DARKEST DESIRES

9

♡MONET♡

Tears start to sting my eyes again, but I blink them off, determined not to cry. Meghan asks, "How is Idris?" referring to my grandfather.

"He's okay. He sent his regards," I reply, trying to hold back tears.

"Oh, thank you," I say, trying to compose myself.

She looks at me, then at Darren, who is typing away on his phone. "Let me show you to your room," she says, tilting her head.

I nod, following her, and glance back at Darren, who is heading in the opposite direction, his phone pressed against his ear. We walk into one of the spare bedrooms. It's bigger than my bedroom but smaller than the one I woke up in the first time I was here. The bed, covered in clean white and blue sheets, is placed in the center of the room. There's an empty dressing mirror next to the bed, and the wardrobe is across the room. I notice the door to what I'm sure is a bathroom right next to it.

"Get comfortable," she says, smiling at me again.

Darren's parents are dead, so who is she? Well, I know her name is Meghan, but what relationship do they share? "You just don't know how glad it makes me feel that you agreed to come here." She sits on the queen-sized bed. "How could I have said no?" "I really need girl talk around here." She laughs, and I join in.

"Speaking of girl talk, this may be too soon, but do you have a boyfriend?" she asks, curiosity in her eyes.

"No, I don't," I reply, swallowing hard.

"Really? Are you sure?" She looks at me with a hint of surprise.

"We uh, broke up." I sigh, trying to hold back tears.

She looks at me with pity in her eyes, but I don't need it. It doesn't hurt me as much as I imagined it would. And maybe this may be too soon for me too; I barely know the guy, but Darren is occupying most of my mind space. Christian cheated on me, but it doesn't bother me as much.

"So, sorry... what happened? Well, if you don't wanna talk about it, it's really fine." She gives me a gentle smile.

"He cheated," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh. Okay, now it hurts." She nods understandingly. "Wow, an asshole. How could he cheat on someone as beautiful as you?" Maybe I haven't been good enough for him. "He was with someone better." The tears start to sting my eyes again. They are too glassy to hide, and Meghan notices them before I can take them back. She sighs, and that makes a tear drop from my left eye.

"Come on." She stands from the bed and walks up to me. "I don't think he even deserves these tears. You are shading for him. You are gonna find someone better." I meet her gaze. She nods at me with comfort on her face. "You will." I wipe the tears away and close the doors to the wardrobe.

"So..." I take a breather. "... Darren's your nephew?" I'm trying to change the topic as soon as possible.

She sighs. "He's my son." My brows wrinkle in confusion. "Of course, his parents died... his real parents." She clarifies. "... so I started taking care of him." She smiles. "I was his nanny." Oh. "Oh, how did they die?" "They were involved in a road accident; it's only fortunate that Darren and Liam remained home with me that day." A pinch of sorrow crosses her face, but she immediately covers it with a dull smile. That's sad.

Meghan and I talked for a while until she decided to leave me. My phone had been chiming and ringing while we were talking, but I kept ignoring it. I grab my phone and see six missed calls from Christian, text messages, and voice mails. I unlock my phone to go through the texts first before I hear the voice mails.

CHRISTIAN: Monet, you can't keep fucking ignoring me. 10:00 a.m.
CHRISTIAN: I'm sorry. 10:34 a.m.
CHRISTIAN: Would you fucking stop with the silent treatment? 10:50 a.m.
CHRISTIAN: Fine, then keep ignoring me for all I care. 11:30 a.m.

I read through all of them and then click to listen to his voice mails.

"Let's just talk." "Do you know I dropped by your place because I wanted to talk to you since you've been ignoring my texts and calls... " He stops to release a prolonged sigh. "... do you know what happened?" Whatever. I don't care anymore.

But my comfort is short-lived, as my phone starts chiming and ringing nonstop. Christian's name flashes on the screen, and my heart races with anxiety. I ignore the calls and messages, but he won't give up. He's relentless, and I know he won't stop until he gets what he wants.

Finally, I can't take it anymore. I answer the call, my voice barely above a whisper. "Christian."

"Monet," he says, his voice laced with anger and possessiveness. "I feel like you broke up with me because of him, a guy you barely know."

I try to stay calm, but my voice trembles. "You cheated, Christian. You broke us."

"Monet, I love you. You can't say it's over." His tone darkens, and I know I'm in danger.

"Leave me alone, Christian. Please." I try to sound firm, but my voice cracks.

"You know how I can be," he threatens, his words sending chills down my spine.

The call ends, and I'm left feeling scared and trapped. I try to dial his number, but he doesn't answer. I'm left with only my thoughts, and they're consumed by fear.

My phone chimes again, and I hesitate before reading the message. CHRISTIAN: I'll kill him.

My eyes widen, and my breath catches. This isn't just a threat; it's a promise. I know Christian's capable of hurting someone he perceives as a threat.

I try to type a response, but my hands shake. I can't think straight. I'm paralyzed with fear.

CHRISTIAN: Sounds about right.

My mind races as I try to come up with a plan. I need to protect Darren, but I don't know how.

CHRISTIAN: By the way, Darren just left the house.

My heart stops. How does Christian know this? He's been watching us, following us. I feel like I'm trapped in a nightmare, and I can't wake up.