chapter 14: A Nightmare

Autumn
"It's okay, wifey. No one's hurt." Ian rubbed my back, comforting me. "Though I am not hating this position of ours."
I smiled through my tears. "You are crazy."
"I know," he said, and we broke the hug. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"I... nothing. I just felt like crying."
He chortled. "I wonder how you managed to run a gang. You can't even lie properly."
I narrowed my eyes. "You always have a pathetic response. I hate you," I let out.
His lips curved into a smile. "The feeling is mutual."
"Why can't you have some other trainer to train Lia?" I blurted out after feeling much better. "Our trainer was very strict. She won't be able to bear it." Plus, I didn't want her to go through the phase I went through.
"Lennox is the best trainer we have. I had already called him. He will come tomorrow," he said, leaving no space to argue.
He will come tomorrow. I have to see him again.
"Now, get some sleep. Wait, did you have dinner?" he asked me.
I nodded and said, "Yes, with Dante."
He rolled his eyes. "He's a scarecrow. He got scared by a gun and yet he's your left-hand man. Hats off!"
I put my hands on my hip. "Hey, don't demean him! You scared him by showing him Spencer's condition. How dare you?"
"Well, let me show you how daring I am," he mumbled and abruptly lifted me up.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
He avoided my question and carefully placed me on the bed. He pulled the blanket over me and spoke up, "Sleep. You really need some. You barely sleep, you insomniac."
"I��"
"Autumn," he said curtly. "Sleep."
I watched him go to the washroom. I mimicked, " 'Autumn, sleep.' As if I am a dog!"
"I can hear you!" he hollered. I heaved a sigh in frustration and went to sleep.
"Autumn... Autumn Emerson..." I heard the humming of my name from his mouth.
I stayed silent as I hid in a box. I heard his footsteps drifting away, so I let out a sigh��my biggest mistake.
"I found you!" he hollered.
All of a sudden, the box opened, and I saw his scary face. He pulled me out of the box and dragged me by my hair. I was crying hard.
"Leave me, Lennox. Please," I sobbed. "I don't want to do this. Please, leave me."
"Autumn, where did you go, you annoying girl?" I heard Ian's voice nearby. Before I could further utter a word, Lennox put duct tape over my mouth and grabbed my hands.
"Autumn?"
"Autumn?"
"Autumn?" My eyes jolted open. I looked at a worried Ian, who was shaking me continuously. "What's wrong? You were screaming and when I tried to wake you up, you started shivering," he said.
"Ian, I... he will hurt me. He will hurt me again. He is coming to get me," I mumbled. He pulled me on his lap.
"Shh. It's going to be okay. No one will hurt you as long as I am there with you. It's okay." He stroked my hair. I placed my head on his chest. "It was just a nightmare, Autumn."
No, it wasn't. He will come back.
Nightmares. I used to have them every day. But it suddenly stopped the day I face-timed Ian, the night after our marriage. Since then, I have never had a nightmare. Now, it is coming back. I was having nightmares again.
"Autumn. I am here. It's okay. Nothing will go wrong." Ian kept stroking my hair and I was sitting on his lap. Soon, a peaceful sleep engulfed me.
I checked out the time after I woke up. I was lying on the bed, a blanket covering me. No doubt, Ian did that.
When I saw the time, I gasped because it was already 12 PM sharp.
"How did I sleep for so long? I hardly get three hours of sleep," I murmured. "I won't lie; I got the most peaceful slumber in these seven years. Is it because Ian was there with me? I slept on his lap. I cuddled with him. Is that why I got a nice sleep? What kind of logic is that?"
I saw a message from Ian on my phone.
Asshole Ian: After you wake up, don't miss work today. Mr. Atticus might shoot you with my gun, which I decided to offer him when he called at 7 AM on your phone. XD
I didn't even hear my phone ring? How's that possible? I was usually a light sleeper. "Oh, no! Mr. Atticus even called. I am dead." I jumped off the bed and freshened up.
I was about to walk out of the mansion, but Maya ran towards me."Ma��am, wait!" she called out. She handed me a piece of bread with Nutella smeared all over it. I looked at her in confusion. "Sir Ian told me to give this to you as your breakfast. You were about to go without having one, so..."
I asked in disbelief, "Did Ian say that to you?" When she nodded, I let out, "Thank you."
I cannot believe Ian said that! If he's acting normal with me, it's really not normal. I was used to him trying to piss me off.
I got into my car, still eating the bread. After I was done, I drove towards the restaurant.
As soon as I stepped inside, I heard Mr. Atticus's sarcastic, "Ah, look who we have here! If it ain't Autumn Emerson."
Autumn Emerson. Yeah, right.
"I am sorry, Mr. Atticus. I am really sorry." I held my ears, pouting.
He twisted his lips and thought for a while. It reminded me of Ian. Ian was scarier when he got time to think. That's why I never want to give Ian time to think.
"I will accept your apology if you tell me how Ian picked up your phone and told you were sleeping. Were you with him last night? Is something going on between you two?" he asked with full interest.
See? That's why I don't want to give people time to think.
"No. He's just a friend," I said and wore my apron. Then I started preparing the steak.
Mr. Atticus smirked. "A friend with whom you had lunch in the romantic area. Yeah, right." I felt a weird sensation hearing this. He continued, "Also a friend whom you were sleeping with last night. What a friendship!" This time, I felt my cheeks flushed. "And a friend whom you are blushing for right now."
I turned the other way so that Mr. Atticus couldn't see me. "I am not blushing, Mr. Atticus. You are visualizing it."
Why will I blush? This is absurd.
"Yeah, right." He made me face him. He had a teasing look on his face as he took his phone. All of a sudden, I felt a flash of light on me.
"What the hell?"
He grinned. "This is a picture of Autumn Emerson blushing. See, you have turned into a redder shade, like a tomato. I am gonna send this to Ian."
I tried to take his phone away. "Delete it, Mr. Atticus. If Ian sees this, he will tease me forever. Please!"
All my efforts went in vain because he really sent it to Ian. I saw it after I snatched his phone. It was too late to unsend it.
"Why did you do this? How did you even get his number?" I asked, whining.
"I took his number in case I wanted a gun to shoot you as you were skipping work. After all, he runs an armament company," he answered.
I groaned. "I hate you."
He nudged me. "I know you love me."
I couldn't help but smile at his goofiness. "Okay, fine. Now let's get back to work."
After I was done with work, I slowly entered the Beckett mansion. My goal was to go to our bedroom and sleep soon because I didn't want to face Ian.
First, I slept on his lap last night. Second, he told Maya to give me breakfast, which showed his care towards me. Third, he had a photo of me blushing. Ugh.
Hey, I got three points! But it's not the right time for that. I just have to make sure I don't face Ian today. I was slowly going up the stairs, but a voice almost made my leg slip.
"Did I ever teach you to sneak, my favorite student, Autumn?" Immediately, I turned around. The familiar voice was of no one but my trainer, Lennox Gibian. His brown eyes darkened as he saw my face. "Don't you remember me? It's nice seeing you after two years."
No, it's not nice seeing you at all.
My training took five years. I was free from his clutches after I turned twenty-three. I thought I would never see him again. Now, destiny was making me face my worst nightmare. Again.
He walked towards the stairs. "I am back, to teach you another lesson on life."