Days passed, and she began to think of ways she could leave. Her main thought process included waiting for a day when Caius was entirely occupied and leaving with Gideon. As she sat at the dining table, Toby interrupted her thoughts, placing an envelope on the table.
"This was specifically written for you, miss." He nodded and left.
Opening the white paper, she unraveled neat handwriting with the name Nathaniel written on top. At this point, she had no trust in anyone in this mansion or anyone with even the thinnest connection to the Constantine family. She began to read. It did not have much, but she felt heaviness through every word.
Nathaniel -
Apologies for the long absence Ette. I need to talk to you. Tonight. The Kitchen. (Trust me this once please.)
See you soon.
She wondered what the right decision would be. How he managed to send this to her without Caius noticing was beyond her imagination, and she never bothered to look into the depth. One last time, before she leaves, she wanted to listen to what he had to say. The times when she felt lonely and he seeped into the cracks—always showing up to make stupid jokes and have conversations with her—must be repaid by one act of letting him speak on his behalf.
When evening drew near, Odette put Gideon to play with his new friends, and with the assurance Toby gave her, she set off to the kitchen under the pretense of cooking something for her son. She was partially ready to start making something just in case Caius showed up, yet the faint shadow of someone else being inside the kitchen confirmed that this talk would not take much time. Nathaniel was already there.
Just as he saw her, relief washed over him. "Odette." He rushed toward her and gave her a hug. With one push, she leaned away, leaving him confused.
"I don't think you should do that after what you did that night, Nathaniel." Odette looked away in anger. "What do you want to tell me?"
Eyes wide and in shock, it started connecting to him. This was despicable! How could Caius even walk this earth after being so manipulative? He stepped forward, trying to hold her arm, but knowing that Caius had successfully turned her against him and blamed him entirely, he held back.
"Ette." He sat down on the counter in disbelief. "I am sorry to tell you this, but that night Caius sent me away suddenly, saying that he had a mission for me." He watched how this gained her full attention. She stared in utter disbelief. Nathaniel continued slowly, lest she become overwhelmed.
"It was not me who did that to you." He raised his hands, gesturing that he surrendered and for her to take it slow. "Whatever happened to you that night, I was not even in the mansion—and my men can vouch for that. I can even bring them to you."
She touched her lips gently and felt them shake. "What?"
When he saw how she reacted, his heart pounded heavily. This was saddening to see. Once again, he was not able to protect the person he loved. He watched her slowly walk away.
"I know you're surprised, you're scared, and I don't know how much pain you might feel now." He slowly stepped toward her. "It really was not me—I would never do something like that."
"Someone kissed me, held me suddenly!" Odette exclaimed loudly, eyes brimming with tears. She realized she was too loud and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. Then she whispered slowly, "Someone kissed me, Nathaniel... who was it?"
He held her by her shoulders. "Listen, Odette, I want you to leave this place as soon as you can." Nothing was getting inside her mind—the only thought was a question. A big, capitalized question. Why would anyone do this to her?
"Odette..."
This was all her fault. She felt her heartbeat pain and twist inside her chest. She should have minded her own business when she passed Caius that cursed night. If he had never seen her, he would never have dragged her into this hellhole of a mansion filled with scary people. They would not even think twice before kissing someone or pulling them to their chest—being intimate without a second thought of conviction.
Nathaniel panicked as she stood right in front of him, looking into thin air, eyes tearing up and lips shivering. He shook her once, and her thunderstruck eyes met his. He nodded with the gentlest smile he could muster and soothed her. "Odette, let's leave, okay? I'll take you away, okay?"
"Who was it?" she muttered, her voice cracking. "You know, right?"
These words were poison for him. Nathaniel wanted Caius dead. He wanted this whole bloodline burned into ashes. He sighed and asked softly,
"Can I hug you, Ette?"
She stared at him for a few seconds and slowly, with falling streams of grief, nodded. He wasted no time, engulfing her in his arms, slowly patting her back as she started to weep. Her cries were loud, and she had to push her face into his chest as he grazed the back of her head, eyes bloodshot, looking away.
"Please take me away..." she cried like a child begging to be set free. "Please take me away from this place, Nathaniel."
"I will, Ette..." His eyebrows furrowed, and his face hung low. "I'm so sorry I left."
The kitchen that held so many memories now sunk under her cries. He held her close to his chest, and she muffled her screams so Caius would not come and kill her only friend—who had remained faithful and had been hurt as well because of her actions.
She returned to her bedroom, and her head spun painfully. Invisible hands seemed to stretch her ears apart. Gideon was luckily asleep, and Toby was of great help. He noticed that she was not in a good position to take care of the child when she returned from the kitchen.
"I found out that the East and West minor families will launch an attack soon." Sitting beside each other, Nathaniel started when he finally managed to calm her down.
"Why are they attacking their own family?" Odette scrunched her eyebrows, sniffing. Truly, Caius was capable enough to lay waste to all of them. Were they not aware of it? What was going to happen to this place?
She stared at the other, whose eyes wandered off to heavy thoughts. He finally smiled with difficulty, facing her. "I will come to get you before they attack the mansion."
She fiddled with a wooden spoon. "They... they will kill him?" Eyes unblinking and face filled with uncertainty, she questioned, "Will they even kill Toby... Diana... Sammy the bookkeeper... and even Daniel and—"
"You feel bad for them?" Nathaniel interrupted. To this question, she nodded slowly. "It's not their fault they were born into a family like this and were bound to work."
He sighed. "True."
A few seconds passed, and suddenly he grabbed her attention by nudging her. "Remember to never drink from the water that's going to be kept for them, okay?"
Odette pursed her lips and nodded.
"It's not like you will attend the gathering," he added.
"They are going to attack a gathering?!" she shot up from her seat, eyes widened. "That's a lot of innocent people!"
Now sitting in her own solitary bed, she reminisced about what he assured her before leaving. "No one who is innocent will be hurt. Trust me, Ette."
"I sure hope so."
The next few weeks, she spent her time mainly with Gideon, making sure he would be safe from the impending doom that was about to cause havoc upon this family. She began to keep him by her side often and only trusted Toby to take over when her work distracted her. Nathaniel, too, visited her; however, he could not enter through the gates and always ended up sneaking in through a secret passage he often referred to but which she had never seen.
Things began to slowly mend between them, and the trust that had once been broken through misunderstanding faded away with every conversation. It was a week before the gathering. Odette's heart began to flutter, imagining the sense of freedom that would wash over her when she finally would be able to go home with Gideon.
That day, she was boiling some water infused with vanilla essence and tea leaves to prepare a cold beverage for her son and Nathaniel.
"Did you make sure to pack everything?" he asked, sitting on the counter, gazing at her face, which was distracted by the brewing. He watched her smile and gently nod with a low hum. It was true that he wished for her to be free, but there was a silent plea in his heart that she would go back home with him—to his home, to be with him.
"This week, I'll make you all the desserts you like," she said, looking back and smiling. It lit up the whole room for him. His chuckle paired well with the crisp breeze of the daytime.
Every ray of light, however, attracts darkness.
Away from them both, at the entrance, a resonant low voice shattered the peace and quiet.
"How nice of you."
Nathaniel stood up from the counter, placing himself in front of Odette in haste. She looked away from the boiling pot of tea, eyes scrunched, wondering why Caius' presence earned such an intense reaction from the younger man.
Blood boiled inside his stomach. After going through so much effort to hold him off, how on earth was he able to step foot in here again? Eyes void of emotion, Caius slowly walked in, standing in front of Nathaniel. His gaze froze against the younger man for a few seconds, daring him to even breathe without permission. Caius watched as the other raised his head high, challenging him to see what would happen.
"Caius." Her voice broke the tension. He tilted his head, still holding his stare with the other man, and with a slow smile shifted it upon Odette.
Her heart thumped loudly. She remembered how she once thought that this man, with his gummy smile, could be someone better than the stranger who had stolen her kiss. But all he ever did was lock her inside this mansion.
"You rarely come to see me," Caius slurred his words and began to walk toward her. She instinctively stepped back, hitting a cup of freshly squeezed lemon off the counter. With one swift motion, Nathaniel managed to stand in front of her, acting as a barrier to prevent the other from approaching.
"But you spend a lot of time with my dear cousin here." Growling it out, Caius grabbed Nathaniel by the throat and began to squeeze tightly.
It happened so fast that Odette could not snatch the younger man away.
"CAIUS!" she exclaimed and rushed forward, tightly latching onto the arm that was torturing her only friend in this mansion.
"Let go of him!" she cried, trying to pry his fingers off Nathaniel's neck. Caius watched in awe, chuckling. With bated breath, Nathaniel began to push her away, but it only made her scratch, pull, and hit Caius's arm harder.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Odette." Caius held him by the neck, maintaining eye contact with her. His face writhed in anger and murderous intent. With a low chuckle, he whispered, "Am I hurting your friend?" faking a somber look of grief.
Eyes brimming with tears, Odette had enough. She bellowed in his face, "LET GO OF HIM!"
It was evident that he did not intend to let Nathaniel leave this place alive. In response to her screaming, his eyes hardened and his jaw tightened. With one swift move, he threw the younger man away and swiftly shifted his clutch upon her jaw, crushing it close to his face.
Nathaniel was thrown hard, his head dizzy, soon finding himself hitting the counter's corner before falling onto his back. When his vision cleared, Caius was towering over Odette, one hand holding her face up.
"Caius! Don't even TRY to hurt her!" Nathaniel shouted, wincing in pain that hissed within his throat. He held his chest and heaved.
"You!" Odette bit her lip and forced her tears to stop. Their faces were inches apart; she could see how his dark pupils grew larger with rage. His voice spat venom, and she could feel his fingers tightening around her jawbone.
"Seems like it hurts you when I hurt him," Caius smiled, his eyes tracing every part of her face. "Does it bother you that much?" He tugged at her.
"Let go... of me," Odette demanded. Her round eyes were already wet with tears; they traveled down and landed on her shirt. Even in fear, she had to stand her ground. "I don't want to see you!" She grabbed his hands, trying to push him away. "Get away from us!"
Caius tightened his jaw, breathing heavily. He backed her into the counter and held her collar with his other hand. "What about all the days you said I treated you well?" He tilted his head. "All the times we spent together?" His eyes were wild, searching for answers to this sudden change.
Odette could not take it anymore and screamed, "YOU LIED TO ME!" She began to cry. "You lied to me when I came to you with a vulnerable heart!" She used the hand which pushed him away to hit him.
Caius stared at her in disbelief. Soon, realization dawned on him, and he gulped. "Odette... I wanted to—"
"He was the one who kissed you!" Nathaniel staggered to his feet.
When she heard this, her ears began to sound like a broken radio line. Her vision blurred, everything around her slowing down. She forced herself to look at Nathaniel and began to shake her head.
"What..."
"Daniel!" Caius shouted, and his guard emerged from the entrance, bowing his head. "Take this imbecile down."
With one swift command, she watched as her friend staggered back. Caius shifted his eyes to see Odette struggling in his clutches, her breathing shaky.
"Young Master Romano, please excuse me," Daniel said, walking toward Nathaniel. Before anyone could react, he landed a heavy punch on his face. The other fell down. This opened the way for the guard to lock him in a position where his arms were tightly held behind his back, away from any free motion.
"Caius." Odette looked at him, pleading with her eyes. "I'm sorry I said those words to you and hurt you," she blabbered quickly. "Let him go. I wanted him to be here—it was I who told him to come, even when he refused."
"Odette, don't say that!" Nathaniel wriggled, attempting to free himself, but he only received another punch to his face, this time leaving a purple mark and a bleeding lip.
Watching all this, Caius could not help but laugh. He stepped closer to her, pressing into her.
"So, what if I lied to you?" His eyes changed from smiling to a death stare. "What if I kissed you?" His fingers crushed her cheeks together. "If I bring you here, I get to do what I want with you."
"YOU!" Nathaniel screamed. It ached to see her trapped by Caius, her face painfully held and tears streaming down. "Get away from her! You kissed her! You did it!"
He struggled to break free, but Daniel, despite seeing the chaos unravel before him, silently held the young master from doing anything rash.
Lips trembling, Odette said, "It's true that I saved you." She used both her hands to grab Caius by his collar. "It's true that I felt bad seeing you lie there on the ground... with blood all over." Her heart broke into pieces, and her eyes poured streams. She cried loudly. "I don't wish I never helped someone in need, but this is not how you treat someone who saved you!"
Her tears could not be stopped, and Caius watched as she broke down into a weeping mess.
"That's not the only reason," he spat. "You don't know what you did to me!" He pointed at Nathaniel. "Take a look!" Their noses nearly touched. "I hate how close you are and how happy you are with him!" he bellowed in her face.
"Why did you do it?" Odette cried. "Why did you do that to me!" She began to hit him and push him away, her mind a mess. She did not want to be here anymore.
"I hate you!"
"That's too bad." Caius grabbed her hands easily with his free hand and pulled her against his chest. She looked away and tried to step back, but the counter stopped her, sending pain through her back as Caius cornered her. He leaned closer, tilting his head, lifting her face to lock eyes with him.
"I have already decided that you are mine," he growled. "What is mine is mine only!"
"Leave her alone, Caius! Don't!" Nathaniel gave his last effort, trying to break free. He suddenly spotted the glass that had fallen on the floor, and with one heavy swing of his body, freed one arm, grabbed it, and smashed it against the guard.
In the speed of lightning, Caius was dragged away by his neck, a punch landing on his jawline, and Odette was set free.
Before she could even imagine what would unfold next, Nathaniel grabbed her hand and ran toward the kitchen entrance. He pushed her out and heaved, "Go... I'll hold him off. You go now!"
"But..." she felt her legs go weak. "But you..."
Behind him, she saw Caius regaining his footing, his eyes shining with an emotion that sent shivers down her spine. They were fixed on her.
"Go, Odette!" Nathaniel pushed her away and closed the kitchen door tight.
Every emotion that could have overwhelmed her struck at once, and with heavy breathing, she turned back, walking fast... faster, limping a bit now and then, running off to find a safe place to hide.