Chapter 3 The Locket and the Lie

CHAPTER 3:

The room was empty when Aria woke up again. No voices murmuring in the corner, no doctor or arrogant rich stranger staring at her like a predator that couldn't decide if it wanted to devour or play with its prey.

There was nothing but peaceful silence, and the late afternoon sun peeping in from the window. She sat very slowly and carefully, preparing herself for dizziness or another possible blackout.

Apart from that pain in her ribs and a small headache, she felt ok. She came down from the bed, steadied herself, and then carefully scanned the room. It was way too quiet, and she found it disturbing. She had no idea where she was, neither did she know the stranger that had hit her, and kept her there. But one thing was certain, she was not going to sit around and find out if he was actually a saviour or not.

She approached the door cautiously, and then checked the lock... it was open. That revelation alone triggered all the warning systems in her body, and she took a moment to actually wonder. Either he was dangerously confident... or she was in way deeper trouble than she'd thought.

She tiptoed outside the room and began moving down the hallway, turning immediately at every slight sound. She didn't know exactly where she was going or what she was looking for... maybe an exit, or maybe answers... but one thing she certainly wasn't looking for, was him.

She had spotted him too late, but luckily for her, he was asleep. Sprawled on his couch with one hand behind his head, and the second one resting casually on his chest. She took a good look at him, then she realized something... he actually looked like a human being.

Aria held her breath, and then slowly pulled back. But something on the table near his feet caught her eye, a flash of silver. She paused, trying to hold back the curiosity that was overwhelming her, but her feet were already moving and dragging her forward... like a moth to flame.

The object sat innocently on the glass table, a delicate silver locket that looked old and slightly scratched... shaped like a heart.

Her heart almost stopped as she got a better look... it couldn't be, it couldn't be possible. She reached for the locket with trembling fingers, gently opened it and then gasped at what she saw.

Inside the locket was a tiny photograph that was almost completely faded, but she knew that face that was looking back at her too well. Her mother, young and radiant... smiling.

How could it be possible, her mother had worn this locket everyday of her life, and it had been buried with her when she died.

Aria was suddenly weak and dizzy again. She had only been a child when her mother died, and the locket had been left around her neck in the casket. She remembered crying, and begging them not to take her mother. Remembered how she screamed when they closed the casket, the final glint of the locket just before everything went dark.

How on earth was it here?

Her shock was now gone, and a brutal fury took over her body. She stormed to his side on the couch, and then slammed the locket down on the table.

"WAKE UP!"

Damien woke up shocked, but the shock didn't last long when he realized who was standing beside him. He didn't look confused at all, instead he had a small smile of amusement on his face, like he was watching a comedy show he had watched over a million times.

"Good afternoon, we meet again," he murmured in a voice that clearly wasn't awake yet. "You're surprisingly light-footed for someone who has already collapsed twice."

She didn't even let him finish before she attacked him. "This... This locket, where the hell did you get it?!"

He sat up slowly, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees. He still did not say anything, rather he just smiled and watched her in amusement.

"Don't you dare give me that creepy silence, you bastard," she snapped as her uncontrolled rage finally took hold of her. "This was buried with my mother twelve years ago, I want you to tell me how it magically ends up on your coffee table in the middle of whatever fucking nightmare this is."

His look of amusement didn't change, but there was a look of interest as his eyes brightened.

"Who are you?" she shouted at him. "Some psycho who digs up graves for souvenirs? Or is this some twisted sort of game? Are you stalking me? Have I become a part of some deranged experiment where you gaslight girls with tragic pasts until they go mad?"

He watched her rant away without uttering a single word, he didn't even blink.

Aria took a step back, she was breathing very hard from the effort she spent screaming at him, but she wasn't done yet... not even close. "You want to play games? Fine. I'll be back, and I'll be coming back with the police. And when I do, you better have a damn good lawyer, because this..." she pointed her finger toward the locket "...this is sick."

She turned and marched towards the front door, driven by anger and pain, ignoring the physical pain that was coming from her exhausted body. Her hand reached for the doorknob, but as she reached to open it, his voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Aria."

She didn't move... how on earth did he know her name, she didn't remember telling him or the doctor.

"You're not a prisoner here miss Damas," he said very calmly. "But aren't you a little bit curious?"

She hesitated.

"Aren't you curious about how I know your name?"

The question was soft, it was almost intimate. She turned to face him, her anger still boiling inside her.

He stood up with the locket in his hand, dangling it as he spoke to her.

"Don't you want to know how I got this?

Aria stared at him, at the locket in his hand. She wanted to run, to scream and yell for the cops but instead...

She whispered, "What the hell do you know about my mother?"

Damien only smiled darkly... "You finally asked the right question."

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