Reiner – Paranoia

I hated to admit it, but he was right. Before the incident, I never would have thought this. However, based on the accident that almost costed me my life, I had to admit that Lucien was right.

“I am so sorry…” I apologized in a weak voice.

“There is no need to apologize. You can go now. Please wait for Reiner in your room. Do not go anywhere else until Reiner has returned to your room. Clear?” Lucien said and I could tell that he was trying to go easy on me.

“Very clear,” I replied firmly.

“Good. Reiner, please stay behind,” Lucien said flatly.

I glanced over at Reiner, and he nodded reassuringly at me before I headed out of the room. Lucien seemed very serious about my safety that I didn’t dare protest about any of the restrictions that he placed on me. Thankfully, the bodyguard that would be by my side was Reiner. I shivered just thinking about what would happen if Reiner hadn’t come back. I’ll be stuck with whoever Lucien chose and things wouldn’t get pretty.

…

Lucien waited for Natalia to leave the room before he turned his attention to Reiner. The Elders have decided to rule Natalia’s incident as an unfortunate accident which meant two things. One, they knew who was behind it and didn’t want to get involved or cause any more problems. Two, Reiner was here because he wanted to be not because the Elders wanted him to be here.

“Welcome back,” Lucien said emotionlessly.

“Thank you, Sir,” Reiner replied formally.

“Let me get straight to the point. Natalia is in danger and the elders are turning a blind eye to it. If I am not wrong, and I don’t think that I am, you have requested to return here to keep her safe regardless of what the Elders may think,” Lucien stated his theory.

“Correct, Sir,” Reiner replied smoothly.

“Good. At least, you’re being honest. Reiner, I want you to do everything in your power to keep Natalia safe. Use anything method and any means possible to keep her safe. If you need anything, let me know. I’ll get you anything. Anything that money can buy. Anything that connections can provide…”

Lucien said desperately.

It became immediately clear to Reiner that Lucien was so worried about losing Natalia that he’s just about to lose it.

“I already planned to do that even without your orders, Sir,” Reiner stated.

“Listen, I’m not asking you this as an employer. I’m asking you this as someone who cares deeply for Natalia. I know she’s in danger and perhaps she has always been…” Lucien said as his face darkened even further.

“I understand, Sir,” Reiner replied curtly.

Lucien sighed loudly.

“What else can I do to keep her safe? Should I hire more bodyguards? I can add more guards around the house. I can add more security cameras. I can have her monitored...” Lucien said as he thought about various options.

“That’s not necessary, Sir. I’ll guard her and keep her safe. I’m sure your restrictions will make her stressed enough. Please do not do anything else to make her feel panic and scared,” Reiner said seriously.

“…maybe you’re right…” Lucien replied followed by a long sigh.

“She will be fine…” Reiner said to reassure both Lucien and himself.

“I thought her father and her mother would be too…but I was wrong…” Lucien said softly before he placed a hand over his eyes.

…

Zak just received news that Natalia had returned home from the hospital. He sighed in relief as he closed his tired eyes. It has been days that he’s been pouring over the investigation behind the fire. He hasn’t been sleeping well and so has decided to pull many all-nighters instead of just tossing around in bed.

His phone vibrated on the table. Looking at the caller’s name, he found out that it was the exact same person that he needed to call.

“Zak…” an old woman’s voice called his name through the phone.

“What is it?” Zak asked sounding bored.

“I’ve been waiting for you to call,” the woman said, her voice almost a whisper.

“I guess you couldn’t wait anymore and decided to call me first, huh?” Zak said, not bothering to hide his annoyance from her.

“Take the position. Get out there and tell the world that you’ve changed your mind. That after careful consideration, you have decided to take the position,” the woman demanded as she enunciated every word.

“Is that why you did it?” Zak asked, sounding carefree.

“What choice did you leave me with this time?” she asked.

“Answer me. Is that why you did it?” Zak repeated his question, this time seriously.

“A foolish and young designer just couldn’t resist the money. She was decently happy with burning down her own boutique for some cash. I guess she figured that getting some money would be better than running a failing boutique. Look at the trash of people that you’re getting yourself involved with, Zak…” the woman spat, malice dripping from her voice.

“Why didn’t you talk to me before doing all this?” Zak asked flatly.

“Because you never would have listened! What will happen to Natalia depends on what you choose to do, Zak,” the woman hissed.

“You can’t keep her hostage like this forever,” Zak replied through clenched teeth.

“I don’t see anyone that can stop me yet…” she replied without a care.

The line disconnected before Zak had a chance to say anything else.

…

I heard a few knocks on my bedroom door and figured that it was Reiner. It didn’t take long for him to follow me to my room which meant that the conversation with Lucien didn’t last very long. I called out to him, telling him to enter.

“What did Lucien say?” I asked, first thing.

“Nothing much. He’s just worried and asked me to keep you safe,” Reiner replied smoothly.

“Oh…I see. That’s all good then,” I said with a sigh of relief.

I had imagined that Lucien would have wanted to put extra and then even more security measures in place. That would have suffocated me. Sure, I was scared of being targeted again if that incident wasn’t an accident, but still, I wanted to have some privacy.

--To be continued…