Novels by Phen

Doctor Jane Branston had expected only two reactions from Nicholas, but she got neither. She expected him to be either angry that she insinuated his wife was supposed to be pregnant or be happy that she insinuated that he was having a happy marriage with his long time obsession turned wife, but instead... His usually sharp blue eyes went dull, and a hint of fear crept into them. That was...unexpected. "Are you alright, Nicholas?" Jane asked, rising from her seat. She walked around the table and didn't stop until she was standing in front of him. "Your face changed just now," she added. Nicholas gritted his teeth, his jaws set in determination as he lifted his gaze to look at her. "Let this be the last time you're broaching that topic, Jane. You know the nature of my job, how dangerous it is. I can't burden Isabella with my babies when I won't be around to take care of them," he stated. "You're joking, right?" Jane asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. Since she grew up with thi

Isabella didn’t bat an eye when the car pulled up at the entrance of the Saint Violet’s Hospital where a team of doctors led by Joseph Franc were waiting for them. Having lived all her life without venturing out of the Yates’ Estate, there was no way she would know that this was the private hospital that was solely meant for the members of the royal family in the country.‘’Need a shawl? It’s cold outside.’’She turned, hearing Nicholas voice right behind her ears. It was strange; how this man acted. Just like earlier in the bathroom when he had offered to help take off her shirt, her cheeks had reddened instantly and she had immediately stuttered her disapproval. As she didn’t expect him to honor her words, it had come as a shock to her when he turned and walked out of the bathroom.His words when he got to the door, ‘’Wearing that horrified look makes me feel like a monster so keep it off your face. It isn’t like I would touch you without permission.’’For the rest of her bath and

Back to present... Isabella was taking the same decision with Nicholas. She knew being on his side was the same as being on the most powerful side, if she was comparing him to her parents. And at least for now, he wasn't whipping her yet so she could take shelter behind him. She might have to suffer just like she did with Mrs Grey those years before but it was still preferable to getting whipped and locked in the dark room with its countless torture weapons and insects. "You said what?" Nicholas' voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "I did it myself." Nicholas tilted his head, staring down at her with a complex gaze. Though he didn't want to believe her words that she did all these to herself, David's words from when he had asked whom the latter suspected to poison Isabella at the wedding banquet, echoed in his mind. "Miss Yates refused to tell you what was wrong with her even after you showed you were annoyed. And after it got to your knowledge, she still refused to accept th

Five years ago...17 year old Isabella waited alongside the rest of the Yates family members with their maids and butlers, outside the family mansion. As usual, she was positioned at the back of the maids, and her presence was just as important as that of Angela who was standing beside her. She was basically invisible."They allowed you out of the dark room because of the guest that's to arrive today?" Angela asked, surprise evident in her eyes. Isabella was usually locked in the dark room for a minimum of two weeks, but this time around she was already out even though she had only been there for just two days."That's what I think," Isabella replied. Tilting her head so she could see if her family members had already taken their positions in front of the workers, she added, "It was tougher this time. Dad put some bugs in the room."She rolled her sleeves up to reveal the purplish bite marks which she had itched until it turned to bigger wounds."Oh my goodness, Bella! How did you man

Nicholas stepped closer to the bed, his eyes narrowing at Isabella's action of covering her body. "How have you been?" he asked."Me? I—I have been well! Perfectly well...Nicholas," she added the last word after a moment of thought, as if she was wondering if he would be annoyed by that or not."I could tell. I've been here earlier today and I must say, you seemed to have enjoyed yourself during my absence," he murmured, his tone laced with sarcasm.Isabella, however, didn't notice anything wrong with what he said."How was y—your trip?" she stuttered, clenching and unclenching her hand that tightly gripped the sheets."Hectic, as usual. Though this one was particularly worse since someone refused to pick her calls or even return the calls she missed for two whole weeks.""Ah... I'm sorry for that. I was...Busy and uh—I did..." Isabella stopped talking when Nicholas took another step closer to the bed. If he took one more, he would be right beside her. And he did."I heard about the p

Raph beamed, revealing all his whites as he smiled."I will be 20 in a few days," he replied."It's my first time seeing you around. When did you arrive?" Nicholas' tone was strangely soft, surprising everyone in the room. Even Marcus was not left out."It's been a year, Sir."Seeing the questioning gaze in Nicholas' eyes, Marcus interrupted in their conversation, "After the incident with my son last year, I asked Raphael to come join me here. You have been mostly out of the mansion in the past year so that's the reason you weren't aware of his presence."Nicholas gave a curt nod. He could vaguely remember the man taking a long leave in the previous year due to a car accident that took the lives of his son and daughter-in-law. He could guess Raph was Marcus' grandson."So, do you have anything to say about what happened while I was away? Anything about the party or whatever you can think of," he asked.Raph nodded vigorously, ignoring the signal his grandfather was throwing at him."S