"What is she doing here?"
Kaya instantly shivered at the hoarse edge in his voice. She clutched Damien's hand tighter and slipped behind him, hiding herself like a scared kitten. Stretching her neck a little, she peeked at the stranger with those icy blue eyes and that stone-cold tone.
The moment she noticed his gaze already fixed on her, she gulped and ducked back again. Zian clenched his jaw at her ridiculous behavior. Was she stupid? Why was she acting like he was some kind of monster?
He dragged his eyes away from her and looked at his father, ready to demand an explanation but Damien cut him off first.
"Kaya is going to stay here with us from now on."
So the little rat's name was Kaya. But... did he hear that right? She was going to live with them? In their house?
"What? But doesn't she have her own family or home?" he shot back, not caring how rude it sounded. Kaya felt the words slice through her, and her eyes dropped instantly. This time, she didn't even dare to peek at the stranger who clearly didn't want her there.
Damien's face darkened. His son's lack of manners was nothing new, but that didn't mean he wouldn't correct him.
"We are her family from now on, and this is her home too. So try getting used to it, Zian Karlson," Damien said sharply. Zian scoffed under his breath. None of this made sense. Why was she suddenly moving in?
Before he could push the topic, his phone rang. John. Perfect timing. Zian exhaled and decided to leave it for now since he had somewhere else to be anyway.
"Mum, I'm going out. I'll be a bit late, so don't wait for me for dinner," he said. Zia nodded.
"And where are you going?" Damien asked, exactly as Zian had expected.
"I'm going to my friend John's house," he replied simply, and Damien didn't ask anything more.
Zian walked past them, but right before leaving, he glanced at the tiny figure behind his father. Kaya slowly lifted her scared golden-brown eyes to him, only to flinch and look down again. She stepped back from him like he carried some disease. What a crazy little rat.
Zian mentally frowned and walked out.
Zia sighed and turned to Kaya, who looked tense and frightened. Damien gently held her small hand and pulled her forward.
"He is our son, Zian. You don't need to be afraid of him, Kaya," he said with a soft smile. If only he knew.
Kaya shook her head slightly.
"Alright, come with me. I'll feed something really tasty to my Kaya," Zia said warmly, holding her hand. A small smile finally appeared on Kaya's face as Zia led her away.
✧✧✧✧✧
"What's with this face, Zian?" John, Zian's best friend, asked while staring at the angry scowl sitting on Zian's face. Zian didn't bother replying, leaving both of his friends even more confused.
"Karlson, are you even listening to us or not?"
Zian heard Austin's voice this time.
"My father has brought a fucking little rat into our home," he finally muttered. His friends exchanged puzzled looks.
"Rat? What do you mean?" John asked, clearly lost.
"That girl who saved my mother from the accident last week. Dad brought her into our house and now she is going to stay with us," he said through gritted teeth, obviously displeased.
"What? But doesn't she have her own home or family?"
"Apparently I asked the same shit to my dad, and he shut me up by saying she is part of our family now and my home is her home," the eighteen-year-old snapped. The thought of living with that tiny, weird kid made his blood boil.
"Wow... Are your parents planning to adopt her now?" John asked, shooting Zian an amused look.
"Yeah... our dear bad boy Zian Karlson is about to get a little sib-"
"Complete that fucking sentence, Austin, and I'll make sure your nasty mouth bleeds," Zian warned sharply.
"She doesn't even deserve to be my maid, let alone a part of my family. She's a complete weirdo. The moment she saw me, she hid behind my dad like I was going to chew her alive."
Austin chuckled at that.
"She sounds fun. How old is she? I would-"
"Don't even think about it, Austin. She's only fourteen or fifteen. So keep your fucking thoughts to yourself," Zian cut him off. He knew exactly how much of a fuckboy Austin was. Zian himself wasn't a saint, but at least he knew the line between being a playboy and being a straight-up bastard. He had some dignity.
"You already sound protective of her, Dude," John teased.
Zian rolled his eyes at the word "protective." If he could, he wouldn't even let a rat like her breathe under the same roof as him.
"But seriously, what are you going to do about her?" John asked.
"First, I'm going to talk to my mum and find out why the hell Dad brought her home. Then, I'm throwing her out myself," Zian said, already imagining the satisfaction of kicking that little crazy rat out.
"Okay, enough about her. Where is Hedrick? Shouldn't he be here by now?" Zian asked, getting fed up with talking about her.
"No, Hedrick has gone out on a date with our high school diva, Daisy. He was hitting on her for the past couple of weeks and she finally agreed to go out with him," Austin informed Zian. Zian only rolled his blue eyes at the news.
"What is so special about her? She moans like a damn cow," Zian muttered, lying back on the bed with his arms crossed under his head.
"She is irritating, both as a person and in person."
"How do you know that, Karlson?" Austin asked, giving him a suspicious stare, which instantly pulled a smirk from Zian.
"Because I fucked her last month, and trust me, she is awful in bed. Our dear Hedrick is about to get robbed," he said bluntly, chuckling.
"You're one hell of a fucker, Karlson. I heard from Hedrick that she was already in a relationship with Zack last month," John added.
Zian let out a chortle.
"How is that my fault when she came to me herself and was more than eager to open her legs? And I'm no gentleman to refuse a served plate... even if the plate belongs to someone else," he said, his smirk turning more wicked.
"I was bored and had nothing to do, so..."
"So you ended up fucking someone else's girlfriend. Wow, Karlson," Austin said with a grin.
"Correction, a fucking whore who didn't think twice before cheating on her boyfriend just to get my dick," Zian corrected, annoyance creeping into his voice. He hated betrayers more than the betrayal itself. In his world, the one who betrays deserves no forgiveness. Anyone who dared betray him... he'd make sure it became the last mistake they ever made.
"By the way, you're coming to the party tomorrow, right?" John asked. Their high school batch was celebrating finally finishing school.
"I think I should leave now," Zian said, glancing at his wristwatch.
"Mum must be waiting for me. And I need to talk to her about this new disaster hanging over my head." His mood soured instantly at the thought of returning home to that little maniac. But he knew he had no choice.
He had to see that ugly little rat again... and then he'd decide exactly how to remove her, not just from his sight, but from his life entirely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My Kaya is looking so beautiful. Just like a princess," Zia said, smiling as she watched the fifteen-year-old twirl in front of the mirror. A big smile sat on Kaya's baby-pink lips. Her slightly chubby cheeks carried a soft natural tint, and her golden brown eyes sparkled like stars as she admired her reflection.
Kaya wore a light white frock that floated just below her knees. Damien and Zia had taken her shopping after Zia fed her a delicious meal. They had bought her dozens of dresses, shoes, toys, and so many other things. Damien practically bought her everything she touched or even glanced at. Later, they treated her to her favorite ice cream at a restaurant. Kaya still couldn't believe the warmth, love, and affection she was receiving. It all felt like a dream, one that would disappear the moment she woke up.
"Beautiful," Zia said again, kissing Kaya's cheek and making the little girl blush. Zia chuckled softly. Damien had dropped them home before leaving for an important meeting.
"Okay wait, I will take some pictures of our beautiful Kaya in this beautiful dress."
Kaya smiled as Zia searched for her phone, only to frown.
"I think I left it in the kitchen. Wait here, I'll get it," Zia said before walking out.
Kaya turned back to the mirror, admiring herself again. Her eyes sparkled with happiness she barely recognized. But then her gaze fell on a phone tucked behind a flower jar. Maybe aunty Zia had left it there.
Kaya picked it up gently. She opened her mouth to call Zia, but nothing came out. Not a word. Just a broken gasp. Her heart dropped. Her smile faded. She had forgotten, even for a moment, that she had lost something precious... her voice.
She sighed softly and decided to return the phone to Zia in the kitchen.
With slow, timid steps, Kaya walked out of the room. She moved toward the kitchen, until her feet froze. Terror washed through her.
The blue-eyed guy stood right in front of her, blocking her path. The way he glared at her made it feel like he could chop her into pieces and no one would ever know.
Zian had been on his way to his room after coming home, but he stopped the second she appeared. His gaze instantly hardened into a glare, stripping every bit of life from the terrified girl. This little ugly rat was about to get slaughtered today, for daring to cross his path.
⋆｡°✩⋆｡°✩⋆｡°✩⋆｡
Thank you for reading so far... 𓆩❤︎𓆪
Don't forget to comment and leave a review𓂃✍︎