Chapter 11 Signed In Blood
Seraphina stirred awake, her memories blurry for a moment. She felt weak all over. “Phoenix,” She murmured her son’s name, thinking she was still in Seattle. But as her eyes opened and took in her surroundings, all the events of the previous night kept rushing in.
Her stomach churned. She hadn’t been dreaming afterall. It was real. They were all real. The journal…
“If you agree to sign the contract, you will pack to live with me till the duration ends.” Julian’s conditional term from yesternight echoed in her ears.
She grabbed her phone from the bedside table, thinking of calling Sheila but surprisingly, her phone was switched off. She didn’t remember switching it off but didn’t waste her thoughts on it. She wasn’t sure she was ready to share her most recent experience with anyone yet, anyway.
Her hand went to her stomach that still ached from the aftermath of the miscarriage she had.
Damien’s image temporarily surfaced in her head, making her even more nervous and conscious. Damien was Julian’s twin. Was fate trying to mock her? Or punish her for sins she didn’t even commit?
Her eyes caught the covered plate on the nightstand table. Food? Now she could attach an image to the smell of grilled salmon that she had been perceiving, thinking it was all in her head.
Her stomach growled at the same time she spotted a file beside the covered food…and what looked like medicine placed on it.
She ignored them and went for the file, opening it with anxious fingers. She expected to see a long line of terms and conditions but there was only one.
“As long as we are bound by the marriage contract, you will do everything on my terms.”
No long rules. Just that single sentence.
She frowned at that. But what was the worst that could happen? The fulfillment that would come from getting the journal would surely be worth any shit she’d have to endure under him for a year. It was only a year. One year to win everything back. She’d survived worse. A sad smile tugged at her lips.
Her gaze drifted to the file again. She was going to sign before indecision clouded her logical thoughts again. But she didn’t find any pen on it. How did he expect her to sign?
Just then, she saw the medicine in front of her clearly. She flinched. Cold swallowed her whole. It was the same type of medicine the doctor gave her to manage the miscarriage before she left Seattle.
There could be only one reason Julian left this drug for her…He knew she had a miscarriage.
Her throat burned. She stood before she could stop herself, her legs dragging her away from the room to find him.
She wasn’t expecting to be met with a long hallway with several doors. Where could she find him? She relaxed her senses for any sign of movement and just then, she heard the slight sound of footsteps…somewhere near.
Her legs had barely taken her far when a loud sound that sounded like a gunshot stopped her right in her tracks. Her heart stalled in her chest.
Slowly, with heightened curiosity mingling with fear, she pushed the door where she had heard the sound come from open.
And there he was…
Julian was standing in the doorway, his silhouette sharp against the dim lighting. But that wasn’t what caught Seraphina’s attention, it was the pool of blood on the floor surrounding a dead man.
A loud gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it. Julian turned sharply, his sight catching her, gun in hand. Seraphina could feel the panic rising in her chest. She wanted to run away but her legs wouldn't move.
She felt stuck and traumatized.
But then, she spun around, intending to bolt, but he caught her. Strong hands wrapped firmly around her waist, holding her tight. Her body trembled, heart racing.
“I…I saw nothing. I swear.” She panicked.
“Shh,” he murmured close to her ear, the heat of his breath sending involuntary shivers down her spine.
“You saw everything, Phine.” Phine? No one had ever shortened her name that way. The intimacy of it felt invasive… almost possessive.
She was only familiar with Seraphina, Sera, or Phina.
“Will…will you kill me too now?” Her voice shook with great fear, her body quivering against his hold, the delicious scent of him mingling with that of the blood splashed on his chest and the smell of it in the air.
Then she felt his lips brush her ear lightly, “He’s a bad man. I only kill bad men.”
Seraphina couldn’t make sense of his words.
She tried to wrench herself free, but he was immovable. He spoke again. “Oh, you brought the contract to me.” Her gaze caught the contract on the floor. She didn’t realize it had fallen from her hands.
“You…you kill people…” she stammered, as if she couldn’t believe it was real.
“You already knew before now, didn’t you?”
It wasn’t a question. He knew about her knowing. Seraphina couldn’t deny it. She couldn’t say anything. She could only shiver against his possessive touch around her.
“How did you know?” Her voice was almost lifeless. His firm grip on her loosened as he replied to her, “Just like I learnt about the baby you lost...Or aborted? I am always a step ahead, Phine.” He released her from his hold. She staggered to stay upright. Then she turned to him, questions written all over her face.
He didn’t wait for her to ask more questions. “You read my text that night, saw that I ordered a kill.”
Seraphina struggled to breathe well.
“And as for how I knew about your baby loss, my female doctor had you tested while you were asleep.”
Seraphina almost couldn’t believe her ears. She was terrified, repulsed, even angry. “Oh my God. You are just…you are insane!” She choked out. “I’m not signing the contract anymore. I can’t.”
She expected rage or him firing bullets at her, but the look on his flawless face remained as calm as ever. As if he hadn’t just ended a life right now in her presence. As if he didn’t cross boundaries by having his doctor check her.
“But you already signed the contract, Phine.” He said.
She stared at him like he was going nuts. But then, he lowered and picked the contract from the floor and opened it, showing it to her. There was a thumb mark that appeared feminine in a box.
Her eyes popped. She couldn’t remember thumbing that.
She stared at the red-stamped mark beside her name, chest rising and falling.
She didn’t remember touching the file until this morning. “That’s not even possible. I didn’t thumb that!”
Julian smirked, dark amusement curling his lips.
‘‘You were restless in your sleep,’’ he said casually. “I only helped guide your hand. It’s called consent by conduct, sweetheart.’”
He smirked. “Now… Do you want to tell me everything that transpired between you and my twin brother? Because I’m dying to hear it all, Fiancée”