BLOODHOUNDS #1: THE ABDICATED PRINCE

Chapter 24 - QUESTION

Luna Morris

I locked myself inside my painting room for hours. God knows how long I've been here. My demons have been coming out lately, and after I let them out, I looked at the paintings I drew on the ground.

I kneeled and saw how cruel my art was.

It's filled with red, purple, black and white. It was a combination of abstract, surrealism, and realism. I threw it to the side and looked at the second painting, darker than the first. I stood up and looked around the room. It's a fucking mess.

I lose myself when my demons come out, and I can't control myself. I was filled with anger and a thirst for revenge, but I didn't think I could do so.

I left the room and found Clyde sitting in my living room. He turned to me and smiled, "Are you hungry?" He asked, and I turned to the clock to see it was late.

"How do you know my apartment code? I forgot to ask you that yesterday!" I raised my eyebrows as I walked toward the kitchen to wash my dirty hands in the sink.

"My talent." He answered calmly.

"I'm changing the codes," I said as I wiped my hands.

"You can change it a thousand times, and I still can get inside." He said confidently, and I shook my head. I grabbed a snack from my snack drawer.

I've been inside my painting room for 7 hours. I went out only to use the bathroom and drink, but other than that, I let my head take over. I opened the fridge and froze when it was filled with food.

There are fruits, vegetables, milk, ice cream, and some frozen pizzas. I'm not the type to stock up my fridge, but I'm glad Clyde did.

"What do you want for dinner?" He stood behind me and put his head on my shoulder. I turned to him, and he kissed me.

"Go away!" I pushed him away, and he chuckled before closing the fridge.

"Should we eat outside, take it away, or get it delivered here?" Clyde asked as he scrolled his phone screen. He showed me all the food selections nearby that we could get.

Suddenly a message popped up, and it said, Tatiana Knight.

Clyde kept scrolling like it was not a big deal. I'm trying to ignore the fact that another woman is texting him. Not once but three times before she decided to call him. Clyde pressed the red button, and I looked at him suspiciously.

"All you need to do is ask, ask me who is Tatiana." Clyde's attention was still on his phone while I kept looking at him. I want to know without asking him.

"Ask me." He repeated.

"I want some Pho. Daisy told me that the restaurant two blocks away from here is good," I said, ignoring his statement because I rather not know who Tatiana Knight was.

"So you're not curious?" He's still on it, isn't he? Sometimes I don't get Clyde, I've done my research before, and there are so many women trying to be with him, and some big and popular names popped out, but it was never serious for him.

"No."

"Let's get some pho then." He said, and Tatiana called again. "Let me take this, and we can go." Clyde made his merry way to the balcony, where he talked to Tatiana for 8 minutes.

After he's done, he looks so happy and giddy, like a kid that just got candy. Luna, you're not going to ask him. It's stupid, and you're not jealous.

"Let's eat dinner."

"I change my mind, and I want a burger." He nodded and went through his phone to tell me about some burger places nearby. He gave me his phone to look at and excused himself to the bathroom.

Tatiana kept messaging him non-stop. My index finger was so itchy, tempting to press it. She even sent some photos, which made me super curious and stressed out. Tatiana called again, but before I could think, my finger betrayed me.

"Hello, Clyde." Her voice is so sweet. It's pissing me off.

"Who is this?" I asked, and there was a long silence from Tatiana before she decided to end the call.

"Is it that hard to ask who she is?" I jumped when Clyde caught me red-handed. He walked towards me and took his phone from my hand.

"I don't care," I said, and he shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Clyde took me to a burger joint in Seattle called CocoBurger. We walked inside and sat at the corner of the restaurant. CocoBurger sounds like a cute name, I thought this place would be like a diner, but it's a simple and modern restaurant.

We ordered two burgers, curly fries, and a chocolate milkshake.

"Are you seriously having a day off?" I asked as he put his attention to his phone. He looked so serious that it pissed me off. I know he's texting Tatiana since she's been sending him many messages.

Who is she anyway? This is my first time seeing Clyde being so invested in someone through texting.

This is ridiculous! Am I jealous?

"Who is she?" I ended up dropping the bomb. Clyde slowly looked up at me with the biggest grin plastered on his face. "Who?" He's testing my patience, isn't he?

"Tatiana Knight." Clyde's eyes turned to my hand, unconsciously turning into a fist with my nails digging into my skin.

"The Princess of the United Kingdom."

"What is she doing?" He slid his phone to me, showing the text between him and her. I read it and looked at him, confused because why would The Princess of the United Kingdom want to run away?

"I'm looking for a babysitter for her," Clyde said as he grabbed his phone back.

"Babysitter? Isn't she old enough to not have a babysitter?" I'm so confused because, from what I know, she's either 21 years old or 22 years old. Why would she need a babysitter?

"She is, but I know the perfect babysitter for her."

"Who would that be?

"Kayden Grant."