i-Spy | A Stalker Romance

Chapter 16: Embers of Temptation

Stella's P.O.V.

I sat on my bed, staring at the black dress Marco had sent me. It was beautiful and elegant, but the thought of wearing it to his party filled me with dread. Should I go? What if it was another trap? My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. I felt a surge of adrenaline as I walked towards it, half-expecting the stalker to be standing there.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by a whirlwind of color and energy. Jenna, my cousin, stood there with her luggage, dressed in an outfit that screamed "tourist." She wore a brightly patterned yellow sundress that clashed with her oversized sunhat and neon-pink sunglasses. She was taller than me, her long legs accentuated by the high heels she inexplicably wore for travel. Her honey skin glowed under the hallway light, and her hazel eyes sparkled with mischief beneath her perfectly styled brunette hair, which framed her face in loose, beachy waves.

"Bitch you're alive!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms wide open for an exaggerated hug, her bangles clinking together musically. Her entrance was nothing short of grand, her presence filling the room with a mixture of chaos and charm that was quintessentially Jenna. She dragged her suitcase behind her, a monstrous pink thing plastered with stickers from all the places she had visited, and stepped inside with an air of casual elegance, like she owned the place.

"Well, well, look who decided to leave the family complaining about the crimes and ended up in the mafia capital!" Jenna said with a sassy grin, her voice loud and unapologetic. She cast a critical eye around my apartment, her lips curling into a smirk. "Nice place, Stella. Didn't know you had such... quaint tastes," she remarked, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she took in the modest furnishings and the sparse décor.

"You left the family for... this?" 

I rolled my eyes ignoring her comments and stepped aside to let her in. Jenna plopped down on the couch, her luggage bumping into the coffee table as she did. She looked around with a mixture of curiosity and mild disdain, her eyes lingering on the few personal items I had scattered about. 

"Cut it out, Jenna," I muttered, closing the door behind her, already feeling a headache coming on from her whirlwind arrival.

Jenna's demeanor shifted slightly as she took a closer look at me. Her playful grin faded, replaced by a more serious expression. "Okay, spill. What's going on? You look like me when I was dating Dexter," she cringed from the memory, removing her neon sunglasses, her voice softening as she noticed the tension in my posture and the worry lines etched on my face.

Taking a deep breath, I began to tell her everything. I started with my time at the university and the contract I had made with my father to stay away from the family business. Jenna listened intently, her usual sassiness replaced with a rare seriousness. As I continued, recounting the events with the stalker, the housewarming party, Leo's fatherless behavior, and the horrifying gift of a severed finger, her eyes widened with a mixture of horror and fascination.

When I finally reached the part about Nina Romano, the girl I had been forced to kill as part of my test, my voice faltered. I left out the kiss with the stalker, not ready to relive that moment just yet. Especially not with Jenna making her snarky comments, she would never let me live down that memory. 

Jenna's hazel eyes were locked onto mine, her expression unreadable.

When I finished, she leaned back and crossed her arms, her serious demeanor giving way to a mischievous grin. "Well, for the record, I think I like this stalker of yours. He got you rid of that scumbag Leo."

I rolled my eyes, feeling a mixture of frustration and relief. "And look how well that's playing out for me with the Alvarez involvement and everything," I retorted, my voice tinged with sarcasm.