Page 18 of Shattered Reign

The sudden rush of tears shocked me, and it only fed into the tsunami of emotions that slammed through me. There was nothing I could do to stop the salty teardrops from flowing. The dam had broken, and I couldn’t do anything to prevent it.

Easton’s mouth dropped open and his eyes filled with concern. Before I could make another sound, he rushed to my side and pulled me into his arms. Being in his arms once more offered a small reprieve from the weight that was bearing down on me. The warmth from his body helped calm me down, but I couldn’t stop crying immediately. I was mortified about crying in front of him, but I couldn’t control it.

I tried to speak, but nothing came out. Any hope of making a sound that was anything but sobbing, was buried in my throat. Instead, I chose to bury my face into his shoulder and cried. Thoughts of staining his shirt due to my crying flew from my mind and he didn’t seem to care either.

After a few moments that seemed to stretch on for longer than anticipated, I felt Easton adjust his body and then I heard him speak.

“Bianca.” His voice was gentle. “Please look at me.”

I shook my head, my cheeks burning as the heat crept up my neck. “I’m so sorry, but—” My words died on my lips and my incomplete sentence hung in the air.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingertips grazing my cheek, a gentle reminder that he was here for me. I couldn’t help but lean into his touch. “I’m here for you, remember? Through everything. Now, tell me what happened.”

With a heavy sigh, I managed to build enough courage to meet his gaze. His eyes were slightly soft, filled with understanding, but there was an intensity, a hidden fury there that I was pretty sure wasn’t directed at me. However, the look in his eyes did nothing but add to the calmness that was slowly taking over my body and my emotions. The ache in my chest eased a smidge as it hit me. I realized that, in this instance, he was an anchor for me during this emotional turmoil I was experiencing. Which seemed fitting given where we were currently.

“I know,” I said before I let out a shaky breath. I felt defeated even though there was no reason for me to feel this way. However, there was now no use in hiding any of this from him. I could easily read the concern on his face, and it was time I put him out of his misery. “I got another text message from my stalker on the phone they shouldn’t have the phone number for.”

The words carried a lot of weight and admitting it out loud felt like the first step. The tension that floated between us seemed to further darken the cozy vibe we’d had going only minutes before.

Easton slightly tightened the grip he had on my hand. Then he bent down to pick up the phone. The device’s screen lit up and I watched his eyes scan the message, taking in every word in the text. I knew what he was reading by heart because I’d already committed the text message to memory.

Unknown Number: Be careful on the Amalfi Coast, B. Then again, maybe the best place to be is on the ocean.

I watched Easton’s face as he read what was on the screen to see if I could get any indication about how he might react. Anger flashed on Easton’s face as he stared at the message. His face hardened, and I noticed his jaw clenched and unclenched, but still, he didn’t say a word. As his eyes darkened, I could sense his fury growing, but he continued to look at the screen in silence.

He pulled me closer to him, tucking me into his side before he spoke, “How long has this been going on?”

I didn’t respond because it felt as if any words I could have said were stuck in my throat. Easton’s gaze never wavered from me and the intensity in them only seemed to grow as the seconds ticked by. I should tell him everything that I knew about this person who had chosen to break the boundaries that I’d built. But for some reason, I couldn’t say the words that had been on the tip of my tongue for ages.

“I can’t help you if I don’t know what is going on.” Easton’s tone was firm, showcasing his determination to get to the bottom of this.

“It’s been going on for a while,” I finally said as I shifted my gaze. I couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes anymore because I was afraid of his reaction. My voice was so soft I barely recognized it. “I think it started when you sent me those apology flowers earlier in the semester.”

“You kept this to yourself for that long?” I could hear the disbelief in his voice, and it was another reason why I couldn’t look at him.

I shrugged as two fingers on either side of my jaw turned my face so I was looking at him. I wasn’t willing to start a fight about when I should have or shouldn’t have said something about a situation I was dealing with. “I didn’t want to worry anyone, especially with my father’s career. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so I mostly ignored it. It hasn’t extended past text messages as far as I know and—”

“Listen, no one fucking stalks you and gets away with it. Whoever is doing it will have to answer to me. It’s my job to protect you,” he said, and I knew, without a doubt, he was serious. Dead serious.

I was caught off guard by his words. “What do you mean about ‘protecting me?’ Are you talking about hiring security guards for me or something?”

His hand left my jaw and moved to grab my hand. I could have sworn that his touch burned me, but all I could feel were the butterflies that were dancing in my stomach.

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

My hand shot up, signaling to Easton that I wanted him to stop. “Isn’t that a bit extreme? I told you this person hasn’t done anything outside of text messages.”

“That you know of,” he said, throwing my own words back in my face with a small grin. “But seriously this person clearly knows your every move.”

I swallowed hard. “That’s a good point.”

His pointed stare seared a hole through my heart and straight into my soul as he said, “I don’t want you to be alone too often, especially with this person on the loose. Who knows what sort of desperate situation they might be in that would then lead to them taking their efforts up a notch.”

A lump rose in my throat, making it feel as if it was almost impossible for me to swallow. Easton’s words slammed into me like a freight train. I understood what he was saying and didn’t disagree. It wouldn't hurt to be more careful until this was wrapped up.

“You might be right,” I said, though it kind of felt as if I was admitting defeat or that I couldn’t handle this alone. That was something I needed to deal with. “After all, this person had no problem hunting down my new number, which was attached to an entirely different phone, and finding out I was traveling to Italy. Hell, whoever it is, knows I’m on this yacht right now.”

Easton turned to look back at the phone screen and said, “It’s late. We should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, we can make some plans about what should happen next.”

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