Page 21 of Obsessive Love (The King #1)
Chapter Twenty
Sophia
I sit up in bed and glance around the room in confusion as the remainder of my dream begins to extract itself from my memory. I screw my eyes shut again and press my fingers into the sides of my head, trying my hardest to grab hold of the dream before it slips away, but it's no use. That trick never seems to work.
I allow my body to fall backwards and sink into the comfy mattress, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling. When I swipe my hands across my face, the feel of cold metal against my skin clears the sleepy fog from my mind, and reality starts rushing back in.
I'm fucking married.
I grimace when I look at the wedding band wrapped around my finger and yank it off in frustration, throwing it across the room.
A minute later, I'm shaking my head at myself, glad that I'm in this room alone and no one's around to witness my embarrassing outburst. I get up, intent on searching for the ring, considering I have to wear it whenever I'm out in public, but when I look to the floor and spot a rumpled suit jacket by the wall, finding the ring becomes the last thing on my mind.
You have got to be kidding me.
I jump out of bed and stomp over to the jacket, snatching it from the floor and holding it in front of me as I examine the size, colour, and blood stains to confirm my suspicions.
When I realise it's Kaleb's jacket that he wore last night at the wedding, I throw it back on the floor, shaking my head in disbelief. I glance around the room, looking for anything else of his, but there's nothing.
Maybe the flashes of Kaleb in my mind aren't from my dream last night. Maybe they're from him being in my room, spying on me whilst I was sleeping.
A shiver rolls through my body at the thought of him watching me, although I'm unsure if it's a shiver of disgust or something else.
I stomp around the room, huffing as I straighten up the bed and get dressed, all while thinking about what I'm going to say to Kaleb when I inevitably see him. Once I've got some denim shorts on and a plain black T-shirt, I shove my hair into a messy ponytail, snatch the jacket off of the floor, and then rip open the bedroom door, ready to rain hell on the Italian stallion that snuck into my room last night.
I freeze in my doorway when I see his tall, bulky stature blocking the hallway as he leans against the wall opposite my room.
He smirks. I frown.
He takes a step forward. I take one back.
"Morning, dolcezza ," he says, the nickname he's given me smoothly rolling off of his tongue. I clench my jaw, determined to preserve my anger and not be affected by his flirtatious advances. "I think you have something of mine."
I glare at him and shove the jacket against his chest, managing to slightly push him back.
"Stay the fuck away from me and keep out of my room," I spit before I step back into my room and attempt to slam the door shut in his face, but he shoves his foot in the way, hissing as the door butts against it. Our eyes connect through the sliver of space and he raises his brows.
"You haven't realised yet that that'll be impossible for me to do, have you?" he asks. When I stare dumbfoundedly at him through the small gap that his foot has created, he smirks and winks at me. "I'll be seeing you, dolcezza ."
He pulls his foot out of the way and I quickly push the door shut, sighing in relief when I hear the distinct click of the latch.
I stare at the closed door wide-eyed, shocked that I spoke so venomously toward him.
His handsome, smirking face angered me further. I had no composure and completely forgot about my father's warnings to play nice with him. I turn around so that my back is pressed against the cold wood and when I hear his fading footsteps, I slowly slide down to the floor as I stare at the plain, lifeless room ahead of me, wondering if my little outburst will bring repercussions.
A knock sounds at the door, and I scramble away in a panic, worried about who it might be.
"Sophia," Jaylen whispers, knocking again. "Open the door."
I shake my head and lightly chuckle as I imagine what Jaylen would think if he walked into the room and saw me crouched on the floor and staring at the door with a harried-looking expression. I take a deep breath in an attempt to gather myself and quickly smooth my palms across my face before I go and open the door.
He glances down the hallway and then slips into my room, quietly closing the door behind him. I raise a questioning brow when he turns to face me, wondering why he's acting like a teenager who's trying to sneak out after being grounded.
"What are you doing?"
He lifts his finger to his mouth, silently telling me to be quiet, and grabs my hand, pulling me towards the adjoining bathroom. When he shuts the bathroom door behind us and presses his ear against it, I smash my lips together, trying to contain the laugh that desperately wants to burst out of me.
"Seriously, Jay, what the fuck are you doing?" I ask, chuckling slightly as I speak.
"Shh!" he hisses, pulling away from the door and pacing back and forth across the tiled floor. "I heard Jericho leave this morning so I snuck downstairs and scouted the place out."
"Did you manage to get through the locked door in the hallway?" I ask quietly, no longer finding the situation funny and now fully invested in his sneaky findings.
He shakes his head and my shoulders slump in disappointment.
"I didn't try the door yet. Kaleb was still here and so was Myra. There were also two guys stationed in the foyer, so I pretended I was going out for a run." I look down at the black jumper and denim jeans he's wearing, and I laugh.
"You went for a run in jeans?"
"I had to think on the spot! It was the best excuse I could come up with," he whisper-yells, narrowing his eyes at me. "Anyway, that's not important. I ran around the house a few times and nothing really stood out apart from the fact that there were no windows at the back of the property on the ground level. The upstairs and the front of the right side are identical to the left side of the house, though, so I'm assuming that maybe he has holding cells or something, a bit like what my father had in our old house."
I close the toilet seat and sit down as I watch him continue to pace across the room as he tells me more.
"There's a steel door round the back as well, hidden behind some of the flowers and bushes which I'm assuming were planted there for a reason. It's solid and has a keypad beside it, which makes me think even more that maybe the right side of the house has been converted into a place for him to do his dirty dealings. I tried to inconspicuously look through the windows at the front, but two of the room's windows were covered. I did manage to catch a glimpse of his office through another one of the windows, although that didn't really tell me much. It's quite plain, if I'm honest. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Okay… Are the guards still downstairs in the foyer?" I ask as a plan begins to form in my mind.
"No. When I'd come back from my run, they'd left. I think it's just us and Myra in the house now."
"So, can we go and check out the locked door in the hallway? I'll be the lookout whilst you try and get it open."
He shakes his head and rests his back against the counter.
"I don't think we need to, Soph. I'm pretty sure the guy's not hiding anything detrimental, and I don't think we should snoop around anymore. We were told not to go to the right side of the house for a reason, and although you may want to go against those rules, I don't want to. Your place here is permanent, mine isn't. I'm only here because you and your dad asked for me to be here. If I get caught, they might chuck me out and then you could potentially be in danger without me here, so let's just leave it for now, okay?"
I examine his furrowed brows and the hint of worry in his eyes and then nod my head, begrudgingly agreeing not to snoop anymore.
He sighs, standing to his full height again, and unlocks the bathroom door, cracking the door open and peeking into my empty room.
"Want to go get some food or something?" he asks over his shoulder.
I glance around the barren room and then turn to Jaylen with a smile on my face.
"How about a shopping trip?"
He looks at me, confused, and then hesitantly nods.
"Give me five minutes to make myself look more presentable and find my stupid wedding ring, and then I'll meet you downstairs in the foyer. Make sure your car's empty because I'm going to need a lot of space. Oh, call Jess and ask if she wants to join us!"