ABSOLUTE INSANITY: A forbidden bond-Chapter 231: Pick it up

Chapter 231

ROMEO POV

The unwelcome ringing cut through the room. It wasn’t my phone. I knew that instantly. Mine was silent, exactly where I’d left it. This sound came from the bed behind her—thin, insistent, vibrating against the mattress.

Katya stiffened.

I saw it in the way her shoulders locked, the way her breath caught just slightly, like the sound had reached somewhere deeper than her ears.

So did it reach me.

A phone.

The image from earlier slammed back into place—Katya laughing, a phone pressed to her ear, something I hadn’t authorized, something that should not have existed in this room.

I straightened, standing up slowly, the movement controlled but sharp enough that she noticed.

She reacted immediately. Katya pulled her shirt down properly, fingers fumbling at the fabric like she’d just remembered where she was.

The motion was quick, almost panicked, like she was bracing for something she couldn’t name.

The ringing didn’t stop. I stepped closer to the bed, my gaze dropping to the lit screen before she could reach for it.

One name. Michael.

My jaw tightened. Of all the things that shouldn’t have been in my house, this ranked high on the list.

"Who’s Michael?" The question landed harder than I intended. Katya moved before the second ring could finish.

She snatched the phone off the bed with both hands, clutching it to her chest like it might be taken from her by force alone.

Too fast. Too instinctive. Her thumb swiped the screen in one jerky motion. The ringing stopped.

Silence slammed down on the room, thick and charged. My eyes narrowed.

She didn’t look at me. Not even once. Her gaze stayed fixed on the phone, fingers curled tight around it, knuckles pale like she was afraid it might start ringing again on its own.

I straightened fully.

Just moments ago, my hands had been on her—steady, controlled, doing something I hadn’t planned to do and definitely hadn’t needed to do myself.

I could still feel the memory of it, the tension in my shoulders from forcing myself to be careful, precise.

Never had I done something like that before NEVER! I hadn’t even known what the hell was wrong with me then. I’d offered to check her back.

Offered. I’d expected her to refuse. To flinch. To shut down the way she always did when she realized how close she was to me.

Instead, she’d said yes. The thought still sat wrong in my chest. Unexpected. Unwanted.

And now this.

She stood there like a child caught stealing something priceless, like the phone weighed more than it should, like it was evidence of a crime she hadn’t planned on explaining.

"Answer me," My voice wasn’t raised. It didn’t need to be. Katya swallowed. Her shoulders were tense, pulled tight like she was bracing for impact.

"He’s—" She stopped, lips pressing together. Tried again. "He’s just... someone I know."

Just someone. In my house. Calling her. On a phone she wasn’t supposed to have.

I took another step closer, slow, deliberate. Not threatening. Not backing down either.

"Someone you know?," Her grip tightened on the phone. I saw it clearly now—the way her thumb hovered like she was debating whether to hide it or throw it across the room.

Interesting. I let my gaze drop to the device again. Small. Ordinary. Dangerous.

"Who gave you that?" I asked. She hesitated.

That hesitation told me everything. A muscle jumped in my jaw. I forced it still.

This was exactly why I kept my guard up. Why I didn’t get involved. Why I didn’t touch wounds that weren’t my responsibility or offer choices I didn’t need to offer.

The moment I let something human slip through, this happened. Secrets.

I exhaled slowly through my nose, reins tightening back into place. Whatever softness had crept in earlier was gone now, locked away where it belonged.

"You’re going to tell me who Michael is. And you’re going to tell me how that phone got into my house." I paused, letting the weight of it settle.

"Because right now," I added, eyes never leaving hers, "you look very suspicious." She shook her head, too fast.

A sharp, uneven motion that didn’t match how carefully she’d been moving moments ago.

I saw it immediately, the way her balance wavered for half a second, the slight sway she didn’t seem to notice, the way her free hand twitched like it was looking for something to hold onto.

Her freshly bandaged head tilted, then corrected itself. Concern flickered through me before I could stop it.

Brief enough to piss me off. I took another step closer without thinking, eyes tracking her pupils, the tension in her neck. She’d just lost blood. She’d just taken a fall. I’d tightened those bandages myself.

If she passed out now, I cut the thought off hard.

This wasn’t the time. This wasn’t the place. And I sure as hell wasn’t supposed to care whether she got dizzy or not.

My jaw clenched. "Don’t shake your head like that," I snapped. "You’ll make it worse."

She froze. That only irritated me more, at myself this time.

I straightened, forcing the distance back into my posture, pressing everything unnecessary down where it belonged.

Whatever flicker had crossed my face was gone by the time I spoke again. "Enough," I said coolly. "I’m not asking twice."

Her breathing had gone shallow. She licked her lips, eyes finally lifting to mine, wide, cornered.

"I’ll count to three, and then I’ll get the answers another way."Her fingers tightened around the phone.

"One." She swallowed hard.Her lips parted. Closed again. Panic flashed, raw and unfiltered.

"Two."

"Okay—okay," she blurted out before I could reach three. The words tumbled over each other, rushed and uneven. "Michael is just a friend. He’s—he’s nothing bad, I swear."

I didn’t interrupt. I watched.

"He—he’s the one who gave me the phone," she continued, voice shaking now. "Earlier. When Nonna and I went shopping."

Shopping. My eyes narrowed.

She rushed on, like she was afraid I’d stop her if she breathed. "Nonna and I were just minding our business when I encountered him again after so many months. He just gifted me the phone so we could still be in touch."

In touch? Who the fuck is this Michael. "And you didn’t think to mention this?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head again—slower this time, careful now. "I didn’t think it mattered." I was about responding when the phone rang again.

Katya flinched, about to disconnect it again when I stopped her. Her wide eyes looking back at me as I said. "Pick it up."

††

Micheal doesn’t really know when not to call. Like bro stop calling lol

Haha, it’s fun to write. Thanks for reading and please support my new book too. Please please please