Chapter 96 Why Do These Things Happen To Me?
Chapter 96 Why Do These Things Happen To Me?
"You know what? On second thought, I am not going to tell Cole anything," I said flatly, squaring my shoulders. "He does not control my life. I don't have to explain everything I do or where I go to him. I am an independent woman."
Isabella looked a little surprised at first. Then a slow, approving smile spread across her face.
"Oooh... look who's finally growing a backbone... I like that spirit, Kitten," she said, her tone filled with genuine respect. "Very well then. You can just follow us later."
She gave my hand one last squeeze before taking a step back.
"But right now, you need to go back inside and get some sleep," Isabella told me, giving me a knowing look. "You are going to need all your energy. Like I said, this party is going to go on all night."
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," I said, chuckling.
"Oh, you better believe it... now remember, Cole is going to be hyper-vigilant as always, and since you're not telling him or even getting an excuse, that means you must avoid him at all costs," she warned. "Don't take his calls, don't reply to his messages, and definitely do not let him know what we are doing. I will have a specific car sent to the edge of the estate for you later this evening. Just sneak out, get in, and we will handle the rest.... oh my gosh, I feel like I'm in high school again! This is so exciting..."
"Very well," I said. "I'll see you tonight."
I spent the rest of the day in my room, but staying out of Cole's way was harder than I thought.
Knowing he would be patrolling the main wing, I quietly moved a few of my things down the hall to one of the empty guest rooms on the far east side of the house. It was isolated, quiet, and the perfect cover.
By afternoon, my phone started buzzing relentlessly on the nightstand. Cole’s name flashed across the screen over and over again, accompanied by a string of increasingly frantic text messages. I stared at the screen, my chest tightening with guilt, but I forced myself to ignore them.
I was tired of being suffocated. I needed just one night where I made my own choices.
But he wasn't giving up. On the tenth call, the vibrating was so persistent it practically rattled off the table. Realizing he would probably send his guards to break down my door if I didn't answer, I finally swiped the screen and put the phone to my ear.
"Where the hell are you?" Cole’s voice barked through the receiver before I could even say hello. "I went back to our room. Your things are gone, Celene. Where are you?"
I took a slow, deliberate breath, keeping my voice entirely flat. "I moved my things to the guest room on the east wing, Cole."
A heavy, stunned silence fell over the line. I could hear his sharp, shallow breathing.
"The guest room," he repeated, his voice dropping into a dangerously low register. "What is that supposed to mean? Why are you in a guest room?"
"Because I need some space," I said. "The master bedroom feels crowded right now. I just... I need room to breathe."
"Space from what? From me?" Cole sounded incredibly frustrated, his footsteps echoing through the receiver as if he were already pacing the hallways. "Celene, you were drugged yesterday. You were kidnapped. And your reaction to almost being killed is to lock yourself in a guest room away from me? That makes zero sense."
"It makes perfect sense to me," I shot back, my defensive walls going up. "You are suffocating me, Cole. Ever since yesterday, you’ve been looking at me like I’m made of glass. Or worse, like I did something wrong."
"I am trying to protect you!" he growled.
"No, you're trying to control me," I retorted, letting my frustration carry the lie.
"Daniel drugged you and put you in a hotel room, Celene. Forgive me if I didn't stop to ask for your permission before I saved your life," he said, his sarcasm sharp and biting.
"I'm grateful you found me, Cole. I am," I said, rubbing my temples. "But I cannot handle your intensity right now. Every time I look at you, I just feel the weight of your panic and your anger. I just need today to myself. I need to clear my head without you hovering over my shoulder, analyzing every breath I take."
"I'm not hovering," he muttered, though he sounded slightly defensive now.
"You are. You've called me all day," I pointed out. "I'm safe inside the house. The guards are at the doors. Nothing is going to happen to me in the guest room. Just give me some time to sleep and process everything. Please."
A long, tense pause stretched between us. I held my breath, waiting to see if he would push past my boundaries and come find me anyway.
Finally, he let out a rough sigh. "Fine. If you want the guest room for tonight, take the guest room. But I’m keeping two guards posted at the end of that corridor. And you keep your phone on. If I call, you answer."
"Fine," I lied. "Thank you, Cole."
"I'll see you tomorrow, Kitten. Get some rest."
"You too," I murmured, and hung up.
I stared at the black screen for a moment, my heart hammering against my ribs. I hated arguing with him, but it had worked. He wouldn't come looking for me in the master bedroom, and he would assume my silence for the rest of the evening was just me taking the space I had demanded.
I turned the phone completely off and shoved it into a drawer. Now, I just had to wait for the sun to go down.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long, dark shadows across the estate, I slipped out of the guest room.
Navigating the corridors was easy enough. I knew the guards' shift rotations, and by sticking to the service stairs, I managed to slip out into the gardens and cross the perimeter to the back gates without drawing any attention from the men Cole had posted at the front.
Just like Isabella had promised, a sleek black sedan was idling quietly on the shoulder of the road, its headlights turned off.
I took a deep breath, walked up to the passenger side, and pulled the door open.
"Hi, Isabella sent me..."
I stopped mid-sentence. The backseat was empty. Before I could even ask the driver what was going on, a thick, heavy cloud of sweet-smelling white smoke billowed from the front vents, hitting me straight in the face.
I gasped, instinctively taking a breath, and instantly regretted it.
My lungs burned. My head spun violently, the world outside the car window began to spin and shake... turning into a blur of dark trees and fading light. I tried to reach for the door handle to pull myself back out, but my limbs felt heavy...they were becoming completely unresponsive to my brain.
My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the leather seat. The door clicked shut, locking automatically, as the darkness rushed in and took me completely.
How the fuck do this things keep happening to me?