Queen

We all sat in the living room, the palpable tension becoming suffocating as our eyes bounced around at one another. Lilith looked more than comfortable on the couch, using Syn as her personal butler- making him put her luggage away and fetch her one too many drinks. If it were truly Syn being this accommodating I would've beat his ass, but this fraud deserved to be just as unnerved as it seemed Lilith was making him. He had hardly sat down since she arrived.

She tapped the top of her glass with her long- red polished nail, and he looked at her. "Refill please, dear."

"Of course." He grumbled, swiveling around in the kitchen and looking through the alcohol in the cabinet. Hmm. He must've done some looking around because the first day he was here I had to remind him where the salt and pepper were. I should've known then— Syn never asked me that shit. He hardly cooked. He was more likely to order a gourmet breakfast, reheat it, plate it himself, and then serve it as his own.

"What has you smiling so much over there, little one?" She asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "If I were you, the last thing I'd be right now is happy...Unless?" She leaned forward and glanced toward the kitchen at Aiden. "Was this the plan all along? Set up this entire charade so you could leave Syn and be with whoever this is—"

"Are you fucking insane?!" I hissed lowly, leaning over the coffee table and glaring at her. "You think I'm here because I want to be?!"

"Lower your voice." She raised a perfectly shaped brow and I shook my head. Despite everything she had been through— everything I wanted her to be going through, she looked perfect as always. Her jet black was hair ironed straight down past her shoulders into a blunt bob- her dark brown skin glowing as always. I hated it. "And what am I supposed to think, darling?... I'm sure Syn has wondered the same thing—"

"Don't talk about Syn like you fucking know him?"

"I know enough from this past week or so." She shrugged a shoulder.

"Week?" I asked in confusion. "He's only been gone for three days."

"Three days for you," she said. "It's been almost two weeks out there."

What?

I shook my head. "Out there?"

"Oh, don't be dense, my love." She rolled her eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I whispered in a sharp tone. "What do you mean two weeks?!"

"Is everything okay?" Our eyes snapped up to the intruder and he raised a brow at us, tipping the bottle of wine in the direction of Lilith's glass.

"Everything is fine," Lilith spoke up for me. "I'd just like to take my daughter out later—" The glass of wine burst in his hand, making Lilith and I jump in our seats. "What the hell—"

"I apologize." He smiled, not paying attention to the spilled wine all over the couch and table. I looked down at his hand, glass shards nestled in his skin and I instinctively looked down at mine— as if I needed another reminder that this wasn't him. Nothing again. I rubbed my palm against my dress and swallowed an uneasy lump in my throat. "I'm afraid nobody will be leaving this place tonight," he said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I just told you." He grabbed a napkin from the table and straightened, cleaning his hand. "Aiden is still a threat. Until he's caught- I won't let you put yourself at risk."

So that's why he brought up the Aiden story...

"Is that why there's a barrier around this place?" My mother spoke up.

"A barrier?" I looked between them as he clenched his jaw and sent a look of disgust her way. "What is she talking about?"

"I was going to tell you—"

"You can tell her now."

"It's simply there for your protection," he said. "Nobody can get in—"

"She got in." I glanced at Lilith. "So is it to keep Aiden from getting in...or keep me from getting out?"

"Why would I ever do that?" He scrunched his brows, searching my expression.

"I have no clue why you do the shit that you do," I said, my anger getting the best of me and he raised a brow. He glanced at Lilith who was watching the entire scene with amusement before stepping around the coffee table and grabbing my arm tight. "What are you doing? Let go!" I resisted but he kept his grasp firm on me as I was pulled to my feet.

"We need to speak privately," he hissed, glaring down at me.

I tore my arm away from his hold and stepped back. "Then you ask me! I'm not a damn ragdoll!"

"I think you need to take a minute." My mother stepped in front of me and looked up at him as I rubbed the aching spot on my wrist. "How about you go get us some groceries and I will...cook dinner tonight. For all of us." She clasped her hands together, looking back at me for a quick moment. "As a thank you for welcoming me into your home."

"Queen." He rubbed the back of his neck, closing his eyes momentarily before trying to sidestep her and she reached behind her back, her hand wrapping around my forearm. "I didn't mean to—" She stepped in front of him once again, blocking his path to me and I looked down at the floor, thankful for the intervention.

"I'm sure she knows you didn't mean it," she said, beaming up at him. "You two can speak later- I need her help unpacking and now apparently changing, as you can tell..." They both looked down at her previously nude-colored dress stained with red wine. "The both of you will have so much time to speak when I'm gone. Let me have my daughter for a little bit."

He nodded slowly, dropping his arm. "Okay, fine," he breathed out. "Make do with what you find in the refrigerator, please."

"No problem," my mother chirped. She bent down, grabbed her purse, and slung it over her shoulder. I felt his eyes on me, sending tiny pricks of discomfort across my skin until my mother cleared her throat and slithered past him. She pulled me along with her up the stairs and I relaxed, thankful for the distance before I caught myself once again.

She was the enemy too.

I removed my arm from her grasp when we reached the top of the stairs and she let out a huff of laughter in response. "No, I deserve a 'thank you, mom' for that— not whatever this attitude is."

"Oh, so you did it for my thanks." I walked past her down the hall.

"Uh, no," she said. "I did it because that thing down there is evil and I'd rather you weren't the target of their rage...but a thank you never hurt."

"You calling someone evil is ironic," I whispered, my voice doused with sarcasm before I came to a stop. "I have no idea where you're staying."

"Exactly. Me telling you that should warn you of the seriousness of your predicament here, little one," she said, looking past me at the three doors in the hallway. "He came up here to put my things away so it has to be one of these, no?"

"I guess..." I said slowly. One of the rooms was mine and Syn's— the one I decided to bust the windows in because of Aiden's words. It was out of commission. The only other bedrooms up here were the one I was in and the one he had moved into across the hall from me.

Fuck.

I stormed down the hall, silently hoping and praying that what I was thinking wasn't what was happening. I opened the door to the room Aiden was staying in and my eyes landed on Lilith's bags. A sinking feeling reached my gut at the sight because I knew he wasn't planning on staying in here with her. 

That only left one alternative.

I let go of the door, turned on my heel to the room I was staying in, and opened the door. "What is it?" I heard Lilith say behind me. I ignored her and walked inside, everything looked the same as I left it this morning, but something was off-kilter. When you spend so long in a place and it becomes your haven, there's a nagging feeling that hits your gut when something is off. It's like your subconscious knows there's been a disturbance in the peace.

That's what I felt as I walked deeper into the room and to the closet.

As soon as I flipped on the light, his clothes filled my vision and my mouth dropped. They weren't even Syn's. It was like the bastard was trying his hardest to shop in his image and failed in every way possible.

"Oh." Lilith stepped behind me, taking in the sight with me. "What are we looking at?"

I ran my hands down my face. "We weren't staying together. I used my period as an excuse for us not being in the same bedroom and he agreed. I've noticed him getting more lenient with that and now that you're here..."

"He's decided to just help himself, hmm?" She crossed her arms.

"Apparently," I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself and shaking my head. "But I can't. I can't stay in the same room as him—"

"Okay," she whispered with a nod. "Then you don't have to."

"It's not that simple," I said.

"Why not?" She asked. "As far as he's concerned, he's just given you a reason to be upset with him. Use that," she said. "I may be a horrible mother, but I didn't raise a weak bitch, okay? You don't want him in this room—take him the fuck out."

I laughed softly, shaking my head and she raised a brow before stepping past me. Her heels clicked on the wooden floor as she walked into the closet and I looked at her curiously. "You've never known true freedom until you've destroyed a man's things."

She reached up, grabbed an arm full of suits hanging up neatly, and walked past me out of the closet. "What are you doing?" She walked to the balcony, opening the sliding door before stepping out and chucking all the clothes over the rail. I looked at her, mouth dropped as she peeked down at them and dusted off her hands. "You're going to get us killed." I pointed out as she walked back inside.

"Better we die with a fight, right?" She walked back into the closet and I sighed before following behind her.

Fuck it.

꧁꧂

I know that's mothafuckin' right.

Hey babessss💕 I'm not gonna wish y'all another Happy Valentine's Day cuz ion mean it!! I'm TIREDT, lemme tell you that! I'm a certified hater today.
Anyhow, I hope y'all enjoyyyy😘
As always, feel free to share any thoughts, comments, or concerns with the class✨❤️