Chapter Eleven
1306 Words
Lila’s POV
I spent the entire next day hiding in my room, completely cutting myself off from the rest of the massive, lifeless house. I didn't even touch the high-tech tablet Lucien had given me the night before, leaving it face-down on the wooden desk like it was radioactive. Instead, I found an old tennis ball at the bottom of my suitcase, and I spent hours just throwing it against the far wall over and over until my arm physically ached from the repetitive motion.
Thwack. Catch. Thwack. Catch.
The sound was loud, sharp, and totally annoying, but it was the only thing keeping me from losing my mind. Every time the ball hit the wall, I pictured Jason's bloated, furious face yelling at me in the middle of that restaurant. Seeing Jason like that—drunk, reckless, and spitting completely disgusting insults at me in front of a room full of strangers—completely broke whatever lingering affection I had left for him. It was just gone, shattered into a million unfixable pieces. In its place was this massive, suffocating wave of disgust. I couldn't believe I had spent three years of my life loving someone who could turn on me so fast, someone who actually believed I did this for fun, like I was thrilled to be trapped in a gilded cage.
Around noon, the rhythmic sound of my tennis ball was interrupted by a timid, incredibly soft knock on my bedroom door.
I caught the ball, squeezing it tight. "Who is it? If it's Arthur with more food, I'm not hungry!"
The door handle jiggled slightly, and instead of Arthur's stiff, professional voice, a shaky female voice answered through the wood. "Um... excuse me, Mrs. Knight? It's not Arthur. It's Maya."
I groaned, walking over and turning the heavy deadbolt with a loud click. I pulled the door open, ready to snap, but I stopped when I saw a young maid named Maya standing in the hallway. She couldn't have been much older than me, wearing a neat grey uniform, and she looked absolutely terrified to be standing there. Her hands were trembling as she held a massive, ridiculously large bouquet of bright yellow roses arranged in a heavy crystal vase.
"What is that?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"They... they are for you, madam," Maya squeaked, eyes wide as she tried to balance the heavy vase. She looked like she thought I might slap her just like I had slapped her boss yesterday. "They were delivered just an hour ago. From Mr. Knight."
I stared at the bright yellow petals, and a sarcastic laugh bubbled up in my throat. Yellow roses. What, was the cold billionaire CEO trying to say he was sorry for putting me through a public media circus? Was he trying to buy my forgiveness with a bunch of plants? He really thought he could just smooth everything over with a delivery order.
"Give me those," I muttered, snatching the heavy crystal vase from her hands.
"Oh, thank goodness," Maya whispered, letting out a small sigh of relief as if she thought her job was saved.
She didn't know me very well yet. I immediately took the heavy vase, turned around, and walked straight out onto my private balcony. The afternoon air was warm, blowing my hair across my face, but I didn't care. I marched right up to the stone railing, lifted the massive bouquet of yellow roses, and tipped the vase over, dumping the entire expensive arrangement straight into the thorny green bushes below. The crystal vase stayed in my hands, completely empty.
From the bedroom, Maya let out a loud, genuine gasp of absolute horror, her hand flying over her mouth as she watched the flowers disappear over the edge. "Madam! Mr. Knight—"
"Mr. Knight can take his flowers and shove them," I interrupted, walking back inside and setting the empty crystal vase down on the floor with a hard thud. I leaned in slightly, looking right at the terrified girl. "You tell your boss that if he wants to apologize to me, he can do it through a divorce lawyer. Not a delivery guy. Got it?"
Maya nodded furiously, her face completely pale. "Y-yes, madam. Right away."
"Great. Thanks." I didn't wait for her to leave. I marched back over to the entrance, escorted her out with a quick wave, and locked the heavy door again, leaning my back against the wood.
By the time evening rolled around, the sheer, unadulterated boredom was absolutely killing me. There was only so much tennis-ball throwing a girl could do before her shoulder started to give out. I paced the perimeter of the room like a caged animal, glaring at the walls, until my eyes finally landed back on the tablet resting on the desk.
I bit my lip, totally torn. I didn't want to use anything Lucien had touched, but at the same time, the anxiety about my mom was starting to claw at my ribs again. I needed to know if he was keeping his end of the bargain, or if the whole private medical wing story was just a lie to keep me compliant.
"Fine," I muttered to myself, walking over and snatching up the device.
I hit the power button, and the screen instantly lit up, logging automatically into a private medical portal. My breath hitched as a list of charts, numbers, and daily reports flooded the screen. My eyes scanned the data greedily, looking for any sign of trouble.
According to the records, she had already gained two whole pounds since arriving. I scrolled down further, my fingers shaking. Her white blood cell count was actively stabilizing, moving back into a normal range after weeks of dangerous drops. At the very bottom of the page, there was a personal typed note from the chief of oncology himself. 'Patient is responding remarkably well to the initial phase of the new targeted therapy. Prognosis is looking incredible for this stage.'
I let out this massive, shaky breath I felt like I’d been holding for a week, my shoulders dropping as a heavy weight lifted off my chest. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but they were tears of pure relief. I reached up, my fingers automatically clutching my mom's silver raw emerald pendant against my chest, feeling the cool metal bite into my skin. I hated the guy, I really did, but as I stared at the medical screen, a hard truth settled into my stomach. Even if Lucien Knight was a cold, arrogant monster, he was a monster who actually kept his word.
The relief gave me a sudden burst of restless energy. I didn't want to just sit on my bed anymore. I felt like I needed to do something, to reclaim some kind of control in this ridiculous house. Since Lucien had done something good for my mom, I decided to reward myself—by completely violating his rules.
He had explicitly told me to stay away from his wing of the house, right? Well, Arthur had mentioned earlier that Lucien was away at the corporate headquarters for a massive late-night board meeting, meaning the coast was completely clear.
I unlocked my door, peeking out into the long, quiet hallway. The mansion was dead silent, the guards presumably stationed outside the perimeter. I slipped out into the shadows, a wicked smile stretching across my face. I was determined to explore his forbidden wing, to poke around his private rooms and find something embarrassing, some kind of hidden secret or dirty laundry I could use as leverage against him the next time he tried to order me around.
I crept down the corridor, leaving my prison cell behind, ready to see what the dark lord was hiding.
- Writer
