Page 29 of Hunted for Halloween

Jonathan's unwavering gaze is pinned on me like a hawk, burning with rage and disappointment. “You disgust me.”

Those words are like a slap across my face. He doesn't waste one more moment in my sight before he strides out of the lobby furiously.

I stand there, a burning sensation gathering in my chest, weakening me to the bones. The world around me fades into the darkness, the realization of what just happened tearing me into pieces over and over again.

I didn't just lose my best friend. I lost the best thing that has ever happened to me in the five decades I have been alive.

Chapter Nine

AURORA

Istare at the dark clouds blankly from the window, not moving a muscle from where I'm seated on the sofa in a monk style.

The enormous compound that surrounds my father's mansion materializes before me through the drawn curtains and open windows. The incessant gushing of water from the fountain from afar does nothing to shake me out of my numb state.

I don't know how long I have been sitting there and rotting away, but it doesn't matter. Nothing has mattered since the blow up at Christian’s firm a week ago.

At first, it consumed me with so much hatred and fury that my father had reduced me to nothing but a prisoner in the home I grew up in. Not only did he confiscate every gadget in this house to prevent me from reaching out to Christian, he reinforced the entire mansion with huge, scary bodyguards, including the muscular duo that are currently outside my door.

I wanted to fight him on it but it's useless trying to fight someone that I haven’t seen once since that day. He has been a no-show since then and I have no doubt that he has thrown himself into work while I'm stuck here like a zombie.

Before Christian, my life was plain. Not too boring and not too exciting. It was in between. But when he came into my life, he brought a burst of colors and a dark, exciting thrill into my life, one I didn't know how much I depended on until he was ripped away from me.

Now, my life isn't just plain or boring. Everything around me feels dark and dead, drowning me, torturing me. I have been in hell since that evening, finding it hard to close my eyes because every time I do, I'm hit with the raw, disgusting and disappointing look in my father's eyes and the horrific scene that manifested before me.

It was an unceasing, agonizing torture.

And whenever I think it can't hurt more than it already does, every moment that passes without him chips away at a piece of my soul until I'm spent and empty. Crying has been rendered useless because I don't think I have cried the way I did these past few days.

A knock sounds at my door and I slowly look over my shoulder like a robot, staring blankly at the door. The knob twists open, momentarily spiking my heartbeat until Harriet pokes her head in through the door.

Her gaze softens when she sees me. I adjust my white silk robe that I'm wearing over a nightie, shifting in my seat.

“Oh, my beautiful girl.” She croaks, rushing over to my seat. I want to blink back the tears but I let them trickle down my cheeks, making no movement to wipe them off.

Harriet pulls me into a warm embrace. The tightness in my chest loosens and my tears rapidly fall. I don't hug her back but my loud sob punches through the air. I weep profusely in her arms while she strokes my hair.

“I'm so sorry, honey.” She murmurs, her voice strained. “I'm so sorry. I'm here. I'm always here. Just let it all out. You'llfeel better afterwards, I promise.” She reassures me, her voice soothing.

Harriet is the only one in this house who didn't judge me when I told her everything that happened. At least, she understands that I'm an adult and I'm capable of making my own choices. Heck, she thinks I love Christian because of how deeply this affects me.

And me? I don't know…I don't know what to think. All I want is to be in his arms again and breathe him in.

I know Harriet didn't just come in to check in on me. She must have a reason. She disentangles from the hug, her warm eyes searching mine as she takes my hand in hers, squeezing it.

“Your father is back.” I freeze, my body feeling as though it has just been drenched in a bucket of ice.

Her gaze regards the fear that flashes in my eyes. She knows I'm not ready to see him yet. I don't want to see him. My Dad is my favorite person in the world, but right now, with his caveman and controlling behavior, he's the last person I want to see.

I shake my head slowly, my lips trembling. “I-I don't want to see him.”

Harriet sighs. “He's not asking, Aurora. He wants you downstairs. He wants you to come down for dinner. He was going to come up here to drag you himself, but I volunteered to come fetch you.”

My expression closes off, my muscles locking with tension.

“I'm not going anywhere.” I grit my teeth, spitting out and rising to my feet.

“Aurora—”

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