21. Push and Pull

Nova

“That was beautiful.”

I freeze with my bow still midair. The intrusion is unwelcome and annoying so when I turn I am already frowning. I walked far from my parent's bustling hotel to escape the gawking stares I get whenever I play and to enjoy the peace and quiet I need to practice this piece. But of course someone still found their way to me.

The curse of having to live at a place that is constantly being occupied by different guests.

I roll my eyes and start cautioning what must be another nepo baby. “You know, you really shouldn't be out this far–”

And then I see him.

He's beautiful.

The afternoon sun glows behind him and hits his dark hair perfectly as he stares at me with enchanting pale eyes and a wide smile.

“Yeah the hotel managers warned me,” he explains as his eyes scan the field I have come to call my safe spot. “But I can't help it. I'm a rebel.”

His smile is dangerously attractive and my heart skips a few beats.

“Your violin,” he points to the instrument forgotten on my thighs. “You play wonderfully.”

“Uhm, y-yeah I play.” I stutter, suddenly incapable of being coherent.

“I know,” he gives me a teasing look, “I heard you.”

I turn away and stare at the floor, feeling the red flooding my cheeks. For the first time ever, I finally understand what the girls in romance movies feel like.

He stretches out a hand. “I'm Theodore.”

***********

The soft morning light enters the room through the cracks in the curtain and I blink myself awake, feeling strangely sad. I want to return to my dream, but I can't even remember what it was about.

Then that thought is eliminated when my head starts throbbing.

“What the fuck…” I groan and press my temple. I'm in bed and in my comfiest pajamas but I have absolutely no idea how I got into them.

I sit up slowly, trying not to make the pain in my head worse, but that triggers pain in another part of my body. My knees ache red and the bruises across them remind me.

I remember lying under the streetlight outside the club. And everything that happened before then.

Theodore used his power to bankrupt my family. And it was my fault.

With the memories comes the feeling of guilt and I sigh loudly into the room. It is less intense, but it sits behind my ribs regardless, like a constant reminder.

A soft knock on the door pulls me out of my self deprecating thoughts. I quickly jump out of bed and arrange my sheets, doing anything to make it look like I didn't just wake up.

“Come in,” I call out, after quickly checking myself for morning breath and sighing in relief.

Mrs Jenkins walks in with her usual gentle smile and a cup of steaming herbal tea.

“Oh poor lass,” she coos as she sets the tea down and checks my temperature. “Mr Thompson told us you have a headache and we should let you sleep in.”

A headache instead of a night out clubbing? And Theodore told them that? On one hand, I'm relieved that my reputation with Mrs Jenkins and the rest of the staff is safe. On the other hand…Theodore.

“I'm better now, Mrs Jenkins,” I say sheepishly as I drink the revitalizing tea and she continues checking for more signs of illness. “Where are the kids?”

“The lasses are downstairs,” she says with a knowing smile. “They’ve got a surprise waiting for them.”

“A surprise?” I echo.

We head downstairs together just in time to see Emile and Ethan finishing off their plate of food and rushing away, completely unaware of our presence in their rush.

Mrs Jenkins and I share a look, amused by their obvious excitement.

We follow the children to a corner of the house I've never been to but before I can admire the new scene, the sound of screaming fills the hall.

I rush into the room the children just disappeared into, startled and confused.

It's a luxurious and well designed space with elaborate woodwork and thick padding on the wall, but what draws my attention is Theodore standing in the middle beside a brand new piano.

Emile continues screaming in excitement and Ethan rushes to it, examining the grand instrument.

In the middle of the chaos Theodore stands with a wide smile on his face that removes all the fatigue and makes him look years younger, more like the boy I knew.

Watching him like this, it's hard to connect him to what he did but I can't keep being in denial. He ruined my family. Rage builds up from the depths of my stomach as I watch him. Why does he and his family get to have it all after he took everything from mine?

Kai and I finally made it out of our worst moments, we were putting our lives back together and just like before he swooped in and ruined everything with the contract. My fists clench by my side.

“Nova,” Mrs Jenkins says beside me. “Are you ok? You don't look good.”

This grabs his attention. He looks away from the kids playing at the piano and locks eyes with me. The smile transforms from boyish to dangerous as the air between us becomes charged.

He strides across the room confidently, his eyes never leaving mine and his strong gaze keeping me locked in place.

“Follow me” he says quietly and walks out of the room.

My stomach twists in knots at the thought of being alone with him, but my feet move anyways.

He leads me to an empty room a few doors down, an old abandoned office, and closes the door behind us.

The room is quickly filled with tension as we stare at each other. He is looking at me with his usual stoic face but there's amusement dancing in his eyes that piss me off and deepens my frown. I prefer it when he pretended I didn't exist.

“What do you need?” I spit out with obvious malice.

His gaze holds mine for a moment longer than necessary before he says casually, “You still have it.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” What is the use of pretending to be professional when we both know I don't want to be here.

He smiles like I've caught his bait. “The birthmark,” he nods towards my waist. “You still have it, the one near your pussy.”

The realization that he changed me into my pajamas comes quick and with full force.

Even as I try to stay strong and not react, I can feel the heat rush to my face immediately which turns out to be the exact reaction he was looking for as the side of his lip curve wickedly.

Even as I frown in embarrassment, his reaction sends me over the edge and my teeth grind against each other. He's toying with me, this entire situation is him reliving the thrill of breaking me the first time.

My nails dig into paims. "We both know you can get me out of that contract. Why am truly here, Mr. Thompson?"

Silence reigns for a few moments as I glare at him. It is subtle, but his jaw ticks and the light in his eyes becomes darker, making the room feel smaller than it is.

“Because I say so,” he says taking slow steps forward. When he is right in front of me and I have to look up to see his ominous face, he continues. “You might try to tell yourself you hate this,” he whispers, “But we both know you want to stay. You want…me.”

My heart beats dangerously against my ribs and I lose a breath when he slowly caresses my lips. His touch is all too familiar but I refuse to allow this happen again.

I refuse to stay under his spell.

I twist my hand up quickly, ready to strike his face but he catches it easily before it can land.

His voice drops even lower. “Wrong answer, Starlight.”

In a flash, I am pushed against the wall with my wrists pinned above me. I grunt as I try to escape his grasp but my struggle only brings a dark smile to his face.

“Everything about you is mine, Nova. And your body remembers.”

My chest is heaving as I stare at him with all the hate I can show on my face. The words strike hot. I want to deny it, I want to prove him wrong, but instead of all the words I could have said to diffuse the situation, my lips part and I make it worse.

“Fuck you, Teddy.”

And before I can think, his lips crash into mine.