Nik's POV

"Why did you kill me? " Kay asked, taking slow steps towards me while I walked back cautiously.

There was a gunshot wound on her chest area which oozed blood continuously and formed a pool on the floor.

I could still remember that dress on her, it was the same as the one she had worn the day I had that deal with Sakuzi; the very day she died. That knee-length black floral print maxi dress had not altered one bit.

"I didn't kill you, Kayla, so stop tormenting me! Haven't you had your fun already? " I yelled at her, hoping she would stop all to no avail.

Kay had a chalky pale look while her eyes were sunken and bloodshot with disheveled hair which was a huge contrast to her breathtaking beauty when she was still alive. Right now she looked like a demon from hell sent to make my life a living hell.

"I gave you my everything Niklaus, my time, youth, love, beauty, but what did you do with it?" The crazed look in her eyes slowly turned to one filled with anger and hatred.

"You threw it to the ground and stepped all over it like it was nothing! " She raged.

"I needed air! " I yelled back, "You took away everything! You were suffocating me, it was like I was drowning and the more I struggled to escape, the more you kept dragging me to the bottom! You made everything revolve around you, Kay!"

Her eyes flashed," I had to do everything possible to keep you away from those wolves out there who wouldn't hesitate to take you away from me, don't you know how much I loved you?! "

"Yeah, I loved you too but I'm sorry, our time is gone already "

"No, it hasn't " there was a crooked smile at the corner of her mouth that sent the chills down my spine.

" It is just beginning "

The chill in her eyes scared me so much that I tried to take a step back but to my horror, discovered I couldn't make a move.

I looked down to notice that the pool of blood had reached my knee already, covering the whole ground like a river and filling up gradually. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't move my feet at all as if it was glued to the floor.

" Let me go! "

There was an evil cackle, "Niklaus, if I can't have you alive then no one will. Join me, sweetheart, Hades awaits us "She stretched out her hands towards me.

I ignored her and strained against this invisible hold with no success, the river of blood was already reaching my chest area.

"Join me in the netherworld " She persisted and this time there wasn't any flesh on the hand she held out to me but bones.

I looked up and found out a complete skeleton now stood in the place of Kay and it spoke with this deep, cajoling yet spooky voice.

I began to choke when the bloody water covered me entirely and I began to sink just as the skeleton wearing Kay's clothes grabbed my hand and smiled creepily, "Let's go ".

At once I saw my flesh begin to dry up. "No, no " came my horrific cry just as I began to transform into a skeleton like her ."

I awoke from my sleep with a startle, my breathing heavy and uneven. The nightmares were getting vivid and disturbing, it was now badly affecting my sleep.

Going to bed recently had become a huge task having known I would always wake up with a scream. Kay wouldn't leave me alone, my dreams were always haunted with her.

The past few days had been a hellish ordeal coupled with the pain from the beating given to me by my father. With a painful grunt, I lifted myself off my bed and headed to my bathroom.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead while staring at my reflection in the mirror, my face was pale and sickly with dark rings around the eyes portraying my lack of sleep.

Turning my back to the mirror, I stretched my neck and examined the dark purplish hue mess on my back; good to know the injuries were healing.

Staring back at the mirror, I laughed, these days I felt so frustrated and lethargic, making me question what I was even doing by the way. Ever since Maya left, I was never the same; like life lost its colors and meaning.

A quick shower helped calmed my brain but it didn't brighten my mood, in fact, it sank further.

"Sir Niklaus, you should take more bites. You haven't eaten much these days "Amanda urged me to eat more but I didn't have any appetite, I kept picking at the food.

"I know heartbreak is hard but you have to survive "

"Heartbreak?" I dropped my spoon and glanced up at her interestedly.

Upon seeing my captivated expression, she continued "I know letting go of Maya is not easy but you have to move on with your life "

"Thanks for your concern but I'm not heartbroken," I told her with a blank face.

"Huh?" Confusion crossed Amanda's features, "Then if you're not experiencing heartbreak, why are you this way then?"

"I'm just downcast "

My heart was Kevlar protected, no woman could penetrate through it and that has been proven over the years of tangoing with them - Maya was close to crackling it but not entirely.

" Downcast? "

Taking a deep breath, I started " I invested a lot of my time, resources, and attention on her but it didn't yield any fruit. It was the first time I was determined to get the person I want the right way but it failed miserably.

"But I'm a bit disappointed, the people I called family aided my failure. It's tiring but I guess this is the compensation for all of my sins. A monster like me doesn't deserve her love "

Amanda's frown deepened, "Stop saying that Sir Niklaus, you're not a monster. I've served you for years and though there are days you can be scary and annoying to hell, you're still a good person "

A wry smile appeared on my face, "Of course I'm scary and annoying "

Amanda shook her hands, "That's not the point Sir Niklaus. The point is that Miss Maya loves you so much and though she might be angry with you at the moment - once you clear up your engagement rumors with Miss Tina, you can kowtow for a thousand times and plead for her forgiveness " She explained to me animatedly.

"Maya is a very kind and good person, I'm sure she would forgive you. That sweet girl cannot hold grudges for long "

Of course, I knew that Maya was too kind for her own good. In this crazy and evil world, the girl was too trusting and always tended to see the good in people notwithstanding her own traumatic experiences.

But that was her charm and what made her so special. It was too hard to find people with such naive yet heartwarming qualities nowadays.

"Yes, I could do that but Amanda, I have so many enemies at the moment, it's better this way. Also, it's not a rumor, I'm truly engaged to Tina"

Her hand clasped her mouth, the shock on her face was obvious and she asked, "What about Maya? Isabella likes Maya "

"Maya would safe and far away from these dramas while Isabella would have no choice than to accept this decision- "

A dramatic gasp from Amanda interrupted me " Sir Adam doesn't like Maya, does he? He must have threatened you with her life, right? You marry Tina and she stays safe, isn't it? "

She gasped again but this time in disbelief, "This happens in television dramas all the time especially in rich families. Whoa, no wonder - "

"I think I might have said so much " I drawled dismissively while I lifted the glass of water to my mouth and took a sip.

Having lived with me for years, Amanda understood my body language perfectly, so she swallowed the rest of her words. She was a wise woman and tends to opine on my matters but she knew when not to cross that line.

Almost immediately, Judy walked into the dining room but I couldn't help but notice something was quite different about him today.

Not because he was wearing this strange huge dark aviator sunglasses but because his usual menacing aura went down a notch today.

Did something good happen to him today? Did he win the lottery or something?

"What's with the shades? " I queried after he bowed in greetings.

His hand moved to the sunglasses and tugged it off leaving me stunned at the purplish-blue bruise around his right eye.

"You fought with a gang? " I asked, having known the only time such injury could be inflicted on him was when outnumbered; he was that skilled.

" No "

"No? " My brows furrowed together, had he by chance found a worthy opponent?

"Then who? "

"Your sister did "

I was taken aback" My sister did? "

Judy nodded.

What the…that was impossible. Emily really did that to his face? My extremely beautiful yet benevolent sister who thinks killing a cockroach is murder, did that to his face? The world must be truly ending.