Chapter 8: The Only Word I Know
1037 Words
MIYARA’S POV
I almost went to my room. But on second thought, I walked back to the dining area to set the table for food. Going to my room would make my stepmother probe more, and I didn’t want that.
I thought coming back home was going to calm my mind down from the past few days. I had no idea he was going to follow me here. I had to lie to Isa I was not feeling well after she kept asking why I looked like s**t. Now I feel worse than before.
My fingers didn't stop trembling as I fished out the last of the burnt steak onto the plates. Dad sat across from me, eyes examining the steak like it was an abomination.
“These really burnt but we can manage the good parts. It’s not good to waste food.”
I shifted uncomfortably on my chair, my mind replaying to when Caden caged me in. When I lifted my head to grab water, Claire held my gaze, her eyes dropping to my neck again.
I swallowed. My hand instinctively went to my throat.
“You sure you’re okay honey?” she asked while slicing her steak in perfect precision, her big gold diamond ring catching the light.
“I’m fine. Must be an allergy or something.” The lie spilled out of my mouth effortlessly.
“You should see the doctor then. Before it gets bad.” My dad spoke.
“Yes, Dad,” I mumbled softly.
We ate in silence, the only sound the scraping of forks on plates. I could still feel Claire’s eyes on me. She knew I was lying. She wasn’t buying any bullshit story about allergies.
Just as I decided to escape to my room, my dad’s voice broke the silence.
“Your engagement day has been decided. It’ll be right after your graduation.”
My body and my mind went numb. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My hands gripped the fork tighter. , My chest felt like someone was pressing down a heavy weight in it.
“Finn said you had issues,” he continued, “fix them. You know how important this merger is to us. Don’t mess it up.”
I wondered what lies Finn told my dad. We were supposed to fix the engagement date ourselves, and now it's already fixed?
“But I…,” I trailed off.
“What?” Dad asked, his eyebrows furrieing and I shook my head.
My stepmother ate her food in silence, not bothering to say anything about the situation. Her eyes occasionally flicked to me. There was something about them that sent chills down my spine.
I wanted to tell Dad I didn’t want this engagement anymore. That Finn never respected my feelings in any way but the words stuck in my throat.
“Yes, Dad.”
I said yes again. That was the only vocabulary in my dictionary when speaking with this man. Somehow I always ended up saying yes even when my heart was bleeding. No was something I couldn’t afford.
“I’m not feeling well,” I choked out, my voice shaky.
I didn’t wait to hear anything more as I made my way to my room, my legs wobbly and my heart heavy.
Closing the door behind me, I slid to the floor, my hands wrapping around my knees in a hug. Tears slid down my cheeks as I tried to stop them. I rocked myself back and forth against the door, trying to steady myself.
I felt a bit better after drying up my tears and taking a quick shower. I looked at my notebook and the closed laptop on my study desk. Picking it up, I flipped through the pages, reading some of the ideas I always wrote down whenever I found inspiration to write.
Ideas I shouldn’t have as a responsible good girl. Reading and writing had always been my coping mechanism, something that took me out of reality even for the shortest time.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard as I stared at the cursor on the laptop. Then as if possessed, my fingers moved frantically on the keyboard. I didn’t pause to read, I just dumped everything in my head out.
‘His thumb dragged lazily across her lower lip, his eyes never leaving hers. She looked up at him, her breath hitching as…’
I jammed the laptop shut, my chest rising and falling fast. My thighs clenched together involuntarily. My n*****s hardened under my shirt, heat pooling low under my belly despite the shame burning my cheeks.
What was I doing?
I couldn’t have possibly drawn inspiration from what happened with Caden right? Right?
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply.
My phone vibrated beside me. It was probably Isa. I had completely forgotten to talk to her after coming home.
It was a text message. Not from Isa. A strange number I’d never seen.
‘Hi Princessa. This is Jace… the guy who almost ran you over with his bike. Found something that belonged to you after you left.’
A picture of a bookmark stared at me. My bookmark with my initials engraved on it.
Shit. It must have fallen off my bag since I always hung it on my backpack zipper. How had I not noticed it was gone? My most precious gift.
I heart clenched looking at the picture. Mom would be so disappointed in me right now.
Before I could type a reply, another text appeared.
‘Wanna meet on campus tomorrow for coffee? I’ll bring it along.’ *Grinning emoji
What was this guy and grinning. The way he kept grinning when he was talking to me. Weird and cute at the same time. Did I say cute? I take that back. Weird fits him more with that bizarre-looking silver hair.
I stared at my phone screen, my mind all over the place. I needed my bookmark back but I didn't exactly want to meet Jace again.
My thumb hovered over the reply button. Just as I reached to set the phone down and think of a reply, it buzzed again. Another message.
My heart dropped to the floor.
- Writer
