Chapter 116

[Evelyn’s POV]

I felt my heartbeat drumming frantically in my ears. It seemed like all the blood that was circulating in my body dropped to the floor as I became enwrapt in an icy cold blanket of realization.

I almost didn’t believe Alexander. Because there was no way—not a single chance on earth—that he would willingly have the same person who intended to sexually assault me staying in the same house as me. There was just no way.

I stared at Alexander for several long seconds that really felt like hours. His firm expression never once budged.

He’s serious...He’s telling the truth.

That cold tremulous feeling sank deeper into my bones.

“Michael is in this house?!” I shouted.

I was still waiting for someone to tell me that it was nothing but a joke, a lie. But no one spoke. Oliver couldn’t even bear to look at him as his eyes remained locked on the carpet. Alexander’s glare was unyielding.

He closed the space between us and grabbed my arms in his large hands. “Evelyn, breathe,” he demanded.

In the midst of falling into a complete state of shock, I hadn’t realized that I wasn’t properly breathing. As soon as Alexander brought it to my attention, I felt the sharp burning sensation flare through my chest and scorch through my lungs.

“Evelyn, you need to breathe,” he said

Tears were beginning to gather in my eyes, causing my vision to go blurry. My hands curled into tight fists regardless of the pain they’d already endured from earlier. Slowly but surely, all of my muscles were starting to lock up.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. And before I knew it, I couldn’t think straight either.

It all brought back that horrible moment when I was in my most vulnerable state. All I could feel was Michael's hands on me in that dark, desolate hallway. I’d been trapped with no way out.

And there I felt trapped again.

Between the burn in my lungs and the pressure that was building in my head, I couldn’t take it. It all became too much to bear. The room was beginning to spin and I felt too dizzy to stay on my feet.

“Evelyn...Evelyn?...” Alexander’s voice grew distant as the world around me grew dark. “...Evelyn!”

...

The next time I opened my eyes, it came with a shocking jolt of air to my lungs. I found myself pressed against something warm and firm. A loud breath broke through the air, signally that I wasn't alone.

I practically shot up and nearly fumbled to the ground. When I felt a large pair of hands wrapping around my midriff to keep me steady, my panic increased even further.

I wasn’t fully aware of where I was, only that I needed to get away from whoever was trying to hold me back.

A familiar, hoarse voice spoke out. “Evelyn.”

My vision wasn’t entirely clear and it certainly didn’t help the fact that the room was dark to begin with. I continued to push back, no matter how weak I felt, against the person who was trying to keep me locked in place.

“Let me go,” I gasped. “Stop, let me go!”

“Evelyn, stop it!” Alexander’s harsh tone made me freeze.

I slowly tilted my head back to glance at him through fuzzy eyes. The man looked as emotionally drained as I felt.

Alexander kept one of his hands firmly locked on my waist while the other moved to gently stroke down my back in soothing motions.

“Lay back down,” he whispered.

I could feel the slight shakiness still hanging around in my limbs. “What h-happened?”

“You had a panic attack. A very, very bad one. Come on,” he urged. “Lay back for me.”

A panic attack?

Of course. It all started to come back to me gradually in pieces. I’d stumbled upon that strange door and discovered a terrifying place within the house. I tried to confront Alexander about it only to be hit with another bout of insane news.

Michael was actually being kept inside of the house.

A painful surge of emotion broke in my chest. I leaned back into Alexander’s chest but I turned away from him. Buried my face into the sheets and focused on settling my erratic heart rate.

“Evelyn,” he started with a sense of urgency.

“How could you bring him here?” I asked aimlessly. “Here?”

“You need to understand.”

“What I understand is that he tried to take advantage of me,” I hissed. “Michael had every and all intention to rape me. Do you know that before you found me? All I could do at that moment was pray. I prayed for a miracle to come and stop Michael and to save me.”

I turned my head to glance up at Alexander’s distressed look.

I gave a watery smile and blinked back the tears that threatened to distort my vision once more.

“But you did,” I whimpered. “You came for me. You saved me. You stopped him and you saved me...I just...I keep feeling the horrible way his hands felt on me. When I close my eyes, it’s like I’m back in that house trapped under him with no escape.”

Alexander’s features were pinched with worry. He clenched his jaw and pushed my hair back from my face. I knew this wasn’t something he knew how to handle. I hadn’t expected him to even find a solution to my problem.

He brushed the corners of my eyes. “I shouldn’t have made any assumptions about your way of coping with what happened,” he remarked.

“I think I understand why he’s here,” I said quietly. “You needed to place him somewhere that he wouldn’t easily slip away from.”

“Exactly,” he confirmed. “I needed to ensure that Michael wouldn’t be able to do any more harm. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that he was being kept in the house.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I should have been more open about my problems. I have a tendency to just push everything down and forget about it.”

“You shouldn’t be doing that,” he told me. “If there is something on your mind that’s affecting you to this severity, you must tell me. Or, at least, someone you feel comfortable with. To keep these thoughts and emotions locked away, you’re going to end up doing more harm in the future. Take it from someone who knows.”

He had a point there. Alexander wasn’t someone who expressed his feelings and thoughts so openly, it was one of the main reasons why he’d earned the title of a ruthless War God. It paved the path for his success but the price may have been more damaging than he realized.

I turned myself to be better situated beside him. I laid my hand over his heart.

“Looks like we’re both a work in progress,” I humored.

Alexander hummed while wrapping his arms around me, bringing me closer.

“I wish there was some way that I could help you through this,” he said. “Unfortunately, I can’t kill Michael for his actions. Even though he deserves nothing less.”

I gently shook my head. “What you’re doing right now is what I need. And...”

“And what?”

My eyes widened. Shit. I hadn’t meant to continue that thought. My head was still somewhat reeling from earlier and I shouldn’t have even been talking for fear of sounding like a complete fool.

I shook my head with the hope of dropping the conversation. But Alexander wasn’t anything if not persistent.

“Tell me,” he insisted.

A slow blush touched my cheeks that had not escaped his notice.

“I...It helps when...You touch me.”