37.

I had seen the daybreak, not because I wasn't sleepy, simply because I couldn't, and also because I was still waiting for Klaus to open that door. When I got tired of pacing back and forth, giving the impression that I might dig a hole in the floor from walking in the same place, I ended up sitting in the middle of the bed and continued waiting.

The day slowly dawned, gradually illuminating the room, dispelling all the darkness that had been there. It wasn't the first time I had seen the sunrise during my time in rehab; I felt good seeing the sun rise because I knew it was one less day in that place. However, I knew that no matter how many sunrises I witnessed, my time in Klaus's house would never come to an end. He had already sentenced me, and everything indicated it was a life sentence.

Restlessness still raged within me, as did my thoughts, which were in a complete tangle. I couldn't concentrate on just one anymore; I felt on the verge of combustion with so much happening to me at the same time. Above all, I could only hate Klaus; I couldn't think of the love I once felt for him or could feel. I could only feel hatred, just as I felt for Klaus when he visited me for the first and last time in the clinic.

In front of me, he stared fixedly, wearing a serious expression. I knew that look, and I knew he hated being there, forced to visit me when he could be anywhere else at that moment.

"You look horrible," he emphasizes. There were no mirrors around, nothing I could use to threaten my life or the lives of the people I lived with. But from his unkind words, I could believe I must have looked that way. I couldn't take care of myself, feeling so much pain, needing to fight against something inside me daily. Despite the staff's efforts, telling me that I was doing very well and that all of that would be behind me, I couldn't think that way, couldn't see that I was climbing out of that pit.

"What are you doing here?"

He raised his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side.

"Show that I care about you," he forced a laugh. "But you'd never notice that because you're a blind bitch," he muttered low, leaning in my direction. "Honestly, I think it's a waste of the money I'm spending here when I could spend it on other things."

Suddenly, I grabbed his face, digging my nails into his flesh, pressing my lips tightly against his, maintaining eye contact. Kai started to move, freeing himself from my hands as he stood up and took a few steps back.

"Careful, I might be crazy too," I said softly, smiling slightly.

He looked at me with disdain, running his hand over the areas that were bleeding.

"For me, you'll rot here," he said before turning around and walking away.

"I love you too, darling," I murmured, curling up inside myself, feeling slight tremors throughout my body. I felt abandoned in that place, even with so many people always around me. I hoped that at least my parents would visit me one day, to know how I was from my own mouth, to hear the plans I had made for when I got out of there, but no one came. I felt that with each passing day, I fell further into oblivion, and maybe they were even enjoying knowing that I was in that place indefinitely. And once again, I felt that history was repeating itself, this time with Klaus. It would be comical if it weren't so tragic.

"Stop saying those things, Hailey," Klaus said behind me, both arms around me. "I would never hurt you in any way."

"Most men say that and then kill or beat," I said emotionlessly, looking at an invisible point.

He took a deep breath, tightening his arms around me.

"I'm not like most men," he said against my hair. "Besides, my mother always says you shouldn't hit a woman, not even with a flower." I leaned my head against his chest, remembering a conversation we had had some time ago by chance. Klaus, like his brother, had witnessed their father abuse their mother in every possible way for some time, even in public. Every time, they were scared and didn't understand why he did such things every time he came home drunk or just because something didn't please him when he got home. The years went by, the boys grew up, and the abuse continued. It didn't matter that their mother went to the police or asked for a restraining order; there were several of those, but none of them worked. But one day, everything changed. He was about to hit her, but this time, the boys were no longer frightened children and made it clear to their father, who left the house after a beating. He ended up dying six months later of cirrhosis, begging for his sons to visit him one last time, but none of them did, only their mother forgave him for all the pain and suffering he had caused.

"I would never hurt you. I'm not like that. I love you."

I always knew that between the two, Klaus was more prone to hurt me in some way. Not because he wanted to someday, but it was the way he reacted on impulse, not paying much attention to the consequences that might follow. It was just like Rafael; I didn't think it would be any different with me, even if he didn't want it to happen, it would sooner or later, and I was preparing for it.

I lifted my head the moment I heard the door being unlocked, not taking long for it to open, and Klaus appeared in my field of vision with a tray, holding my gaze for a few seconds before entering the room and placing the tray at the foot of the bed.

"Your breakfast," he said softly, with his eyes on me. I looked at the tray and then at him, narrowing my eyes.

"I don't want to eat," I said without thinking twice, without even stopping to analyze if I was hungry. When the silence continued, I impulsively got up, running as fast as possible toward the door. Mentally, I was sure I could make it. However, even before I could get out the door, I felt Klaus's hands on my waist, pulling me back and throwing me onto the bed without measuring forces. I lost my breath when my body hit the mattress, not hesitating to get up and go toward him now.

"You can't keep me locked in here!" I yelled uncontrollably, scratching and hitting him relentlessly.

"Hailey!" He yelled, trying to stop me and defend himself from the attacks. "You can hate me as much as you want, Hailey. But don't do that again," he said through gritted teeth. "Don't hit me

again, because I won't take responsibility for what I do to you."

I continued to stare at him with a frightened expression.

"Now eat this damn food, and don't make me shove it down your throat. If I do that, it won't be good at all," he said, swallowing hard, as the threats ended. I swallowed hard as the threats ended, watching him leave the room with anger bubbling inside me. How could he talk to me like that? Who did he think he was?

I screamed as loudly as I could, causing my throat to ache.

"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!" I screamed incessantly until I lost my breath and started crying. I just wanted to get out of that room, get rid of the pain that was killing me, but Klaus was complicating everything again. It was as if his only goal was to make my life complicated and turn everything into hell.