Chapter 36
Sofia Bliss
I was tired.
Tired of the cheap suspense.
Tired of watching Letícia freeze every time the conversation reached that same damn point.
I couldn’t keep pretending anymore—pretending this was all just some weird coincidence. That nothing was happening. That I wasn’t surrounded by things I couldn’t explain.
I stood up from the stool, trying to keep my expression neutral - the last thing I needed was to attract attention, especially after the scare that policeman had given us.
The atmosphere in the bar was still tense, even if it was calmer. It seemed that all it took was one wrong word and everything would explode again.
“Not this again, Letícia? Enough…” I whispered, my voice cracking with a mix of frustration and the panic still clinging to me. I kept my eyes locked on hers. “If this is really that dangerous—if it’s that serious—then you need to tell me. Now. You can’t keep hiding things from me like this!”
Letícia looked away, biting her lower lip, her face tightening with something between worry and guilt.
And that expression…
It hit me like a punch in the stomach.
I knew — deep down — she was trying to protect me from something.
Something big.
Something she wasn’t allowed to say.
But whatever it was… it had already gone too far.
“I swear I’ll tell you everything, Sofia. I promise… just not here. It’s not safe, please…” she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper, eyes wide, begging me to sit back down—to wait until that cop was gone.
I took a step back from her, my throat tightening.
This wasn’t fair.
Why did everything in my life have to be a goddamn mess?
My mom’s accident...
My dad trying to kill himself...
And now this
What could be so important—so dangerous—that Letícia had to hide it from me?
I let out a deep breath, shaking my head slowly.
“I can’t do this anymore, Letícia. These secrets… they’re driving me insane. I’ve had enough.”
I looked around. The bar had gone strangely quiet again, like everything was holding its breath.
Maybe this was the moment.
Maybe I needed to get the hell out of there before things got even worse.
Maybe I should just cut my losses and end this night before it turned into a full-on disaster.
And that’s when it happened.
Right as I decided to walk away—
I felt it.
That chill.
That sharp, unmistakable shiver that crawled down my spine and gripped the back of my neck like ice.
A cold wave that froze me in place.
Slowly, I turned my face toward the administration office. The door creaked open, inch by inch, and then he stepped out — the officer. His footsteps were heavy and sure, a large briefcase in his hand. But it was his eyes…
The moment they locked with mine, it felt like my heart stopped.
He was coming straight toward us.
Focused. Eyes locked on me like I was the only thing that existed in the room.
I swallowed hard. My palms were already sweating. Letícia stood up and moved to my side, grabbing my hand tightly—just like before—pulling me closer as if we were about to run.
Together.
But I couldn’t move.
My body didn’t want to move.
Then his deep, rough voice carried across the room.
And I froze completely.
“Where do you think you’re going in such a hurry, ladies?”
My heart nearly stopped again. Reflexively, I turned to Letícia, whose face was somehow even more terrified than mine.
I remembered what she told me.
Don’t say a word. Don’t answer anything.
But how was I supposed to stay silent with HIM standing behind me like that?
His presence wrapped around my throat — invisible, but suffocating.
I could feel him getting closer.
And it wasn’t normal.
There was something ‘off’ about him.
He looked like... a predator. Approaching slowly. But ready to pounce the moment you made the wrong move.
Since when could I feel things like that?
Since when could I feel this kind of thing? This feeling that seemed to go beyond human senses. It was something so...Animalistic.
Still, my body didn’t move.
Like some primal part of me knew better.
"Don’t. Move." It was almost as if I could hear a whisper inside me, telling me not to move.
Letícia tried to take control, though I felt how hard her hand was shaking in mine. Her lips were pale, barely moving as she forced a smile — one that wouldn’t fool anyone, especially not him.
“We… we just came for a few drinks. But we were already leaving,” she said, trying to sound calm.
She failed.
Her voice cracked in all the wrong places.
The officer let out a low sound.
Something between a chuckle and a growl.
“Is that so?” he replied, his tone thick with irony and suspicion.
Letícia nodded quickly.
“Yes. Exactly. We’re just on our way out.”
And then I felt it.
His gaze.
Turning directly to me.
I didn’t need to look to know 'exactly' where his eyes were fixed.
Somehow, I just knew.
My skin tingled. Goosebumps exploded across my arms.
It felt like his stare wasn’t just looking.
It was touching me.
Trying to decipher something in me, seeing so deeply that it made even me wonder: Who I was.