Amelia’s POV
I couldn’t believe what I’d just done. The words had spilled out of my mouth before I even realized, sharp and cutting, aimed right at Kai. His fist clenched in anger, and for a moment, I thought he was gonna pull a trigger at me.
My arm still burned where his hand had been, red marks on my skin like a warning. But I wasn’t sticking around to see what would happen next. Yanking free, I bolted for the door. The bass from the club’s music hit me like a wall as I pushed through, weaving around sweaty bodies on the dance floor. My head was spinning, my heart racing, and honestly, I wasn’t even sure where I was going.
I ended up outside, hailing a cab, because where else could I go? Running felt like the only option, but it wasn’t just me in this mess anymore. My mom. God, what had I dragged her into? The thought of her made me sick, and I knew I couldn’t just leave.
Back at the hotel, I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it, leaning against it like that flimsy lock could actually keep Kai out. My chest heaved, my brain replaying everything he’d said. That one word—lowlife. It stuck like a knife, twisting every time I thought about it.
“God, I hate him,” I muttered, pacing the room. “I wish he’d just drop dead.”
But that wasn’t happening anytime soon. No, Kai wasn’t the kind to just disappear. And now, I was stuck. Locked in this stupid hotel room, starving, and too terrified to even step out because I was sure his guards would be lurking.
Then I heard it. A car. Peeking through the curtain, my heart dropped. His car. Kai was here.
“shit!” I whispered, backing away from the window. “What the hell do I do now?”
My heart pounded as I saw him storming towards the building. He looked mad—well, more than usual—and I had no idea if he was heading for his room or straight to mine. My hands shook as I double-checked the lock on the door, but honestly, that wasn’t gonna stop him if he wanted to get in.
I needed a plan. Fast. My eyes darted around the room, desperate for something, anything, to help me. That’s when I spotted it—a lipstick on the dresser.
I grabbed it and rushed back to the window. Taking a deep breath, I threw it. It hit the ground near Carlos, Kai’s driver. When he looked up, I waved frantically, praying he’d get the message.
To my relief, he started walking towards the building. A few agonizing minutes later, there was a knock at my door. I peered through the peephole and sighed when I saw him.
“Are you alone?” I whispered, cracking the door open j.
Carlos gave me a look, like I’d just asked the dumbest question in the world. “Yes, who else do you expect me to be with?” he said as he stepped into my room. I shut the door behind him quickly, locking it again for good measure.
I couldn’t stop the question that came tumbling out of my mouth next. “How mad is Kai?”
Carlos hesitated, and the silence felt like a punch in the gut. Then, finally, he said, “If I were you, I’d stay out of his way for now.”
Great. Just what I needed to hear.
I let out a groan and flopped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone off on him like that, but he started it. If he hadn’t called me a lowlife, I wouldn’t have blown up. My stomach growled loudly, dragging me out of my spiral.
“I’m so fucking hungry, Carlos,” I complained, covering my face with a pillow. “Like, I could eat anything right now.”
Carlos didn’t say much, but he came back with food after a while. I didn’t even ask where he got it; I just tore into it like a starving animal. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it did the job.
After that, I took a long, hot shower, letting the water wash away the stress of the night. When I came out, I did my skincare routine—because if my life was falling apart, at least my skin could look good.
But no amount of moisturizer was gonna fix the mess I was in. I climbed into bed, my mind racing as I replayed every second of my fight with Kai. What was I supposed to do now? Lock myself in here forever? That wasn’t gonna work. At some point, I’d need food again, or worse—run into him.
I was just starting to doze off when the sound of my door being forced open jolted me awake. My heart stopped.
A figure stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the dim light from the hall. My heart stopped when I saw the gun in his hand. Before I could scream, a shot rang out. I froze, the bullet barely missing me and burying itself in the wall behind my bed.
Panic took over. Whoever this guy was, he wasn’t here to scare me. He was here to kill me. was it kai? And why would he want to kill me over a minor argument?
I dove off the bed, hitting the floor hard as another shot went off, this one sounding further away. The guy was blocking the only exit, and I didn’t have my phone—thanks to Kai. My options were zero unless I wanted to try the window.
I was left with only one option; jumping from the window. It wasn’t the most effective but that was the only option I have at the moment. I heard another gun shot again but this time, it sounded more distant than the previous one, I didn’t know where it was coming from but my curiosity died down as soon as I heard heavy footsteps approaching me. I quickly climbed up the window and was about jumping when strong arms wrapped around my waist, yanking me back into the room. I fell into a strangers hand, the first thing i noticed was the body of the man who had tried to kill me, lying lifeless on the floor, he was covered in the pool of his own blood. At that point, i didn’t have enough time to make sense of what was happening, i just wanted to escape. I attempted freeing myself from his grip, but his grip was too strong. The man smelt familiar, his woody cologne fragrance smelt all too familiar and unique, he smelt just like kai.
 “what were you thinking?” his deep husky voice asked, confirming my suspicions as i recognized the voice. It was Kai. His grip on me was firm, his expression a mixture of anger and concern. He had a gun in his other hand, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was the one who shot the man.
 “I—I was trying to escape,” I stammered, swallowing hard as my eyes met with his deep blue
His face was so close I could almost feel his breath on my skin, and my heart wouldn’t stop racing. Was it fear? Adrenaline? Or something else entirely? My eyes locked with his, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
He flicked my forehead, not hard enough to hurt but enough to snap me out of whatever stupid trance I was in. “Are you crazy? You could’ve died jumping out that window.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, barely audible, “I think I am crazy.”
Crazy for thinking about kissing him when I should’ve been screaming at him to let me go. But there was something about the way he looked at me, it was as though i had been hypnotized by merely looking at him, and i didn’t know how to break out of this. It made me want to forget every reason I hated him—just for a second.
It was stupid. Completely insane. But I couldn’t stop the pull, no matter how much I wanted to.