NEFARIOUS • JJK

• 7 • revolver rage

Bella goes on dusting, with a downward curve on her face.

"Why am I sleeping here?" I break the silence. It's deafening.

She looks up and tries to form a smile. "Val brought you in, it was freezing outside. I bandaged your feet and applied some ointment on your neck. Looked like it was...hurt."

I look down and blushed recalling last night's events. My finger's unknowingly pass over my neck. "Yeah, Signore had a little outlash. I'm sorry for your sister. Where's she?"

"Thrown into a pit of corpses."

I raise up with interest. "What?"

"Everyone who dies here gets dumped there, except if they're important people. Then they're burned or shipped off," she says, with a waver of emotion in her voice. Her eyes water but she looks away before it falls. I get sad. I don't like her crying. It's almost like I see her as a motherly figure.

"I didn't know this would happen. I'm sorry, Bella," I apologise in earnest. I mean it.

"He lashes out like this often, it's not your fault. Our family has worked for the Jeons since ages. My grandfather was killed like this too, so it's not new." She's rearranging orchids and yellow carnations in a vase.

"It's my fault." I gulp the guilt but it doesn't reduce the pain. I liked the kiss but I didn't mean for the latter to happen.

"What did you do?" She turns to ask.

"I kissed him." Her hands fly to her mouth, the feather duster in her hand falls to the floor rattling. She looks more devastated by this than Angela's death. "Why? Is it that horrible? Don't you do it to Val too? He's my husband, I can kiss him."

Belladonna motions her hands for me to stop talking for a moment, processing the information. The look of absolute shock doesn't wipe away even when she sits down before me, on the floor. Takes my hands in her's. "Darling, that man doesn't enjoy the same things normal humans do. No sex, no kisses, nothing physical. Unless it's fighting or killing of some sort, which he does find pleasure in."

My look saddens even more. "So, I can't kiss him?"

"It would be better if you don't. I'm surprised you're even alive."

I bite my lip. "Why was he awake that late? I went out for a stroll but didn't expect to find him."

She leaves my hands and stands up. "Master doesn't sleep."

"For real? That's so cool." She looks at me and her head shakes as if she doesn't understand what I'm made of. I might be stupid. "How does he not sleep though?"

"He might close his eyes and rest his body for a few minutes, but I know he can't sleep. Years of work in this field rids you of the ability. He has hyperawareness too, can detect things moving, slightest of noise. Always on the go. We never know when an attack might strike," she explains and I listen carefully as I sit up straighter.

"Doesn't he get tired?"

"I don't know, darling. He might be drugging, caffeinated. Who knows? I've stopped trying to understand him, he's too knotted to begin unknotting." While saying this, she pulls me up from the sofa and leads me towards my quarter. "Now-now, take a quick shower. Master's not at the mansion and I doubt he'll come back soon. It's Sunday. Me and Val decided we'll take you out to the market place and let you roam around a little."

"What?!" I scream, nearly jump on her when she says that. It causes a sting in my feet so I hold back on it. "No fucking way!" The cheer alerted everyone and a few guns were instantly pointed at me through different places. "Relax, it's just me." I look around to see them lowering their guns with a cross look.