CHAPTER TWO
1292 Words
Chloe’s POV
Hunter told me to run, but my legs refused to move. Partially out of fear, then out of anxiety. “Why isn't Hunter speaking up for me as a man? The bad of going for an all-round gentleman.” I whispered.
Hayden kept pounding on the door like a man who had already convinced himself he owned what was behind it. The metal frame rattled. The vibration pulsed through my chest.
“Chloe! I know you’re in there!” he yelled.
I froze in the middle of the living room. My hands were clenched. My breath was thin. I hated myself for reacting like this, for letting him get inside my nerves so easily.
Hunter stepped in front of me, blocking my view of the door. His presence was steady. He didn’t flinch at the noise. He didn’t tense the way I did. He simply stood there like he was used to danger knocking loudly.
He lowered his voice. “Chloe. Grab your bag. Closet. Now.”
I shook my head. “He’ll hear me.”
“He already knows you’re here.”
The door shook again, harder this time.
“Chloe, open this door or I’ll break it down!”
Hunter looked at me. Just one look. Calm. Controlled. But something fierce moved under the surface of his eyes.
“I won’t let him hurt you,” he said.
It was a simple sentence. But it didn’t feel simple. I felt something catch in my throat. Something weak and stupid.
I turned away before it showed on my face.
I hurried to the bedroom, my feet almost silent. I grabbed a leather bag from under Kacey’s bed and threw random things inside — jeans, shirts, charger, toothbrush. My hands shook. My mind was a blur.
I didn’t pack neatly. I didn’t pack logically. I packed like someone who didn’t know if she would ever come back.
Hunter appeared at the doorway.
“He’s not leaving,” he said.
“Of course he’s not leaving,” I muttered. “He came here for a reason.”
Hunter leaned against the doorframe. “He’s obsessed.”
I scoffed quietly. “He’s angry. That’s different.”
“No,” Hunter said softly. “This is an obsession.”
Something cold slid through me.
He watched me zip the bag with sharp movements.
“When did you know he was here?” I asked.
“Fifteen minutes ago.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to panic.”
I stared at him. “I’m not the type to faint.”
He nodded, twisting his lips with a slight sarcasm. I blinked trying to hide the fact I was a little bit scared.
I didn’t know if that was a compliment or a warning.
But before I could answer, Hayden slammed his weight into the door.
The wood groaned.
Hunter stiffened. He didn’t look scared. He looked irritated. Like someone poking at a sleeping beast.
He moved closer to me.
“When we step out, follow me. Don’t speak to him. Don’t look at him.”
“Hunter—”
“Promise me.”
I swallowed. “Okay.”
He took the bag from me. Slung it over his shoulder. Then he reached out and gently brushed a stray hair from my cheek.
His touch was gentle. Too soft for a moment like this.
“Stay behind me,” he whispered.
I didn’t know what scared me more — the pounding on the door, or the calm seriousness in Hunter’s eyes.
Then the lock snapped.
Hayden barged into the apartment like a raging beast.
Hunter stepped in front of me instantly.
My heart stopped.
Hayden looked different. Wild. His shirt wrinkled. His hair, messy. His chest rising fast. He looked like someone who had replayed our ruined wedding in his mind a hundred times and built a new fantasy around punishing me for it.
His eyes locked on Hunter first.
“Who the hell are you to her?” he snapped.
Hunter didn’t blink. “Her neighbor.”
Hayden scoffed. “You’re lying.”
Hunter shrugged lightly. “Believe what you want.”
Hayden turned his gaze to me. “We need to talk. Alone.”
“No,” Hunter said.
Hayden snapped back at him. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Hunter tilted his head slightly. “I don’t care.”
Hayden stepped closer. “She’s my fiancée.”
Hunter didn’t move. “No. She’s not.”
I watched the tension build like heat between two wires. The kind that snaps and sparks.
Hayden pointed at me. “You. Come here. We’re going home.”
I didn’t move.
Every part of me wanted to step behind Hunter. Hide behind him. Let him take the hit. Let him shield me.
But another part felt a spark of something else.
Anger.
Real anger.
I took a breath. Slow. Controlled.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said.
Hayden’s jaw tightened.
“Chloe,” he said, voice dropping dangerously low. “Do you know the things people are saying about me? About you? About the wedding? You need to come with me and explain everything before the rumors get worse.”
I laughed — quietly, bitterly.
“You rejected me in front of everyone. You humiliated me. And now you want me to do PR cleanup for you?”
His face twisted. “You’re my fiancee, the woman I wanted to marry…. ”
“Not anymore.”
His nostrils flared.
Hunter’s hand brushed the small of my back. A small gesture, but grounding. “You heard her.”
Hayden glared at him. “Stay out of this. You don’t know her like I do.”
“Wrong,” Hunter said calmly. “I know her better.”
“Because you're my stepbrother?”
“Urgh… “ Time and memory faded. “Stepbrother?” I repeated.
“Forget about that, I don't consider him family, I've never so no need bringing this up again.” Hunter growled too fiercely like Hayden did something really bad to him in the past. Seeing this, I feared to ask further, but curiosity wasn't gonna leave anytime soon.
Maybe it's for another day but now….
My cheeks burned staring at both of them.
Hayden stepped forward. Hunter stepped forward too.
For a split second, I thought they would clash right there.
But the neighbor’s dog barked. Someone upstairs slammed a door. A car honked outside.
The world kept spinning, even though mine was hanging by a thread.
Hayden pointed at me again.
“This isn’t over,” he said.
“I know,” I replied softly.
He stared at me like he was memorizing my fear.
Then he walked out.
Hunter locked the door behind him immediately.
Silence filled the room.
My legs finally shook.
Hunter turned to me. “Sit.”
I didn’t.
Instead, I pressed both hands to my face and let out a long breath.
He stepped closer.
“Chloe.”
I lowered my hands. “I thought he was going to break the door.”
“He would’ve.”
“And you? What would you have done?”
He paused. “Something you wouldn’t want to watch.”
I swallowed.
For real, Mr. Gentle was saying this?
Wonder overwhelmed me. I didn't want to believe it was real but then it was.
Hunter moved to the window and watched Hayden stalk down the street.
“He's not going to rest,” Hunter said. “Not until he gets what he wants. I feel he has some hideous intention.”
“What does he want?” I whispered.
Hunter looked back at me.
“You,” he said simply.
- Writer
