King of the Empire ✓| #2 |

23 - Surprise

She sent me a smiley face, making me smile.

Liam: Gonna go out for a run so I won't be able to talk further but be prepared to receive an obnoxious number of texts after.

My love: I think I might have made a mistake.

Liam: Love you!

I slid my phone into my pocket which had a zipper specifically for this reason and headed out my bedroom door. I grabbed my black sneakers before putting them on and looking around for my headphones. I spotted them on the glass table right beside the front door and walked over to them to grab them. I connected the Bluetooth to my phone and turned on my playlist.

I opened the door before I got out of the room and headed toward the elevator. When I exited the hotel, I stretched my neck and looked around the street, debating which way I should go. I moved to the right before crossing the street.

Running had always been a nice way of relaxation for me. Especially now, when my emotions were sky-high and I had possibly the biggest secret to hide.

I ran for half an hour before I stopped by a coffee shop and ordered a latte to go and a water bottle. After drinking the water and hydrating my body as much as it needed after the physical activity, I started my walk back to the hotel. I sipped on my coffee before I took out my phone and found a message from Alex.

Alex: Where the hell are you?

Alex: You need to make it to my room in the next five minutes.

I frowned as I started to type my response.

Liam: What happened? I'm coming back from a run.

Alex: It's better if you see it yourself.

I hated how biased that was and quickened my pace. There was one thing I definitely did not have and that was patience.

When I reached the seventh floor, I found Dante right by Margo and Alex's room. He knocked and as I took off my headphones his head turned in my direction.

"Good morning," I said, getting a simple nod from him. I could tell something was bothering him from the worry on his face. Just when I reached his side, Margo opened the door and urged us to go in.

I held the headphones in my hand as I stepped into the room right after Dante. Alex sat on the living room couch with his laptop on his lap. I looked up to the TV above the small fireplace and saw that it was turned on. A map was shown on it and there was a blue dot right near Rome. I frowned before I took a seat on one of the armchairs right beside the couch. Alex looked up at me and then back at his laptop. Dante kept standing behind Alex and Margo sat down right next to her boyfriend.

"What happened?" I asked before Alex pointed to the map. I looked up and frowned. "That's it? That's all you're going to give me?" Alex and I weren't on speaking terms since he unexpectedly blew up the night before the ball and now even more after he barged into my room with Margo. However, this time I couldn't blame either of them.

"The dot shows the location of the person who called you on the plane," I looked down at Alex. "I don't know how they got your number but since this morning, they have been in Rome." I frowned again.

Since this morning?

Rome?

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Margo said, aimed at me, making me snap out of my thoughts and look at her. "Everything okay?" I nodded a bit too quickly to make it seem believable. She frowned but looked away from me towards the TV.