Klaroline: Worlds Apart (Revamping)

Chapter 14

"Are you 100% sure there's not a better way to do this?" I whisper as our feet crunch on the gravel driveway beneath our feet.

Elijah doesn't grace the question with a response -- rather, he simply pushes open the heavy oak door leading into the Mikaelson Mansion. The air was thick with an unsettling silence. Something didn't feel right, and it was near impossible to calm my nerves.

I look around in awe. I mean, it's not every day you walk into a mansion built in the late 1800s, which also used to be home to the governor of New Orleans way back in the day.

"This way to my brother's room. I expect he'll be excited to see you," Elijah says, wandering off down a hallway.

I follow behind him, creeping closer by the second. As we round the last corner, a muffled sound, resembling a groan, ripples through the air, causing Elijah and I to freeze just a few feet from the door.

Elijah wastes no time. He finishes walking to the door, with me following close behind, and violently shoved the door open with a surprising amount of force, leading me to believe there was some anger behind it.

I saw two people laying in the bed, and it took me a moment to truly process what scene had unfolded before my eyes. I realized, through the minimal streaks of light dancing through the curtains, that Klaus was the man laying in bed, alongside a petite raven-haired girl.

The girl, definitely barely older than 20, was curled up against him, her head resting nuzzled up to him. Her dark hair cascaded down her back, intertwined with Klaus' hair.

My mouth dropped at the sight in front of me, and I take a staggered step backwards, feeling like the world had come crashing down around me. The next breath that escaped my lips was ragged, tearing through the silence.

Klaus' eyes snap open, resembling a startled animal on the defensive. Our eyes locked, and recognition flickered, his gaze softening, before gardening into a cold, deadly look in his eyes.

He leaps to his feet, quickly pulling his boxers on. His sudden movement threw the sleeping girl off guard.

"Caroline?" He rasped in disbelief, venom edged in his malicious tone, followed by a low, dangerous growl that vibrated the floorboards be watch my trembling feet, which felt cemented in place.

"What the hell are you doing here in New Orleans?" He asked, sounding more alert than before.

The girl scrambled to her feet, covering herself with the bedspread, fear twisting her beautiful delicate features. I barely acknowledged she was there, ignoring the deer in headlights look as my eyes met Klaus' again. Shame burned inside me, a complete 180 from the icy shock and the sting of betrayal. And yet, he hadn't betrayed me, but it didn't feel that way.

"I-I thought... You needed help," I say quietly, my voice shaking as I take another step back.

Elijah's stoic expression gave away to concern. "Caroline..."

"I-It's fine, Elijah. I shouldn't be here anyways, it's none of my business," I croaked, shaking my head as tears burn in my eyes, a single one rolling down my face.

The shame suddenly shifted to a bitter cocktail of anger, resentment, and hurt. I couldn't handle being there anymore, so I spun on my heel and bolted, my feet pounding a frantic tune throughout the hallways as I tore through the mansion, leaving Elijah and Klaus's calls in the dust.

I didn't know, nor did I really care, where I was going. All I knew was I had to escape that room, despite the sight of Klaus and that girl burning in my brain, the betrayal leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.