21. The Hill of venting out

Two weeks and three days. That's how long it has been since I last saw Arthur Leoline. Two weeks and three days since the movie night we had with Caroline. I woke up the next day to a warm but empty bed.

I didn't think much about it for the first few days. Caroline kept me busy until her mother dragged her back to the sea and then I was all alone in the house. My house. It was always supposed to be this way. That's how I've been living for years now. Then one evening when I was sitting in my living room, I realized I could hear the sound of wind around me and it was biting at me. I was no longer comfortable with silence. It was a discovery that made me stay up all night on the same couch Arthur sat countless times arguing with me.

Midway through the second week, I knew I had to get used to the silence sooner than I was calculating. I would have left the place to visit my parents had it not been for the warm bed I woke up to every morning.

Even if I can't see him I know he's here every night. Going away means letting his animal suffer alone. I can't do that. I'll have to see that the transition goes as smooth as possible for the Lion. That's the last and the only duty I'll do as his spirit-given mate.

"Amy are you listening?" Sophie jerked my knee dragging my attention back to her.

"Yes" I croaked and then cleared my throat to repeat "Yes, of course. Where were we?"

"What were you thinking?" She asked.

"Nothing" I shook my head hurriedly "What was so important that it brought you both here together first thing in the morning?" I looked at the two of them pointedly.

Sophie is the head of finance while Mia handles the technical branch. Their offices are on different floors of the building.

"Alice sent me a few pictures and clips last evening" Mia said "Of the Leolines" she added almost guiltily.

"I thought I told Alice to stop keeping track of that case" I gritted out.

"How can you be careless about your own future?" Sophie asserted "We need to be ahead in the game. We can't let them catch you off guard. They are predators Amy, aren't you scared for yourself?"

"Okay" Mia said calmly "Let's not fight about it. Going by Alice's report, this will be over soon"

"Do you really believe that?" Sophie asked "I personally think Amy will never be safe from them. I just don't see....."

"Arthur took Rhea to meet his family yesterday" Mia said cutting Sophie off. They both then looked at me expectantly.

I nodded "I know"

"You know?" "Arthur told you?" They spoke together.

"Yes, I know and no, Arthur didn't tell me. Rhea told me"

"Rhea?" Sophie frowned "Why's she talking to you?"

I shrugged "She apparently has no friends. Coming out of her mate's mess was a lot for her and she had no time to socialize. She rang me one day and we talked. She has been calling every other day now"

"That's one weird predator" Sophie commented "I guess being held captive does that to you. She must feel closer to us than the predators"

"You are so insensitive" Mia shook her head disapprovingly at Sophie and turned to me "Next time she rings divert her call to me. I'll handle her"

"It's fine Mia"

"No it's not" she said firmly "You shouldn't be dealing with her emotions added to your own. It's your time to focus only on yourself"

"That's what I said" Sophie grumbled in agreement "Anyways looks like the deal is almost done with now that he has introduced her to the family we should be hearing the wedding bells soon. It's time to party"

"You just need a reason to party" Mia rolled her eyes.

Sophie winked at her "I sure do. My mom's babysitting the kids so we have the house to ourselves. You guys are welcome any time after six. Oh! And do bring the best wine you got in your cabinet along"

__________

A twenty people party isn't the biggest you've seen but if half the people there are as crazy as Sophie then it's a mess. A mess you don't want to be a part of when every inch of you is screaming at you to be somewhere else.

It's ten in the night and I don't know what the Lion's usual time of coming home is. He only comes to me once I'm asleep no matter how late I sleep. That means he is trying to avoid me. So I've taken to sleeping early.

"Hey" Adam walked over to where I was standing, leaning against Sophie's terrace railing.

"Hey" I smiled back at him.

"You've been quiet all evening"

"Just tired" I forced another smile "Friday does that to people"

He laughed "It does" he agreed.

We stayed quiet for a while looking at the people dancing at the centre of the terrace.

"This reminds me of the other day" Adam continued nodding at the crowd "You never told me what happened"

Shit! Why didn't Sophie make an excuse already.

"My brother sent people to keep an eye on me" I lied smoothly, lying is a part of my profession. "They thought I was intoxicated and you were um..... trying to feel me up"

"That's...well....your brother's interesting" He was finding it hard to buy my story.

"There was an incident when I was younger" I said avoiding his gaze "It kind of forced him to look after me in this way"

"Oh! I'm sorry. Rick did mention you were sensitive to touch. I should have been careful"

His apology made me look up at him. Why couldn't it be him? He's just so right for me. He will fit perfectly in my family and among my friends. Mom will adore him.

I smiled "I'm sure Rick was exaggerating. I'm not made of glass"

"So...." He drawled leaning towards me "You are telling me that you wouldn't break if I kiss you now?"

I held his gaze confidently but my inside was a mess. I can do this, can't I? This is what I need to move on. With Adam, I can easily move on once the bond is out of the picture and I never see the lion again.

"You can test the theory I guess" I replied.

His smile turned into a grin and he slid closer "And your brother wouldn't break my bones like the bull promised the other day?"

"Do you like hospital food?" I questioned back.

He chuckled "It's on my bucket list. I have to try it once"

A smile escaped me and he took that as a positive nod. His lips met mine and my first instinct was to take a step back but his hands found the small of my back and held me steady. I forced my mind shut and kissed him back mechanically.

"I'm sorry" I said as soon as we pulled apart. That was a stupid idea.

He looked at me for a moment before flashing me a smile "It's okay. It was good to know that you aren't breakable. You know I'm only a phone call away don't you?"

I nodded smiling at him all the while wondering why it couldn't be this handsome blue eyed stallion haunting my dreams instead.

______________

It was midnight by the time I reached home. I looked around carefully before sneaking into the house. I sighed in relief when I found the house still devoid of the lion.

I quickly rushed into my bedroom and then the washroom. I jumped into the shower in the middle of the night fully clothed. I only pulled off the clothes once all the scent of the party left them. I then used a lemon based bodywash to scrub myself over and over again. I had already washed my mouth after the kiss but just to be on the safe side, I brushed my teeth twice and washed my face until it turned red.

Satisfied with the effort I put to do away with the evidence of the evening, I pulled on a fresh pajama and top and quickly sunk into my bed.

There's very little chance of Arthur finding out about this evening's stupidity but even if he does, I did hire a bodyguard (stronger and scarier looking than Keith) to ghost Adam after Arthur threatened me the last time. I didn't want to take a risk again. The multiple hospital trips over the years is already a part of the list of sins written against my name. I don't want to add more to that list.

With those thoughts running in my head, I drifted off to sleep.

.

I had barely slept for two hours when the shrill ringtone of my phone woke me up.

It took a moment for me to adjust to the darkness. I scoffed at my own disappointment on finding the space next to me empty. Pulling my phone from the side-table, I sighed at Sophie's name on the screen. She has a habit of drunk-calling people.

"Soph it's three in the morning" I groaned into the speaker "Go bother your husband"

"Amy you need to come here this instant" I frowned at the urgency in her tone "Shit. I shouldn't have invited him" She mumbled, clearly panicking.

I sat up in attention. My heartbeat increased with each passing moment. "Where?" I asked.

"Hilton's" she managed to say.

"I'll be there in fifteen" I said disconnecting the call.

I shoved the comforter away and rushed to my wardrobe. Grabbing the first pair of clothes I hurriedly changed into them while climbing down the stairs. I was in my car within three minute of the phone call.

I received a call from the security firm on my way to the hospital. They were at the hospital too.

.

I was holding my breath as I opened the door to Adam's hospital room. Adam was lying on the bed in the centre of the room with his right hand in a sling, a band-aid around his head, one of his eyes was wrapped up too. Other than that he had small band-aids all over his face.

"I'm so sorry Adam" I rushed towards him ignoring Sophie, Ricky and the other man in the room.

"Did you bring me hospital food?" he asked grinning which resulted in him winching and the smile fell off his face.

"Spirits I'm so sorry"

I am so stupid. Why did I do this to him? How did Keith reach Adam in the middle of the night? I'm going to kill that bastard and his master.

"You should be" The stranger spoke from the other side of the bed "Adam's got a broken bone"

"Shut up Jack" Adam slapped Jack's head with his good hand "Ignore my brother" he told me.

"I shouldn't have done what I did today. I'm so sorry. I dragged you into my mess"

"Amelia, I'm fine really. This will heal soon" He pointed at his wrapped up hand "You should check on the bodyguard and his backup that you hired. I was soon sidelined as they handled the Lion until the authorities arrived.

"Lion?" My head snapped to where Sophie was standing silently.

She nodded in affirmation.

Is he okay?

"Yes" Adam continued "I was expecting your brother but the lion was a refreshing new tactic I suppose"

"I am sorry" I repeated, my mind still on Arthur and why he was the one attacking and not Keith "Are the security team okay?"

"Two of them had to be operated" Ricky informed me "They are out of danger now. The others have been given first-aid"

"Did you really hire a body-guard for me?" Adam asked sounding troubled.

"I'm sorry I had to after the incident in the pub" I answered honestly "I know you have questions but the less you know, the sooner you will get out of this mess. I am feeling guilty enough for dragging you into this. I don't want to hurt you anymore"

"Is someone blackmailing you?" he asked.

"She's fine Adam. We are dealing with the crisis" Sophie came to my rescue.

"I need to see them" I said more to myself than to the others in the room "I'll be back soon, Adam. I'm so sorry"

He nodded still looking troubled.

"We received a hefty sum of money and a not-so-subtle threat a little while ago" I stopped at Jack' words "Care to explain that?"

"I was asleep thirty minutes ago" I told him "You will have to give me a little time to grasp the situation. I'll answer you once I get my questions answered"

I looked at Adam one last time before leaving the room.

All of the men were alive and breathing. The severely injured ones, who dared to take on Arthur were both predators and hence will heal faster. It took me an hour to wrap up with the security firm. Apparently the Leolines had already settled things with the firm.

Before going back to Adam I called the only person who I knew would answer my calls, Keith.

"Is he okay?" I asked after the bull picked up after the first ring.

"Yes"

"Where is he?"

"I'm driving him home. The authorities held him" he replied.

"He's next to you right now" I stated.

"Yes"

"Right" I gritted out "Do the Leolines know now? Should I be afraid?"

"Only Alison" he replied "She's our lawyer. We managed to pull things under control. Your angle is out of the picture now"

Alison Leoline is the middle child of George and Scarlett Leoline and that's all I know about her. She's not a camera-lover like her older sister nor a media-favourite like her much younger brother. So I do not know what to make out of the new piece of information.

"Right" I repeated before disconnecting the call.

I leaned against the white hospital wall and closed my eyes trying to control the swarm of emotions inside me. I'll have my chance to vent it all out. But for now: Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

.

Adam was discharged the following day. I remained in the hospital most of the time with him telling him how sorry I was and yes watching him as he ate hospital food. He hated it. So we decided never to get him to hospital again.

The headlines next day read:

'Wild lion attacks citizen at midnight before disappearing into the forest'

I sent a bottle of wine and flowers with an apology note to Adam's home the next day. And with that I closed Adam's chapter in my life.

With a heavy heart I will now have to make a new list of 'Men I would like to lose my virginity to'.

Maybe I should wait until Arthur's off the radar this time before doing something this disastrous.

As a silent protest to what Arthur did, I didn't return home after that night. I knew he would still be home every night to sleep in my bed while ignoring me completely. I slept in my office.

.

Once the hype around the lion was settled in another week, I asked my brother to take me to our hill. He didn't question me. We have this silent rule to not question each other when we want to go to the hill.

He took a detour of our town and took me to the hill one morning. He parked the car at the base of the hill and I climbed out of the car leaving him behind.

I made my way to the top of the hill with some effort and looked around myself. There was no one other than my brother within thirty miles of this place.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and yelled at the top of my lungs. All the pain that I felt, the humiliation, the helplessness, the disappointment....the love, I cried it all out. There was no one to hear me, no one to judge me. It is the one thing that kept me sane through the years.

By the time I made it back to the car, the sun was overhead.

"You okay?" Harvey asked.

"Perfect" I nodded looking ahead.

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No Arthur in this chapter :D but there will be a lot of him in the next one and it will come in a day or two at max. I'm working on it. I have a target of finishing this story before the end of this month :D

Happy reading :):):)