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February 8th [Rei]

“You’re not gonna stab me, are you?” Darius joked, leaning against the frame of the living room.

I shot him the deadliest glare I could muster before chucking one of the cushion’s pillow at him “I will if you don’t stop talking.” And slump back against the sofa, sighing into nothing.

After what happened yesterday, everyone was too afraid to approach and talk to me. Thus, leaving me alone to my own thoughts in the living room since breakfast ended in an awkward silence.

Darius plopped on the space next to me, hugging the pillow I threw earlier. “A penny for your thought?”

“Even if you give me a million, I still wouldn’t share em’.” I said emotionlessly.

He a sharp breath through his teeth “Harsh,”

I sighed defeatedly “I’m sorry… I’m just –”

“Stress?” I shook my head. “Paranoid?” I shook my head again. “Depress?” And Darius continued to add on whatever emotion I was feeling but couldn’t express.

“No, no, no, no!” I huffed with so much frustration in my tone, “I’m not stress, paranoid, depress, or whatever the hell you’re implying. I’m just… Lost. Like why am I here instead of going around the world and find the person who killed my grandfather. Or find out the truth about everything in my life, like my parents’ death for instance. I know that they didn’t just die in a car accident.” I threw my head back, exasperated.

For years, I’ve pondered about my parent’s death. It wasn’t any ordinary accident. It was obvious that the killer or mastermind wanted my family gone, and I would be lying if I say I wasn’t a bit curious to find out who the killer is.

I heard Darius sighing in pity, turning top of his body towards my direction, propping his elbow on the head of the sofa. “Rei, I know that it’s not my place to say this, but you need to stop blaming yourself for whatever that had happened.” I was going to cut his speech short, instead, he cut mine. “Don’t even deny it. And don’t even bull me. It’s so obvious that you are. Every morning I see you, I could feel the torment and punishment you put on your shoulders by telling yourself that you weren’t supposed to survive that hit and that you deserve to die. Your eyes speak volume – they’re hollow, distant, and cold. Where is the Rei I met three years ago?”

Standing up, I let out a frustrated groan, “She’s dead! Half of her died with her parents, and the other half perished along with her grandfather.” Irritated, I grabbed a fistful of my hair “There’s nothing left in me but a fraction of determination to find the killer, the person responsible for the death of my loved ones.”

Aggravatingly I paced around the room, I sighed and grumbled some incoherent words. “How many more people should die because of me?” I ask the question that’s been bugging me ever since the dream I had three days ago. Shaking my head, “I can’t have that burden on my shoulders forever, I will die, suffocating in guilt and pain. I need to do something; I have to do something to save them.”

Darius got up, standing before me, eyes filled with worried. “Rei, you need to breathe. You’re as pale as a sheet.” His eyes glanced down at my trembling hands, carefully, he took a step closer “Calm down. Take a deep breath, and exhale. Let’s not worry about this for today.” Darius wrapped his comforting arms around me, resting his chin on my head, gently patting my back “It’s okay, I’m here. You’re safe.”

Not a moment later, Roland, walked into the living room with a black colored envelope. That’s new. I let Darius go, but my eyes never wavered from the envelope. Being Darius’s Beta, Roland acknowledge his Alpha’s feelings towards me was only the affection of an older brother, and to me, Roland was like the second protective brother.

“What’s that?” I questioned. I could feel myself drifting towards the letter in Roland’s hand, and before I could reach it, Darius beat me to it. Damn him…

He ripped the envelope open, shielding the contents from my view by his large built frame. But, from his side profile, he looks tense. The lines on his forehead deepened followed by his deathly grip on the paper.

What’s in the letter? I wondered.

I tried to approach him, to get a peek of the words in the letter, but failed when he quickly s