Chapter 5
1809 Words
The door had barely closed behind Vaelor when Lyssara grabbed my arm.
“Oh my God.”
She wasn’t whispering.
She was practically vibrating.
“Oh my God, Zarelle. What the hell was that?”
I tried to keep my face straight, but I could already feel the smile threatening to break through.
“Calm down,” I muttered, walking back toward the bed.
“Calm down?” she repeated, trailing after me like I had just unleashed something dangerous. “You told me he was hot. You told me he was built. You told me he had this deep, controlled voice. But I didn’t believe you. I thought you were exaggerating.”
I sat down slowly.
She stayed standing in front of me, staring like she had just seen someone unreal.
“Best,” she said, placing a hand dramatically on her chest, “I thought maybe you were just talking. You know how you talk. I even thought maybe you hyped him up in your head like you always do.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I do not hype men.”
She didn’t even acknowledge that.
“But this guy?” she continued. “This guy is hot. Like—what the hell? His voice? Ah!”
She fanned herself, overdoing it as usual.
“I think I’m in love with his voice alone.”
“Shut up, you bi*ch,” I snapped, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down beside me. “Spoiled rat.”
She burst out laughing and collapsed onto the bed next to me.
“I’m serious!” she said, turning toward me. “The way he stood there? So calm. So serious. Like he could break someone in half but just chooses not to.”
I swallowed quietly.
Because that was exactly what I had seen too.
“You see?” I said slowly. “I wasn’t dreaming. I wasn’t exaggerating.”
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“You were not.”
“I know what I saw,” I insisted, a little more firmly than I meant to. “I know what I felt. I wasn’t making it up.”
She shifted, propping herself up on one elbow, studying my face like she was trying to read something beneath my skin.
“You’re glowing,” she said.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
I pushed her lightly. “Stop it.”
But she didn’t.
Instead, her expression changed. The teasing softened, something sharper taking its place.
“Zarelle,” she said quietly.
“What?”
She tilted her head slightly, watching me.
“Hope it’s not what I’m thinking.”
My stomach tightened before I could stop it.
“What are you thinking?”
She didn’t look away.
“Hope you’re not falling for this guy.”
I laughed immediately.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
“Falling? For him? Please.”
She didn’t buy it.
“It’s too fast,” I added quickly. “I just met him.”
“And?” she asked.
“And I’m not stupid.”
She kept watching me.
Carefully.
“Then why are you looking at the door like you’re waiting for him to come back?”
I froze for half a second.
Just half a second.
Then I looked away.
“I’m not.”
She smirked slowly.
“Zarelle…”
I let out a breath.
“Okay, listen,” I said, sitting up straighter. “I’m not falling for him. I’m not stupid enough to fall for my father’s bodyguard.”
“Good.”
“But…” I added.
Her eyes widened just a little.
“But what?”
I looked at her, my voice dropping slightly.
“You know me.”
She blinked.
“And you know what I like.”
Her mouth parted slightly.
“Zarelle…”
“I’m just saying,” I continued, shrugging like it meant nothing. “He’s attractive. Very attractive.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“And what if I just want to test him?”
She sat up fully now.
“Test him?”
“Yes.”
“Test him how?”
I gave her a look.
A very clear one.
“You know exactly how.”
She slapped my arm.
“No. No. No. Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Use him,” she snapped. “You have like ten toy boys in your phone already. Your DMs are full. Why him?”
I shrugged again.
“Because I can.”
She stared at me like I had just admitted to something illegal.
“You’re impossible.”
“And so?” I shot back. “Can’t I test him too?”
She shook her head slowly.
“This one is different.”
“How?”
“You can’t play with someone who looks that disciplined. That controlled. He’s not like the others.”
Her words lingered.
Not like the others.
I leaned back against the headboard.
“And what if I want someone who’s not like the others?”
She groaned loudly.
“You’re bored.”
“Maybe.”
“You want a challenge.”
I smiled, just a little.
“Maybe.”
She pointed at me.
“That’s dangerous.”
I tilted my head.
“So?”
“He works for your father.”
“I know.”
“He’s responsible for your safety.”
“I know.”
“He probably has rules.”
“I know.”
“And you?” she pressed.
I paused.
Just for a second.
“I don’t like rules.”
She stared at me like she wanted to shake me.
“This isn’t a game.”
“I never said it was.”
But deep down…
It felt like one.
And I loved games.
Lyssara kept staring at me like she was seconds away from throwing something.
“You’re going to get yourself into trouble.”
I smirked.
“Maybe I like trouble.”
For a moment, she just looked at me.
Then suddenly—
She laughed.
Not small. Not controlled.
Loud. Unfiltered.
And something about it made me laugh too.
Before I knew it, we were both laughing like idiots on my bed.
I pointed at her between breaths.
“Ah! I caught you!”
She wiped at the corner of her eye dramatically.
“Caught me doing what?”
“You were taking me seriously!” I said, still laughing. “I was just joking!”
Her eyes narrowed instantly.
“I was just kidding,” I added quickly. “Relax. I can’t do that.”
She didn’t soften.
Not even a little.
“I was just joking,” I repeated. “No way I would try anything like that. He’s just my bodyguard.”
She slowly tilted her head.
“I know you very well.”
I groaned, already tired of where this was going.
“Here we go again.”
“No,” she said firmly. “I know you very well. I know the kind of person you are. I know how bad you are. I know how your brain works.”
I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her.
“Please—just leave it. I can’t do that.”
She caught it easily.
“You can’t?” she asked.
“I will not,” I corrected.
That was it.
End of story.
Or at least… that’s what I wanted to believe.
But then something shifted in my mind.
And my smile faded.
“But… there’s a problem.”
Lyssara straightened immediately.
“What problem?”
“My dad.”
She blinked.
“Your dad?”
I nodded slowly.
“Dad said he’ll always be around me.”
She frowned.
“Okay… around you. That means around the house. Outside. Watching security.”
I shook my head.
“Yes… but not just that.”
Her eyes narrowed.
She leaned forward slightly, studying me.
“What?”
I sighed.
Then I said it.
“He’s going everywhere with me.”
Lyssara froze.
Completely.
For a full second, she didn’t even blink.
Then—
“What the hell?!”
I raised both hands quickly.
“I know!”
“Everywhere?”
“Yes.”
“Like… everywhere everywhere?”
“Yes!”
She threw her hands into the air.
“Oh my God.”
I rubbed my temples.
“Dad said it like it was normal.”
Lyssara stared at me like she couldn’t process it.
“Wait… wait… I thought he works for your dad. For the family. For the house.”
“That’s what I thought too!” I said quickly.
“But?”
“But Dad said he’s mostly responsible for me.”
Her jaw dropped.
“For you?”
“Yes.”
She leaned back like she’d just heard something unbelievable.
“Hold on… hold on…” she said slowly. “You’re telling me that wherever you go… he goes?”
I nodded.
“Restaurants.”
“Yes.”
“Parties?”
“Yes.”
“Shopping?”
“Yes.”
She pressed both hands to her face.
“Oh my God.”
I sighed.
“It’s not funny.”
“Yes it is!”
“It is not!”
She looked at me again.
“So you’re telling me we won’t have our freedom again?”
My eyes widened.
“No, no, no, no, no.”
She crossed her arms.
“Because if that man is following you everywhere, that means he’ll be around when we go out too.”
I waved my hands quickly.
“No! That cannot happen.”
She squinted.
“How exactly do you plan to stop that?”
I hesitated.
Then slowly…
A smile crept onto my face.
Lyssara pointed at me immediately.
I leaned closer, lowering my voice like I was about to confess something dangerous.
“Even if he’s always beside me…”
She stared at me.
Suspicious.
“…it actually makes things easier.”
Her eyes widened slowly.
“Oh my God.”
I shrugged.
“It means I can still do whatever I want.”
“With him there?” she asked, shocked.
I smiled.
“Especially with him there.”
She pointed at me like she was accusing me in court.
“You’ve started again, you little bi*ch.”
I gasped dramatically.
“Language!”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Please,” I said, leaning back, almost laughing again, “just don’t tell my dad.”
She rolled her eyes.
“As if he wouldn’t figure it out.”
I leaned back against the headboard again.
But this time—
Something didn’t sit right.
Something quiet.
Something sharp.
Something I couldn’t ignore.
Because deep down…
It suddenly felt like my father hadn’t hired Vaelor just to protect me.
And somehow…
It already felt too late to turn back.
- Writer
