Chapter 159: A Change of Heart
Enzo
After dinner and my brief conversation with my father, I decided to go back to my room for the remainder of the night where I could plan out my escape in peace. I spent some time pacing back and forth in my dark room, wondering how I could get out of this mansion and find someone who could open a portal for me.
I wasn’t in my room for long, however, when I heard a knock on the door. Someone tried the handle before I could even answer, but it was locked. Then, suddenly, I heard a key slide into the door. The door came unlocked and opened, revealing Selena standing there.
She was still in her red dress with her hair perfectly styled. Without a word, she stormed across the room and shoved me down on the bed, taking me by surprise, then lifted her skirt and climbed on top of me. I hardly had any time to even react before she began kissing me roughly.
“You’re so hot when you stand up to my daddy like that,” she moaned, kissing my ear and my neck. “I love a man who has so much self confidence. ”
Gulping, I gently pushed Selena off of me and wriggled away from her, causing her to frown.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, pushing her lower lip out in a pout. “You’re not seriously still thinking about her, are you?”
Truthfully, of course I was only thinking about Nina… But I shook my head and sat up, taking Selena’s hand in mine. “Of course not,” I lied. “I promised I would love you… I’m just not ready quite yet to take things further.”
Selena was silent for a moment, glowering at me. “You’re saving yourself until marriage?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yes.” Another lie.
Thankfully, my lie seemed to satisfy her. She stood and smoothed down her skirt, flashing me a coy smile. “That’ll only make it more exciting, I suppose,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I suppose the wedding is only just a few days away. I can wait.”
A few days? I had thought that the wedding would still fall on New Year’s Eve, just like my father told me… Why was it so rushed now?
Before I could get any words out,
Selena quickly spun around and sauntered over to the door. “Well… I’ll be going to bed, I suppose,” she said. ” My room is just down the hall. I’ll leave the door unlocked, just in case you change your mind…” She brought her hand to her lips and blew me a kiss, then bit her lower lip before sauntering out of my room.
Finally, I was alone again.
The wedding couldn’t seriously be in just two days… That would mean that I had to get out of here now. There wasn’t enough time to sit here and puzzle over what to do.
I sat in my room, waiting for a little while in case Selena came back, before I silently creeped over to the door and poked my head out. The hallway was dark and quiet, and I was able to slip out unseen.
As I walked briskly and quietly down the hallway, I didn’t have a specific plan in mind; I only knew that I would get out, run as far and as fast as I could, and eventually I was bound to find someone who could open a portal for me. Maybe I could even find Luke and we could go home together. I was confident that he was still alive, somehow, and decided that I would head back in the direction where I last saw him. Hopefully, he would still be around there… Without Edward, of course.
I came to a set of winding stairs and quietly made my way down, taking care not to let my shoes click on the marble floor as I stayed on my toes. When I got a little ways away from the mansion, I would shift so I could run faster. But for now, I couldn’t shift until I was certain no one would see me. If anyone saw me shifting, it would certainly raise the alarms and I would probably wind up being caught again before I could make it very far.
When I came down to the bottom of the steps, I looked both ways down the dark corridors before choosing to go left. This place really was like a maze, and it was entirely unfamiliar to me; I could only hope that I was going in the right direction.
Suddenly, a guard rounded a corner and started to come my way. I quickly darted into a small alcove behind a plant, holding my breath…
But someone clapped their hand over my mouth.
I started to panic.
“Shh…” It was my father. My eyes widened in surprise; why was he here? Was he trying to help me hide, or was he trying to stop me from escaping? Either way, we both stayed silent as the guard approached. Thankfully, the guard turned down another hallway before crossing our path and we both let out a sigh of relief. My father released his grip on me and I stumbled away from him, narrowing my eyes.
“What are you
“This way,” my father interrupted, gesturing for me to follow. I watched as he briskly walked down the hallway, then decided to take my chances and follow him.
Did he have a change of heart for some reason?
My father walked over to a doorway and looked over his shoulders before silently pushing the door open, then stepped inside. I followed. The room was just a small storage room, hardly big enough for the two of us.
“What are you doing?” I whispered once my father closed the door behind us. He reached up then and pulled on a string to turn on the light; once I could see better, I could tell now that his eyes were red, as though he’d been crying.
“Enzo, what you said earlier really struck me,” he said quietly, grabbing me firmly by both shoulders as the
looked deeply into my eyes. “I’m sorry. For all of this.”
I was taken aback by my father’s sudden change of heart and didn’t know what to say. Before I could even say anything, however, he spoke again.
“I’m going to help you get out.”
My eyes widened. “Dad… What about the arranged marriage?”
He only shook his head. “I realize now that I saw Selena; she looks so similar to Nina. I’m certain now that Nina is the lost princess, so I’ll tell the Alpha King. He’ll be thrilled to have his second daughter back, and I’m certain that he won’t go back on our
agreement if you want to marry Nina instead.”
I was still shocked. “Dad, 1- I don’t know what to say,” I muttered. “Thank you My father paused, staring down at the ground. Then, without a word, he reached out with one hand and moved his index finger and his middle finger together in a circular motion. A portal swirled to life in front of us.
Once it was open, my father pulled me into a tight hug, which took me by surprise. “Save Mountainview, Enzo,” he said. “Save Nina. It’s what your mother would want.”
Then, suddenly, the doorknob turned and the door flung open. There stood Selena, dressed in her silk robe with wide, disbelieving eyes. Without a word, my father shoved me as hard as he could through the portal, and it began to close.
The last thing I saw was Selena grabbing my father and holding a knife to his throat from behind, her eyes red with fury as she stared into the portal.
