Chapter Ten

Amelia's POV

The look on the strange man's face was seriously freaking me out. He was looking at me like I was a ring at the jeweller's store that he wanted to steal, shove into his pocket, and run away with it.

I took one step backwards, then another, only for him to step closer.

"Come on, princess. Don't be like that," he said, still smiling.

I wished he would stop already. He didn't look like the sort of person I could outrun.

I continued to move back, secretly looking around for anything I could use as a weapon.

"I think you've got me confused with someone else," I said, just to buy time.

But his expression twisted at that.

Suddenly, I wanted him to go back to wearing his smile, creepy as it had been. Because that was ages better than him looking angry. Forget angry, he looked like he was going to murder me and keep my head in his basement as a trophy.

"You wear a hoodie and you think that will stop me from recognizing you?" he snarled.

He moved faster than I expected, and next I knew, he had my arm in a crushing grip.

While I struggled, he seized my hood and yanked it off.

"I will always know you, Isabella," he said. "It doesn't matter what you do to try to hide from me. I told you that I wouldn't let you go, didn't I?"

Who the hell was this, some guy Isabella rejected? If that was the case, I could totally see why she had done that.

"Let go of me, you asshole!" I yelled, trying in vain to pull my arm away. "Let go!"

"Never," he said, tightening his grip. "I'm never letting you go again."

"Just stop it already," I snapped. "You're going to break my freaking arm!"

"You broke my heart!" he snapped. "You think a broken arm matters when compared to pain like that?"

Was this guy for real? Even if I had been the one who rejected him, did he honestly think that was enough excuse to break my arm? Was he actually planning to break my arm? Right here? Surely psycho stuff like that only happened in movies?

He grabbed my shoulders and shook me so hard that I could literally hear my teeth rattling.

"You have no idea what I've been through because of you!" he screamed into my face. "I keep seeing you with that man, in my dreams and while I'm awake, every moment of every day! What the hell did you do that for, Isabella?! Do you have any idea how much I love you?!"

Actually no, I didn't. I didn't know what sort of love would make anyone grab his loved one's shoulders with this amount of violence. It was like he wanted to crush me in his hands.

"Leave me alone!" I said, struggling to get free. "Let go! Let me be!"

"Not until you tell me why. We were happy together, and you ruined it. Why, Isabella?!"

'I don't think you and Isabella were ever happy,' I thought. 'Well, maybe you were, but she clearly wasn't. She did the right thing by leaving you.'

At this point, I just wanted to tell him that I was not Isabella, for goodness sake. Blowing my cover was leagues better than losing an arm. I continued to struggle, but he held on stubbornly, and even began to drag me with him.

'Wait, wait, wait, time out,' I thought. 'Where is this psycho planning to take me to? Am I being kidnapped right now?'

"Help!" I called. "Someone, help me!"

He clapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my screams, pulling me against him even as I kicked and fought. I was starting to run out of strength when someone ran to us, whipping a bottle out of her bag.

Before either I or the psycho could react to this third party, she pointed the bottle at him and sprayed something right into his face. He shouted in pain, letting go of me.

I hurried away from his reach immediately, then turned only to see him clutching his eyes and staggering about.

"What was that?" I asked, turning to the woman who had helped me.

"Pepper spray!" she said cheerfully, displaying the bottle. "Now come on, let's get out of here before he recovers."

She tucked the bottle into her bag and offered me her hand. I took it gladly, and we ran away from the psycho. We didn't stop until we were at a safe distance, surrounded by a crowd.

"Phew," she said, letting go to wipe her forehead with the back of her hand. "You really should do something about that one."

"Something like what?" I replied. "He just showed up out of nowhere and grabbed me."

"Only for the millionth time," she said. "At least today wasn't as bad as the time he camped outside your parents' mansion till they had to call the police."

My jaw dropped.

"He did what?!" I exclaimed.

She gave me an odd look.

"Bella…" she said. "I understand that you're all about being carefree and all that, but not even you can forget the twisted stuff Jacob has been doing since you broke up with him."

"Who?" I asked.

"Jacob Flynn. Your ex boyfriend?"

Oh.

So that was what was going on. Isabella had broken up with him, but he was obsessed with her and didn't want to accept it.

'An insane, stalking ex,' I thought. 'Yet another thing Isabella didn't think to warn me about. Why thank you, Isabella.'

"Anyway, stay safe," the woman said.

"Sure," I replied. "Thanks for your help."

"Don't mention it," she said as she walked away. "We ladies have got to look out for each other."

After she left, I pulled my hood back up and ran back to the mansion. I was sneaking upstairs when a door opened.

Turning around, I came face to face with a man that could only be Jeremy Domitia.