CHAPTER 7
KENDRA's POV -->
"Stop!! Please stop!!!"
"I'll be good I promise. Don't touch me again please." Not realizing when the words left my mouth. I've always had nightmares like these before… of men touching me. A tear escapes from my eye and slides down my cheek. This time, it felt worse, scarier. Because this time, I was awake. Something about Aaron picking me up triggered me. It makes me wonder, was it truly just a nightmare? Or did this ever happen to me in real life?
I'm still trembling. Aaron is startled too at this point. I can only imagine how he perceives me in this very moment. I wish I could, but I can't help it. I don't want to be touched by anyone in this moment. Somehow, he understands and backs away from me slowly. He stands there a few seconds before turning to leave.
I didn't want to be touched…
But I also don't want to be alone.
He closes the door behind him, leaving me with my thoughts and the darkness around me.
Some house staff pour in shortly after, fussing over me.
Their constant questions overwhelm me. "Everyone out NOWWWW!" I yell. I feel bad for yelling but I really do need quiet right now.
"Are y-y-y-o-ou sure Miss?" the shy girl asks.
I look up at her and immediately recognize her as the one who failed to alert me upon Aaron's arrival. If she had maybe done her job, maybe none of this would've happened.
I lunge at her. "Youuuuu!" I scream, grabbing her by the collar.
"If only you did your job this wouldn't be happeninggg!"
The other staff try prying me off from her but I put up a good fight. I know I shouldn't be doing this—she's not the one I'm mad at. I don't even know who I'm upset with. I'm just… angry.
I let out a sigh of defeat, loosening my grip from her collar. She sighs in relief and scurries away. The others follow suit, finally giving me the peace, I desperately wanted.
This isn't who I am. Since when did I ever attack people by grabbing their collars? This is all his fault. Why did he have to be evil? I bet he's rubbing off on me. Yes. That explains what just happened. I'm not insane, he is.
Sh*t.
I forgot all about Zach, whom I was supposed to report back to on my findings. Lord knows I'd make a terrible spy. I open my phone to check my inbox. As expected, there are new messages from Zach:
Interesting. I'll look into the other names. Confirm what we're thinking. Meanwhile, see if there's any other dirt you can find on him that I can use.
I send a thumbs up emoji to him and close the chat box.
Just great, more spy work.
This time I think I'm going to follow a new angle. Rather than snoop through Aaron's stuff, I think I'll speak to my father. Find out exactly why Aaron would hate his guts so much.
This is definitely not the way I wanted our father-daughter reunion to happen.
I return back to the Langford estate. The very one I grew up in. My childhood memories are hazy but I can remember being happy here. Playing, running through the grass. Back when…
When mother was still alive. I still don't know exactly what happened to her. Dad was always so touchy when it came to the subject.
"Hey Dad," I say upon entering his study.
What's up with me and studies today?
"Kendraaaaa. My beautiful Princess," he replies.
"You barely visit your old man anymore."
I have a seat adjacent Dad. Dad and I have a very complicated relationship. One day he's the sweetest, most jolly man you'd ever meet, the next minute he's this cold, manipulative psycho who wants to just control everyone and everything. Looks like today, we got the jolly old man.
"You look amazing as always, K. You should visit more," he says.
K…
It's been a while Dad called me that. If memory serves me right, he stopped calling me that right after mum died. Right before my world turned gloomy. K was a nickname everyone at home, including the staff, used to call me. I don't know where the name came from exactly but it had something to do with my obsession with the phrase "KK" back then. It had been so long since I heard anyone call me that. It felt refreshing again.
I smile before continuing. "I'm sorry Dad, I really should visit more. But I'm afraid I came here with an agenda."
Dad raises his eyebrows, edging me to continue.
"I need to know, and please be honest with me…"
"Why does Aaron hate you so much?"
He pauses mid-action, looking at me through hooded eyes. He arches his brows before straightening himself on his seat.
And there it is—not my father but Thomas Langford, CEO of Langford Enterprises.
He runs his fingers against each other. "What do you mean?"
"It's no secret you and Aaron don't see eye to eye.
This marriage was supposed to help bridge the gap between werewolves and humans, but all I see is constant ploys from both your ends to sabotage the other.
With me being stuck in the middle," I say the last part more quietly than the others.
"Listen here, girl…
That's men's business. Now I suggest you make yourself useful and convince that arrogant husband of yours to release the estate at Greenville to me."
"But Dad…" I beg.
"ENOUGHHHH.
I've had enough of you and your nonsense. If you had bore him a child by now, then the Crescent Pack would've had reason to listen to you, seeing as you'd be the mother of their future alpha.
Focus on that instead, K."
"But you know why, Dad…" I protest.
"Stop making excuses. Put your head back in the game, K. I'm doing this for us, for you," he continues.
I stand up angrily from the chair.
"It's never been for me, Dad. I never wanted any of this."
"Keep this up and you're going to get yourself killed!" I yell before storming off angrily.
Dad says something as I'm leaving, but I'm just too upset to listen. So far so good, the only thing I've got is that somehow, Aaron is preventing Dad from acquiring some property at Greenville. That's not enough reason for Aaron to want him gone now, is it?
Later that night, I lay rigid on my bed, thinking of all the events prior to that moment. I shut my eyes so many times, trying to find sleep but sadly I guess this was one of those nights that regardless of how much I tossed and turned, I just couldn't fall asleep. Sleep hovered near but never seemed to stay.
When it finally dragged me under, it betrayed me…
I was back home again, but this time it looked different. Eerie, more eerie than usual. There was a dinner party going on, I could hear Dad and his friends from the far distance. I wasn't in the main room for some reason, I was in the study, Dad's study. Or I think it's Dad's study—it looked so different. Then came the footsteps, heavy but deliberate. My heart rate skyrocketed but my body couldn't move. A hand closed around my waist, yanking me into the dark. I knew what was coming, I've had this dream way too many times not to. But this night was different…
A second footstep could be heard from the distance, a third and even a fourth. The first hand yanked me down to my knees as he used his other hand to undo his belt buckle.
"Be a good girl, K…" a voice from behind had said.
I jerked awake with a ragged gasp, clutching the sheets so tightly my knuckles ached. The room was the same as I had left, quiet and calm, the faint light from the hallway peeking through.
"It was just a dream… just a dream…" But the echo of it lingered. I've had this nightmare for years but it always ended at the moment he put his hands on me. This time, there was more than one of them, and someone called me "K…"
Could this have actually happened? Did I somehow suppress real life events that happened to me once? What really happened?
The shadows in the room felt alive, as if waiting. I just knew sleep would not come again.