Page 40 of Mind Maze

I unzip the bag and pull out a picture. It’s me as a baby, golden hair glistening on top of my head. I’m wearing a toothless grin in the picture.

“Baby pictures?” I say, looking up at her, eyebrows pinching. “Uh, thanks.”

To be honest, I probably have most of these. Family picture albums existed in my home, but they were kept in closets. Dad never decorated with photos of his children like most families do. He did, however, take pictures of us.

“They’re um, of you and the nanny.” She grimaces at the last word. “I figured you’d want them. To dispose of or whatever.”

Apprehension floods through me, but I force myself to pluck out another picture from the bag. This one, I’m two, sitting in a highchair. Beside me is Bastian, holding a birthday cake and cheesing for the camera. Vivienne stands aside, watching us. Dad must be the photographer.

I try to remember my own mother and where she fit in on this timeline. When she left, did she leave the door open for the monster to come in?

“Ro-laaaaaa.”

I nearly drop the bag. The scones in my stomach roil. These pictures were not what I expected when I agreed to meet Eva for coffee.

Another picture is of me in Vivienne’s room, which is now a guest room, and she has bows in her hair. I must’ve been about four or five. I’m proud as punch to have done her hair up with all the bows. I wonder if it was Bastian or Dad who took the photo. I also wonder at what point did she go from my caring nanny who played with me to a monster who stalked me at night.

I can’t look at these anymore.

Shoving the pictures back into the bag, I let out a heavy sigh. “Thanks. I think.”

“I figured that journal of hers might shed light into your questions and murky past. I didn’t read it, but I did flip through it to see there are countless entries. If it makes you feeluncomfortable, dump it all in the trash on the way out. I just wanted you to have it, is all.”

My phone buzzes from my coat pocket. I pull it out and see Caius’s name on the screen.Decline.

He immediately calls back. I decline that call as well. After five separate calls where he’s declined, he finally stops calling. Then come the texts. The first one has me shoving my phone back into my coat pocket, ignoring him altogether.

Caius: Where the hell are you? Come back now.

Eva’s eyebrow lifts in question. “Your boyfriend looking for you?”

“Yup. I’m mad at him too.”

She chuckles. “I understand that, honey. Men can be difficult sometimes.”

Sometimes?

How about always?

“He’s so hot and cold,” I admit with a grumble. “Last night we got into an argument. Things got passionate and then he just…stopped. It was rude, and quite frankly, hurt my feelings.”

Okay, so it felt good to let that out.

I may not need Maura, but having someone who doesn’t bear the Crowne name to hear my woes is nice.

“Sounds like your father,” Eva says, frowning. “It doesn’t feel good to be on the receiving end when they turn cold.”

I swallow the ball of emotion that forms in my throat. Dad’s always been cold to me. Having Caius go back and forth is too confusing for my heart. It was easier when he was just cold. I could hate him like that.

It’s hard to truly hate him right now.

My phone continues to buzz. Maybe waking up without me will have him reconsidering how he treated me last night.

I get the sudden sense that I’m being watched. When I scan the café, no one stands out. Weird.

“Be patient with him,” Eva says to me in a gentle tone. “Beneath all that ice is a man worth loving. I know this because I’ve found the center of your father. I believe you will do the same with Caius.” She winks at me. “Besides, I saw the way he looks at you. I’d say he’s quite obsessed.”

I stifle a derisive snort. Obsessed with making sure his captive doesn’t go too far out of his sight.

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