ABSOLUTE INSANITY: A forbidden bond-Chapter 232: Acting strange

Chapter 232

KATYA POV

The phone felt heavier than it should have.Not because it weighed much because of what it meant.

It vibrated once more in my hand, a soft, insistent pulse against my palm, like a living thing reminding me it hadn’t gone away just because I wanted it to.

Michael.My fingers tightened around the edges of the phone, and all I could hear was my own heartbeat. Loud. Wrong. I couldn’t lift it to my ear.

Romeo’s voice echoed in my head instead—Pick it up.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and burning. My thoughts scattered, colliding into each other without order or mercy.

If I answered... Romeo would hear him.

What if Michael said the wrong thing? What if he laughed, or asked where I was, or said my name too loudly, too warmly?

What if Romeo decided Michael was a problem? The thought hit me so hard my stomach twisted.

I’d seen what kind of man Romeo Salvator was. Not in stories. Not in rumors. In the way he moved.

In the way people fell silent around him. In the way his attention felt like a blade when it landed on you.

Michael didn’t belong anywhere near that.

He was... normal. Someone who smiled easily. Someone who gave gifts without expecting blood or loyalty in return.

Someone who didn’t know how dangerous this world was. And I had dragged him back into it the moment I accepted the phone.

My chest tightened painfully, breath catching halfway in. I forced myself to inhale slowly, careful not to move my head too much.

The bandage pulled slightly, a dull ache blooming behind my eyes as if to remind me that I was still injured. Still weak.

Still not in control. Never in my life. would I had known this night would take such a twist. Moments ago, Romeo had be soft with me. Treating me like I was made of glass but I had been foolish to think that would ever last.

The room felt smaller, Romeo didn’t say anything, his silence pressed in on me, heavier than shouting would have been. I could feel his attention.

Waiting.

I wondered, briefly, if this was how prey felt—caught between stillness and survival, knowing that either choice could be the wrong one.

The phone buzzed again. A warning this time. If I didn’t answer, that would look like defiance. Suspicion. Confirmation of everything Romeo was already thinking.

If I did... I might be signing Michael’s death sentence. The fear that crawled up my spine at that thought was cold and vicious.

I squeezed my eyes shut for half a second. Don’t panic, I told myself. Think.

Michael didn’t know where I was. Not exactly. I could keep it short. I could be careful. I could protect him. At least... I could try.

My thumb hovered over the screen, trembling despite my effort to steady it. I hated that Romeo could probably see that too.

Every weakness laid bare. Every hesitation catalogued. I’d survived worse than a phone call.

Slowly—so slowly my muscles burned with the effort—I lifted the phone. My heart hammered violently against my ribs as I finally pressed accept.

The vibration stopped. The silence that followed was worse.

I was about bringing the phone to my ear when Romeo gestured for me to put it on speaker. "Hello," I said softly.

"Katya?" Michael’s voice came through immediately. Concern edged every syllable, sharp enough that I almost cursed out loud.

My grip on the phone tightened as my eyes lifted on instinct, straight to Romeo.

He stood a few inches away, arms loose at his sides, posture deceptively relaxed. His face gave me nothing.

No anger. No impatience. Just that unreadable stillness that was somehow worse. Like he was already deciding something and hadn’t bothered to inform me yet.

"Katya," Michael said again, more urgent now. "What happened? You just went silent. Are you....are you alright?" My mouth opened. Nothing came out.

The pause stretched just long enough to be suspicious. "Yes," I said finally, the word tumbling out too fast. I cleared my throat and tried again, slower this time. "Yes. I’m fine."

I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince, him or the man standing across the room.

Michael didn’t sound convinced. "Are you sure? Because I called back earlier and you didn’t pick up. I’ve been worried."

My stomach dropped. I blinked hard. My gaze flicked to Romeo again before I could stop myself.

He hadn’t moved. But his jaw tightened, just barely, like stone grinding against stone. The air in the room felt heavier for it.

"I just—" I stopped, recalibrated. Careful. "I was asleep. My phone was on silent." The lie tasted thin.

Michael exhaled on the other end, but it wasn’t relief. It was frustration wrapped in worry. "It’s midnight, Katya. That’s not what scared me. What scared me is that you sounded... off, you didn’t even reply any of my text."

"I’m okay," I repeated, softer now. "Really." There was a brief pause, then.... "Do you want me to come over?"

My heart slammed violently against my ribs. "What?" I breathed before I could stop myself. My eyes slid to the clock on the wall.

12:03 a.m.

"I can come check on you," Michael continued quickly. "Just to make sure you’re alright. You don’t sound like yourself, and I don’t like this feeling. I’m already dressed."

No. No, no, no.

My eyes snapped back to Romeo. His expression didn’t change but something in him did. I felt it rather than saw it. A subtle shift. A tightening.

Michael didn’t know where I lived. But the fact that he was offering—willing to look for me, to step into something he didn’t understand—made my blood run cold.

"That’s not necessary," I said too quickly. Panic edged my voice, sharp and unmistakable. I forced myself to slow down. "I mean—it’s really not. I promise."

Silence hummed on the line. Romeo took one step closer. Not enough to touch me. Enough to remind me he could.

"I just don’t want you alone if something’s wrong," Michael said quietly. "You can tell me, Katya. If someone hurt you—"

My breath caught.

"No," I cut in, the word coming out sharper than intended. I swallowed hard. "No one hurt me." That wasn’t entirely a lie at the moment.

Romeo hadn’t hurt me but that didn’t mean any wrong move could not cause a reaction. Romeo’s gaze stayed locked on my face, unblinking, assessing every crack in my voice, every twitch of fear I failed to hide.

Michael hesitated. "You’re sure?" I nodded instinctively, then remembered he couldn’t see me. "I’m sure."

Another pause.

Then, softer, almost reluctant, "Okay. But if you need me—if anything changes—you call me. Immediately."

"I will," I said, even as my chest tightened painfully. I didn’t know if I would be allowed to.

The call ended seconds later, the line going dead with a quiet finality that made my hands shake.

I lowered the phone slowly. The room felt enormous now. Empty in the wrong way.

Romeo didn’t speak. The silence between us was no longer neutral. It was loaded.

"Go to sleep, Katya." The words didn’t register at first.

I froze, my fingers still curled around the phone, my mind scrambling to catch up with what he’d just said. Sleep?

That was it?

I’d been bracing for something else entirely—for the explosion. For shouting. For accusations sharp enough to cut.

For him to demand the phone, to rip it out of my hand, to tell me exactly how much trouble I’d just dragged myself into.

For punishment. None of it came.

Romeo didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t step closer. He didn’t even look angry. And somehow, that scared me more than if he had.

Before I could form a response, before I could even decide whether I was allowed to speak, he turned and walked past me.

Just like that. The brush of air from his movement made my skin prickle. I watched him in silence as he bent down, picked up the first aid box from where it had been left on the floor, and headed toward the bathroom.

The door didn’t close fully behind him. I stayed exactly where I was. Didn’t move. Didn’t breathe too loudly. Didn’t understand what was happening.

The bathroom light flicked on, casting a thin strip of brightness across the floor. I could hear him inside—setting the box down, the faint sound of running water. Normal sounds. Ordinary.

It felt wrong. I stared at the door, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for him to come back out and finish whatever this was supposed to be.

But nothing happened. Why was he acting like this?

The question gnawed at me, sharp and relentless. Romeo Salvator didn’t let things go. He didn’t ignore threats. He didn’t delay consequences.

And yet here he was, washing his hands like the night hadn’t just shifted beneath our feet. I would have killed to know what was going on inside his head.

This version of him—the quiet one, the unreadable one—was far more terrifying than the man who shouted or commanded. At least with anger, I knew where I stood.

With this... I had no idea what was coming next. The bathroom door opened.

Romeo stepped out, his naked chest flashing all over my eyes, the rose tattoo on his neck catching my curiosity but now was not the time.

The first aid box was gone. His gaze drifted across the room as he walked, unhurried, until it landed on the small shopping bags still scattered on the floor.

He stopped. I followed his eyes, my stomach tightening as he looked at them for a long moment.

The crumpled paper. The careless spill of things that felt insignificant compared to everything else.

Then his gaze lifted. It found me.

And then—slowly—it dropped to the phone still in my hand. My breath hitched.

He saw it. I knew he did. The proof. The problem. The thing I’d expected him to take from me the second the call ended.

But he said nothing.Did nothing. He turned away instead, walking toward the door like the phone didn’t exist at all.

My heart pounded violently as he reached for the handle. He paused there, hand resting against the wood, his back to me.

"We’ll talk tomorrow," he said calmly.

Tomorrow.Not now. Not tonight.

The delay felt like a sentence all on its own.

He opened the door, then glanced back over his shoulder, his expression still unreadable, his voice level and controlled.

"Good night, Katya."

The door closed behind him with a soft, final click. I stood there long after he was gone, the phone trembling in my hand, my chest tight with a fear that refused to loosen.

Tomorrow.

I didn’t know what that meant. But I knew one thing with terrifying certainty. Whatever Romeo Salvator was planning, this night wasn’t over.

It was only waiting.

††

A very long Chapter.

Was this what y’all expected lol

I know y’all were waiting for a confrontation but I promise when it happens it will be epic.