“Where is my bracelet?” I searched around the bed and looked at Draven, who simply turned away, suddenly ignoring my presence.
“It’s not yours to keep.” He muttered under his breath and I frowned at him.
“Draven, let me keep it-”
“No, it’s because of that thing, I can't seem to trace your presence every fucking-” he stopped to let out a huff and I started to get out of the bed when he took my shoulders, shaking his head.
“You need to rest.”
“I have been resting for two days now, I want to see everyone and thank the guys too,” I said, tossing the sheets and bolting up to my wardrobe. I opened it, picking a random black mini skirt and a long sleeved pink sweater.
“You better not be here when I am done showering.” I hissed, grabbing the towel and rushing inside. After taking a long shower and contemplating a few things, I wore my clothes and stepped out, only to meet Draven’s piercing gaze again.
“I told you-”
“I’m keeping an eye on you, every second, every minute of every day from now on.”
“Wow, okay, you need to take a step back because-” I sighed when I noticed how unamused and serious he was.
“I’m serious.”
“Alright, but Draven?” I didn’t turn to look at him as I started drying my hair with the towel but I could feel his intense staring as I let out a sigh. “I’m going to visit my parents right now,”
“I’ve already told them you’re fine and-”
“But I am still going.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Adriana, I made that very clear last night,” I stiffened when I felt his shirt brush against mine from behind. “The answer is no, you’re not-”
“I’m not asking for your permission, Draven,” I turned to frown at him and noticed him flinch a little. “I am going to see them, whether I have to force myself out or not. They’re my parents and they deserve to at least hold their daughter after knowing she was almost kidnapped, again.” I emphasized and Draven simply stared at me, frustration and plead filling his eyes but I gave him another determined look before walking past him, leaving the room.

x-x

“Edward, get off me!” I groaned, trying to push him off my body as he embraced me into the millionth hug.
“I thought we had lost you for sure this time.” He whined and I noticed Raymond making a face in disgust before he rolled his eyes. I smiled and thanked the boys, once again and stopped when Lianna cleared her throat, brushing her hair to a side.
“You too, Lianna, thank you.” I smiled a little and she simply nodded as the guys and I went back to chatting.
“I’m really glad you’re fine.” I heard Vincent say but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to look at him at all, instead, I just smiled at the other guys and went back to chatting.
“So I’m visiting my parents today,” I flinched when I noticed everyone immediately frown at my news. “Don’t worry, I talked to Draven and maybe one of you can tag along with me, put me off and then pick me up when I give a call?”
“Adriana, I really don’t think it’s safe for you to-”
“I’ll only take a few hours.” I cut off Alaric and eyed Draven, who joined us at the sofa as well.
“I’ll go with you.”
“No!” I snapped as soon as Vincent started to get up and I noticed something flash in his eyes before the boys raised a brow at my outburst. “I can just go with Lianna, if she doesn’t mind?” I looked at Lianna and surprisingly, she nodded with a smile. What was wrong with me? Did I actually believe Dexter when he mentioned Vincent working for him? I mean, his phone number really-
“Let’s go before Draven changes his mind, sweetie.” Lianna got up and I glanced at Draven, who just kept silent, his eyes locked on mine as I stood up as well.
“Adriana-”
“It’ll only take an hour or so.” I cut him off immediately and hurried my way out with Lianna. I got into the car and noticed Draven walking out, his eyes not ripping away from me as we drove off.

x-x

“You’ve been here for quiet a while now, darling, are you sure it’ll be okay?” my mother’s voice asked softly as she placed a plate of pasta on the table. I nodded with a smile and hugged her one more time before turning to eat my food.
“We were so worried-”
“Mom, if you keep talking about it, you’ll end up crying for the third time since I came here.” I gave her a small pout and  watched her laugh weakly, her eyes still glimmering in tears.
“We made a mistake,” my father croaked out and I snapped my head towards him. “To let you go that day.” He glanced at my mother only once before taking a sip out of his wine and I went silent.
“If living with Draven is putting you in danger then-”
“Mom, it’s fine, we don’t have to go there,” I cut her off, slightly hurt and frustrated by their words. “What were you guys expecting anyways?” I muttered under my breath and I noticed the hurt flash in their eyes before they exchanged glances.
“We were only trying to-”
“It doesn’t matter now, I’m sorry I made it sound like that.” I smiled weakly before continuing to finish up the pasta. I can’t ruin today, a chance like this was hard to come. Hell, I might never get a chance to see them again, considering the fact that I already passed my “curfew.”
“Is she here?!” I heard familiar voices from the sitting room before Emily and Mark popped out of nowhere, causing my jaws to drop open.
“Oh my god!” Emily threw herself at me as soon as I got up and I laughed a short before hugging her back and then Mark. “We heard everything, it’s crazy.” Emily grabbed my hand and Mark agreed, narrowing his eyes at me in worry.
“I don’t want to hear that from you after you legit ditched me there.” I folded my hands across my chest and Emily simply gave me a cheeky grin before sighing.
“I had to, my parents are really sick and I had no choice but to leave without a notice. I called Draven multiple times but he refused to put you on the phone, that bastard kept going on about what was in it for him and-”
“Don’t start.” I cut her off with a laugh and Emily let out a huff in frustration.
“I’ll leave you guys to catch up on.” My mother chimed in with a smile and we nodded with a grin before rushing up to my room.
Hours passed with us catching up and me spilling the beans on Dexter. Mark would curse every five seconds and go on about how Draven was irresponsible for not being able to take care of me while Emily would go on and on about the horrible things she was going to do when she catches Dexter.
“Darling,” my mother suddenly bursted inside the room and I snapped my head to look at her panicked form. “It’s Draven.” She said softly, handing me her phone and I let out a sigh before taking it.
“Yes?”
“It’s already 9 pm, you said you'd only take an hour.”
“Draven I’m fine, stop worrying.” I stopped when I heard him let out a sigh.
“Tell him to chill.” Mark said out loud and I hissed at him to keep quiet.
“Who was that?” Draven's voice turned all serious.
“That’s Mark, the one we met the mall a month ago.” I stated softly and bit my bottom lip when I heard him let out a huff in frustration.
“Come back right now.” He said in a dangerously low tone and I know for a fact that he was getting mad now.
“Draven-”
"Come back right now, Adriana.”
“I’ll be there in a while, alright.” I said finally and hung up the phone before shaking my head at everyone, indicating that everything was alright.
x-x

“I’ll get the door,” Emily shouted and Mark and I paused the movie we had been watching in the sitting room and groaned in annoyance. “What…” I heard her Emily trail off and I turned to look at Draven walking in, causing my jaws to drop open.
“Draven, what are you doing here?” I asked stupidly, glancing at my parents, who were now bowing their heads in respect. His eyes met mine and I gulped softly when I noticed them growing a shade darker before they met Mark’s, causing a shiver down my spine.
“We’re leaving.” He said softly yet harshly, bolting up to me and grabbing my hand, almost dragging me out as I motioned my parents to call me back.
“Are you mad or jealous because Mark was there?” I jumped right to conclusion, adjusting myself back in the seat as Draven speeded up, his hand clenching the wheel tightly. “Because he’s just a friend-”
“I didn’t ask.” He cut me off and I noticed his jawline flicker before narrowing his eyes on the road. I sighed and decided to brush it off, knowing that he wouldn’t calm down anytime soon anyways.
“Did you eat?” I glanced at Draven as we got out of the car and I noticed that he didn’t look up to meet my gaze now. His face looked exhausted, or sad? Or was he sulking?
Shaking my thoughts away, I walked into the mansion first with Draven following behind me as we both started walking up the stairs.
“You look tired, you should eat, I can join you if you want-” I gasped when someone grabbed my hand before spinning me around and the next thing I knew, his lips were covered perfectly on mine, a hand already tangled around my neck as he deepened the kiss.
“Wait,” I mumbled in between the kiss, pulling away a little only to be pulled back in as we stumbled our way up the stairs, not parting our lips the whole way. I blushed when I realized how rough the kiss was beginning to feel and kept stumbling every now and then as Draven guided me to my room.
“Draven-” I pulled away and gasped when he pushed me against the door, pausing to look for just a second before leaning into another kiss, causing the butterflies in my stomach to go on a rampage. I mentally whined when he pulled away, pressing his forehead against mine before staring into my eyes, calming down his heavy breaths.
“What?” I whispered, hoping he would explain why he just went kissed me out of the blue. “Were you justifying your jealousy?” he narrowed his eyes a little before they flickered on my lips again, causing my breath to hitch. Just as his lips were about to brush against mine, his gaze landed back on my eyes before he pulled away, making me frown in confusion.
“There is a small dance tonight, we’re only inviting a few humans, once we know and are close with,” Draven started and I scoffed before raising a brow at his obvious attempt to change the subject. “Wear something nice.” He pinched my chin and I brushed his hand away before plastering on a smile.
“Of course.”
“Actually scratch that, wear something that’s less revealing, yeah?”
“I’m fine with this.” I made a face and he raised a brow before frowning slightly.
“But that’s-” before he could finish, I opened my door, walking in and quickly locking it. I could hear him banging on the door a couple of times, calling my name before letting out a huff in defeat. Serves you right.

x-x

“You can suggest a song if you want, my lady,” the butler walked up to me and I shook my head, staring at the dancing girls and guys. Some were slow dancing, while the rest were just going all out. “We usually choose songs that fits to the mood.”
“What a weird and wasteful event.” I sighed, glancing at Draven, who was literally still staring at me, causing me to sigh in annoyance.
“Does he not know that it’s rude to stare?” I grumbled under my breath and I swear I saw him raise a brow just as those words left my mouth.
“He can hear you, my lady.” The butler chuckled before bowing at me and then leaving me behind.
“Hey.” A familiar voice caused a shiver down my spine and I slowly turned around to face Vincent as he smiled at me. I didn’t even bother to return the smile, instead, I just nodded, turning to leave when he grabbed my hand, spinning me around.
“Are you mad at me or something?”
“What?”
“You’ve been avoiding me ever since you returned, is everything okay?” he squeezed my hands and I went silent, quickly brushing it away and shaking my head.
“I’m just tired.” I lied, not meeting his eyes and looked up at Draven but to my disappointment, he was now talking to Lianna and I bit my bottom lip before turning away.
“Adriana-”
“Leave me alone, please.” I said quickly, brushing him away and gasped when he appeared in front of me, causing me to take a step back. I saw the hurt flash in his eyes before he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and I quickly laughed it off but Vincent’s expression remained serious.
“Adriana, what’s wrong?” his voice was soft and gentle, causing my heart to skip a beat. I’ve almost forgotten how kind and nice Vincent was to me. He could never hurt me like that, could he?
“Vincent, do you want to talk to me about anything? Anything from your past?” I asked, scratching the back of my hair as he gave me a long look before shaking his head slowly.
“Why? Do you want to talk about anything?” he asked with a short laugh and I shook my head.
“I need to get some fresh air.” I said, quickly walking past him and started making my way to the terrace.
After stepping out to the terrace, I let out a long sigh and jumped up in surprise when Vincent appeared right next to me.
“You scared me!” he chuckled softly before jogging towards a bunch of speakers and I frowned at his behavior in confusion.
“Choose a song.” Vincent motioned me to come closer and I hesitated, feeling really uncomfortable that we are up here alone. There is still a chance that he was the one who was giving information to Dexter. The traitor amongst us. “Hurry.” He jogged back to me and I flinched a little before smiling weakly.
“Why?”
“I want one dance with you before tonight is over.” He flashed me a grin and I couldn’t help but race at his words.
“That’s- I don’t know. We should go back inside.”
“Alright, I’ll choose a song then.” He brushed me off and I watched him jog back to the speaker before going through his phone. Reluctantly, I walked up to him and stiffened when he turned to face me, his eyes peering right into mine.
“I don’t think we should be here-”
“Please, one dance?” he held out his hand and my heart sank when the song started. I smiled a little and took his hand, making our way to the open area.
“You look beautiful.”
“I didn’t even brush my hair tonight nor dress up-”
“Adriana, that’s really not the point.” He laughed and I couldn’t help but laugh as well before we took our positions, slow dancing.
I won’t lie to you,

I know he’s just not right for you.

The song started and I stiffened a little when he pulled my back closer to his body, making my heart race faster than ever.
“I am a horrible dancer, Vincent.”
“That, I can’t deny.” His words dripped in sarcasm and I stopped to frown up at him before chuckling softly.
“Asshole.” I hissed at him, making a face but the smile on my face didn’t fade away.
“Does it have to be Draven?” my eyes widened and I went silent as he fixated our gaze, making my mind go completely blank. What?
“Wh-what?” I barely whispered out and my heart stopped when he closed his face to mine, our nose almost touching each other’s.
“I asked you if it really has to be Draven?” he whispered back and I stumbled back but Vincent managed to hold my waist, pulling me back up immediately.
I'll stop time for you,
The second you say you'd like me to.
I just wanna give you the loving that you're missing,
Baby, just to wake up with you.
“I really like this song.” I quickly changed the subject, laughing nervously.
“Yeah, I chose this for you.” I flinched and I looked up, not being able to ignore his sincerity anymore. “Dance.” He looked away this time, grabbing my waist and continuing the dance. Not being able to face him, I rested my head on his chest, my heart pounding loudly against my chest as I tried to come up with right words.
“This song is for me?” I stopped to listen.
'Cause I know I can treat you better than he can
And any girl like you deserves a gentleman
Tell me why are we wasting time
On all your wasted crying
When you should be with me instead
I know I can treat you better
Better than he can
I don’t know why, but listening to the song saddened me and guilt took over within seconds.
“Vincent…” I started but he pulled away before spinning me around and pulling me back into his arms.
“You don’t have to say anything, I just want you to know.” He smiled and I went silent, not knowing what to say anymore.
“I am really sorry,” I stated softly, my heart aching at my own words and I heard him let out a sigh. “I really am-”
“If you put on that face, I’ll really want to kiss you,” I almost choked on the air I was breathing and I looked at him, my eyes the size of saucers by now.
“Did you-”
“I am just kidding.” He chuckled and I scoffed in disbelief before playfully hitting his hand. I was about to pull away but gasped when I lost balance, stumbling back in the process.
“Careful-” Vincent reached out to grab me as I fell and the next thing I knew, his body was on top of mine and I could feel my cheeks heating up in embarrassment as he started to get up.
“Sorry, I-” He froze halfway upon hearing the door opening with a hard slam and both Vincent and I looked to our right to notice Draven walking in. His eyes searched the place briefly before they landed on us and within seconds, they grew a shade darker, his jawline clenching before he bolted up to us.
“Draven, what are you doing here-” I gasped when he grabbed my hand, jerking me up as Vincent swiftly got up as well. Before I could even explain the situation, Draven punched Vincent on the jaw and I gasped in horror, covering my mouth as I backed away. Vincent stumbled back before standing up straight and I looked at Draven, who was still glaring at him, his hands balled into a fist in anger.
“I warned you to back the fuck off!” Draven growled, grabbing him by the collar, jerking him closer and I was about to push Draven away from him when Vincent looked at me, the corner of his lips slightly busted already.
“Sorry.” He said looking at me before brushing Draven’s hands away roughly and walking towards the door.
“Vincent, wait-” I moved past Draven but stopped when he grabbed my wrist. Vincent left and I turned to look at Draven as he turned to face me as well, the grip he had on my wrist tightening up as he glared at me, biting the inside of his cheeks in anger.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a dangerously low tone and I gave him a sharp look before sighing.
“I am not doing anything, you are the one who’s jumping into conclusions without considering the situation-”
“Situation?” he raised a brow, the corner of lips slightly curling upwards before his eyes grew a shade darker again. “When I got here, he was on top of you, what the fuck is the situation?!” he yelled and I jumped a little at his outburst, my eyes widening. “Did I interrupt your romantic date?”
“Wha-what?” I asked in disbelief. How could he think so low of me?
“I asked you if I was interrupting something back there?” he asked, his piercing gaze not leaving mine for even a second.
“I don’t want to explain.” I said sharply, my eyes now glimmering in tears but I held them back.
“Are you telling me, to think whatever I want?”
“I am telling you to grow up and to stop using violence as a means to justify your jealousy!” I raised my voice and I watched his jawline clench before he went silent. “It really frustrates me and I can’t stand to see you hurt someone I care about.” I started leaving when he grabbed my hand again, this time with less force.
“If I work on that,” he said in a low tone and I turned to look at him. “Can you promise to stay away from him?”
“He’s your brother-"

"All the more reason why I can't stand it, Adriana!" He spat and hissed at the same time but I held my ground as well.

"I can’t just ignore him. More importantly, before you ask me to take care of anything, why don’t you sort out your own feelings first?” I yanked my hand away and he opened his mouth to defend himself when someone appeared in front of us, causing me to gasp then let out a sigh in annoyance.
“Zavier is refusing to talk-” he stopped as soon as he saw me and I narrowed my eyes at Kevin in confusion before looking at Draven, who was now glaring at Kevin in annoyance.
“Zavier? As in the Zavier from the Armenius brothers or-” I paused to look at Kevin, who flinched a little before shaking his head quickly. An obvious lie. “Is he here?” I questioned Draven, who was still staring at Kevin before meeting my gaze.
“Did-did you by any chance, held him as a hostage?” I asked in disbelief, my mouth slightly opening in surprise before Draven broke our gaze.
“He’s only getting what he deserves.”

xxx