Bed of Nails

Chapter 78

“So I heard you are marrying Erick Villain?"

“You have heard right,” I said with a bitter look on my face. I grabbed a glass of my wine and drank it in one go to make that bitter taste in my mouth go away. I was finding it hard to swallow it. 

“You don't look happy about it,” he said, looking at my face. His eyes moved all over my face. A humourless chuckle left my mouth. 

“Who cares about what I want? No one cared about it in the past nor in the present, and I know the future won't be any different,” I said bitterly, and then I stuffed my mouth with a big piece of lamb chop. The lamb chop I was enjoying a minute ago suddenly started to taste like sand. 

"Grace,” he said, and then covered my hand with his. I looked at him. “Don't be so dejected and hopeless. I'm sure things will get better. Everything will get better soon. Try to be positive and happy at least,” he tried to console me while giving me a small smile. I could tell from his words that Evelyn had told him everything. He knew how I was stuck in this situation. I looked away, feeling overwhelmed by the situation I was stuck in. 

“Look at me, chubby,” he said when I was busy swallowing my tears. I don't want him to see me defeated like this. All my life, I have been doing my best to get out of these shitty situations around me, but the more I try, the more I get pulled into them. 

“Chubby, Look at me, please,” he said softly again when I didn't look at him. I looked at him with tears still in my eyes. 

"Remember, you have me, Evelyn, Aria, Xanthus, and Isabelle. You are not alone in this, and if you feel everything is burdening you and you can't take it anymore, just come to us, and I promise we will take care of everything,” he said softly, and his words held assurance. My heart became a little clammy, but a tear slid down my left eye. “Stop crying now. Tears don't suit you,” he said with an encouraging smile. I smiled at him with a small nod. He moved his other hand and wiped the traces of the tears from my left cheek. My eyes moved behind him, and that small smile I mustered up vanished from my face. I saw him standing behind our table, or two away from us, with his secretary. His hands were in his pocket, and his jaw was clenched in anger. Eyes as cold as an iceberg. My face became pale after finding him here. What is he doing here? 

“What happened, chubby?” he asked. Andrew's eyes furrowed, looking at my face. Andrew looked behind him when I didn't answer him. The way his cold blue eyes were looking at me sent chills down my spine. They had a look of betrayal in them, and that gaze made my heart ache with an unknown ache. His cold blue orbs moved from me to Andrew, and I saw how his jaw clenched even more. They moved back towards me. My heart started to thump loudly. I don't know what he will do. To my surprise, he averted his eyes from me and walked away from there with his secretary trailing behind him. Everything became silent around me. It felt like silence before the hurricane. 

"Grace.” "Grace.” I felt a hand on my shoulder, and it made me come out of my haze. 

“Are you ok?'' Andrew asked with a concerned look on his face. I have been staring at the place where he was standing five minutes ago. 

“Are you ok?” Andrew asked me once again because I still had not answered him. 

"Yeah," I stuttered while taking the glass of water he offered. His gaze was still bothering me. He was not here, but I could still feel it in me. I didn't feel like eating anymore. I waited until Andrew was done eating. I said my bye and left the restaurant immediately. I decided to go to bed early. I changed my clothes and washed my face. Once I was done with my routine, I laid down on my bed. I kept staring at my cell phone. I was thinking if I should call him. My fingers fidgeted with each other, and I kept on biting on my lower lip. I don't know how long I kept staring at my cell phone while still contemplating. I finally decided to call him but my cell phone started to ring with an unknown number. I didn't want to take the call, but then I thought my friends must be calling me from another number. 

"Hello." I heard a familiar voice. 

"Fergus." I took his name with furrowed brows. He is Erick’s butler. Why is he calling me so late? 

“Miss Grace, sorry to bother you this late, but can you please come to the mansion?" he said, sounding distressed. My brows furrowed even more at his request. Emotionless Fergus was sounding distressed. It means something was wrong. My heart started to beat fast. 

"Why? what happened?" I asked, sitting properly on the bed. sounding as distressed and impatient as him. 

“Please come here as soon as possible. I will tell you everything,” he said, sounding impatient, and then I heard some ruffling behind him. My heart started to beat in fear, and unknowingly, I started to pray for his safety.

I didn't even bother to change my night clothes. I grabbed my car keys, coat and left immediately. I kept biting on my lower lip the whole time. My hands kept holding the steering wheels tightly. I drive fast, covering the forty-minute distance in just twenty minutes. Fergus was waiting for me at the door. 

“What's wrong? Where is he?” I asked impatiently as soon as I entered the house. I moved my eyes all over the place, but I was still not able to find him. I flinched in my place when I heard the loud shattering of glass. 

“Master has locked himself in study since he came back. He has been breaking things for an hour. I tried to talk to him, but he is not answering me, nor is he letting any of us in,'' Fergus said, making me look in the direction where his study was. Once again, I flinch when I hear something shattering. What is he doing? I ran upstairs to his office. We stood in front of the door. I know he won't open the door if I ask him to open it. 

“Do you have keys?” I asked, and he immediately pulled out the key from his pocket. It was clear from his face that he was afraid to open the door. I gave him a nod and opened the door. My eyes widen as I look at the mess in the room. Glasses were shattered, and he was drinking whisky straight from the bottle. I covered my mouth when I saw blood dripping from his other hand. As he felt my presence, he looked my way. The tension in the air thickened, and I found it hard to breathe. His cold blue eyes send chills down my spine. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked in his low, rough voice. I don't even have an answer to that question. I hate him. I hate him most in this world but still, I'm here standing in front of him. I didn't answer and just kept looking at him. The aloofness in his voice screamed at me to turn around and run from here, but I kept standing there. Rooted to my place. He stood up with bottles still in his hand. He once again drank straight from it while looking straight at me before smashing the bottle on the hard floor. My heart started to beat so wildly, and my limbs became heavy. My breath became uneven when he started to walk in my way. Another chill passed my whole body. I have never dealt with a drunk Erick before. 

“You should not have come here, doll."

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