Page 1 of Stalker Daddy

Chapter One

___________

Fia

“Hey, kid.How’re you doing?”

I stop picking at the blanket when the curtain to the hospital room slides open, and the metal rings scraping across the bar are deafening as I glance up.

Cyrus has been my bodyguard since I was eighteen.My manager had hired him for protection when I started to get fan mail, but she said it was a normal practice that reduces unnecessary risks.

I’m a violinist.I don’t think anyone would care enough about someone who hasn’t even made a name for herself.I was wrong though, one particular man who signs his name as “Six” has continuously amped his wording in the letters he would send over the years.

It has gotten worse because this time, he had actually physically harmed me by ramming his car into my manager’s with me in the passenger seat.He sped off with no licenses plate and a car that looked too plain for any distinctive markings.

I didn’t know about cars, and neither did my manager so we couldn’t give much information to the police that came to the scene.

“I’m okay,” I say while lifting my forearm that’s been bandaged by a very patient nurse who assured me that I was in good hands.

Cyrus leans on the side rail and sighs; the wrinkles near his eyes are deeper than I remember from yesterday.

“I’m sorry, kid.I should’ve been there.”His lips tighten, and regret flushes his face.

I put my hand on top of his and shake my head.“It’s just a scratch.”

He breathes heavily, eyes gazing at the monitor on the other side that echoes with my heartbeat.“Alana’s chemo is working better now.I can come back to work tomorrow.”

He told me that he planned to retire with his wife after his army days, but then Alana got sick with cancer, and his pension couldn’t cover the cost.Cyrus picked up the security detail from my manager, and it was the right choice because as more sponsors come for me, the more money I can pay him for his protection.

We have grown closer, and I care about his wife so much.I would do anything to help them.Alana is the motherly figure who makes me less lonely, and Cyrus is the bossy dad.Being with them has given me much-needed warmth, more than the empty house with my overbearing parents.

All they care about is the money they are making in their own company.They never cared much about me, and they are extremely disappointed when they found out that I was more interested in a violin than a pen scribbling down my signature on contracts.

Then the big break happened, and overnight fame came crashing down on me, and they suddenly became the concerned parents that they never were.I stopped talking to them a while back, and I hadn’t regretted it because it was their toxicity that didn’t allow me to pursue my passion.

I was over eighteen, and they couldn’t legally stop me from leaving.Living on my own is tough, but I manage just fine.I have Cyrus as fatherly protection, Alana as the bookkeeper and surrogate mother, and my manager, who is so anal-retentive that she whipped me into shape about the curse of fortune.

Alana wanted to work because she can’t just let her husband take on the burden of her chemotherapy cost, and everything works out fine.She’s handling my money with such care, and I can focus on my music.

“Fia?”A hand on my shoulder shakes me.

I snap out of my thoughts.“What?”

“Did you hear what I said?”He chuckles and rubs the back of my skull comfortingly.His hand is warm, supportive, and it calms the adrenaline in my blood.

Getting almost mowed down by a maniac is going to make me a bit dazed, but I’m in safe hands right now.I have no reason to think that the stalker will be back so soon since we are surrounded by professional doctors and police officers.

Not to mention the gentle giant named Cyrus.

“No, sorry,” I say with a sheepish smile.“What did you say?”

He opens his mouth, but then the curtain slides open again to reveal Mr.Vito.He’s a friend and a war brother of Cyrus.Vito has is aura on him: menacing, domineering, and very controlling.Cyrus introduced him to me about three years ago when I was nineteen, and it was also the time when the stalker had gotten bolder.

“I’m taking care of you.”Vito closes the curtain behind him as he stands at the foot of the bed.

He makes me nervous, and he knows that.He neither points it out nor does he really care.Well, he cares because he has done so much for me when Alana’s chemotherapy didn’t go as well as we hoped, and he would take on the responsibility of protecting me while Cyrus stayed with his wife.

It’s not a perfect system, but it works.I see him around a lot because he’s Cyrus’ friend and also a persistent presence in my heart.

---