Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Kai's POV 

I couldn't stop thinking about what happened at the ball. 

I remembered how strange Mia was acting, and I wondered what had gotten to her until I found Liam in the crowd. 

They had definitely been making signals to each other. I had caught it in the way Mia kept looking towards Liam. The way she had been trying to get me away from everyone. 

I could remember her hand moving towards my pocket and her sudden nervousness afterward. The whole situation left me feeling unsettled and more suspicious of her than ever. 

She had been trying to get something from me last night, but I had no idea what. And she was doing it for Liam. The same guy she lied about being her friend, when in reality, he was the stupid boyfriend who sent her to steal from me. 

I needed to get to the bottom of this. 

Mia was hiding something from me, and I had to find out what it was. 

My gaze hardened as I realized that I would have to keep my eyes on her at all times. She couldn't be trusted. 

I opened my drawer and took out Mia's phone. 

I had confiscated it after her attempt to run away. 

I turned it on and saw a few missed calls from Liam. The frown on my face deepened when I saw a few texts from him as well. 

“I'm kind of disappointed and hurt, Mia. You couldn't do what I asked you to.”

“You have to try again. We can't let this opportunity pass us by.”

“You're close to him. Use your proximity to your advantage.”

My gaze darkened upon reading the texts, and I balled my fists. 

I had tried to overlook him, thinking he wasn't much of a threat, but he was getting bold. 

I couldn't simply ignore him anymore. 

With anger coursing through me, I turned on my laptop and looked him up. 

If I wanted to get to the bottom of this, I needed to find out who he was first. 

Mia's POV 

After the ball, I noticed that Kai became extra vigilant around me. 

He always had this look of suspicion in his eyes whenever he looked at me, but he didn’t say anything. 

I couldn't help but feel on edge around him, and I was always walking on eggshells whenever he was near. 

The next Monday, I got ready for school and was about to leave the house after eating breakfast. 

I thought I would be going to the academy with the bodyguards that were assigned to me, but they were nowhere to be found. 

“Stop right there,” I heard Kai say as I was about to walk out the door. 

I turned around to see him coming down the stairs, and my brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Is something wrong?” I asked with a slight frown. 

Kai stopped in front of me. “I will be dropping you off at school today.”

“What...?” I trailed off, stunned. “Is it not enough that you became my instructor at school?”

Kai ignored my question as he continued. “I will also be dropping you off. I have asked the guards to stop escorting you. I will be doing their job now.”

My mouth fell open, and I stared at him in surprise. “What? You're treating me like a prisoner!”

“You are. Do not get distracted by the illusion of freedom that was given to you, Mia. You gave me a reason not to trust you,” he said coldly. 

I looked away from him, tears stinging my eyes.

He was right. I had gotten too comfortable. 

I blinked away the tears and sniffed. 

My face was devoid of any warmth as I looked back at Kai. 

“Well let's go then. I don't want to be late for my first class.”

Before we could leave the house, however, I couldn't resist the urge to ask Kai a question that had been on my mind. 

“You keep saying you don't trust me, but you keep protecting me. Why is that?”

Kai stared at me, suddenly going tense as he registered my question. 

I waited for several seconds for him to say something... anything, but nothing came. 

I nodded to myself, rolling my eyes at how hypocritical he was. 

“Forget I ever asked that. Let's just go.”

***

The new arrangement with Kai continued for several days, and when I realized that it was my new reality, I started feeling suffocated. 

He was everywhere. Anywhere I went, he seemed to be right there with me. 

He was at the villa. He was in the car when I was going to school. He was at school being my instructor. He was there at the end of my classes to pick me up and take me back to the villa. 

I had finally had enough on the seventh day of this arrangement, and I didn't realize when I snapped at Kai. 

“Will you stop treating me like your prisoner? I'm tired of you being everywhere I go!” I yelled after we got back from the academy. 

“Your behavior has given me a reason to suspect you. I can't let you be unsupervised. Who knows what the hell you'll do when I'm not there?!” he retorted, 

“Why don't you see me as anything other than a spy? I'm a person with feelings. Do you care how I feel about being monitored almost every hour of the day?” I cried. 

“Believe it or not, Mia, I'm not doing this because I want to. I'm simply doing what I must to make sure you won't go against me,” he said in a low voice, avoiding my gaze. 

Tears rolled down my cheeks against my will, and no matter how much I tried to stop crying, they kept falling. 

“If I'm so dangerous, why keep me so close to you? Why protect me those times you did?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Kai finally looked at me, and his face twisted when he saw me crying. 

“Mia...” he whispered, looking tormented. 

“Answer me, Kai.”

“I... I don't—” Kai tried to speak, but he struggled to find his words. 

Finally, he sighed in defeat and he moved closer to me. 

It felt like he was moving against his own will as he reached out to wipe away my tears. 

“I... I don't know, Mia. But please don't cry,” he said in a low, strangled voice. 

Before I could say anything else, Kai pulled me into his arms and embraced me.