Ella’s POV:
The night was quiet, too quiet for my liking. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts scattered like pieces of a puzzle that wouldn’t fit together. Who was trying to kill ? The idea sounded absurd when I said it in my head, but it was all too real.
Could it be Klaus? My ex was ruthless, but would he really go this far? Would he try to take my life? I didn’t want to believe it, but the question gnawed at like a persistent ache. Arec had ntioned Klaus might be a suspect, and part of wanted to believe it. After all, Klaus had done everything he could to destroy before, but murder? That felt like an entirely different beast.
I sighed, feeling the weight of the day pressing down on . I was exhausted, but sleep was evasive. The adrenaline still coursed through from the hospital visit, from seeing Kate hooked up to those machines, knowing it could have been . It should have been .
Arec had been so protective, so present. He didn’t have to be, not after the way things had started between us. A contract marriage, an arrangent that was supposed to be just that, business.
But now, with each passing day, things were getting more complicated. He had offered his penthouse, a way to keep safe, and though I appreciated the gesture, I couldn’t bring myself to run. Not yet. I couldn’t live my life in fear, not even for the baby growing inside .
I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. The cool tile felt grounding under my bare feet. I took my prenatal vitamins, running my hand over my stomach, feeling the slightest curve of life beneath the surface. This baby, this tiny flicker of existence, was my only certainty right now. Everything else felt like it was slipping through my fingers.
After my bath, I climbed back into bed, trying to shut off the noise in my head. The anxiety, the questions, the fear, they swirled together, keeping on edge. But eventually, the exhaustion won. My eyelids grew heavy, and before I knew it, I had drifted off.
---
I don’t know how long I had been asleep when the sll of smoke tugged at the edges of my consciousness. At first, it was subtle, blending into my dream, but then it beca stronger. My eyes fluttered open, and I was t with the sight of thick, dark smoke creeping into the room like a living thing.
Panic hit all at once. The smoke was everywhere. I sat up, coughing as my throat burned. I scrambled to my feet, disoriented, trying to figure out what was happening. The air was thick, suffocating. I couldn’t breathe.
"Oh my God!" I gasped, my voice lost in the crackle of flas. I rushed toward the door, but the heat was unbearable, the flas already licking at the fra. "Help! Sobody help!" I scread, my voice hoarse, barely louder than the fire that was consuming everything around .
My heart pounded in my chest as I searched for another way out. The window. I stumbled toward it, my vision blurry from the smoke. I fumbled with the lock, but my hands were shaking too much. Tears stread down my face as the smoke stung my eyes.
Just as I was about to lose hope, I heard the sound of splintering wood. The door burst open, and two figures rushed in, security, the ones Arec had insisted on assigning to . They moved quickly, pulling away from the window and toward the door, shielding from the worst of the flas.
"We’ve got you, ma’am," one of them said, his voice muffled by the mask he wore. "We need to get you out now!"
I could barely respond, my throat raw from the smoke. They half-carried, half-dragged through the burning apartnt, and before I knew it, we were outside. The cool night air hit my face like a slap, and I gasped for breath, collapsing onto the ground.
My apartnt was engulfed in flas. The fire roared like a beast, devouring everything in its path. I stared at it, my mind numb with shock. Soone had done this. Soone had broken into my ho and set it on fire with inside.
Whoever wanted dead wasn’t playing gas anymore. They were serious.
I sat there, trembling as the fire departnt arrived, the red and blue lights flashing in the distance, sirens blaring. Everything felt surreal, like I was watching it all happen from a distance. The weight of it all started to sink in, and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
Arec. I needed to call Arec.
I fumbled for my phone, my fingers still shaking. When I finally managed to dial his number, he answered on the first ring.
"Ella? What’s wrong?" His voice was tense, on edge, as if he already knew sothing was wrong.
"There was a fire," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Soone...soone broke into my apartnt. They set it on fire. I, I almost didn’t get out."
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and when he spoke again, his voice was low, controlled, but I could hear the rage simring beneath the surface.
"I’m coming. Stay where you are. Don’t go anywhere."
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see . My mind was racing, trying to piece everything together. This wasn’t a coincidence. It couldn’t be. The chocolates, the car, and now this. Soone was trying to kill , and they weren’t going to stop until they succeeded.
When Arec arrived, his face was a mix of fury and concern. He knelt in front of , his hands gently cupping my face as he looked over.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice tight. "Did you inhale too much smoke?"
"I’m fine," I managed to say, though my voice was shaky. "I’m okay."
His jaw clenched as he glanced at the burning building behind . "This is getting out of hand. You’re not safe here, Ella. I don’t care what you say, you’re coming with . You’re staying at the penthouse."
I opened my mouth to protest, but the look in his eyes stopped . There was no arguing with him, not now. Not after this.
I nodded, too shaken to argue. He was right. I wasn’t safe, and I couldn’t keep pretending that I was.
As we drove away from the scene, I glanced out the window, my mind still all over the place.
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