Kaya spun and took a step back, effectively planting her against the wall. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. She didn't know if she would dare try.
Richard Aberdeen, a smirk upon his still-handsome face, took a single step toward her. "Your mother was beautiful, too."
Was.
The word shouldn't have made Kaya shudder, but it did. It shouldn't have provoked her anxiety and fear, but it had. A single past-tense word from Richard Aberdeen's lips brought the kind of bone-wracking terror that only he could.
"What? Nothing to say?" Richard turned diagonally, but his step still brought him closer to Kaya's corner. "No questions?"
Of course she had questions. Kaya had so many questions they choked her. But she couldn't bring herself to speak any of them. Not here, not now. The situation, itself, didn't allow it.
"Say anything, little one. Let me hear your voice. Is it like your mother's, as well?"
Originally, Kaya had no intention of following any of his instructions, but the way he kept bringing up her mother ticked her off. How dare he speak about Kaya's mother when he was the cause of all her suffering?
Kaya lowered her chin and pinned him with her best glare. "You never truly loved my mom."
"Oh, didn't I?" Richard laughed. "If I didn't love her, how did you come into existence, hm?"
"I don't think those two things are connected for you." The words came out quieter than Kaya would have liked. They lacked sincerity, lacked the boldness she wanted to exude.
For the first time, Richard stopped moving. Absolutely froze. The smirk on his face faded, then returned with a malice so fierce that Kaya shivered.
"If I didn't love your mother, would I have made such a mistake? Would I have created a flaw for myself?"
A flaw. A mistake. That's all he ever cared about. Kaya wrinkled her nose, stood to her full height, and took a step away from the wall.
"So you loved her despite the fact she was a flaw? What kind of love is that?"
"The greatest love." Richard turned to face Kaya, took another step closer. "The kind that transcends all the reasons why two people shouldn't be together. The kind that doesn't bother with traditions and principles, but only with two hearts finding each other."
"You never gave her the respect she deserved!" Kaya stomped her foot. "You never loved her or you wouldn't have married someone else!"
Richard's advance came unexpected. A few ferocious steps that sent Kaya right back against the wall. His hands lifted, reaching out as if he wanted to wrap them around Kaya's neck, but he managed to stop his fingers before they reached their target.
A vein in his neck stood out as Richard struggled to rein in his anger. "Don't you dare to judge what I feel for your mother."
"You wanted her to kill me, how is that love?"
"One mistake is enough. Two is reckless."
"No wonder she left you. You could never love her as she deserved."
"Your mother and I will never love anyone besides each other," Richard hissed.
Kaya shook her head. "That's not true and you know it. My mother figured you out, and that's why she left. You're a pitiful excuse for a human being."
"Shut up!" Richard slammed a fist against the wall beside her head. "Shut up about your mother!"
"I won't! She's mine, too."
"You're not a part of our lives. You never will be. You're just a mistake that I must correct."
Voices rose on the other side of the restroom door.
Richard took a step back. "Don't think that you can use the media to save yourself. There's always a bigger story to cover up your little love affair."
"I'm not going to run or hide from you anymore," Kaya declared.
"Good." Richard smoothed a hand over his slicked-back hair. "I look forward to our little game."
With that, he turned and retreated.
Kaya watched him go, waiting for him to disappear. Then she allowed her legs to give out beneath her, slid down the wall, and dropped her head into her hands.
Tears? Kaya wanted to cry them, but she couldn't find the strength. Things were getting difficult, but there was no backing out now. Not when the gauntlet had so clearly been thrown.