Page 221 of The Devil's Fire

I washed my face with cold water, hoping it would take the worst away and make my eyes less puffy. I grabbed an oversized hoodie and pulled the hood over my head as I walked to Ava and Samantha’s place to get Kiara.

I knocked on the door, making sure I kept my eyes lowered to the ground to avoid any questions about it because I knew it was visible to see I had been crying.

“Hey, Althaia. Here to get Kiara?” Samantha asked with a smile.

“Yeah.” I had to clear my throat a little as my voice sounded off. “Thank you for watching her.” I tried again, sounding better.

“Are you okay?”

“Yep.” I dismissed her question just as Ava made an appearance with Kiara. I took her in my arms, happy to see the little furball rub her head against my chest with a purring sound.

“Thank you again for watching her.”

“No problem.” Ava said, and I turned around to leave, only to stop after a couple of steps before I turned around to look at them again. The warmth of Kiara’s purring provided a small comfort, easing the heaviness in my chest.

“How come you reported to Arianna and not to Damiano?” I decided to ask since it went through my mind ever since she left.

I had my suspicions about them the moment we bumped into each other, but I wasn’t too sure about it. Now, I was completely sure they were working for him when I hadn’t been able to spot any of his men.

It only made sense he would put someone close to me but also someone I wouldn’t recognize, so I wouldn’t feel like I was being watched. I just didn’t know why they reached out to Arianna first.

“Huh? Who?” Ava raised her brows, faking confusion, but I saw right through it. Samantha was quiet as she was still observing me ever since she asked if I was okay.

“I know he sent you here to keep an eye on me. I just want to know why you reported to Arianna today and not him?” I was looking directly at Samantha, who now had a corner of her mouth tilted a little upward, confirming that they were, in fact, working for him.

“I guess there is no point in keeping this a secret from you…” Ava trailed off and looked at Samantha.

“I think you know why we reached out to Arianna instead of Damiano.” Samantha replied, and I gave her a slight nod. “It doesn’t seem like you’re ready to see him either, since you didn’t mention him once to us. If we reported to him, he would have come.” She added, and she was right. If we were to see each other again, I would rather have it be under different circumstances.

“I see. Thank you for not telling him.” I didn’t wait for them to say anything else and went back to the house.

I stayed locked inside the house for days, or maybe even weeks. I didn’t know how many days had passed since Arianna and Michael were here. I had turned off my phone again, hoping Michael would get the message when he continued to call me and send me endless messages. I wasn’t interested in whatever he had to say to me when he so brutally brought up the pregnancy.

The rooms were shrouded in a heavy silence, broken only by the occasional meow from Kiara, who seemed to sense my despair. I haven’t gone outside a single time, and if Kiara hadn’t needed attention, food, and water, I wouldn’t have left my bed.

I was also pretty sure that if Ava and Samantha couldn’t see the lights being turned on and off in the house, they would probably have thought I was dead. I kind of was already.

I let out a sigh after filling up Kiara’s bowl with food, seeing I would need to get out and buy some more for her soon. Just as I was picking up some of the cat toys on the floor, I stumbled upon the box I had filled with some of my mother’s things.

I took the box and got comfortable on the couch as I went through the stuff. It was a bittersweet moment for me, feeling sad that this was how I would feel closer to her now, yet happy that I was able to get some of her things, and extremely grateful that they didn’t burn down the house. That would have destroyed me.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the chest at the bottom of the box. I had completely forgotten about it! I quickly picked it up, feeling my nerves kicking in as I opened the chest.

I emptied it and laid everything out in front of me on the couch and went through the papers. It looked like they were all letters from someone, but it wasn’t anything I could read.

It was in a different language, and not one I recognized. How many languages did my mother know? I had only ever heard her speak three languages, but not once has she mentioned that she knew more.

My eyes scanned the letter I was holding, trying to see if there was anything I could recognize, but to my disappointment, there wasn’t anything. I came across the picture and took a closer look to examine it.

It was definitely my mother when she was younger. I had seen enough pictures of her to know what she looked like back then. My mother was looking directly at the camera, smiling. The man next to her had an arm wrapped around her waist while he had a soft expression on his face as he looked at her. It was actually a rather cute picture, making me smile at it.

As I examined the picture closer, I couldn’t help but wonder about the man; he had blue eyes, light brown hair, and was quite handsome. Perhaps he was an old flame? The tenderness in his gaze suggested a closeness that intrigued me. Could the letters be from him?

I turned the picture around, seeing something was written on the back. A date was written on, letting me know that my mother was around her early twenties in the picture. Further down something more was written.

I noticed this one word that was written several times in the letters. The more I looked at it, the more I felt like I was familiar with it. Where had I heard this word before? My brows furrowed as I went through my mind, hoping something would click.

“No way!” I gasped out loud, my jaw dropped in the process. There was absolutely no way.

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