Page 89 of Light in Your Eyes

My brows furrow in confusion. But then, I realize what I just did, and my heart skips a beat.

Why would Kellan knock on the door? He had the keys. He said that he locked me up from outside because he wanted me to be safe.

The spare keys are for emergencies.

Abruptly, I snap my body around, but before I can close the door, someone's arm suddenly circles my waist. Their hand covers my mouth to muffle my scream.

The person shuts the door behind me, and panic consumes me. I struggle to break free, trying to scream. My attacker squeezes my mouth to keep me quiet.

"Shut the fuck up," an icy voice hisses in my ear, and I remember who it belongs to.

Marco's brother.

I kick his foot, elbow his stomach, and grip his hands in an attempt to break free, but he's so much more powerful than me. His grip on me is limiting my movement.

My mind turns blank as I try to remember what Kellan taught me to defend myself. But fear is the only thing I canfeel now, it clouds my mind.

Marco's brother flips me over and throws me onto the bed. I lie on my back while he towers over me. To my horror, his hands shoot to my throat, wrapping it tightly and choking me.

My eyes widen. All I can see is the rage skating all over his face.

"I don't care what you are to Kellan." His nostrils flare, and his eyes are red, filled with fury. "Did you think that you could just go on with your life after what happened to my brother?"

Tears well up in my eyes. It's not only because of the pain in my heart but also because of gradually losing my breath. I grip his hands with all my power to release his grip from my throat, my nails dug into his skin.

"If he hadn't been put in jail because of you, he wouldn't have taken the poison from Luca," he lashes out.

I stare at him in disbelief.

Luca?

Luca was the one who poisoned Marco?

He scoffs bitterly. “Yeah. My brother fucking planned it. He planned to kill himself if he couldn’t kill Kellan, and he fucking told Luca to poison his meal if he was put into the torture jail.”

I shake my head in denial. I remember the person Marco used to be, and hearing about how he planned to kill Kellan, and even himself, breaks me.

“My brother should have killed Kellan earlier.” Marco’s brother tightens his grip on my throat, causing me to gasp for more air. “He should have poisoned Kellan, but it failed because of you.”

Anger builds up inside me as I remember the incident in the kitchen where Kellan almost ate his poisoned risotto. I muster all the energy left in me to land a hard kick into my attacker’s chest. It causes him to release me, but it's only for a moment.

While I'm still trying to breathe properly, he grabs my collar. He throws me sideways, causing me to crash the nightstand. It topples, falling onto the ground. I land on the floor harshly while the aromatherapy candles crash into the bookshelf.

The candles, mixed with the oil, make contact with the papers and start to create fire before my eyes.

I feel like the world suddenly stops moving, but before I can do something about it, Marco's brother is suddenly on me again, straddling me. He traps my wrists with his hands, locking them on my sides.

He clenches his jaw. "I don't fucking understand what you did to him. He attacked Kellan because of you. He committed suicide. Why? He was doing fine before you came around."

Pain sips into my heart again as I realize that he doesn't even know his brother's struggle.

"I gave him money." Grudge is laced in his words. "I gave him a fucking good job. He was chosen for a mission that would make him fucking proud. Why.Why?"

"Because he was suffering," I scream, unable to hold it back any longer.

It's going to hurt him, but he has to know what Marco really felt.

"He hated his life here," I say. "He didn't want to be here. He felt like he didn't belong."