Chapter Forty Eight

Chapter Forty Eight
Jhelani's POV:

I barged into their apartment without knocking, completely pissed by the situation on ground. I walked further and met them in the kitchen and upon noticing me, they exchanged glances.

I could tell that they were acting weird and definitely hiding something they didn't want me to know. I arched my brows and walked further in the kitchen.

“What's going on?” I asked.

They diverted their gaze from me, acting like I didn't just ask them a question. “You three are in on your weird games again. But that's none of my concern because I have to get out of here.”

Kian raised a brow. “What do you mean? You're free to wander around. It's not like we have a leach around your neck or something.”

I forced a smile. “That's great humor. But I need to get out of here. I'm late for work and I know that it's one of you playing this prank but it's not funny. I need to get out of here.”

He turned to the others. They gave him a weird look and I was only getting more pissed that they were ignoring me.

“I can't do this back and forth. I'm going to lose my job if I don't get out of here,” I complained.

Jace sighed dejectedly. “Can you just give her the keys, Damon? She's not going to leave until she's got them.”

I turned to him, my arms crossed. I wasn't surprised that he's behind all of this. He acted oblivious and just continued drinking his coffee.

“You three are acting fishy, but I don't want to be part of it right now. I'm almost late for my shift. Can we not do this right now?”

He shrugged. “I'm doing this for your own safety.”

I stared blankly at him, trying to process what he just said. I wanted to leave the building but found out that the main exit door is locked and his only response to that is that he's doing this for my safety?

What a great excuse to get back at me.

I huffed. “I'm not a child, Damon. I can take care of myself and you need to stop treating me like one.”

He leaned against the counter, scrolling through his phone. I was annoyed that he was just plain ignoring me. Out of annoyance, I snatched the phone from his hand.

“Hey!” He yelled.

“I'm not giving this back to you until I get a logical explanation as to why I'm locked in here. Till then—You're not getting your phone back.”

Jace and Kian exchanged a look, and that made me even more annoyed. They weren’t saying anything, just standing there like I hadn’t asked a question. Damon didn’t even look at me. He just walked past like I was invisible, and that made my blood boil.

“Fine,” I said, tossing his phone on the couch. “Keep your secrets. But don’t expect me to sit here quietly while you treat me like a prisoner.”

I turned around and stormed out of the kitchen before any of them could say a word. My chest felt tight, and my head was pounding. I slammed my door and sat on the bed, trying to calm myself down, but the anger wouldn’t go away. I hated how they always made decisions for me like I couldn’t think for myself.

I was still fuming when I started hearing voices coming from the other room. At first, I didn’t care to listen, but when I heard Jace mention “the Council symbol,” I froze. My heart dropped instantly. I quietly got off the bed and pressed my ear to the door.

“It was on the ground near the balcony,” Damon said in a low voice. “It’s their mark. There’s no mistake.”

“Do you think they’ve found us?” Jace asked.

“I don’t think,” Damon said. “I know they’re watching us. Most probably her.”

I stepped back, my breath catching. My hands were shaking, and it felt like the ground had disappeared under me. The Council had found me again. After everything I’d done to stay hidden, they still managed to find me.

I didn’t even think before opening the door. “You knew?” I said, walking into the living room. They both turned to look at me, their faces showing surprise. “You knew and you didn’t tell me? Are you kidding me?”

Damon stood still, staring at me. “Jhelani, you weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“Oh, but I did,” I snapped. “You locked me in here and lied to me! What else are you hiding?”

Jace took a careful step forward. “We didn’t want to scare you. We were trying to figure things out first.”

I laughed, but it came out bitter. “You think keeping secrets helps me? It doesn’t! It just makes me feel useless.”

Damon finally spoke again, his voice quieter this time. “Someone broke in last night,” he said. “We almost caught them, but they dropped something. It had the Council’s logo on it. I didn’t want to tell you until I knew what we were dealing with.”

My throat went dry. “So they’re really back?”

He nodded slowly. “Looks that way.”

Silence filled the room. I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears. Jace reached out to touch my shoulder, but I pulled back.

“So what now?” I asked. “You plan to lock me inside forever while you handle everything? Because that’s not happening.”

“We’re just trying to protect you,” Damon said. “You don’t understand how dangerous this is.”

“I do understand!” I raised my voice, my eyes burning. “You think I haven’t been through this before? I’ve run, I’ve hidden, I’ve lost everything because of them. I’m not running anymore.”

“You can’t fight them all, Jhelani,” he said. “It’s too risky.”

“I don’t care,” I said, my voice shaking. “I’m done hiding while everyone else gets hurt trying to save me.”
Jace stepped between us, trying to calm the tension. “Hey, stop. Fighting won’t help right now. We need to think.”

But Damon didn’t answer. He just looked at me with that same stubborn expression. “You’re staying here, and that’s final.”

I stared at him for a moment, feeling something inside me crack. “You’ll regret treating me this way,” I said quietly before turning around and walking back to my room.

When I got inside, I shut the door gently and leaned against it. My eyes stung, but I refused to cry. I walked to the window and pushed the curtain aside.

I looked up at the stars and whispered, “I have to do something.”