Villa Nettiea

Chapter 19

Narrine's POV:

"I knew it." I froze when a voice suddenly spoke from behind me. "Where do you think you're going?"

I slowly turned to look behind me, and my eyes widened when I saw who it was.

"T-Thara..."

"What do you think you're doing?" he said seriously.

"Not you, please, Thara. I need answers. I need the truth," I said, pleading.

"What answers? What truth are you talking about? Go back inside. You’re not well yet. Please. I know you've started to hate me, but at least for now, listen to me."

"No! I'm not going back. I need answers. I need to go to the villa. I need to go north. Please. I need to clarify things. I know you know something about what's happening to me." I quickly started walking, but he immediately grabbed my arm.

"Narrine! Stop doing this. This isn't good for you. You’re not okay yet. You need to rest."

"I can't rest if I do nothing. I need to satisfy my curiosity. I have so many questions, and I know you know something. But will you tell me the answers? No, right? I know you're hiding something from me. My family, Sir Thana, all of you. You're not in my situation, so you don't understand."

"I know how you feel, Narrine!" His voice rose, and my eyes widened. I closed my eyes as if something clenched in my chest, but I tried not to show it. "But please, listen to me. I’ll tell you everything you want to know. I know you're struggling, especially with this situation where you're being hunted. For heaven’s sake, go inside. I promise, I’ll personally tell you everything once you’re okay."

I shook my head with a smile.

"I don't know if I can still trust you. My Mom, Dad." I shook my head again and laughed sarcastically. "Just let me go, please. I know there’s so much I need to know. If you want, come with me so you can at least report back to them that I'm safe because I'm with you. Didn't they trust you to watch over me?"

We were heading north. Fortunately, I managed to convince him to come along. We were silent in the car as he drove. We stopped at a convenience store to buy something to eat. It was a three-hour drive from the city to the province where we were headed. The organization didn’t know we were going either. Good thing Thara agreed to come; if Mild found out, I know he’d report it to Sir Thana, and I’d be doomed if my parents found out.

"Thank you." Thara glanced at me. I knew he was reluctant about what we were doing, but he still accompanied me. He didn’t say anything and focused on the road again. "Thank you for coming with me. I’m sorry, too, for dragging you into this. I know my parents will scold you. But you still agreed to what I wanted." He sighed.

"I promised them that I would take care of you and protect you. It’s like my oath to them." I nodded and looked out the window again. The surroundings were pitch black, and the car’s headlights were the only light. Ever since I heard about the villa, Nicole’s family kept appearing in my dreams. I couldn’t see their faces, but the sounds, the crying, were so vivid to me. I can’t even remember how old I was when I first dreamt of it. Gulf Nattarin Traipipattanapong and Alex Mew Jongcheveevat—the famous couple on our campus, but there’s nothing about their faces online.

"About the haunted mansion we’re going to, do you know anything about it? Mercy mentioned that you know about this. Can you share a bit? I couldn’t find anything on the internet. They were a famous couple in their generation, but why isn’t there a single post about them?"

"Because the Traipipattanapong family had it erased. Nattarin’s clan is well-known in business. They’re very influential. So it’s not surprising that there’s no news about him." He still didn’t look at me.