It's was during the sunset when the Donovan's staircase creaked beneath my feet as I'm trying to balance myself with an armful of blankets, determined not to trip my feet.
Sophia had asked me to grab them from the upstairs closet for cleaning, and I wanted to prove that I could manage this task without any incident.
But, the harder you try to prove yourself, the more the world will rise against you. At the very last step of my feet, I can feel my heel were caught into the edges of the staircase.
My world tilted. Suddenly, a strong hands gripped onto my waist before I could tumble myself down the stairs, steadying me against a broad chest.
My breath left me in a startled gasp, and I found myself staring into Tristan Donovan's dark eyes.
For a moment, both of froze, and neither of us moved. His presence was overwhelming. His hands were firm but not harsh, and his gaze locked on mine as if the rest of the house had fallen away.
"You're clumsy as ever, Ellie," he murmured, his voice being low, almost with the teasing tone.
Heat rushed to my face. "I didn't ask for your help, Tristan," I said, more defensive than what I meant.
His lips twitch, as if he found my stubbornness is an amusing act. Yet his hand is still holding me without the intention of releasing me. I could feel his fingers lingered a second too long on my back before he finally took a stepped back, leaving me both relieved and disappointed.
I tightened my grip on the blankets, with hope he didn't notice my racing pulse.
"Your face is red," he mused. "Are you shy because you almost tumble down the stairs with all the blankets in your hands?" he teased.
"You have grown up Ellie, you should know how to be careful," Tristan said softly, yet his tone carrying a stern tone. "You know how clumsy you can be and not every time someone will be there to save you from your own clumsiness," he continued.
I was so damn angry that I could feel the tears started to build up in my eyes. But I refused to back down.
"You are not my brother, Tristan. You don't have to use this tone just to spite me," I raged.
I turned my back to him and ran upstairs into Sophia's room. I thrown down all the blankets to the ground and sat in the corner of the room while hugging my legs, almost crying.
His words stayed with me for long after I escaped into Sophia's room, the blankets long forgotten on the ground.
The words, the tone, it somehow felt like a warning, maybe even a threat. But I can't help feeling the way he said my name, something curled inside me, something dangerous, something I wasn't sure if I wanted to resist.
Alone in the quiet, with my head pressed down to my leg, I could not help but thinking, why did it feel like I'd just stepped into the middle of a storm?