BURIED SECRETS
1146 Words
DIANA
Trauma had a face, and mine stood less than ten inches away, dressed in expensive clothes as though he hadn't been the monster waiting for me every time I closed my eyes.
Adonis Castillo.
He leaned casually against a storage rack, looking like he stepped out of a luxury photoshoot.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I walked toward him, carefully leaving enough distance between us. Every instinct screamed at me to turn around and leave, as he was the last man I ever wanted to be alone with.
But fear had stopped answering my questions, and I needed answers.
"What game are you playing?" I folded my arms across my chest.
His gaze settled on me, his brows drawing together.
"Game?"
I frowned, searching his face for any sign that he was pretending.
"You've turned down interviews from every major media house in Italy, yet somehow you suddenly agreed to one... after several rejections," I pointed out.
"You should be grateful," he replied calmly. "Thousands of reporters would kill for this opportunity."
"I'm not one of your fans, so I'm hardly enthralled by you." I held his gaze despite the knot tightening in my stomach. "Maybe they would be too... if they knew who you really are."
He didn't reply immediately. He simply stared at me.
It wasn't an ordinary stare. It felt as though he was peeling away every layer I carefully built around myself, searching for the exact place where I would break.
Then he pushed himself off the rack.
One step, then another.
The echo of his shoes bounced around the storage room, each one landing like a countdown inside my chest.
Before I realized it, he had stopped only a step away from me.
"You have a lot to say," he murmured. "If I were you, I'd be careful."
His voice was calm, and somehow that made it even more chilling. My body reacted before my mind did, taking a small step backward.
"I told you to hide."
He closed the distance again.
Before I could retreat any farther, his hand clamped around my shoulder.
My entire body stiffened. His grip wasn't rushed or violent. It was controlled, deliberate—just enough to make it clear I wasn't going anywhere.
"You shouldn't have let me find you."
His deep voice brushed against my skin, making my stomach twist. Despite, the turmoil inside of me, I didn't break the gaze.
If I lowered my eyes now, it would feel like surrender, and I'd already lost too much to let him take my dignity too.
"Are... are you threatening me?"
The words stumbled out before I could stop them.
I hated that he heard the fear in my voice.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"Yes."
The single word settled over me like a death sentence.
The confidence I walked into this room with cracked apart so quickly it almost embarrassed me.
Images I spent hours trying to bury flashed through my mind without warning.
Blood.
I recalled staying up all night, telling myself I had survived him.
Standing here now, I realized I had only escaped him.
"You think you're in a position to threaten me?" I asked, forcing the words through my tightening throat. "I have enough evidence to destroy you."
His fingers dug deeper into my shoulder.
Pain shot through my arm so sharply that tears burned behind my eyes.
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying out.
"I wouldn't make that mistake." His eyes hardened, carrying the quiet menace of a man who never made empty threats. The look was familiar. I had seen it before.
It was the same expression he had worn that night.
The memory hit me so suddenly that my chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.
"I'm not scared of you," I whispered, even though my trembling lips betrayed every lie I tried to tell. "I'm going to the police. I'm going to tell them everything I saw that night."
For the first time, surprise flickered across his face.
It disappeared almost instantly.
His hand slipped from my shoulder. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, amused.
As if I had said something funny.
The pressure disappeared from my shoulder, and I finally managed to breathe properly again.
I stepped back from him, sparing one last glance before turning toward the door.
I didn't care about answers anymore. All I wanted was to get as far away from him as possible—to put walls, streets, and entire cities between us.
"Sublime Funfair."
His voice came from behind me.
My steps stopped a few inches from the door.
I recognized those words instantly.
Panic surged through me as I turned around, coming face to face with him.
He was closer than before, so close that his height swallowed me whole, his gaze pinning me in place.
Suddenly, the room felt far too small. Air lodged painfully in my lungs.
"Go ahead," he said quietly. "Report me."
His eyes never left mine.
"It'll dominate the headlines for a day. Maybe two. People will gossip, argue, choose sides... then they'll forget." His voice lowered. "But the consequences... do you think you can take such a risk?"
My mouth went dry as every muscle in my body tensed, but he didn't stop there.
I swallowed, breaking eye contact. I couldn't bear the weight of his stare.
"I won't just kill you."His words came slowly, carefully.
"I'll burn your body... mix your ashes into a bottle of vodka... and personally deliver it to your parents."
He enunciated every word like a death sentence.
Bile rose into my throat.Goosebumps spread across my skin as my heart slammed violently against my ribs.
He continued, "And anyone you tell will suffer the same fate. Some secrets are meant to stay buried..."
He paused for a moment before speaking again.
"...isn't that right, Maxine?"
My head snapped up, my eyes widening in shock.
The world stopped for a split second, leaving only the sound of my uneven breathing and the frantic pounding of my heart.
Maxine?
"How..." My voice broke completely. "How do you know that name?"
He hooked a finger beneath my chin and lifted it until I was standing on my toes. His thumb brushed lightly over my lower lip, his gaze never leaving mine.
"I know you're fake, Diana."The words landed harder than every threat he had made.
He lowered himself until he was close enough for me to feel his breath against my skin.
Then he whispered into my ear.
"What do you think happens," he breathed, "when your little secret comes out?"
The blood drained from my face as my mind raced through every horrifying possibility if my secret came to light.
"You won't lose just your career, Diana," he whispered again...
"You'll lose everything."
- Writer
