Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Susanna was always the picture of a well-behaved girl.

Stella had advised her to stay out of Hull's way and do absolutely nothing, and Susanna took that advice to heart. It seemed a wise choice, especially considering the amount of trouble she'd accidentally stirred up during her short time by Hull's side.

That afternoon, she huddled in her room, waiting for Hull's team to finally uncover the truth.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts as she was about to call Stella.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"It's me," came Hull's deep voice from the other side of the door, sending a jolt through Susanna, who hurriedly put her phone away.noveldrama

"What do you need?" she asked, not moving to open the door. Instead, she instinctively clutched a throw pillow to her chest, as if it could somehow protect her.

In reality, if Hull wanted to do anything, even a whole suit of armor wouldn't stop him. But clinging to it gave her a false sense of security.

"Have you blocked the door again?" Hull's voice rumbled with a hint of displeasure.

Susanna glanced at the dresser she had pushed in front of the door and mumbled, "I told you I wanted a different room, but you wouldn't let me."

With the cook downstairs barred from the upper floor and Silas and Barnaby absent for the evening, she was alone on the second floor with Hull. As a young woman, she felt she had every right to be cautious.

"Move it," Hull ordered.

"I won't," she shot back without hesitation. She had taken Stella's advice to heart -doing nothing was safest, even if it meant avoiding Hull altogether.

Despite Hull's displeasure, he said nothing more and seemed to walk away, leaving Susanna to breathe a sigh of relief.

She sniffed, patting her chest, a picture of hurt. "I used to be such a good kid."

The past few days had been more eventful than her entire previous twenty years, and she still hadn't recovered from all the turmoil.

She dialed Stella's number, who answered almost immediately. "Hey, Susie."

"Star, do you have a moment?"

"Sure, what's up?"

Stella had been about to call Susanna herself, but Susanna had beaten her to it. She stood outside Ronald's study while Yvonne was inside.

Stella was waiting for Yvonne, who was seething with rage because of Xander; the matter related to him was a tangled mess.

"I've been following your advice, keeping to myself and avoiding Hull," Susanna said.

Stella paused. Avoiding him? Was she so sure of that?

"You two are living under the same roof. Isn't that a bit difficult to manage?"

The house wasn't big enough to avoid each other completely, but Susanna was determined. "I only leave my room to eat. Until we figure out if I'm a spy or not, it's best I steer clear of him."

Stella remembered Ronald mentioning that Hull might actually like Susanna, which made Stella suspect there was more to Hull's claims than met the eye.

Poor Susie, clueless as ever.

Stella cleared her throat. "Susie, you know... when you went upstairs, Ronald said Hull admitted he's into you, right?"

Their relationship prompted her to share more info, considering the dread Susanna had when staying with Hull.

"Wait, what?" Susanna uttered, feeling she might mishear.

Stella replied, "That's what Ronald told me."

Stella trusted Ronald implicitly. If he'd passed it along, the news was 90% legit, meaning Hull had actually said it.

Susanna was stunned. "That can't be true!"

That man was so intimidating. She'd seen him kill people, and he treated life like it was nothing. For someone like Hull, Susanna thought women were just playthings to him. The idea that Hull could feel genuine affection seemed absurd to her.

"Well, no idea, that's what Ronald said," Stella insisted.

"He's bluffing. Maybe he's just pretending to like me to throw you off the scent, to convince your brother to take you away."

Stella was speechless. Well, that could be happening.

Their conversation continued, spiraling into speculation until Susanna, feeling uneasy and weary, added, "Star, can you check again about that former leader of the Black Gate?"