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“Stalking is a little strong, don’t you think?”
“Really?” I fold my arms indignantly. “First you buy the building where I live, then you follow me to my first day at work. I may not have as many letters after my name as you, but I know the definition of stalking.”
It angers me that Lucian doesn’t reply, and rather than looking at me, I get the feeling he is watching me. His gaze follows my hand as I tug on the ends of my hair, and he focuses on my lips when I talk. It’s as though he is taking a mental snapshot of me, and all I want to do is erase the picture of me from his mind.
Lucian takes a step forward, and I immediately step back. “What are you doing?” I ask, my heartbeat accelerating in my chest.
Lucian wraps his index finger around a lock of my hair before tucking it behind my ear. His touch causes my traitorous body to react with an explosion of goosebumps on my skin.
“It was a pleasant surprise bumping into you yesterday,” Lucian says. “I am in the process of acquiring the option on the land at Hazelwood Farm, and my being there was to check on my investment. Due to the nature of the business I have with the farmer, it’s imperative that I visit regularly, and who’s to tell me I can’t enjoy a coffee whilst admiring the scenery when I am there?”
By scenery I know he isn’t talking about the land. Him being there at the same time as me does seem coincidental, but I know one thing is not. I pin him with an accusing stare. “And buying this building had nothing to do with me?”
Lucian shrugs. “I saw a failing business, and with it an opportunity.”
“An opportunity for what?”
“For—” Lucian begins, though our stare is broken when he looks past me and into the flat.
I want answers, so instinctively try to close the door behind me. Lucian steps forward and pushes the door open. His expression sours.
“What the…” His words trail off, and I’d say for once he is at a loss for what to say. He steps past me and walks into the open-plan lounge.
“I can explain,” I say, and follow closely behind. There’s urgency in my tone. I don’t care about Lucian, but I do care that he’d think I’d treat my home with such disrespect.
He takes his time, stepping between empty beer bottles and half-eaten food that has been smeared into the cream carpet. After a full inspection of the lounge and kitchen he turns to face me. “May I remind you that I am now the owner of this establishment? And although I fully support maintaining an active social life, this utter disregard for my property is unacceptable.”
My body begins to quake, and the coping techniques I have in place for my OCD falter. One by one my demons begin to appear. It’s as though they’ve placed a magnifying lens over my eyes, and all I can see is dirt, mess, and clutter. My fingers itch to clean, itch to scrub, itch to polish.
Lucian continues to speak, though I do not hear a word. Instead, all I hear is the constant lull of his voice. I run my fingers through my hair and fist them at my scalp before finally exploding. “It was Tyler!”
Lucian’s jaw slackens and he looks at me with wide eyes.
“I’m sorry, I just—” My words trail off, and I make a mental note of where the bin bags are positioned around the room. I started throwing stuff out first thing this morning. I began with anything that was broken, be it glass or the china set. I moved on to…
“This isn’t your fault,” Lucian says, pulling me from my thoughts.
My usual happy-go-lucky self is nowhere to be seen. I feel on edge, I feel like I’m going to self-destruct any second. I need to count to three, I need to focus on my breathing.
One.I inhale slowly.
Two.I exhale.
Thr…
It’s no use, the walls are closing in. The rubbish scattered around is turning into mountains. Mountains of bottles and food that’ll rain down around me and bury me alive. I’m trapped, I can’t move, I can’t breathe. Every feeling I fought so hard to suppress is jolted forward, and I press my internal self-destruct button. “No, this is your fault!” I yell, and pant heavily as my words detonate.
“My fault?” Lucian places his hand over his chest, clearly taken aback. But still he stands, as cool as a damn cucumber and completely unaffected by my growing agitation.
My breaths come sharp and heavy.Leave, Lucian, leave before I say something I can’t take back and you make me homeless.
I purse my lips together, but it’s no use. “Everything was fine until you bought this building behind Tyler’s back. You’ve taken everything from him. I’m glad the flat has been trashed and the windows smashed. Do you want to know why? I’ll tell you. Because people like you think you can buy anything you want, and everything comes with a price tag. Well, I have news for you, it doesn’t!” My words echo around the room.
And there I go. Everything that was on my mind came tumbling out with zero filter. I should back down, apologise for my outburst, but I can’t. I stand tall, my hands placed firmly on my hips.
Lucian studies me for a beat, like I am a piece of a jigsaw he can’t quite place. He smiles devilishly. “Fascinating.”
“What is?”
