xii

I turned in horror and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You tricked me?" I asked indignantly, pursing my lips.

"Ouch!" Malio commented on my punch and rubbed the spot on his upper arm where my fist had hit.

" I did not lie. There really was a meeting, just at a different time. But you liked it, didn't you?" A cheeky grin spread across his lips and I put my hands on my hips, offended. "No!"

Malio raised an eyebrow defiantly. ,, Oh no? May I remind you that you still pressed your hand on mine because you found it so horny to be fingered by me with the danger that someone could have opened the door at any moment."

His directness made my cheeks glow again.

"You're thinking about that right now, aren't you?" He studied my cheeks with a knowing look.

The glow grew even stronger as his guess hit the mark. But also the desire for him increased from second to second.

It took all my self-control not to let my mind wander to the events he was talking about again.

Malio shoved me aside and took my hand to pull me across the room, holding his jacket in the other hand, which I had already totally forgotten about. "Where are we going?" I asked skeptically and took the opportunity to let my gaze wander through the vaulted cellar again.

Suddenly I recalled the whimper I had heard on my first visit and almost hoped to catch a glimpse of the room it had come from. But the door from which the noises came was still closed.

"I thought we'd spend a little more time." Malio answered my question, which I had already forgotten because I was so focused on the surroundings.

What secret does these walls hide?

We got to the elevator and I turned around again, listening very carefully to the silence, but there was absolutely nothing today. only silence "What is it?" Malio suddenly asked me after following my gaze. "Oh nothing!" I said quickly and turned my eyes straight ahead again, directly at the elevator doors, which now opened with a soft beep.

I knew where Malio was leading me as soon as I saw the hallway with the burgundy walls. As I expected, he pulled me into the first room - his room.

Nothing had changed since my first visit. No new furniture. No new decorative items.

But then my eyes fell on something that hadn't been there on my first visit.

Atop Malio's neatly folded gray satin sheets was a fluffy ball of white fur, which cocked its head curiously, stretched, and meowed toward us as we entered the room.

I bent down, held out my hand to the ball of fur, which was now purring and running a few laps around Malio's legs, and asked: 'Well, who are you?

Malio took the purring and meowing little animal in his arms and said: "This is my great love, Blue!"

The ball of fur now snuggled up in his arms turned out to be a white Persian cat.

"Be careful, he doesn't like strangers very much!" Malio warned me as I began to gently scratch the cat behind the ear.

I half expected him to smack me, but he didn't, instead cocking his little head at me, demanding more stroking.

Malio looked at me in surprise. "I think he likes you!"

Malio carefully put Blue down again, who hopped back onto the bed, only to curl up again there immediately.

"I didn't know you had a hangover!" I said surprised and flopped down on Malio's bed to continue stroking Blue. "You don't know a lot about me, Jolien." Malio replied with a grin .

I watched him as he took the remote control from the lowboard that was under the huge TV on the opposite wall, crossed the room and finally dropped onto the bed next to me.

Blue moaned impatiently when I stopped petting him and gently nudged me with her paw for me to continue.

"He seems to really like you!" Malio commented on his cat's gesture and slid to the headboard of his bed.

"Do you have a favorite movie?" he asked while turning on the TV. "Some," I replied, thinking about which movie I could torment him the most. "Let me guess, all just love tearjerkers?" He laughed and patted the pillow next to him.

Should this really be something like a date? Or did he have ulterior motives I didn't know about?

"Not necessarily, I like horror films too!", I said with a grin. Malio's eyes darted interestedly over my face. "Interesting and come here at last!", He patted the pillow next to him.

Heart racing, I kicked off my sneakers and crawled to his side.

He immediately put an arm around me, but then cursed under his breath as Blue squeezed between us. I giggled and watched Malio start a movie.

"Counjuring?" I asked in amusement as I saw the familiar opening credits and first scenes of the film. "A good film!" he said with a grin. "You're right!" I agreed.

Even though I already knew the film, I knew all the scary scenes and I was already mentally preparing for each and every one of them, I was still scared every time, which made Malio chuckle.

I enjoyed his gentle stroking up and down my arm, which he had started with, and at some point the film only seemed half as interesting to me, but Malio continued to stare spellbound at the television screen without making another attempt to start me in any way to do the laundry.

I didn't quite know what to think of it, to be honest. The fact that he really only really had in mind to spend time with me unsettled me a bit, because it didn't suit him at all.

When the credits flickered on the TV, I sighed almost sadly, because that was my signal to walk so slowly.

I had already stretched my father's generosity to infinity, because, looking at the digital clock on the television, I realized with horror that it was already after 11:00 p.m.

"I should go!" I said and pushed myself off the bed. Malio did the same and immediately grabbed my arm. "Now?" he asked and the sound in his voice made me smile mischievously. Because to my surprise, he sounded really sad about it.

"We have school tomorrow!" I said warningly. "Oh, fuck it." I rolled my eyes and the next moment he had pulled me towards him with a jerk. "You're so sexy when you do that." "What?" I asked, unable to resist a giggle.

"When you roll your eyes. It turns me on and at the same time it makes me so angry that you are so rebellious." He gently stroked my cheek and this touch made me gasp.

"Malio, I really have to go!" I said, trying to free myself from his grip, which in turn only caused him to grin widely and tossed me against the nearest wall. "What a shame," he said, getting closer and closer to my face.

My willpower, which had kept me from attacking him for the past two and a half hours, was dwindling inexorably.

I commanded myself not to get weak again today and thus to convey to him that he had me completely in his hands.

His fingers slowly pulled down my turtleneck and again he examined the hickey on my neck.

I felt them caress my skin gently and I fought the urge to kiss him here and now, instead I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away from me, breathing heavily. "I really have to go now!"

Surprised by my sudden willpower, he even let me push past him and hurry out of the room.

Apparently nobody had used the elevator because when I banged on the button furiously the doors opened in a matter of seconds.

I heard Malio laugh as I got into the elevator and pressed the button that said Garage.

Before the doors closed, I saw Malio standing in the doorway of his room, waving goodbye with a big grin.

He was aware, of course, that I almost fainted under his touch again. Which apparently seemed to amuse him immensely!

The elevator doors opened with the familiar beep and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the utterly surprised expression of none other than Alex.

The surprise on Alex's face only lasted a few seconds, then the expression changed to a cocky grin.

That stupid grin you wanted to smack something into to make it go away.

"Jolien.", he drawled and ordered me with a sweeping hand movement to get out of the elevator. I hesitated, afraid to be alone with him down here.

Before the elevator doors could close again, Alex put a foot in the threshold and grinned even wider. "I knew right away that this beautiful white Range Rover looked familiar," he said with relish.

When I didn't answer again, he just continued as if he didn't notice that I didn't want to exchange a single word with him.

"How is Amelie?" The question immediately blew a fuse in me and I took a big step towards him. "Don't say her name!"

His cold laughter filled the empty garage and he reared up menacingly in front of me - and now I realized my mistake too.

I'd taken the crucial steps out of the elevator, which now, with a beep, closed the only way I wasn't at the mercy of Alex.

"Suddenly so brave," he said with a grin and pushed me hard against the garage wall. He came menacingly close to me and slowly put his hand around my neck, his eyes taking on a wild, almost mad expression.

I gasped, gasped for air, and tried desperately to loosen Alex's grip on my neck - just to somehow get out of the situation. But nothing helped and his laughter, loud and hysterical, echoed loudly off the walls of the garage. "How brave are you now you little bitch? Will you let Malio fuck you?"

He approached my face, licked my cheek and whispered, "That won't help you either!"

With a tug, Alex pulled me off the wall without loosening his grip on my neck a millimeter and drew back with his free hand.

"Alex!" suddenly a cold, warning voice made him wince.

He immediately let go of me and scurried against the wall like a kicked dog, giving me a glimpse of someone who could make my blood run cold just by appearing.

I instinctively backed away, banging my back against the elevator doors.

The man standing in front of me was tall and his black tailored suit stretched over his muscular shoulders. I put him in his mid-forties, maybe early fifties, but that didn't overshadow his attractiveness for a second.

His dark hair was still thick. His blue eyes piercing. The contours of his dark beard, as sharp as if they had just been cut with a knife.

I didn't have to be a genius to know who was standing in front of me right now. Malio's father.

He eyed me disparagingly for a few seconds. His face took on a disgusted expression and he said coldly, 'And who are you? That you're just standing here in my garage? I've told Malio a thousand times not to let his cheap girls run around the house."

Alex grunted, then flinched again at Malio's father's gaze. "Did I allow you to laugh?" he asked in an ice-cold tone and I noticed his eyes darting defiantly over Alex's face. "No. I'm sorry, sir!"

Malio's father turned back to me, my eyes resting on the red dots that sprinkled almost like a pattern across the collar of his pristine white shirt.

My breathing was still ragged.

"Alex, sorry!" Malio's father said calmly, not taking his eyes off me for a second. "What?" I heard Alex shout indignantly. "Apologize to her. Now," he added even more menacingly.

"I'm sorry, Jolien!" Alex's sudden fear and the obedience that was now in his voice scared me to death.

Alex struck me as the craziest guy I knew, bending to this man's will and obviously afraid of him made me wonder what Malio's father was capable of.

I tried to fight the rising panic, but Malio's father continued to fix his eyes on me, observing every reaction, finally saying indifferently, "So ordinary."

"I was just about to leave!" I managed to say far too quickly and far too indistinctly. For a moment I wondered whether it would be smart enough to just push past him like that.

"That's not a good idea, girl," he suddenly said, as if reading my mind and correctly interpreting the look I'd given him.

This man could interpret gestures and facial expressions even better than Malio.

"I also apologize for my nephew's rude behavior." It didn't sound like an apology at all, more like a threat that went straight to Alex, who flinched in acknowledgment and clenched his shaking hands into fists.

I nodded silently, my throat tightening with the rising panic. Unstoppable - on and on. So much so that I feared I would collapse at any moment from the resulting lack of oxygen.

The seconds just flew by with neither of us saying anything. In which the man across from me did nothing but look at me with his expressionless blue eyes, which were a lot colder than Malios could ever have been.

"Do you want anything else, or could you finally get out of my sight?" he suddenly asked so harshly that it felt like he was slapping me with every word.

I nodded silently and, despite all my misgivings, wanted to push past him when his iron grip closed on my wrist and made me freeze from shock.

,, Next time my son fucks you, please use the entrance and exit of the employees. Which suits cheap and ordinary girls like you!" he let go of my hand and without another word walked past me, heading straight for the elevator, which beeped and jumped up again as he pushed the button.

I rushed. Panicked and without a plan where my car was actually parked. I just wanted to put as much distance as possible between me and this horrible man.

I was frantically pacing between the expensive cars when I spotted the white Range Rover, which looked completely out of place and reminded me how stupid I was to underestimate this whole family.

My cell phone was already ringing when I got in the car, but I ignored it. The veil of tears blocked my view, but I clumsily turned the key, which was still in place.

The car hummed quietly under me, I tried to blink the tears out of my eyes, which only meant that new ones formed all the time and they rolled down my face in hot streams.

The cell phone rang again and again I ignored it.

Who should it be? Certainly only my father, who was certainly worried since it was now 11:30 p.m. I had just got my freedom back and had to use it mercilessly on the first day.

Gradually, I calmed down enough to shiver as I drove the car out of the garage and rolled down the window to let the cold night air hit me. The wind tugged at my hair and I told myself it was helping carry my thoughts out of the car.

I had absolutely no idea what I would serve my father to properly justify this delay. As I pulled up in front of our house, I noticed that the light in the kitchen was still on.

It was clear.

Before I could still the humming engine, the door jerked open violently, and my father shot me a reproachful look. "Where the hell have you been?" "At Bekka's. Sorry - we were doing something for school and totally forgot about the time!" I lied quickly.

Admittedly it was a good lie, but not good enough for my father.

"And it didn't even occur to you to take a look at the clock?" he asked angrily, waving me into the house. "I'm sorry," I said sheepishly.

He looked at me for a few seconds and again I couldn't help noticing how tired he looked.

The thick purple circles under his eyes hadn't receded, even though he's been at home a lot more in the last few days than he was the first few days after we moved. He also hadn't worked late into the night any more—although my father's sudden, years-old appearance aroused deep concern in me.

"Go to your room!" He said wearily, pointing to the stairs.

Saving myself an answer for fear of being sentenced to another week of house arrest, I rushed up the stairs only to collide directly with Silia, who was sitting on the top step and had obviously been listening.

"How come you always manage to get away with everything?" she asked irritably as she pulled herself up the railing and scowled at me.

"I know you weren't with Bekka. You were with HIM, weren't you? Jesus, Jolien! How dumb are you actually? Don't you see that he changes you?"

I pushed her out of the way roughly and said: "I'm like always, the only one who changes here is you Silia. YOU are not my mother, so please don't act like that either! I can take care of myself!" I hissed angrily, but careful not to be too loud so our dad wouldn't hear us.

"Fine - run to your doom then, but don't come to me if he breaks your heart, tramples on it and then throws it to wolves for food!" she said far too theatrically. "Thanks, I won't !"

I angrily left her and stomped angrily into my room, only to be annoyed again by an incoming call. "WHAT?" I took the call over the top. "Jolien?" Of course it was his voice, how could it have been otherwise. "What do you want, Malio?" I asked. "You met my father, didn't you?" He asked a question in return.

I took a few deep breaths in and out so as not to say the last thing first to him just because I was angry. "Yes!" I ground out through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry!" He apologized unnecessarily, after all my meeting with his father had nothing to do with him. "Did he say anything?" He asked further when I didn't answer. "Nothing important." I replied shortly and hung up.

It was now 12:00 a.m. and I just didn't feel like talking anymore - neither with Malio nor with my father or with Silia.

My cell phone beeped and announced a message, just as I expected.

Malio: Are you serious???

I knew intuitively that my sudden hang-up would have repercussions.

Malio wasn't the type to just hang up - he just loved being in control too much for that. He had always been in charge of the people around him - but he was in the wrong place with me. Den Malio wasn't the only one who liked being in control.

The cell phone beeped again and again it was messages from him.

Malio: Never do that again! Malio: Don't provoke me - if you're not ready to face the consequences!

I was well aware that he was threatening me with these messages. Still, I didn't care and put the phone down again.

His messages went unanswered. However, they were marked as read with the small but telltale note.

Something I would regret the next day.