Chapter 8

Kate managed to walk back into her room with her phone, her body soaking wet, leaving a trail of water behind. Within moments she dried herself and changed into a new outfit. But by that time, her heart was burning with anger.

How could he do this to me?

Her anger burst into flames when she thought about the guy in her dreams. He had introduced himself as Chris and always assured her that he would come for her. As stupid and senseless as it may sound, Kate wanted Chris to be her first kiss.

Most of her notebook backs have the scribbling 'CHRIS WEDS KATELYN'. She did all of that because she was sure that in real life, one day, he would come for her. Chris was always patient with her, even made her laugh every now and then. He was one thing that made her feel alive every day, despite the circumstances.

She desperately wanted to get back at Quisito for stealing her first kiss, for marking her like one would brand cattle.

Evening part of the day slid in. People, animals and birds were getting ready for the night but Kate's eyes were glued to the phone, which she used to google 'Different ways to take revenge', but she had a sour luck in finding something that excited her.

Groaning in defeat, she opened YouTube to watch some funny content but then her eyes landed on a news about a forest fire. A bright and dangerous idea illuminated her mind making her lips curl into a smirk because she knew that she was going to score against him.

In order to execute her plan, Kate waited patiently till dinner time and as usual she asked the maid to bring her food to her room. After gulping down the food in a hurry, she spied on Quisito to see what he was up to and as and just like she had expected, he was having dinner downstairs, with a few of his men.

Gathering some courage, she slipped inside Quisito's room and eyed everything suspiciously. She scanned the entire room with intense care so as to find something valuable. He only had a few things scattered here and there but none of them seemed important.

Kate walked closer to the bed with disappointment but stopped suddenly when her foot touched something hard under the bed – It was a briefcase!

After checking back on the door one more time, she got down on her knees and pulled it out. She lifted the heavy box and placed it on the night stand but accidently knocked down a half open water bottle, causing the open laptop next to it get bathed in water.

"Shit. Shit. Shit" she cursed as she rushed to the device and began drying it with the hem of her shirt. She knew how important the data in these were and one mistake might cost many lives – her father's words.

Suddenly the screensaver came on because she pressed the 'ENTER' key. The image that appeared on the screen froze her whole being.

It was a childhood picture of her, taken beside a bunch of flowers. She was rendered speechless.

What was he doing with my picture? She thought to herself.

At that point she had something else to take care of so she kept the laptop aside but made a mental note to probe into it later.

With shaky hands she managed to get the briefcase open and – Bingo!

It contained a display of expensive watches, most of them custom made. They were limited edition products and Kate knew how most men were addicted to watch collection and apparently, Quisito was no different.

She began taking out the watches one by one, careful not to drop anything. There were about twelve watches and by the time she was done picking, her hands were full. She walked out of his room into hers, using elbows and legs to close and open the doors.

Thankfully he was still eating, and she could easily tell by the laughter and discussion that came from the table.

Kate wrapped the watches in a piece of cloth and shoved the whole thing into a cloth bag and stuffed the balance space with waste papers. She walked out of her with the bag, careful not to run into any of his men, who were practically everywhere. She successfully made her way to the backyard of the mansion and also picked up gasoline on her way.

In the dim lit backyard, she laid out a piece of paper on the ground and emptied his watches on in. After putting her bag aside, she took out her phone, found Quisito's number from public catalog and dialed it.

When she heard two rings, she cut the call. Immediately he called back but she switched it off with a scoff, before putting it back in her pocket.

Quisito had a very bad feeling about the missed call because 'KATELYN WINSTON' was the name that appeared on his true caller. He excused himself from the table and after hastily washing his hands he ran upstairs to check on her in her room, but she wasn't there.

His pulse raced when he entered his own room and saw the misplaced laptop and the open, empty briefcase. He suddenly grew worried because only he knew the truth about those watches and he never thought that Kate would even think of touching his belongings.

He pulled at his hairs and let out a growl before barging out of his room and running across the corridor like a mad man.

"KATELYN WINSTON! I WANT YOU HERE RIGHT NOW" he yelled and the entire mansion shook, but he got no reply.

Breathing heavily, he was about to go back into his room but a servant stopped him mid-way.

"I saw Kate going down the backyard...where we usually burn stuff" the servant told him and immediately his face twitched.

"FUCK" he cursed and brushed past the servant, praying that he could reach her on time.

He reached the place next to the stairs that lead to the burning ground and there in the dark he spotted her.

"KATE" he screamed, silently pleading her to stop what she was about to do.

Her head turned to the side of his voice and she understood that he had found her. Smiling at him like a maniac, she poured gasoline on the watches on the ground.

"NO KATE DON'T DO IT" he shouted, while sprinting down the stars. His order was laced with a tone of plea, but she failed to listen to him because she thought he was trying to save his priceless collection of watches.

She pulled out the lighter and instantly set the whole thing on fire.

"KATE MOVE AWAY FROM IT" Quisito barked, closing the distance between them in inhuman speed.

Wait.....whattt? She was confused. She stared at his rushing form with suspicion and then looked back at the burning stuff. That's when she noticed something.

Fire wasn't supposed to crackle like....that.

The embers kept rising and she was standing way too close to it. Before anything could happen, Quisito pulled her with him to a nearby pillar, placed her against it and covered her body with his, shielding her from the fire.

She was about to ask 'Why' but the word died in her mouth when she heard an explosion in the fire. Within moments, a series of explosions followed and soon it was like fireworks behind him.

She flinched back in fear when a burning piece of metal flew an and struck him in the shoulder. But he just stayed there unfazed, his eyes reading every detail on her face with a 'this is what happens when you don't listen to me' expression.

The explosions lasted about five minutes and she had to cover her ears for most of the part because of its deafening noise. Gradually the fire died down but before removing himself from on top of her, he looked behind him to make sure that nothing was left in the fire to burn or burst.

By this time half of the people in the mansion came down to witness what had caused such a loud noise. At the flick of his fingers, Quisito's men brought a container filled with water. He took the water from them and poured it on the remnants while the maids enquired about Kate's wellbeing.

She was unhurt – Physically, but her insides were in turmoil.

He saved her – Even after she destroyed his belongings. Her mind was bombarding with questions when Quisito took her back into the mansion, her hand safely held in his grip.

"I'm...sorry" she whispered in a baby voice as they began climbing the stairs.

Quisito spoke in a stern voice, when they reached upstairs "Kate...those were gunpowder and dynamite combined watches designed specifically for my enemies. Do you have any idea what would have happened If I hadn't reached you on time?"

Her breathing became erratic and tears pooled in her eyes but Quisito continued. "Never. Ever. Enter my room without permission. I don't want you putting your life in danger again. Understood?" He asked looking at her, as they paused before her room.

She nodded, making tears trace a path along her slightly pink cheeks. Kate flinched lightly when he lifted his hand towards her face and used his thumb to wipe away the tears off her face.

He let go of her hand and without another word, she went in and closed the door, her eyes trained on the floor the entire time.

She couldn't believe it – He wasn't mad at her for sabotaging what may have caused him millions to make but was angry for putting her own life in danger.

All the events had completely exhausted her so she took a warm bath before going to bed.

She twisted and turned in the mattress, but sleep wouldn't come. It was mostly because the events of the day kept on blinking in her mind.

Midnight approached and she was still awake, her eyes taking in the beautiful sight of the full moon through the window. If only she had two wings....she could have flown away from all her problems. With a soft sigh she snuggled deeper into the pillow, closing her eyes so that she could invite sleep.

Suddenly, she heard the door knob being twisted. But since she had locked it, the noise stopped. Her heartbeat raced again because the intruder – who ever it was, easily unlocked the door from the outside and entered her room, and closed the door. The door was behind her and she was laying on the bed facing the opposite direction so she didn't know who it was.

Her gaze remained fixated on the moon when she heard footsteps behind her, slowly approaching her bed. Fear of dying tugged her heart as she mentally whispered herself to breathe and lay perfectly still. The footsteps stopped right beside her bed and she could feel the body heat of the person on every inch of her exposed skin that was not under the blanket.