Page 158 of Luxe

“Who’s there?” my voice sounds terrified in my own ears and makes me ever more scared.

“Hello, Kiara.” The door opens completely, and he’s there.

I haven’t seen him in over a year, but nothing’s changed.

“What are you doing here? Get out!” I inch back against the headboard, pulling the sheet around me. My brain feels like it’s stuck in slow motion as I try to process what is happening.

“What have I told you about closing your windows? Remember when I used to warn you? I had to wait outside your apartment in New York to make sure you’d be okay.”

He takes a step into my bedroom, and I want to be sick. Not here. He can’t be here.

“Get out!! Don’t come a step closer!”

“Unfortunately, I can’t do that, Kiara. I’m going to need you to come with me.”

My hand closes around my phone and I launch it at him as hard as I can. In the dark, he misjudges the speed and it smashes against his forehead.

“I really wish you hadn’t done that,” he hisses.

He grins, eyes wild, and storms toward me just as someone in the distance yells my name.

Not someone, Kylian. What is he doing here? Am I imagining all of this? “Kiara!! Wake up!! There’s a fire!”

My stalker stops. “Did you call him? He’s always where he’s not wanted. I’m going to have to do something about that.”

“No! You leave him alone,” I shout, hoping Kylian can hear me. Come find me, Kylian. Please.

“Aww, so sweet. Does he know that you’re just going to turn around and betray him anyway, the way you did to me?” He points at a scar on his temple that I’ve only just noticed. “Your brother gave me this, after you lied and told him that I hurt you. It was an accident. You didn’t tell him it was an accident?”

I scramble to the end of my bed and jump off it. There’s a faint smell of smoke… but where’s fire?

“Kiara!” A loud crash startles both me and my intruder and there’s the sound of multiple people shouting, calling out my name.

“I’ll be back. You don’t have to worry about that,” he threatens and then runs out of my bedroom, slamming the door closed behind him.

I crumple to the ground, feeling almost nauseous from relief.

“Kiara!” My bedroom door flies open, and he’s there in bare feet and just a pair of track pants and T-Shirt. His face panicked and pale with fear. “Oh, my god, thank god you’re okay.” He runs up to me and grabs me, hugging me roughly before he takes my wrist.

I don’t know what he is doing here, but I don’t care. “Kylian…he’s here. He was in here.”

“I know, Kiara. It’s okay, I’ve got you now.” He hugs me again, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let go. “We have to go, right now.”

“He… he said he’d be back.”

“Let him try. I’m here now.” He grabs my dressing gown at the end of my bed and wraps it around me. “We have to go. You ready?”

I don’t understand what he’s saying, but I nod anyway. Where are we going? Why wouldn’t I be ready?

As if reading my mind, he lifts my chin and looks directly at me as he says, “I need you to trust me. I’ll explain as soon as we get out of here. But we have to go now.”

He yanks me out of the bedroom and down the stairs, I follow as fast I can, trying to keep up with his stride. As soon I reach the last step, the smoke hits me.

Thick and suffocating.

I immediately cough, my lungs rejecting the tainted air.

Kylian pulls his T-Shirt off and bunches it up against my face. “Breathe through this. You’ll be okay once we get outside.”

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