Seraphina

“What the fuck are you putting on?” Kaelan asked, sounding like an enraged lion that could swallow me up instantly.

I had seen a lot of men angry, mostly young men anyway, but I had never seen anyone as infuriated as Kaelan Crowe.

The anger in his eyes was terrifying.

“I…I got the dress from…” I stuttered, trying to explain, but Kaelan wouldn’t have it.

“Get the hell out of my sight!” He barked like a bulldog.

And I swear it, I did feel the entire building shake at Kaelan’s order. My whole body was covered in goosebumps as fear engulfed me.

“Get out!” He yelled again.

I tried to hurry out of his presence, but because of the urgency and deep fear, I tripped as I tried to climb the stairs, and I landed on my butt.

On the floor.

The first bout of pain shot through my waist, and I groaned out in agony.

“Get out of my sight!” Kaelan yelled louder.

The living room spun, and I feared that the roof would come crashing down on me.

Kaelan didn’t care that I had fallen and was even groaning in pain. He didn’t give a damn about it, instead, he kept yelling for me to leave his sight. The venom, rage, and bitterness in his voice weren’t anything that I had experienced before.

He was like a maniac on the loose.

I had to get up from the ground hurriedly, ignoring the pain the fall had cost me. I feared that Kaelan would go violent on me if I lingered or wasted another second in his presence, and the thought of that made me tremble with trepidation.

No man had ever laid hands on me before.

No one had ever even shouted at me this way before, not even my grumpy bosses at work, so this was new to me, and downright horrifying. I picked myself up from the ground painfully and hurried upstairs. This time around, I didn’t dare miss another step.

“And take off that bloody dress! I never want to see you in it…ever again!”

Kaelan’s loud and heavy order followed me into the room.

Even when I got in and shut the door in fear, I could still hear his voice ringing in my ears. I could see feel his venom and rage on my skin. I could still see the bitterness and infuriation on his face.

He looked dangerously evil at that moment, and I couldn’t get that out of my head.

I burst into tears instantly.

Now, I was feeling the pain of the fall more, and I crumpled to the ground by the door and let out the tears. As they glided down my cheeks and soaked the dress, I shivered with fear.

What have I gotten myself into?

Even when my parents were alive, none of them ever raised a voice at me, or even Aria. All the months I dated Thorn, he was many things, but never this upset. Even when I mistakenly moaned his father’s name when he was trying to kiss me, he didn’t become this enraged.

So, what have I gotten myself into?

I had allowed myself into the nest of a man who was an enraged warlord. If I had stayed a moment longer in that living room, he would have used his hands on me. This was the scariest thing I had ever experienced in my entire life. Even when I had almost gotten attacked and assassinated by that cab driver, before Kaelan appeared and saved me, I didn’t get this scared.

It was as though I had seen my life flash right in front of me a few minutes ago, especially when I fell down the stairs and he still kept bellowing at me.

Did he bring me to his house to treat me like this?

I felt utterly useless and foolish.

What was I expecting from a man that was old enough to be my father?

A knock on the door made me stop crying and thinking at the same time, and another bout of fear gripped me again.

“Seraphina,” Celine called gently. “It’s just me,” she said.

I moved away from the door, managed to get myself up from the floor even though my waist was still aching, and I opened the door.

The moment Celine entered, I quickly shut it again, afraid that if I didn’t, Kaelan would come in and continue from where he stopped.

“I am so sorry about that, Seraphina,” Celine said sweetly.

Then she gave me a pack of ice that she had come in with.

“Here, this will help for that fall,” she said.

I cleaned my tears and collected it from her.

The moment I placed it on my hurting waist, I began to feel the pain gradually dissipating.

“Thank you for this,” I appreciated Celine’s thoughtfulness.

“It is nothing,” Celine said with a warm smile. “Again, I am so sorry that you had to go through that,” she said.

“It’s not your fault,” I told her. “And I better take off this dress,” I said.

I went into the bathroom and took off the dress. I tied the towel around my chest because I didn’t have anything else to wear, being that Celine had already taken my clothes.

I came out, leaving the dress in my bathroom.

“Your clothes will soon be ready for you to wear, okay?” Celine said.

I nodded with acknowledgement and appreciation.

“I can wait,” I said.

I sat down and placed the pack of ice back on my waist. Then I closed my eyes and allowed it to make me feel better.

“I am guessing you would like to have dinner in your room after what happened, right?” Celine asked me.

“I am not hungry,” I said without opening my eyes.

As a matter of fact, I wanted to leave, but I didn’t say that to Celine.

“But you have to eat something,” Celine urged worriedly.

“I will when I get hungry,” I told her.

“Alright,” Celine said.

Even though my eyes were closed, I noticed that she was about to leave. I opened my eyes and called her.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, sure,” Celine said.

“Do you promise to be honest with me?” I asked.

“Of course, Seraphina, whatever you want to ask,” Celine assured me.

“I know that he is your boss, but, what the heck happened downstairs? Why did he act like that?” I asked deeply.

It was just too scary not to ask.

Celine sighed deeply.

“He is going to kill me if I ever reveal this secret to anyone,” Celine said, sounding horrified already.