HER SILK DRESS.

Seraphina got home but could barely slept that night because every single sound inside the house made her scared. From the faint rustling of curtains from the air conditioner, to even the ticking clock mounted on the wall suddenly sounded too loud. The massive white house she had fallen in love with a few days ago no longer felt comforting anymore. It felt empty and strange…almost hostile and by 2AM, she sat curled up on the large couch in the living room with all the lights turned on. Her silk robe wrapped tightly around her body while a blanket covered her legs, though she still felt cold. Stephanie had agreed to spend the night after eventually forcing herself to sleep upstairs because of hours of ranting about Vanessa and threatening to “accidentally” run her over with her car someday but Seraphina remained wide awake. Her phone rested beside her on the couch…silent…for now.

Every few minutes, her eyes drifted toward it against her will and she hated herself for it. She hated that some unknown person had managed to crawl so deeply into her mind within a few days. The photo from the restaurant kept replaying inside her head over and over again. Someone had stood close enough to photograph her that clearly, close enough to see the expression on her face, close enough to watch everything unfold between her, Vanessa and Adrian…close enough to still follow her.

She swallowed hard and adjusted the blanket over herself before forcing her eyes toward the television even though she wasn’t watching anything. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Adrian too and that only irritated her more. The image of his hand resting comfortably on Vanessa’s waist replayed itself like mental torture.

“How long have you been touching her like that?” she whispered bitterly to herself again before laughing weakly. “God, Seraphina…stop.” She grabbed the remote and muted the television completely when suddenly—

Buzz.

The sound nearly made her jump out of her skin as her eyes snapped toward the phone instantly and her breathing paused for a second.

Unknown Number.

Her stomach twisted painfully as she reached for it slowly, maybe she shouldn’t open it immediately this time…maybe she should report the number and call the police tomorrow…maybe—

Buzz.

Another message. Her fingers trembled slightly before she unlocked the screen and opened the chat. Another image had been sent and the moment it loaded, every drop of blood drained from her face because it was her…sleeping, on this same couch…in this same living room still wearing the same champagne-colored silk robe she had on right now and her breathing stopped completely.

“No…” she whispered shakily as her phone nearly slipped from her hands as she stared harder at the image. It wasn’t an old one... She couldn't imagine it. The blanket wrapped around her body in the picture was exactly the same way it was now and the angle…but the angle wasnt normal because whoever took it had been standing inside the house. She jumped up from so quickly the blanket fell off and her chest breathing became uneven as panic flooded her thoughts. She turned around quickly, scanning the entire living room with wide eyes and suddenly everything looked weird as her breathing became shaky.

“Hello?” she called out before immediately regretting it.

Silence…complete silence but her house no longer felt empty anymore…It felt watched. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to run quickly and she did it without a thought. Seraphina rushed upstairs barefoot, nearly tripping over herself as fear crawled down her spine and before slamming hard against Stephanie’s bedroom door, the image flashed again. Then she screamed.

“Steph!” banging loudly. “Stephanie!”

The door swung open almost immediately and Stephanie stood there looking half asleep and startled. “What happened?!”

Seraphina shoved the phone toward her with trembling hands, unable to form words properly. Stephanie frowned in confusion before looking down at the image and the sleep vanished from her face instantly.

“…What the hell?”

“I wasn’t imagining it,” Seraphina whispered, her voice cracking badly. “Someone’s actually inside my house.”

Stephanie immediately stepped aside and pulled her into the room before locking the door quickly. “Okay no…no no no. We’re calling security tomorrow morning because this is psychotic.”

Seraphina sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, still staring at her phone like it might explode in her hands. Her entire body shook slightly and Stephanie noticed immediately. She moved closer and grabbed her hand tightly.

“You’re okay,” Stephanie said softly, though she sounded unsettled herself. “You’re okay.” but Seraphina didn’t feel okay she was not even close because the image had looked recent…very recent…right now which meant whoever took it could have still been nearby while she sat downstairs completely unaware and the thought made her stomach turn violently. Neither of them slept after that. Stephanie stayed awake beside her scrolling through security company contacts while Seraphina sat frozen against the headboard with her phone clenched tightly in her hands. Around 4AM, just when exhaustion finally started pulling at her eyes, the screen lit up again.

Unknown Number.

Stephanie noticed instantly. “Don’t open it.” but Seraphina already had and this time there was no image attached, only words.

I was protecting you tonight.

And for the first time since the messages started…Seraphina truly became afraid.