Nyx let out a harsh breath, as bile rose up in her throat. The mere sight of Rick staring at her with those eyes that shone with lust made her sick to the stomach.
"What are you doing?" She whispered. "Are you out of your mind?"
But laughed in the face of her fear and the sound echoed in the room and trailed down her body like vines.
"You know I have never been sane, Nyx…" He moved in closer to her, his fingers crawling to snatch up her legs.
But she moved quickly, as if he was about to burn her.
His brows creased, showing his displeasure, "Do you want to be stubborn?"
"Do you think I will let you touch me that way?" She snapped. "Of course, I don't want those filthy hands of yours on me!"
Rick let out a sigh, as his hands itched. He willed himself not to slap her and shut her mouth, stopping her from ratting out her mouth toward him.
"While I am still being kind..." He said, with a warning gaze. "Be still!"
"No, I won't!" She snapped again, as she gritted her teeth, "You will regret this, Rick. Nate is going to come for your head, you bastard!"
But the next second, he let out a loud laugh. It was mocking and the sound irked Nyx so much.
"Nate?" His laugh stopped with a sneer. "That bastard who ran to another woman and left you all alone? Do you think he cares about you?"
Nyx's breath shook, as she felt her face burn with embarrassment. She never thought Nate's mindless actions would burn her this way and to have Rick say this to her, she felt like she was a loser.
She went against Rick for a man who ran back to his vicious ex-girlfriend and now, she was trapped because of a grudge she took as her own.
"I warned you to stay away from that bastard and come to me. But what did you do?" Rick taunted. "You were blinded by the necklace he gave you?"
"You? The daughter of the Knight family? Maybe you haven't seen so much money in your life…"
"Shut it!" She snapped, as her breath turned heavy. No matter what, she wasn't going to admit defeat.
"No matter what! I know Nate is going to come for me! You are doomed, you bastard!"
Again, he laughed and as the sound continued to echo, Nyx felt her hope turn bleak.
She asked herself, "Would he really come?"
He would, right? Just like he had run to save Aria.
But Rick's words were about to put her in complete hopelessness again.
He smirked, with a wicked gaze that sent chills down Nyx's spine.
"You think I would let Nate go so easily?"
"What…what did you do?" It clicked in her mind that Rick had done something.
"Nothing much..." He shrugged.
He then began to explain how he had hit Aria multiple times in the head and since Nate had gone to save her, the police would link her murder to him.
"See?" He grinned. "The classical murder case. A girl's body was found in a man's house while he had come and gone?"
"Who would be the prime suspect?"
Nyx's back was instantly covered in sweat as a knot tightened in her chest. She realized Nate was indeed doomed and even if there was no direct evidence pointing straight at him, Rick would use his influence to keep him convicted.
"Don't worry, my girl..." He closed in on her, with his body pressing hers against the headboard. "The police will arrive at his house very soon and he will be arrested."
"When victory is mine…" His voice went a notch lower, as his gaze ran down her almost naked body. "I am going to ravish your body like it's the end of the world."
Nyx clenched her fists, with her eyes crazed in anger, "You are asking for it, Rick!"
"If you harm me, the Knight family definitely won't sit back! They will come after you!"
However, he wasn't one bit scared, "The Knight family?"
"As if they value an illegitimate daughter like yourself!"
At that moment, Nyx was shocked and her eyes widened, "How…how do you know that?"
"Me?" He pointed at himself. "I know everything. You can say every one of my moves is well calculated. Nate is just a wild card I want to keep in check."
"A wild card who suddenly got money in one night…" He sneered.
The next second, he stood up while Nyx was still reeling in the shock of her secret being nothing to him. She watched him walk out the door still in shock she might never be able to recover from.
The Knight family had always kept the truth of her birth hidden and the moment it was revealed, her status before everyone and the entire school would plummet. How then did Rick get to know about it?
She realized Rick had caught both her and Nate really badly. And away from the grievance she felt toward Nate for going back to his ex, she hoped he would be alright.
One way or the other, she had to get to him. She immediately calmed herself down, staring down at the rope knots around her arms.
A few minutes later, she had them loosened and she was off the bed. Though she stumbled for a second, she found her phone in a corner of the room.
She didn't try to call Nate because she thought he was in trouble and quickly, she tapped on her Aunt's phone number but her aunt's call came in just at the right time.
Her breath hitched as the call connected, and for a few seconds, she couldn't even speak.
"Aunt Claire…"
"Save me, please. Rick has—"
Bang!
The door flew open, and Rick stormed into the room.
"You bitch!" The phone flew out of her hands in seconds, as his palm collided with her face.
Her body whipped to the floor, hard and the sounds of her bones cracking echoed in the air.
She crawled, away from him aiming for safety but he went after her.
"You want to escape, huh?" He sneered, as he rushed at her again. His hands were raised, ready to deal her another slap but the door opened.
Chris appeared at the door, calling out to Rick urgently, "We have a problem, Rick."