Semua Bab KILL FOR HER |18+: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Nico walked behind me with the shopping bag in his hand like he ruled the entire mall. Correction: like he was annoyed the mall didn't already belong to him. I ignored him and flipped through a rack of dresses. He kept watching me. I could feel it. That heavy powerful stare, from the giant tattooed man. Like he was scanning every little expression I made. "You're not picking anything," he finally said. "I'm looking," I argued. "You've been looking for ten minutes." "That's how shopping works." "No," he said flatly. "Buying works by picking things up and going to try them on." I rolled my eyes. But then... fine. Whatever. I grabbed a few things, a soft pink dress, a cute cream sweater, a little skirt I was absolutely overthinking—and headed toward the dressing rooms. He smirked a little like he'd won a battle. I ignored him and shut the curtain. Inside, I tried on the pink dress first... and it was actually... cute? Soft, girly, a little fitted at the waist. I blinked

We walked out of the bookstore pretending we were two normal people who did NOT almost kiss against a bookshelf while whispering like we were in a forbidden romance novel. We lied. We LIED SO BADLY. My heartbeat was still in my throat. My hands were still shaking. My skin was still on fire from where he touched my waist. I didn't even remember to actually buy a book. Nico opened the door for me like he always did, but this time his jaw was tight, his eyes dark, like he was wrestling with himself. I stepped outside, still flustered, still dizzy. Sunset light spilled across the parking lot, warm and soft, and for one tiny second everything felt calm. Then I heard footsteps. Fast and close. Before I could even turn— A man rushed toward us. Straight at me. Knife raised in his hand. Oh my God. This is how I die? I didn't even have time to scream. One blur of motion. One sound — metal slicing the air. Nico shoved me behind him so hard I stumbled. Everything happened too

Lizzy and I were in the kitchen, covered in flour and singing our hearts out to Where's My Husband by Raye while using mixing spoons as microphones. We were completely off-key, dramatic, ridiculous, and having the best time. For a moment, nothing existed except us, the warm smell of cookies, and the wild freedom of being silly together. I didn't tell her about the attack. I didn't tell her that Nico kissed me like the world had stopped spinning or that I had replayed that moment more times than I cared to admit. But I told her we felt close, closer than we ever had. I didn't know how to explain the way his eyes looked into mine or how I felt like I was floating when he kissed me. Some things were too overwhelming to put into words, even for her. We kept singing until our mom appeared in the doorway with the stern look she reserved specifically for us. She asked us to quiet down because Dad was taking a nap, and she scolded me like I was still sixteen instead of twenty-one. A

Daria was officially trying to end me. End me, and I was willingly accepting death in her arms. Jealousy, on her pretty little face? Sexy as fuck. She stood there in that little purple dress acting like she had any idea what she did to me. She didn't. She had no clue. I could barely breathe, barely think, and the worst part was that she didn't even try to torture me on purpose. She just existed, and every part of me wanted her. She was pressed against my wall, looking up at me with those wide brown eyes like she trusted me with her heart, her body, her innocence. She shouldn't. She really shouldn't. But she did. And God help me, I wanted to take advantage of every second she gave me before she realized how dangerous I was. Her voice was still in my head, trembling and soft, asking why I didn't tell her I had a girlfriend. As if I could ever look at another woman when she existed on the same planet. As if Eirene meant anything more than a business transaction. As if Daria

This morning started very interesting, especially when I told Lizzy. Nico and I kissed. That's all I could really tell my sixteen year old sister. It was way more complicated. Lizzy froze mid-chew, her cereal spoon dangling in the air like she'd just witnessed a murder. "You WHAT?" she screeched, slamming the bowl down so hard milk splashed onto the counter. "You kissed him? Daria, what kind of kiss are we talking about? A real kiss or a movie kiss or like... did you accidentally fall on his mouth? What happened? Tell me every detail right now or I'm staging a full investigation!" I covered my face. "Lizzy, calm down. It was just... a little kiss." "JUST a little kiss? With Nico Costa? Are you insane? That man looks like the main character in every book I read. Daria, this is huge! Oh my god... do you think he likes you? Do you think he's obsessed with you? He definitely obsessed. Do you think you're gonna get married?!" "LIZZY." She squealed into her hands, spun in a circle,