All Chapters of REBEL IN MY HEART : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

‎‎For a second, I swear even the air stopped moving.‎‎My phone was still in my hand, my fingers locked around it like it was the only thing keeping me from passing out. The words stared back at me, glowing on the screen like a threat burned into glass.‎‎Don’t turn around.‎‎Nina’s hand came to rest lightly on my shoulder. “Vivienne… talk to me. You’re scaring me.”‎‎I swallowed, my throat feeling like sandpaper. “I.....I think someone’s watching me.”‎‎Her eyes widened. “Here? As in… now?”‎‎I couldn’t answer. My body refused to produce words.‎I just nodded, barely.‎‎She glanced behind me, quickly, like a rabbit sniffing for a wolf.‎Her face changed tightened then she forced it into something that looked like calm.‎‎“Okay,” she said softly. “Just breathe. Don’t freak out.”‎‎Too late for that.‎‎I felt like freaking out was my full-time job at this point.‎‎But then Nina leaned closer and whispered so quietly I almost didn’t hear it:‎‎“There’s no one behind you.”‎

‎‎“My brother.”‎‎Those two words echoed long after Zayden said them. The entire room went silent in that thick, heavy way where even air feels scared to move. Diego looked like someone had slapped him with a brick.‎‎Kris said, “Wait your actual brother or like… biker-brother?”‎‎Zayden didn’t bother answering. His jaw was locked, his shoulders tight, and there was this dangerous stillness in him that made everyone take one small step back. Not because they feared him… okay, partly because of that… but mostly because they’d never seen him look like that before.‎‎Like betrayal had a name.‎And that name shared his blood.‎‎But the chapter wasn’t mine to finish here.‎The story swung back to me.‎‎‎---‎‎I drove like someone being chased by ghosts which, honestly, might’ve been the most accurate description of my life at that point. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel. My mind was a screaming mess of What the hell is happening and Why me and Can I just catch a break?

 ‎For a few seconds, nobody moved. Nobody breathed. The room might as well have frozen solid.‎‎Inside my chest, my heart was doing this insane, uneven drumroll that felt way too loud for my body. My father’s face went pale in a way I had never seen. Evelyn slowly lowered herself into the nearest chair like her knees suddenly forgot how to function.‎‎And me?‎‎I just stood there, blinking like my brain needed a second maybe a whole minute to reboot.‎‎Inside the house?‎‎Inside… here?‎‎I swallowed hard. “W-What does that mean?”‎‎But the line had already gone dead.‎‎A sharp beep echoed through the room like a final punchline.‎‎Dad slammed the intercom button. “Hello? GUARD? HELLO?”‎Silence.‎

‎For a second, I didn’t even understand what I saw.‎‎A smirk.‎‎Barely there.‎Barely noticeable.‎Just a tiny pull at the corner of his mouth.‎‎But it hit me harder than the gunshot.‎‎My stomach dropped so sharply I thought I’d throw up right there on the sidewalk.‎Evelyn gasped behind me, her hand flying to her chest.‎Zayden stiffened in front of me like someone just snapped a wire inside him.‎‎The street felt too quiet ,like the whole neighborhood was holding its breath.‎‎The guard; my father’s guard, the same one who used to carry my school bag when I was ten took another step forward. Calm. Controlled. Way too confident.‎‎“Miss Vivienne,” he said, tone too smooth to be real, “your father is waiting. You should come with me.”‎‎Zayden shifted, subtly pushing me further behind him, his shoulders broad and tense like he expected the man to pounce.‎‎“Back up,” Zayden said quietly.‎‎The guard ignored him like Zayden was a random shadow on the pavement.‎‎“Miss,” h

‎I just stood there, staring at him like he’d suddenly switched languages.‎“You can’t go home,” he’d said.‎Like he had the right. Like he had any say in anything about me.‎‎I laughed one of those ugly, shaky laughs that only come out when you’re seconds from losing your mind.‎“Zayden, stop. Please. I’m going home. I’m not… I’m not doing this with you.”‎‎He didn’t blink. He didn’t even flinch. He just gave me that long, assessing look of his, like he was reading every stupid thought I tried to hide.‎‎“You’re not safe,” he said again, softer this time.‎Almost like he hated saying it.‎‎“I’m fine,” I shot back, even though my voice cracked halfway and made me sound like a liar.‎‎“You’re not.”‎He stepped closer, and my stupid heart malfunctioned for a second.‎“And I’m not letting you walk back into that house tonight.”‎‎“Oh my God,” I muttered, spinning away from him, running my fingers through my hair like that’d magically fix how insane everything felt. “You don’t get t