Liana's POV
I wanted to look away, but I couldn't bring myself to do so, and if that wasn't strange, I had no idea what else was. The painting was creepy, if I did say so myself, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't bring myself to understand it.
There had to be a reason why this one of all paintings had caught my eyes, but I just couldn't pinpoint what it was. Was it the message behind it? Or the fact that I couldn't stand blood? Or maybe the man's distorted face had everything to do with why I was so drawn to this painting.
Whatever the reason was, I was going to find out what was so special about this painting. Slowly, I traced my fingers along the blood lines smeared over the canvas. The texture underneath my fingers felt real, and if I didn't know better, I would have said that I'd been dipping my hand in real blood all this time.
Or was I?
I pushed the thoughts aside, as my fingers continued moving on their own accord. When I got to the man's distorted face though, I couldn't help the fear that raked over me. What if this was real? What if this painting was just reflecting or mirroring what had happened in the past? If it was, what was Kieran's connection to it? Or was he the man in the …..
The sound of the front door creaking open was all it took to pull me out of my thoughts. I startled, and I didn't have to think twice to figure out where the noise had come from, Kieran was back.
Oh shit.
I felt my heart drop. I hadn't known Kieran for long, but I knew he wouldn't be pleased if he caught me in here. He literally warned me not to snoop, and told me he delighted in pundhigking little girls who did, and yet, what did I do? I still decided to test my luck.
My heart hammered in my chest as I pulled away from the painting. I did a quick sweep of the place and I paled when I realized there was nowhere to hide. The whole place was covered in paintings and that was it. Not even a single hiding place in sight, not a small shelf I could hide behind till he was gone.
It was only a matter of time before he would notice that the secret door was open and someone was in here. What was I going to do then?
"Who's in here?" The question had barely registered itself in my head, before his voice seeped in. From the proximity, it was easy to tell that he was at the entrance, and would make his way inside anytime soon. "If I catch you inside myself, you're not going to like it."
What was I going to do now? I knew better than to think it was a threat. It wasn't and…..
"You." His voice echoed just seconds after, and I froze to my spot. There was a bit of distance between us, but it did nothing to hide the emotions swirling around his face.
He was tired and stressed out, that, I could easily tell from the dark curlds under his eyes. He looked worh out and drained, but if there was one thing that had been constant in the last couple of days, it was the blaring hot anger in his eyes. They looked icy and fiery at the same time, and I just knew I was toast.
"What are you doing here?" His voice dropped to an Icy whisper. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?!"
"I ..I…."i stuttered, slowly taking two steps at a time. I hadn't bothered to check where the nearest walls yet, but I really didn't think it was necessary. Before I could find that, he would have probably gotten to me and snapped my neck into two.
The rest of my words morphed into a loud yell as his hand latched onto my wrist. Psin shot up my hand as he yanked me forward, pulling me away from the paintings and out the secret door. Once we were outside, he pushed me, before slamming the door shut.
"Kieran, I…" i had barely gotten any more words out before he cut me off.
"What did I tell you?" He snarled in my face. "What the hell did I tell you?"
"That you hated snoopers.' my voice was a low whisper. I couldn't even bring myself to stare at him or anything. "But you have to….."
"I told you not to snoop." He let out through gritted teeth. " My Instructions were clear and…."
"Instructions?" That word clearly caught me off guard and I scoffed. "You don't give me instructions. No one does."
"Did I ask you not to go in there or not?" He took a step forward, and I took one back.. "Answer me Liana. What did I tell you about going through the doors in this house."
"You told me not to." My voice was a tiny whisper. "I really did try…"
"Try?!" His voice boomed around me. Red swirled in his eyes, and that was every indication I needed to know that I had somehow managed to infuriate him. "I didn't ask you to try. I asked you to stay the hell away from my things. Why don't you ever listen? Why the hell do you feel like you're above everybody over here and can't do what you're told."
"You don't have to yell…."
"You should be grateful, I'm only yelling." A shiver ran down my spine at his words. "If only it was someone else…"
"I already got it okay?" I cut him off. ", i shouldn't have snooped and you're pissed, but just stop shouting all you?"
"I'm shouting? You did something wrong and…"
"You're being hella defensive!" I hissed in response. My chest rose and fell in rapid succession with every passing minute, but I didn't dare back down. I couldn't. "It's just a stupid room, with even more stupid paintings and…."
"Leave." His voice picked up an icy trail. "Now."
"What?" I could've believe my ears. "What are you…."
"Get out, now!" He yelled. "get the fuck out of here right now, before I do something we'll both regret."
I held his gaze for the longest of seconds. He still looked tired, but his anger was doing a great job at overshadowing it. The orbs shone, and it drew me in. Just when I thought I wasn't going to be able to snap out of it, I did. And without so much as another word in his direction, I stormed out of the room.
Anger so deep and pure bubbled underneath my skin with each step I took away from his door. My first instinct was to go to my room, but I decided against immediately, before heading to the gates.
Luckily, a handful of the guards and men in here now knew who I was so I wouldn't experience any problems if I did run into them., but I didn't. I heaved a sigh of relief when the main gates to the house were left unattended to, and I slipped outside without a single sound.
Even when I was outside, I didn't stop. I allowed my anger fuel each and every of my step as I did a quick recap of what had just happened.
Kieran had no right to yell. It was just a stupid painting in a stupid room, so why the hell was he getting so worked up? I didn't ruin any of them, neither did I brak them, so what the hell was his problem?.
I had known he was obnoxious, thanks to the last couple of days with him, but this, this was borderline crazy if I said so myself. He was a lunatic, a psychopath and…
My thoughts came to a halt as something snapped underneath my shoes. It was a twig, and I felt my heart drop to my feet. I took a quick glance at my surroundings, just to figure out I was now in the woods.
I tried to find my way back, but there was no way I could. The sun was already setting, and no matter which turn I took, I just couldn't find the path that led back to the house.
I was screwed.
But that wasn't even the worst part, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't shake off the feeling that I was being followed.
What was I going to do now?