45. 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳

                                    

                                          
Showering in that bathroom is the first decent thing that's happened since we left Poguelandia. It was definitely needed, and watching the dirt from my skin run away down the plug hole felt cathartic, almost as though I was washing away everything that's gone wrong in these past few weeks. 
Kiara and I both agreed that apart from showering and wearing the dresses provided by whoever owns this house, we'd make minimal effort. We've both let our hair dry naturally, the humidity of the air doing most of the work. 
We've been lying on the bed in the dresses ever since, Kiara in red and me in navy blue, the shade of blue reminding me of the eyes I search for in every night's sky. 
The dresses are unnecessarily skimpy and clingy, Kiara's has a slit all the way up the leg and is also pretty low cut. Mine has a cowl neck and a low cut back, with the same slit up the leg. 
If this is Ward and Rafe then they have a lot of explaining to do, that last conversation Rafe and I had felt final, it felt like the end of our story. But if this is him, and he's had us kidnapped, I'm not sure that I could look beyond that. 
"You okay?" Kiara nudges me, snapping me from my daydream as I move my gaze from the ceiling to her. 
"Mmhmm," I nod, even though we both know it's not entirely true. 
"Talk to me, Sid," Kie continues, "I know how things like this make you feel."
"What if it is him?" I whisper, already feeling caught in the crossfire of my few lingering feelings for Rafe and the fact that we've been kidnapped. 
"Then we'll handle it, the way we always have," She reassures me, taking my hand in hers, "Together."
"There I was on the boat, shouting about how they couldn't Stockholm Syndrome me into this, but look at me now," I offer her a half hearted smile. 
"Everything will be fine," Kiara reiterates, "We have each other."
The door unlocks and the two of us stand up from the bed, startled as one of the housekeepers appear, "He's ready."
I glance at Kiara, then back at the housekeeper who steps aside to let us pass. I take hold of Kiara's hand, whispering, "Together," to which she nods in agreement. 
We follow the housekeeper slowly down the stairs, clinging onto each other, making sure to focus and not become distracted by the art and various ancient artifacts scattered around the place. Whoever this is, likes history, and if this is the Cameron's doing, then it's pretty clear where all the gold went. 
As we reach the bottom of the stairs the housekeeper gestures into one of the rooms, which at first glance looks like what the rich upper class would call a Drawing Room. 
There's no one here except for one man with his back to us, and my heart begins to race, because even in a line up of a hundred men, I could still recognise him even from behind, even with a whole new haircut. 
"Uh, excuse me?" Kiara speaks up tentatively before I can warn her that our suspicions of the Camerons being behind this are correct. 
Rafe turns around and my heart practically explodes, those crystal blue eyes that I assumed I'd never see again. That jaw that I used to trail with kisses, those lips that could tear down a nation with the secrets he could spill. 
"Sidney?" the voice I've feared never hearing again rings through my ears, "You're alive."
"We knew you and Ward would be behind this shit," Kiara mutters, pacing towards him. 
"What are you talking about?" Rafe replies with frustration, but his gaze softening when his eyes return to me, "You trying to weasel in on my deal? Is that what's going on?"