Chapter 177.

Noah stared at the hallway.

The building had settled into a quiet kind of silence that made every tiny sound feel louder than it should.

A distant elevator chimed, and somewhere above him, a door closed.

Noah didn’t move. He simply stood there, staring at the apartment door in front of him.

Kylie’s door.

He had been watching the building long enough to know when she usually came home, long enough to know which entrances were busy and which weren’t.

Long enough to understand that people rarely paid attention to someone who looked like they belonged.

His eyes moved down the hallway. It was empty.

He reached into his pocket.

A thin metal pin rested between his fingers.

He crouched beside the lock. It took him several attempts.

The first failed, and the second barely moved anything.

Noah’s jaw tightened.

He tried again, and he heard a faint click sound.

He smiled.

The door opened, and Noah slipped inside. He closed it behind him, quietly, and carefully.

The apartment was dark.

He stood there for a moment, listening. For a long second, there was nothing. No sound from anywhere across the living room.

His gaze traveled across the room.

Kylie’s shoes were near the entrance. Her handbag sat on the chair, and a glass was resting on the kitchen counter.

She was home.

Noah’s expression changed. He walked farther inside.

There were photographs on the walls.

He didn’t care about her family. He cared about Emilia. And Kylie had become part of the problem.

His fingers curled.

He moved deeper into the apartment.

A faint sound came from upstairs. He heard the sound of water.

Noah stopped. He listened.

He heard running water, and his mouth curved slightly. He walked toward the staircase.

........

Kylie was unaware.

The bathroom was warm and filled with steam. She had deliberately made the water hotter than usual.

Not dangerously hot.

Just warm enough to make her muscles relax.

The past few days had exhausted her.

She had barely spoken to Christian. She had blocked him. She had ignored every impulse to unblock him. She had avoided Emilia’s questions.

And now, for the first time since everything had become complicated, she had decided to give herself an hour where she didn’t have to think about anyone.

Emilia’s week vacation would be over in two days. She needs to prepare herself for the questions that would come back with Emilia.

She leaned back in the bath.

Her hair was pulled away from her face, and an eye mask covered her eyes. Her ears were blocked with soft earbuds playing quiet music.

She couldn’t hear the water running. She couldn’t hear the door downstairs. She couldn’t hear footsteps approaching.

She couldn’t hear Noah enter the bathroom.

He stood behind her.

For several seconds, he simply watched her. Lust travelled through him, and flashed between his eyes.

However, his hate and anger towards her overshadowed his lust.

Kylie looked peaceful. Completely unaware.

Noah’s eyes hardened. "You." He cursed.

Kylie didn’t hear him.

He stepped closer, and then suddenly, Kylie felt a hand seized her.

Her body jerked violently.

Before she could understand what was happening, her face was forced beneath the water.

Everything instantly became chaos. In one breath.

She tried to scream, but her head was under water. Water filled her ears, and her hands flew upward.

She grabbed at the arm holding her down.

Her body twisted violently, as her mind couldn’t process what was happening. Someone was holding her down. Someone was trying to keep her beneath the water.

Why?

Panic exploded through her.

She clawed at the arm, but her fingers slipped.

She couldn’t breathe. She fought harder, and her knee struck the side of the tub.

The impact sent pain through her leg.

She twisted again.

Her hand found the edge.

She pulled at it, but there was nothing.

The grip around her neck holding her down tightened.

Kylie’s heart hammered against her ribs.

She couldn’t see, and she couldn’t breathe. Her fingers caught the edge of the eye mask, and she ripped it away.

Her eyes opened. Blurred through steam and water, she saw him.

Noah.

Her entire body went cold.

No. No. He couldn’t be here. He was supposed to be—

Kylie fought harder.

She drove her elbow backward towards his arm. It connected forcefully with his humerus.

Noah grunted.

His grip loosened for half a second.

Kylie surged upward. Her face broke the surface. She inhaled desperately.

Air tore into her lungs, as she greedily took them in

She coughed.

Noah grabbed her again. "You fucking bitch."

Kylie tried to turn.

Noah forced her downward again. "You were the beginning of my problems with Emilia."

Kylie’s hands struck blindly at him. She couldn’t get enough air. Her fingers caught his wrist.

She twisted.

Noah cursed.

Kylie kicked her leg over her head, and violently towards him.

Her heel struck him.

He staggered, and she surged upward again.

This time she came up coughing. She dragged in a breath. Her eyes burned. She could barely see through the steam.

Noah grabbed the back of her neck. "You ruined everything."

Kylie screamed.

He forced her back down again. His grip around her neck tightened.

Her hands immediately flew toward his arm. If the water doesn’t kill her, his strong grip would.

She struck him twice.

Her nails caught his skin.

Noah hissed.

Kylie fought like she had nothing left to lose. Because she didn’t know if she would survive this.

Her lungs screamed for air.

Her body shook.

She twisted her head, and her fingers found something hard near the edge of the tub.

She grabbed it.

Noah didn’t notice.

Kylie swung it, and the object struck his arm.

He recoiled.

She ripped herself free. She came out of the water violently, coughing so hard her entire body folded forward.

Air.

She needed air. Her hands gripped the edge of the tub. She coughed again, and again.

Noah stood behind her.

His breathing was heavy. His arm was bleeding where she’d caught him.

He glared at Kylie with a murderous gaze.

Kylie screamed with a heaving chest. "GET OUT!"

The sound echoed through the bathroom.

Noah stared at her. Calculation filled his gaze. He realized that he had stayed too long, and that someone could hear.

He stepped backward.

Kylie reached for the edge of the tub. "HELP!" She yelled.

Noah turned. He disappeared through the bathroom door.

Kylie tried to stand, but her legs trembled.

She slipped. Her hand caught the side of the tub, and she dragged herself upward.

"No... HELP!!!"

Her voice barely came out.

She staggered toward the door. By the time she reached the hallway, Noah was gone.

The front door slammed.

Kylie froze.

She stared toward the entrance.

Her chest heaved.

She couldn’t think, and couldn’t understand.

Noah had been inside her home. He had entered her home. He had found her.

He had—

Her knees gave out, and Kylie collapsed onto the bathroom floor. Her hands immediately went to her chest.

She pressed hard against herself as another violent cough tore through her.

She gasped, and coughed again.

Her whole body shook.

Tears streamed down her face.

She couldn’t stop coughing.

She curled forward, with one hand gripping the floor while the other pressed against her chest.

Her breathing came in broken pieces.

She tried to inhale deeply, but it hurt. She coughed again.

"Help..."

Her voice cracked.

She looked toward the bathroom doorway.

Noah was gone, but he had been here. He had actually been here.

Kylie covered her mouth with one shaking hand. Her mind replayed the moment over and over.

She remembered the hatred in his eyes, and squeezed her eyes shut. She was shaking so badly now that she could barely hold herself upright.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

She tried to breathe slowly, but a cough interrupted her. She bent forward again, and her fingers dug into the floor.

Tears fell beneath her.

She had never felt fear like this.

This was different.

This was the sudden realization that someone had entered the one place she had believed belonged entirely to her.

Her home wasn’t safe. Her bathroom wasn’t safe. Her silence wasn’t safe.

She pressed her palm against her chest again.

Her breathing was still uneven. She looked toward the door. Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

"Someone..." She swallowed. "Someone help me."

Nobody answered.

Kylie closed her eyes. Her hand trembled as she reached for her phone.

It wasn’t beside her.

It was downstairs.

Kylie’s eyes widened.

She had to get it. Someone had to know. She couldn’t stay here.

Slowly, Kylie placed both hands against the floor and pushed herself upward.

Her arms trembled.

Her legs felt weak beneath her. She gripped the edge of the bathroom door, and forced herself to stand.

For a moment, she simply remained there. Breathing, and trying to steady herself.

Her chest still hurt.

Every breath felt shallow.

She swallowed hard. "Phone." Her voice was barely audible.

She needed her phone.

Her wet feet slipped slightly against the floor, and she immediately caught herself against the wall.

She closed her eyes, and waited then opened them again.

The hallway looked strange.

It looked too bright. Too far away.

She blinked.

The edges of everything seemed to blur. She rubbed her eyes. The hallway became clear for half a second, then blurred again.

Kylie held onto the wall.

Her breathing quickened. She needed to sit down.

She couldn’t. Her phone was downstairs. She had to call someone. She had to call Emilia.

She had to—

Kylie took another step.

Her vision swam. The staircase appeared in front of her. It looked longer than it had ever looked before.

She could see her phone lying on the small table near the bottom. She reached for the railing.

Her fingers wrapped around it.

"Come on." She whispered the words to herself. "Come on, Kylie. Move."

She placed one foot on the first step. Her vision blurred again, and she stopped.

Her heart was pounding. She tried to breathe slowly, but her chest refused to cooperate.

Her hand slid along the railing.

The room seemed to tilt.

Kylie blinked rapidly.

The staircase doubled, then tripled. She couldn’t tell which step was real.

She tightened her grip on the railing.

Her fingers were slipping.

She tried to hold on harder, but her strength wasn’t there. The sound of her own heartbeat filled her ears. Her vision darkened at the edges.

She took another step.

Her foot landed incorrectly, and her balance shifted.

Kylie gasped. Her hand flew toward the railing. Luckily, she caught it.

For one second, she held herself there. Then her fingers slipped. Her body tilted.

"Kylie—"

She didn’t even know if she had spoken the name herself.

The world suddenly spun. The last thing she saw was the blurred outline of the staircase beneath her.

Everything went black, and her body collapsed against the steps. She rolled downward.

Her body struck the staircase as she tumbled toward the bottom.

Then, there was silence.

Kylie lay motionless at the foot of the stairs.

Her phone was only a few feet away.

The screen remained dark, the apartment was silent, and Kylie didn’t move.