Chapter 31

Adria's POV:

"I wish I could shoot that bullet in your head", he said and turned on his heels not before motioning me to follow him. "And yeh your father is alive", he said leaving me dumbfounded. My dad is alive.. my dad is freaking alive. But can I trust this information?

"I don't trust you", I said to him in a low voice.

"How do you think we found you? It was difficult to find your link with Jake cause the father of your so-called boyfriend did a good job to hide his connections with Jake. We could find you only with Edward's help. And if you still do not believe me you can fuck off", he said rudely.

I was convinced. Only dad knew about our and Mr Blake's connection with Jake. But what about the pictures that I saw? I dare not to ask Augustus or care about it. My dad was alive and that is what mattered to me.

He glared at me again signalling me to follow him, I followed him like a puppy, not knowing what else to do. Once out of the door we passed through a passage with several bodies lifeless on the floor. A few policemen were moving them leaving a trail of blood on the floor.

At other times such a scene would make me wanna throw up but right now it was just in front of my eyes, my mind was playing something else.

Even though knowing about Jake from dad I still wondered how could Austin and Augustus found us so soon. It was just yesterday that Connor and I were held captive by Mr Blake, Connor's father. It was just a few hours earlier that I met my twin sister and got to know about my cruel father and my dead mother.

Austin was fast to find me. Or was it really me who he wanted to find? Of course not, why would he make an effort to find someone who stabbed him? To kill him! My subconscious answered. The obvious answer I was afraid to tell myself. And now that he finally found Andrea, his angel, the love of his life why will he even keep me alive? Of course, he will kill me.

Now that I learned that my dad, Edward Owensby was alive I was so happy. But soon my happiness was taken by guilt. The accusation put on Austin was wrong. He did not kill my father. He was telling the truth. But what did I do instead? I stabbed him.

I STABBED HIM! The reality struck me. Till now I was believing that Austin sent Augustus to save me, but I still don't know the whole truth. Was Austin Alive? Or did he die after I stabbed him? I panicked. My breathing went harsh.

"Augustus!", I called out. "Augustus", I wanted to know his whereabouts. Was he fine? Was he alive?

"Hey, what's wrong?", Andrea asked. It's just now I noticed that she was now beside me. "Are you alright?", she asked.

" I need to talk to Augustus", I said. She looked confused.

"How do you know him?", she asked. Fuck! What should I tell her? She can't know the truth.

"You.. You took his name earlier. I just remembered it", I lied. She nodded but was still frowning. She looked here and there but he was nowhere to be seen. Now we finally reached outside the building we were held captive at. A few cars were standing at the gate.

"You need something from him?", Andrea asked.'Yes, I want to ask him whether Austin is alive or not, that was the correct answer to her question but I can't tell her that. "I.. I wanted to know about my father. I mean my dad Edward", I lied. I can't imagine how Andrea will feel when she gets to know that her own sister stabbed the man she loves.

The man she loves. The sentence pierced painfully in my heart. But now was not the time to think about my fucked up feelings and the situation between me, Austin, Connor and now Andrea. Everything was so confusing. But right now my priority was to know about Austin.

"You two sit in the car please", Augustus came from behind and said while smiling. But he was only looking at Andrea the whole time. Andrea sat inside the car first and I grabbed the chance to talk to Augustus. "Augustus, how is he", I almost cried.

He looked at me with so much anger in his eyes. "He is alive. That's all you need to know. Now sit in the fucking car before I kill you", he hissed.

I cared less about what else he said and focused only on his first sentence. 'He is alive'. I sighed in relief and sat inside the car.

"What did he say? How is Edward?", Andrea asked once I was settled.

"He is fine", I lied again. She smiled at me giving my hand a light squeeze.

The rest of the ride was silent. Andrea fell asleep within 5 minutes and there was no one speaking after that.

Augustus's eyes were focused on the road. He looked like a robot staring at nowhere. A robot, who was designed to kill.

The silent ride was the last thing suitable for me right now. Cause it forced my mind to think, think about the topics that were too complicated.

Think about Austin.

Now that I already know that my dad was fine, his topic was there but in the back of my mind. And since Augustus told me that Austin is fine, the worry about his health also subdued a little.

All left now was confusion.

The moment I met Connor again I have been feeling weird. I wasn't happy seeing him. I wasn't happy to escape with him. I wasn't happy to leave Austin and go with him.

I stabbed Austin because I was angry at him. I felt he deserved it but was I happy stabbing him? Was I satisfied? No, the answer came quickly.

I loved Connor a lot. I always did but when I saw him again I didn't feel the same. The same I felt before.

Did the love I had for him die? Do I love Austin now?

But how can I love him?

My back arched subconsciously remembering the lashes he gave it, my fingers moved subliminally and touched the mark he gave me, touched the flesh he branded that with his name.

How can I love him after all he did to me?

I clutched my stomach now, it growled loudly as if reminding me of the days I was kept hungry.

How can I love him?

And then the memories of me and him at the Cabin, in the river and the days after that when he cherished me and showered me with love flashed in front of my eyes.

Do I love him?

Or is this what they call Stockholm syndrome?

What about Connor and me?

The questions kept driving me mad at each passing second. And then I turned and looked at the face of my sister sleeping beside me. And a new question arrived. Does he love me?

I didn't even allow my subconscious to answer this question and so it stayed quiet.

Instead, I kept looking at my sister. This was the first time I saw her face, relaxed and calm. And the only thing I was sure of was that, no matter what I feel. She was the person who belonged beside Austin.

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We reached Austin's mansion and all the memories with him hit me. All the bad and good memories with him, his family, Augustus and the maid Cara. Cara was the one who snuck in the note given by Connor. I hope she is fine.

"I will show you your rooms", a maid said. I recognised her but we never had a conversation in the past.

"Adria..", Andrea called shyly. "Can we stay in the same room? I really wanna share a room with you", she asked. I smiled at her and held her hand.

"Of course, we can", I said. Augustus was listening to us the whole time.

"You both go to your room and freshen up. I will send something for you to eat", he said.

"Auggie, where is he?", Andrea asked and I already knew by 'he' she meant Austin.

"He is out for some business", Augustus lied. As soon as he said this, Andrea's face fell. "You two have something and sleep. Let's talk tomorrow ok?", He patted her head and left.

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"I can't wait to meet him", Andrea chirped. We were now lying on the bed in the room arranged for us. "You will like him too Adria. My Austin is the nicest person ever", she smiled.

My Austin

Nicest Person Ever.

I repeated in my mind not being able to digest them.

Fuck! She loves him so much. Suddenly I moved forward and hugged her. I wanted to live every moment I have with her now. Cause tomorrow once she knows everything she is gonna hate me.

She hugged me back. "I always imagined this moment with you when mom talked about you", she said. "I never met you but I still missed you, my baby sister", she said kissing my head.

"Let me sleep like this please", I cried resting my head on her chest. He hugged me even tighter and we both drifted to sleep.

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The next morning I woke up earlier than Andrea. She was sleeping soundly so I quietly got up and went to freshen up. I had a quick shower wanting to stay beside her, spending as much as time I could with her.

Once I was out of the bathroom I smiled at her, she was sitting on the bed waiting for me. She smiled back at me. "Good morning", she said. I replied to her the same and went forward and kissed her cheek.

"Mom used to do the same", she said with a faint smile. I didn't know what to say after that, so I just smiled back at her.

She got up from the bed and walked inside the bathroom.

We both were helped to the dining area for breakfast. Augustus was already present there and he greeted Andrea. Andrea even introduced me to him which he ignored.

"Is he here?", Andrea asked. Augustus didn't say anything but her question was answered by the man himself.

"Angel", he called from behind us and we both turned our heads.