Something was wrong.I felt it deep in my bones as I placed the piece of chicken into my mouth, chewing as silently as I could.“What if I told you there was actually a way to leave this estate that doesn’t involve the gates or Sebastian’s room.”Those words kept echoing in my mind any time I stole a glance at Ryan, Sebastian’s brother in law. It was currently two weeks since the incident happened, and this was the first time we were sharing a room together again.Ari, like always, sat close to him in a way that suggested they were together, but no one could ever prove it. I found it rather ridiculous to hide the relationship from people who couldn’t care less who one bedded in this place.Surely, some people needed some sort of relief when they were in a place like this. Starved of human attraction.I watched the door discreetly, and as often as I could, the sound of my heart pumping blood was the only thing I could hear. Jaden’s birthday was four days ago, and Sebastian avoided me l
Elena. Rachel's wing was enormous. As the Lady of the estate, she had exquisite taste, which was evidenced by the sort of clothes, shoes, jewellery, make-up, and wigs stationed carefully and without dust in her walk in closet. The entrance to my escape began from that walk-in closet. After Ryan and Ari left, and I retired to my room, I found a little note on my bedstand table, close to where Jaden had left his favourite toy. The little boy was cuddled up with Charlotte. Their beautiful little faces were free from the worries of the day. I spent an hour in Rachel's room trying to find the particular spot Ryan had mentioned in his note, but something niggled at me. Something about the whole situation was tricky. He had given me a way out of the estate. The one person he considered a spy - meant to bring the downfall of the great empire. I wasn't too sure what I was looking for, but after an hour of searching her walkin closet - even for false drawers and
Elena.He rolled a joint the first day I saw him, holding both leads to two different dogs in front of our manor's grounds. There were acres of forests all around us, the nearest house miles away from here.I was seventeen, fresh out of high school.James, on the other hand, was nineteen, his skin glowing while the moon highlighted his face. He wore a cap and had a sort of permanent smile on his face. A smile that kept drawing me in."Are you sure you want to go ourside, Elena? It is awfully chilly."I looked up at my dad from where I sat close to the door, lacing up my boots. "Yeah. I want to meet the friends of my new elder brother."Dad huffed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We just got here recently. Evangeline would be mad. She wouldn't want you to wander around with her barely there nineteen years old son."My smile dropped when the 'barely there' son walked out down the stairs, ignoring both Dad and I because surely he heard what Dad had said. I rolled my ey
Elena.Twenty four hours.The hours did not pass in a blur. Instead, I felt each second, and every minute pass with each stroke he made on my skin. With each taunt Ryan unleashed at me. I blinked against the bright light he shone on my face, my hands and ankles cuffed to a metal chair in the middle of the room.“What did such a sweet soul ever do to you?.” Ryan demanded.” James loved you so much, he abandoned me for you. He said both of you were about to have a daughter.”“What?” I asked, confused and a bit disoriented from the gnawing feeling in my stomach.He hummed, flipping through a folder. My folder. “You seduced him at his lowest point, and got yourself pregnant for him. Then your dad had to make sure you both got married.”I felt every drop of blood in my body turn to ice, but I tried my best not to show it. Whatever file the Halloways had found on me, it wasn’t accurate. None of what he just said made sense or was the truth in any possible way.“Is that what James told you?
Elena.A week after."You look like shit." Jaden commented one morning as he sank into the chair opposite mine, his eyes sharp as he appraised me. "And you haven't played with us for a week."I looked up from the book I was currently staring at and watched him with careful eyes. Age seven seemed to be the one for him, as he looked like a younger Sebastian now. Charlotte, beautiful daughter of mine, was his devoted best friend who followed him everywhere.She arched her eyebrow at me when I didn't respond to Jaden's statement after five minutes. "You haven't tried attending our classes for two weeks now."I dropped the book I had been staring at - not reading because I just kept looking at the words without comprehending anything - and leaned back, irritation coiling in my stomach as I saw Ryan's curly hair outside the room door.Stalking me like a predator.Ever since I was locked up for almost forty-eight hours at that shack in the woods, I kept away from Ryan and Ari like my life an
Sebastian."Spank me!! Master, spank me!!"I stifled an eyeroll at the exaggerated display of lust in front of me, as the whore bent herself and spread her legs wide open for the dark haired man wearing a mask by the side. The whole show said all it needed to about the people who attended, my inclusive. "One day, someone is going to get spanked or choked so hard here, and they would die without a chance of resuscitation." Kevin, one of my employees, and closest friend clucked his tongue. "And I would pay good money to see that."I held back a smirk. "Do you know anyone who died from spanking?""No. But I am prepared to wait until it happens." His eyes narrowed down as he watched the first group of people leave and another enter. "Maybe I would be the one to try it with that pretty new nanny of yours."I knew a hundred ways to kill a man, ninety nine of those would look like an accident."Speak her name again, and risk losing your tongue."Elena Blythe would be the death of me. Not li
Elena.One of the worst things about having someone who loathed the ground you walked on was living with them. It had never been an issue when Sebastian had not given Ryan freedom to do whatever he wanted, but living in close quarters with him kept me on edge.Suddenly, the estate looked too small, and everywhere I looked, Ryan and Ari were there.Drinking coffee in the kitchen. Playing a game with the kids. Reading a book. Making out with Ari like his life depended on it, his biceps flexing, and his skin glistened with sweat.It felt like I was in the presence of a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment."Aren't you hot in those clothes?" Ryan asked one unreasonably warm day as he watched me read a book.Though it was fall, I made sure to wear the thickest sweater I could to hide the bruises hidden beneath my clothes, beads of sweat trickled down my neck to my back. The lemonade one of the kitchen staff made for me helped cool me down.I scoffed. "Trying to get my clothes
Elena.Sebastian Halloway would be the death of me. I knew it the moment I laid my eyes on his son and then on him. My prediction was playing out in real time as he practically devoured me.After discovering that anyone could walk in on us while we were in the kitchen, Sebastian literally carried me to his room. And dropped me rather gently on the bed.Leading to the death of my self-control, the professional front I had, and any sense of self-preservation I might have had. Not even the fact that he literally wanted me to get married to him mattered when he placed deep kisses on each side of my neck or how perfectly my curves fit into his hands like I was made for him.I wrapped my arms around him, my body plaint underneath his. He tasted of mint and wine, and at that particular moment, it became my favourite taste in the world.I wanted nothing but for him to bury himself inside me so deep I would never forget him. I wanted him to cross a bridge I knew we would never be able to go ba