NIRELLE - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

LUCIEN
I step back into my room, and my hands cling to my side. I wonder how I fell asleep. I told myself that I was going to stay only till she fell back asleep, but I stayed the entire night. The unfamiliarity of having someone else in the same bed and waking to see her eyes staring at me was too much to handle in one day.
"I wonder where you have been." I look up to see Theo sitting on the bed. I try to mask my expression, but I am sure he has seen it all already.
"What are you doing here?" I asked my eyes to dart around the room to ensure that I was not in the wrong room.
"I waited for you at the study, and when you did not show up, I came to check on you here, but imagine my surprise when you weren't here either," he says. He is implying something, but I am not going to try and decipher what he means by that tone. "Where have you been?" he asked again, and I tried my best. I wanted to ignore him, so I pulled myself forward and walked to the closet.
"That is no part of your business," I call as I close the door behind me, but knowing him, he was not going to give up at all. He pulls the door open behind me and steps inside.
"Where were you with ? This early in the morning? Or did you sleep there? Did you both get so drunk and do something?" His questions were pouring his curiosity on me.
"Theo, don't you have to get to work?" I cut him off, turning to watch him blink rapidly in excitement. "And wipe off that stupid smirk off your face," I add, and he frowns almost immediately.
"If you won't tell me anything, then maybe I need to go ask her." He pretends to turn around, and I don't know why my body moves faster than I can process. All I can tell is that I am standing in front of him, ready to block his path.
"Ohhh, so something did happen."
"Nothing happened," I blurt and then take a deep breath to steady myself.
"Then why are you blocking my path?"
"I don't want you to do anything stupid with ."
"Awwn, the knight in shiny armour," he says, patting my shoulders gently. "Already protecting her, I see," he adds with a smirk. A taunting one.
"Theo, just get to work." I am ready to act as if none of that had just happened.
"Well, before I go to work, I have to ask, what do you want me to do about Cassian Wolfe?" he asked, and suddenly I remembered how much I have to think about. I had been so caught up in that I had forgotten about everything else. I needed to focus on what really mattered now.
"Send him a warning," I say, and he nods. That is exactly what I like about him; I don't have to explain myself at all—he already understands what I mean by that. "Don't overdo it; just make sure he knows where it's from and what I mean."
"Well then, shiny knight, I will see you when I get back from work," he says and moves around me. I wait until I hear the door shut behind him before I come back out. I sit on the bed, and memories from last night fill my mind. Her words are vivid in my mind as if she was right in front of me again.
"I finally understand why people drink," she slurred, trying to keep her eyes open as she stared at me. She was barely able to sit straight, but she was demanding that I make sure her cup was not empty.
"You are drunk."
"I like being drunk," she exclaimed as she took a long hiccup. "Being drunk is fun," she adds as she beckons to me as if she wants to tell me something. I lean in, and she just giggles into my ear. She is too different from the composed woman who had walked into this house a few nights ago. It's funny what being drunk can do to one.
"MORE!" She shakes her glass in the air, and I take it from her, filling it with water. I can't let her have any more to drink, as I know she wouldn't be able to handle it. She drank it and scrunched up her face. "This is not sex on the beach." Being drunk made her very open. Just a few moments ago, she had not been able to call the drink by name, but now that she was out of her mind, she was saying all sorts of things.
The next thing I know, her head is meeting the counter with a loud bang. I rush to her, but she is already soundly sleeping. She looks so peaceful that no one would ever think she was going through a lot. I watch her sleep soundly for a few more minutes before I pick her up, and her weight surprises me a lot. She is not skinny because of her body structure but more because of what she has been through in recent times.
I place her into the bed and cover her up with the blanket. I am about to leave when I hear sobbing. I double-check to be sure, and tears are streaming down her face. "?" I ask, but it is obvious that she is not conscious of what is happening. Her hand reaches out to mine, and she holds onto it so tightly.
"Why are you crying?" I ask, even though I know she can't answer me. She continues sobbing; now tears are streaming down quickly, and the sobs are loud.
"Please don't do this, Dad." "You are my father; you shouldn't." "Please, Mom, spare me." "Don't do this, please." She kept on repeating as she held on tightly to me.
I begin to realise what was happening as I remember what she had asked for the first night she came here. With a monster as cruel as Enoch, I won't be shocked if he had molested and sexually abused her. I hold her hand until she falls back asleep, and when I want to leave, her hands are holding onto mine so tightly that I am afraid she will wake up if I try to let go.
I took out my phone and dialled Theo's number.
"I'm not even barely out of the house, and you are already calling me?"
"Send a warning to Enoch Thamore."
"Already?"
"Send a big one, but keep it anonymous."