#1 | The Aftermath - Phantom Rider Series

#23 | Overthinker

Mila's POV

Every night, I tossed and turned, unable to find comfort. Between the pills that took the pain away and the racing thoughts, I could not find silence in my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about Bill. Why did he help me? Why was he even at my doorstep? Why did he leave so suddenly?

I couldn't tell which pain was worse: the physical agony of my body or the sharp cut right in my soul. Why did it hurt so much to see him go?

I looked at his jacket on a chair next to my bed, dried and clean, yet still covered in his scent. I pulled it close to my heart, hugged it, and drifted off to sleep, imagining he was next to me.

Days went by slowly. I barely left the bed. I told my friend Sergei that I was ill, but I never told him the real reason why I was bedridden for weeks. I would never tell anyone. No one needed to know. Sergei never asked questions; he just ensured I had food deliveries every day and arranged for a housekeeper to take care of the mess.

Sometimes I thought of Matt and felt a constant fear that he would come back at any moment. It wasn't the first time he had hurt me, but this was the first time it had gotten this bad. Usually, he would go away for a few days and then return with flowers and gifts. He knew very well how to buy his way out of all the misery he caused me.

All my finances and connections were tied to him. But what scared me even more was that he was my father's right hand. If he had gone to meet my father, a whole new hell would have broken loose. His absence made me think he might be up to something.

The loneliness crept in with each passing day I spent at home. No one called me, and no one seemed to care about me. But I was used to that. I had been alone all my life, where human connections were made only out of necessity, transactional relationships.

I had a lot of time to think, and I analyzed every single detail of past events. I would never understand Bill's obsession with finding his brother. How could someone fixate so intensely on an idea that seemed completely insane? How could someone love so profoundly that they would refuse to let go, even in the face of death?

Nothing about Bill made sense in my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see the man everyone so desperately feared. Possessive, maybe. Impressive, absolutely. Charming, without a doubt. But scary? No, he didn't scare me at all.

Bill's POV

The idea that she had been the Phantom Rider all along didn't make sense at first, but then, putting it all together, who else could it be? She was filthy rich, able to afford the most expensive car available. She was a trained fighter. She never appeared in races at the same time the rider did. And she knew about my pain before I told her.

The person who tortured me and led me into believing Tom was alive was her all this time. But I remember that day when I felt the connection with her in the car. The string that connected us was like nothing I had ever felt before.

I was thinking of her every day. I wondered if she was okay, if she was healing. I was still dedicated to killing that asshole husband of hers. But I was also angry at her. But more so, I was hurt for opening my heart to a stranger and letting it be ripped out just like that. 

I had no idea what to do. But there was one thing I was entirely sure of - I was utterly, miserably in love with her.