Two Villains

Ch. 38- Lucid Interval

Kaya's POV starts again

The sheer pressure of my bladder woke me up.

I tried to open my eyes several times, but all my attempts were futile. All I could do was groan in headache and agony. God knows how long I had slept.

I decided to wake up from my sleep; I had a lot of nightmares.

Nightmares of Rhys crying helplessly beside me, nightmares of a kid pulling my leg inside a stony cave where all the edged stones were breaking off my skin, making me bleed, making little Kaya bleed.

I wanted to wake up from those long, lost nightmares. But I didn't; I couldn't. I yelled for help, screamed in pain as I saw fire trying to engulf me. Not a single sound came from my throat.

But my mighty bladder woke me up.

When I reached the luxurious bathroom of my suite, my eyes fell on the mirror, thus on me.

The top part of my body was exposed, and I was half naked. And all of my body was aching, especially the side I woke up from.

Shit.

I tried to recall what happened last time when I was awake.

All I remember was having tequila shots with both Nina and Julia.

Shit.

I was drunk as fuck again.

Thank God Rhys fucking  Volkner didn't accompany me to the bar. It has been a long, long time— at least 14 years since I was taken advantage of. But I knew for a fact that nobody touched my body; otherwise, I would have noticed it. I know what exactly feels like to be taken advantages of.

I closed my eyes in front of the mirror; Little Kaya was nowhere to be seen. My world was still burning all around me. She was lost somewhere.

But in my own mind, I saw something else. I saw my own reflection somewhere in the distance.

The reflection of 30-year-old Kay, alluring, wearing the same dress as mine; but she was more seductive, all glammed up.

I knew it was me. I had no idea I was that pretty.

My own self smiled at me; her gaze was confident and selfish.

"You should let her go," she said to me, but her voice was Maria Volkner's voice.

I jumped out of my own trance after hearing her talk.

Shit.

I think I am going crazy.

I decided to brush off my uneasiness and take a long, hot bath to get rid of my headache and sleepiness.

After drying my hair and wearing a beautiful white summer dress, I came back to my bed to see a mail notification on my new phone; my supervisor, Professor Dr. Scott, had mailed me asking about my whereabouts. I was supposed to be on leave for 10 days; the date on the display confirmed that I had been in Paris for more than 3 weeks, 11 days extra than my vacation.

I thought Maria had managed my workplace about my extra leave to attend Volkner's party.

Scott's mail made me worried about my workplace. I need to head back to London as soon as possible.

______________________________________

When I entered the grand dining hall on the fourth level of the chateau, nearly everyone was gathered around the table. I had hoped to find Julia among them, only to recall that she wasn't part of their extended family. After responding to Scott's email, I had been searching for Maria in her suite, and the butlers informed me that everyone was at the dining table, enjoying a farewell dinner following the birthday party. It was the same dining area where I first encountered Ralf.