Disillusioned

“I got the text message saying it wasn’t over.”

“What text message?”

“Don’t play dumb.” I opened the bag and was glad to see my keys in there.

“Bianca, what did the text message say?”

“Why should I tell you what you already know?” I looked behind me as I opened the door to my building and hurried in, running up the stairs as quickly as I could. I heard him sighing as I ran, but I didn’t say anything.

“I trust you found your apartment as you left it?”

“Why are you calling me?” I snapped.

“Bianca, listen to me. I’m not the bad guy here.”

“You didn’t kidnap me?”

“I did.” His voice was hoarse.

“And you didn’t know I am Bianca London, daughter of—”

“I knew who you are,” he cut me off. “Listen to me, Bianca, there are things that you don’t know.”

“I know that. Neither you or David have to tell me that again.”

“You spoke to David?” His voice was short and I could tell from his tone that that upset him. Why would he care if I spoke to David?

“Yes.”

“Listen to me, Bianca. David cannot be trusted.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s not your friend.”

“And you are?”

“Bianca, do you remember on the island I told you I would never let anything happen to you? You have to trust me.”

“You made a mistake letting me go. The merger’s not complete.”

“The merger’s not complete?” He repeated my words softly. “What?”

“The paperwork hasn’t been signed yet. I can still make sure it doesn’t go through.”

“The merger with Bradley Inc.?” He spoke slowly, his voice furious. “You know about that?”

“Yup, you made a mistake. It hasn’t been finalized. I read the newspaper today.”

“Fuck! It shouldn’t have been in the paper. It was meant to be private until it all went through. He lied.”

“Who lied?”

“Bianca, listen to me. Do not trust David. Please do not do anything. I’m coming back. I’m coming to see you. You’re not safe.”

“That’s what David said as well.” I opened the door to my apartment and walked in slowly, my head thudding.

“Bianca, listen to me.”

“No,” I said weakly. “I don’t trust you.”

“Bianca, I miss you. You have to trust me. I let you go as you asked. I made a—”

“Good-bye, Mattias.” I hung up quickly and closed the door behind me and leaned back. My eyes felt heavy with unshed tears and I took a deep breath. Why had Jakob called me? And if he hadn’t texted me, who had? I walked into my apartment and looked around. Everything looked just as I’d left it. I sank down into the couch and held a cushion to me. What was I going to do?

I had no idea. Tears fell from my eyes and dropped onto the cushion as I sat there. Then I remembered the envelope in my bag. I ripped it open and pulled out a letter—it was from Jakob. I stared at it for a few seconds and then sat back before reading it.

What we had was beautiful. I’m sorry I broke your trust. We were both there for a reason. I never went to take advantage of you. The feelings I had for you were real. The reasons I took you there were valid. You’re right to be afraid. I don’t control everything. You do not know everything. I will fight for the truth. My whole life has been building up to this moment. I cannot let you change that.

Jakob.

I dropped the letter on my couch and stood up in disgust. His letter meant nothing to me. He meant nothing to me. I didn’t want to remember the way he’d gone out of his way to find coconuts for me, so I could drink the water and eat the pulp. Or the hours he’d spent in the ocean trying to catch fish. Or the nights I’d spent in his arms, cuddled up next to his chest as he’d run his fingers across my hair and back, kissing me softly as his eyes told me all the other things he wanted to do to me.

He’d been playing me from the start. He’d taken me to that island with the sole purpose of making me fall for him. And he wanted to make sure that I didn’t see any money from Bradley Inc. Jakob didn’t care about me. He never had and I needed to remember that. I needed to sleep. I needed to forget him. I needed to bring him and his family down. I knew that I had to be stronger, better, wiser, more fearless. The Bradley family had fooled my parents and now me. I wasn’t going to let them get away with it again. I crawled into bed and fell into a deep sleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow.

I awoke the next morning feeling tense and uneasy, despite the sound of birds chirping outside my window. I climbed out of bed and walked into the living room, feeling disoriented. I frowned as I saw the letter on the coffee table. I could have sworn that I’d left it on the couch. My heart started thudding as I heard a loud creak behind me. I turned around quickly, but nobody was there.

Taking a deep breath, I read the letter again. All color fell from my face as I saw a note scrawled on the bottom of the paper: This is not over, Bianca. Mattias. I was positive I had not seen that part of the note the night before. That meant someone had been in my apartment when I was sleeping. I hurried to the door—it was still locked, and it didn’t look as if anyone had broken in. I heard another creak and turned around slowly, my fingers shaking as I heard a buzzing in my ears. Was someone in the apartment with me? I stood next to the door, frozen in fear. Then my phone rang. I ran over to the couch and picked the phone up, my heart racing.