Within The Bonds

70: Lemon Tart

The remaining drive is relatively short, I strongly believe it has something to do with my unwilling desire to reach there.

Pulling up in our driveway, I sigh inwardly before exiting the car and head inside. Greeted by my bodyguards at the very entrance, their presence presents as a form of solace in this situation.

"Hey," I greet them as they follow behind me as I make my way through the mansion.

"Miss. Santos," Logan acknowledges me but doesn't say a word more than that.

Ambling into the kitchen, I let my eyes roam across all my options stacked neatly on the shelves of the fridge. "Nope," I declare to myself, closing the fridge door uninterested in anything it has to offer.

Grabbing an apple for the fruit blow and a bottle of warm water, I resume my journey to my room. Tempted to go find Jack first and ask him about Liam, I dismiss that task for later, since Xavier already assured me that Liam is doing well.

"What if there's a change in his state?" I wonder to myself, as my pace slows down.

"Miss?" Logan enquires making me realize that I've been talking to myself.

"Oh...Um nothing," I dismiss. "Do you by any chance know where I can find Jack?" I add as an afterthought.

"The gym, Miss," Victor is the one to reply this time.

Alternating my gaze between the apple and bottle of water in my hand, I settle on my decision of asking him later and continue my way to my room. Unlocking my door, I stop and turn to face the two hefty men standing behind me towing my frame.

"You guys really don't need to be patrolling me inside my own home," I remark hoping that they get the message.

"Sorry ma'am, we have our orders not to let you out of our side," Logan declines my suggestion.

'It was worth a try' I reason with myself, sighing inwardly. "Okay, but can I at least be alone in my room?" I ask monotonously, trying to mask the irk my tone possessed.

"Of course," he replies, giving me a silver lining to hold on to. "As soon as we secure it," He adds promptly, while I try to refine form rolling my eyes.

Pushing open my room door, I let them in while I'm instructed to wait at the entrance. Leaning against the door frame, I watch with skepticism as they do a whole sweep of my room as though they were expecting to find something or someone hiding in there.

"You're all clear to go in," Victor concludes as he exits the room followed by Logan who adds, "we'll be outside, in case you need anything." Smiling politely at them I nod, not wanting to come off rude, knowing that they are just doing their job.

Slumping on my bed yet another sigh leaves my lips. "I need to figure out this mess soon," I muse. "When did my life become such a fiction novel?" I bury my head deeper into my pillow but immediately throw it across the room.

"Who the heck touched my pillow?" I frown, my nose scrunched up at the gut-churning odor of coconut oil coming from my once vanilla-scented pillow.

Sniffing through the rest of my bedclothes, I grumble under my breath when I smell a hint of the same pungent odor on them too. "Ms. Jonas," I conclude as the culprit knowing that she's the only one with access to my room, excluding my brothers'.

Stripping the bed of its sheets as well as the pillows, I dump everything into my laundry basket, before ransacking my closet for new sheets. Almost toppling over my own two feet, I manage to redress my bed without making an even bigger mess of the room.