CHAPTER 819: 819-PLANNING AN ESCAPE

Helanie:

"What? I killed my mother?" I pointed at my chest, and he started laughing.

"You’re acting like you don’t remember. You were just a young child yourself. But your jealousy! Jealousy is your biggest sin, Kesha," he hissed. His face showed how much he hated her. "And don’t think I’ll spare you just because you were a child. You went on to kill two more innocent people. Why? Not because you loved them, but because your love was overcome by the anger of rejection."

His words made my heart sink deeper into my chest. She killed more people? The Kesha I knew, the one I first met, was this elegant princess who showed up at the mansion for dinner when we were still students. I remembered that night clearly, so high on her grace she barely glanced at any other student. She only spoke to Kaye and his mother. She was mostly quiet, and now I knew why. She was afraid her secrets would be exposed.

"Who else did I kill?" I asked softly.

He began to grunt. "You really want me to remind you of all your crimes?" He slammed his hand on the table, making me jump.

"Because you’re accusing me of harsh stuff, I want to know if you even have the facts straight. Or are you just accusing me of murders because someone wants you to believe that?"

That was the best defense I could come up with, and he seemed to buy it. He nodded.

"Oh really? So you don’t remember that Omega guy you loved? You fell in love with him, Kesha, and that was the worst thing that could happen to him. Poor guy didn’t even know a princess falling for him would be a curse. You stalked him, got obsessed. Then you found out he was in love with someone else. So what did you do? You killed the girl. And when he caught you, you killed him. Not because you were afraid he’d tell someone, but because you knew he’d never accept you after that. You couldn’t stand the thought of the man you loved being with someone else."

He said it all in one breath, and I was left breathless. I started to hyperventilate, touching my neck and rubbing it. If she had been so brutal and escaped justice this long, then she had planned everything perfectly down to Kaye killing me. And being killed by your own mate, that was the worst thing ever. She was doing the same thing to me she’d done to that Omega guy.

"Okay, Kaye, you need to listen to me. This is all a lie. I am not Kesha, I am Helanie. You need to touch me. Come on, touch me, and you’ll realize—" As soon as I raised my hand toward him, he backed away.

"Stay away from me. Helanie wouldn’t like it," he grunted, warning me with a scowl.

I instantly stepped back, afraid he might shove me just to get distance. And since he didn’t believe I was Helanie, he wouldn’t believe I was pregnant. That meant he wouldn’t be gentle with me.

"Okay, you want to go back to the rogue community?" I took a deep breath, trying to play him. We needed to go home so my mates could find me. They were there. At least Emmet and Maximus were. They would figure out what was happening and come for me. And Norman too. Once he realized I wasn’t in Arthendel, he’d fly back. He’d know from the warriors that Kaye had taken me.

So I repeated myself to Kaye.

"Did you hear me? I know the path back to the rogue community," I said through heavy breaths.

He grunted, almost like the words disgusted him.

"I will not be taking your help. You think I’m stupid? How can I trust you? You’re not trustworthy, Kesha." He grunted, already crushing my plan. He was really hard to deal with, so I needed to be careful.

"Okay then, can you at least tell me where the bathroom is?" My knees started shaking as I realized it wasn’t going to be that easy. I was stuck with him, and he was turning murderous.

"Why would you want to go to the bathroom?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Are you kidding me? Why do people go to the bathroom?" I shot back, staring at him in disbelief.

"So they can trick someone?" He smirked as he said it.

"Well, either I pee here or I go to the bathroom," I snapped, pointing toward nowhere because I didn’t even know where it was.

After a long stare, he finally dropped his hands from his waist and walked past me, only to grab my wrist tightly and drag me with him. His touch was harsh, leaving bruises. He clearly didn’t want to be gentle.

Kesha must have told him to stay close, probably afraid my touch would hurt him. That became my focus. I would try to get him to lower his guard with me, but first, I had another plan in mind, something raw and heroic.

He led me out of the room into a large vintage-style living room with a running fireplace. The bathroom was on the side, and the kitchen sat near the cabin’s entrance. He pulled me all the way to the bathroom, then stood outside, arms folded.

"Go ahead, do your business, and don’t lock the door," he warned.

"I can’t do it with the door open," I muttered, panicking what if he caught my plan.

"I’m not going to come in and watch you, Kesha. I’m not interested. But if you take too long, I’ll open the door myself," he said, pointing a finger at me and bending down to meet my eyes.

"Then why do you care if I lock it or not? You’re a rogue king. You can break the door down in seconds, can’t you?" I challenged. I saw him pause, lost in thought for a moment.

"Fine. Do it quickly. I have things to figure out," he replied sternly. I nodded and stepped inside the bathroom.