Chapter 71 Hidden letter!
|| Author POV ||
“If changing the truth will keep you mine, bunny–” Killian snarled, “Then I’ll gladly change it!”
He laughed low to himself before standing up and walked toward the window. He took out a cigarette, lit it and inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself.
He exhaled the smoke slowly, then took out his phone and dialed a number. The call went unanswered. He glared at the screen before shoving the phone back into his pocket.
His eyes closed in frustration when Rosa’s innocent face flashed in his mind. Then his gaze fell to the garden below. His eyes sharpened.
“What the hell is she doing out there!”
Killian spat, throwing the cigarette away and stormed out of the room.
He walked out of the mansion. The guards bowed as he passed but Killian didn’t even glance their way. His footsteps were silent when he reached the garden. His eyes immediately locked onto the figure laying on the bench in the garden.
Killian took graceful steps toward her.
Then stood before her, tilting his head. The night air was cool but her skin seemed to glow softly in the moonlight. Strands of hair was spilling over her face. His eyes stuck on her closed lids.
She was sleeping peacefully.
“Pft!” A low chuckle escaped him.
No wonder she came here, hoping for peace and ended up drifting off. How utterly adorable.
Killian’s mind twisted as he watched her curling into herself like a fragile creature. For a moment, he felt the madness crawl back in. An urge to hurt her so bad just for being that beautiful.
That soft. That maddeningly innocence. She played with his mind without even trying. It was bothering him.
Killian tilted his head slightly, imagining it. How would she react if she knows the truth? Would she cry? Tremble? Would it be fun to watch her break?
But he’s going to change the truth anyways.
His jaw flexed. A frown formed when his phone buzzed in his pocket. The sound was low but he didn’t want it disturbing her.
With one last glance at her peaceful form, Killian stepped away and slipped the phone to his ear.
“Yes, I received the information and I want you to take care of a serious matter. Don’t inform Chris about it right now.” Killian mumbled. His eyes rested on the small patch of flowers Rosa had been growing so lovingly.
His man replied on the other end. Killian’s jaw locked.
“I want you to erase the entire truth.” he said coldly. “Any trace of it. From the internet. Database. Archives. Newspapers. Articles. Everything.”
His gaze shifted back to the bench. She was still asleep, curled like a kitten.
“I don’t know how you’ll do it.” Killian muttered. “Just do it. Soon.”
“Did you track him down?” he asked coldly. He heard the man's nervous stammer on the other end and scoffed under his breath. “Useless!”
“Ask Chris to contact me directly. I want that bastard found as soon as possible.” he ordered, already losing patience.
He walked farther into the shadows of the garden. Discussions followed with one of his trusted man. Minutes passed before he returned to where she lay.
“And if even a grain of ashes remains, i’ll make you lick it clean with your tongue.” Killian murmured into the phone. Then he ended the call.
He leaned down and slowly gathered her into his arms. Her head tucked under his chin as if she belonged there.
Just having her in his arms, that sick satisfaction unfurled in his chest like power. Like ownership. Like feeding the monster inside him with the illusion of obsession.
The guard bowed again when Killian passed, cradling Rosa in his arms.
He walked upstair and quietly pushed open the door to her room and stepped inside. Without a word, he laid her on the bed and covered her with the thin blanket. His gaze locked for only a second before he turned off the light and walked out, letting the door close behind him with a soft click.
The room fell silent.
A few heartbeats later, Rosa’s eyes snapped open.
She clenched the sheet with her fists, slowly sitting up.
She wasn’t sleeping.
She had gone to the garden for some air, just to breathe, to watch the moon for a while. She must’ve dozed off there, curled up on the bench but the sound of his phone woke her. She didn’t move, didn’t speak. She simply let her body stay still, pretending to sleep.
Rosa’s eyes scanned the room now. The lamp on the nightstand glowed faintly, casting long shadows across the floor. Her heart felt heavy in her chest. Her hands trembled and she pulled the blanket tighter around her.
Rosa hugged her knees and rested her head atop them. Something cold settled inside her. A quiet fear that refused to be shaken off.
What was that conversation? What exactly was he talking about?
Does a businessman talks like that? Why did it sound like... like something he wasn’t supposed to say around her?
She remembered the day she saw Kevin outside the college, that day in his office when she’d walked in unannounced and caught a single line before the call ended ‘If he talks, make sure he won’t talk again.’
It echoed in her skull now, just like tonight’s words. Words that felt... wrong. Her stomach churned with unease.
What truth was he so desperate to erase? What newspaper had he mentioned? Who was the person he was trying to track down?
And why had he threatened someone with such cold finality?
‘And if even a grain of ashes remains, i’ll make you lick it clean with your tongue.’ His words echoed relentlessly in her mind, twisting her thoughts into a knot of fear and confusion.
Rosa didn’t understand what was happening inside her or why the weight on her chest felt so unbearable. Curling into herself, she hid her face in her arms. The loneliness wrapped around her like a cold shroud.
Maybe she was just being paranoid?
Maybe her mind was twisting things, overthinking every word, like he said ‘The mind plays cruel tricks when it’s weak’.
Maybe it really was just a business call, just like how people sometimes throw playful threats without meaning harm. Yes, that had to be it. Nothing more.
|| AT MORNING ||
Rosa was feeling much better. She sat quietly in the library with a thick novel in her hands but her eyes weren’t following the words.
Her mind kept drifting back to his voice, those strange words from the night before. She pouted, trying to shake away her own thoughts.
‘I’m just being dumb.. overthinking again.’
Rosalie sighed before closing the book and stood up from the chair. Bored and restless from being stuck inside for days, she wandered toward the tall bookshelves in search of something new. Her fingertips grazed the spines absentmindedly as she moved between the shelves.
A thought flickered through her mind. She remembered the day in the library when she asked about the underworld. He had said, ‘Nothing a kid should know.’
But she wasn’t a kid. So why was she forbidden to know? Why does he thinks she’s a kid? She’s eighteen already.
Killian had even warned her not to touch anything from the upper shelf. Her eyes fixated on that very shelf.
Stepping closer, Rosa glanced up. Those thick books looked ancient. Its cover was worn and mysterious.
Rosa stood on her toes, stretching her body to reach the books on the highest shelf of the towering library wall. Her fingers barely grazed the bottom row of books. She stood down with a little frown.
She craned her neck, trying to glimpse the titles high above. She felt so little. Rosa glanced around. The library was silent. Carefully, she pulled over a small chair and climbed up.
Each shelf was like a portal, sections of poetry, old literature, science, art and then, something different. All the books were so thick, wrapped with leather.
Rosa peeked deep at a golden book curiously. Her brows slightly drawn together. A single piece of paper was tucked between the pages.
Rosa pinched her eyebrows.
A letter?