Flawed Pretense

Chapter 28

*Emily’s POV*

The sensation of being submerged in lukewarm water overcame me as a certain fuzziness filled my head. I groaned at the uncomfortableness of the situation, not knowing what happened or where I was. I tried to roll over and sink deeper into my bed but strangely found my arms bound tightly behind my back and my feet to the legs of a chair. Frowning, I slowly opened my eyes to find that there was hardly any light, only a single bulb illuminating the vastness of the empty room.

I shook my head, confused as I called out, “Hello?”

No response came as a sudden rush of memories flooded my mind and a gasp left my lips. I remembered what happened at the diner.

I was kidnapped. Someone ambushed me in the bathroom.

How did this happen? I—I only went to the bathroom! Someone nearly attacked me and used chloroform on me to knock me out.

But who?

Footsteps could be heard as the person leisurely approached to where I sat in the middle of the room. Of course he paused, stopping right at the edge of the light that stretched from that single bulb, staying masked in the shadows. I couldn’t see who it was, it made me more uncomfortable than I already was. It left me on edge.

I gulped nervously, wishing my hands were free so I could do something with them. I was at a disadvantage and this person knew that. I squinted into the darkness to try and see if I could make out who the person was, but to no avail. My mind was still a bit groggy from the chloroform, so I sat there practically defenseless.

The person finally spoke in a gruff voice, stepping forward into the light. “It seems like the princess is up now,” He said to me as he mocked the nickname given to me by Ian. And the way he said it, I didn’t like it all. It didn’t feel right. Only Ian should be using it.

Now that I could clearly look at his face, I quickly realized I had no idea who he was. It was a man who looked to be in his late forties, and rather tall with dirty blonde hair. I tried to rack my brain to see if I recognized him at all, but nothing came up. I had absolutely no idea who he was; that seemed to bother me more.

“W-who are you?” I asked in a small voice, mentally scolding myself at how weak and scared I sounded. 

A booming laugh erupted from his lips as he threw his head back maniacally, making me slightly jump in my spot. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” The man taunted with a glint in his eye. “It’s a shame that we were never formerly introduced—I was always there.”

By my expression he knew I didn’t have a clue on what he was going on about, so he continued. “My apologies, I’m not making much sense am I? Well, you see,” He started as he sauntered dangerously close to me. I glared at him, but the man only smirked in my direction. “I have been keeping tabs on you for a very long time, Emily. You want to know when this all started?”

I didn’t respond but it didn’t matter. He answered anyway.

“Since April.”

The wicked glint in his eyes confirmed the suspicion that this man enjoyed tormenting me. Like he lived off doing these kind of things to people—or me. 

It felt like all of the air was sucked out of me as I gaped at him, not wanting to fully comprehend what he said—what he meant. I tried to swallow, but my tongue felt like sandpaper, so I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself. “Who are you?” I repeated, hopelessness filling my entire being as my gaze settled on this man.