i-Spy | A Stalker Romance

Chapter 46: A Royal Puppet

(Author's Note: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE I AM ALIVEEEEE And I am soooo soooo sooooo sorry for the long gap between updates. I had a lot of things going on. I hope you all understand. 
I'll try not to take so much time again between updates. I made this chapter extra long for y'all to compensate for that and gave the much-awaited Kairo-Stella scene you were asking for. Hope you enjoy reading. 
Lots of loveeee ) 

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Stella's P.O.V.

The car screeched to a halt at the edge of the abandoned warehouse, the gravel crunching under the tires like brittle bones snapping in the silence. The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins, a toxic rush that left my heart pounding in my chest as if trying to escape. The world outside the car was unnaturally still, like the night itself was waiting for the next move.

I killed the engine, and the sudden silence swallowed us whole. It was too quiet. Too fucking quiet. Matteo slammed the car door shut, muttering curses under his breath as he headed towards the warehouse, probably contemplating how we narrowly escaped death. I didn't even have the energy to care.

Italy. All these months, I had been right here, in Italy. They had drugged me and sold me off to the Crespos. And when I woke up? Locked in a goddamn cell. 

I hadn't seen freedom in so long that it felt foreign, suffocating even.

Kairo and I stepped out of the car, but my legs were shaky, unsteady from months of neglect. I could barely stand without wobbling. I reeked, and I was pretty sure I smelled worse than a decomposing corpse.

I sighed heavily, watching Kairo as he approached me. His eyes were intense, like he was ready to rip apart the world just to hold me. And god, I wanted that. I wanted him to pull me into his arms, bury me in his scent, and make me forget everything I had been through. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, how much I needed him.

As I  rushed to him, something inside me was boiling, something darker than love. Months of rage, anger, frustration, and absolute hell came roaring to the surface, demanding an outlet.

And when we were just an arm's length away from each other... 

"Stella I-"

I punched him. Hard. Right in the face.

"Ow! What the fuck?!" Kairo staggered back, clutching his nose, eyes wide in shock.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU THESE PAST MONTHS?!" I yelled, my voice echoing in the empty night like a gunshot.

Kairo blinked at me, his expression a mix of disbelief and genuine confusion. 

He probably thought I was gonna kiss him. 

"I was—wait, hold on—did you just—" He glanced at Matteo, who was now leaning against the warehouse, smirking like he was watching the best show of his life. "Did she just punch me in the face?"

"Oh yeah, she did," Matteo confirmed with a grin. "Saw it with my own eyes. You got wrecked, man."

Kairo rubbed his jaw, wincing. "You punch like a goddamn truck, Stella-mia! What the hell was that for?"

"For abandoning me! For not finding me sooner! Whatever happened to your 'Just an hour. Once I'm done with him, I'll come for you.' GUESS WHAT? IT WASN'T AN HOUR! IT WAS MONTHS. THREE FUCKING MONTHS!" I was practically seething, every word laced with months of pent-up frustration.

Kairo threw his hands up in exasperation. "I was looking for you! Do you think I was just lounging on a beach somewhere? I was tracking down every lead, chasing every clue! Hell, I didn't even sleep!"