gaze froze on one detail. Her age.
Seventeen. Soon to be eighteen.
His jaw clenched for a moment. Then slowly a dark smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
“So young.” he whispered to himself “..yet already haunting my thoughts.”
Since that day, Killian made a silent decision to watch her from afar. His men tracked her every move, every step she took. Yet even he couldn’t understand why he was so drawn to her, why she was in his thoughts like a haunting melody.
Months slipped by and his curiosity twisted into obsession.
No other woman captured his attention. Only her. That delicate violet flower.
Then one day his men reported she had enrolled in Spain’s National University for her college years. Killian’s heart ticked. Because soon, he would be there too as undercover in disguis driven by a singular purpose: REVENGE.
It wasn’t a coincidence. Seems like fate was pulling them together.
If that’s the case then he’ll wait until she turns eighteen.
|| Flashback ended | Back to Present ||
Everything flashed before Killian’s eyes. He recalled the first time he saw her. That fragile girl by the sea, her violet eyes and those hands.
And now, she was smiling at him while clutching the bouquet like a beautiful doll.
Killian let out a bitter chuckle. That little girl, his.
His girlfriend!
It was absurd. Dangerous. Fated. Maybe all three.
But he didn’t care. Whether it was fate or madness, he’d already made the choice--She would belong to him until the end of time.
“Let’s head back.” he said lowly and scooped her into his arms without warning.
Rosa gasped and wrapped her legs around his waist like a frightened kitten clinging for safety. Her arms slipping around his neck while bouquet dangled behind his back.
Killian bit back a groan. That pure face. So unaware of what she did to him. He turned sharply on his boot and with a slow tilt of his head, Killian dragged his wet tongue across Rosa’s soft cheek.
Rosalie whimpered softly and pressed her face into his shoulder while the bouquet hung behind him like a fragile token of her affection and his possession.
As soon as they stepped into the quiet hotel room Killian carried her straight to the bed. He placed her down gently.
Rosa didn’t move. The bouquet still rested in her lap. Its scent mixed with the expensive cologne on his skin.
Without saying a word Killian knelt before the bed and took her foot in his hand.
Rosa flinched slightly. “W-what are you d-doing?”
She tried to pull away but Killian’s dark gaze held her frozen. He carefully slipped off her shoes.
Rosa blinked down at him with a confused heart. She couldn’t believe how harsh he’d been before but now he was kneeling before her and handling her like she was something precious.
“Wh-where’s your room?” Rosa asked quietly. The curiosity softened her voice.
Killian stood up and chuckled darkly under his breath. He took the bouquet from her clutch and set it beside the bed.
“This one, obviously.” he replied coolly.
“Then.. where’s m-my room?” she asked innocently.
Killian tilted his head and a slow smirk curved his lips as he leaned closer. His knee sank into the white mattress beside her, causing it to dip under his weight.
Rosa stared up at him, her breath catching as his figure towered over her and casting a monstrous shadow across her small frame.
“We’re sharing one, little rabbit.”
Her eyes widened in shock only to flutter shut the moment his lips crashed onto hers.
Killian pressed her into the pillow, his mouth claiming her bottom lip with a sensual hunger.
Devouring her lips with a slow hunger, he finally plopped beside her and pulled her against his chest. His gaze dropped to her flushed cheeks and the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement.
“What’s going on in that little head of yours?” he murmured while tightening around her waist.
Rosalie dipped her head shyly “W-we can’t share a bedroom. It’s not right.”
Killian let out a dark chuckle, clearly amused by her innocence.
“We already fucked, rabbit.” he didn’t even hesitate.
Rosa’s eyes shot up at him. Her eyes were wide in disbelief at his shameless words. Killian only held her tighter before brushing a soft peck to her lips.
Rosa said nothing. Her hands hesitantly rose to wrap around him.
She could hear her own heartbeat echoing in her ears faster and louder. Her senses were spiraling as they cuddled into each other’s arms. She smiled and snuggled into his buff chest.
‘May this never end.’ Rosa wished to herself.