Chapter 8
==Matteo==
Her eyes were tightly shut. Her hair, sandy blonde, fell all over her face. It had been over thirty minutes she arrived, and I had been keeping watch. I was in the atrium with her.
The first time I laid my eyes on her, intense hatred and disgust grew in me. I remembered thinking, what the hell was I going to do with this one. She was weak. She was frail. If I didn’t know better, I would have argued she was 15.
Again, I cursed Haynes. Pete Haynes, the pathetic fool. He must have grown tired of the burden his daughter had on him, given that he decided to shift his responsibility on me.
I sized the young lady again. I couldn’t tell what she would offer. Could I trust her to handle the kitchen? Or the cellar, or housekeeping. She looked too puny to even lift a duster. Tiny thing.
She made a slight movement. She was stirring awake. Gradually, she opened her eyes, roamed them for some time and then fixed them on me.
The moment she saw me, she gasped. I fought the urge not to roll my eyes. I hoped this one wasn’t a drama queen.
“You’re finally awake,” I said.
She darted her eyes around, taking in the scene before her. “Where am I?”
“At the atrium.”
She squeezed her face. “What?”
“That’s a fancy word for a dungeon.”
I guessed that set an alarm inside her head. She tried to rise but couldn’t. Slowly, she took her eyes to her arms and widened her eyes as she realised she’d been handcuffed to the bed.
“Let me go! Let me—”
“Miss, miss. I don’t appreciate you razing my roof with your voice. I appeal to your sensible side to communicate properly. “
“What the awful fuck are you talking about? Did you know this is kidnapping? You can spend the rest of your miserable life in jail.”
I smiled. “Not true. You know so.”
She squeezed her face further in confusion. I smirked. I liked the fact that she was clueless.
“You’re right though. About kidnapping. It's a heinous crime; I don’t encourage one to get involved in it.”
I paused for an effect.
“But you know what isn’t right? Me being charged with kidnapping.”
She stared at me, blinking her eyes to try to understand me. I smirked inwardly.
“What would you like for dinner? Pasta? Fajitas?” She didn’t respond. “Nachos? Nachos should be fine.”
I rose from my seat and walked to a corner in the room. A little well above the lintel was a bell. I pressed it, summoning a maid.
“A plate of nachos, please,” I told her. “Oh and…” I turned to the girl on the bed. “What’s your drink preference?”
Still, she wouldn’t say anything. I waved the maid off. A minute later, the meal was served.
“You're the boss, aren’t you? You sent those psychos to abduct me!”
“And what if I did? Huh?” I said. “Eat.”
“Fuck you.”
Right then, something came flying at me. I sidestepped. Looking at the floor, I saw the mess. The onion dip splattered on the floor.
My calmness disappeared. All I could see was red. I stomped to her and grabbed her by her shoulders, making sure she stared at me.
“Listen up, young lady. If you think I'm okay with the fact that you’re here, then you’re wrong. Dead wrong. Clearly, you can’t be of any use to me, so consider yourself as being lucky.”
I let go of her violently, making her jerk.
“Since I'm useless, what the hell am I doing here? What do you want?”
I tried not to flinch from her broken voice. It irritated me each time someone broke down in front of me.
“I thought you would have connected the dots. Your father. He sold you to me. So, now, you’re at my mercy.”
I saw the look of horror in her eyes. It made me wonder if truly she was as clueless as she seemed. I almost told her my name but stopped as I didn’t see the need to.
“Liar!” she said. “You fucking asshole. “
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me right. My father would never do that to me. You are mistaken, I know it.”
I almost burst out laughing, but I had a grip on myself. I wasn’t one to laugh.
“Well, I’m afraid you don’t know your father. He was in a hurry to let go of you. Obviously, he couldn’t put up with your whining ass.”
She frowned. Her fists clenched the chains tightly.
“Have a nice night, Miss Haynes,” I said and exited the room.
==Olivia==My head was light, almost as if it didn’t exist. I wanted to speak, but couldn’t bring that to happen. Tried to turn my neck, that also was a failed mission. I was completely useless.Then, miraculously, my eyes began to obey me. It opened, slowly first before becoming fully active. I was in some form of room. The lighting was pretty dim, but I could still see. I tried to speak, to say hello, but cut myself shut. What happened? Where am I?Then, I saw a figure…no, someone. It was actually a person sitting few feet across from where I was. To say I was startled was an understatement. I literally had the scare of my life. Sitting before me was a guy. Now, although I couldn’t see much, I could tell that he was huge. He wore a black long
==Olivia==I didn’t sleep at all. Not with grieve nibbling at me and my stomach making the growl of the century. Right now, I’m crawled in a fetal position, my eyes dreary from long hours of crying. I was done wondering why fate was so cruel with me. I was done wondering why my life felt useless. Why I had to endure all these. I was done.I didn’t know what the time was, but I believed it should be sometime close to noon. This place was as dark as hell. Anyone who endured more than a day here could as well become a bat.I turned the other way, making sure that I didn’t disturb my left arm much. It was almost numb now from hours of staying fixed to the bed post.Sitting up, my legs made contact with the tray of nachos. At that instant,
==Olivia==I was rational; I knew that. As a child, I didn’t buy the idea that Santa Claus existed. It was just pure nonsense, I’d thought. There was no way in the world that an old heavily bearded man would ride through the skies with his reindeer and go on to distribute presents to kids. It was just too good to be true.As a tween, I didn’t see the truth in a fairy-tale romance, such that there were little to no problems at all. It sounded ridiculous. However, here was I, having the firm belief that my tear ducts had been emptied. I’d so much that it couldn’t be possible I’d be able to produce tears ever again.I was still on the bed. Hadn’t brushed, hadn’t showered, hadn’t eaten. I wanted to end it all. To sleep and never wake up again. And if starving w
Leah listened with a bored expression as the professor concluded his lecture. Her eyes glazed over, appearing to look at the projector, when in fact she was anywhere but here“That’s all for today. Make sure you come to get your individual topic for the seminar.” That being said, the entire class was free to leave. Leah stood up and silently packed her bag. A satchel that really needed to be changed. Olivia would have countered, which made Leah frown.Olivia. She hadn’t called since five days ago when she'd slept over at her place. Leah was sure she still hadn’t gotten over the news, well, who could? The poor girl had had the shock of her life. But then, Olivia had assured her she was okay.“I’m fine, “ she said while offering that smile she offered whenever she
==Matteo==Friday night meant a lot of things for different people. It was a time workers breathed a sigh, eager to head home and laze around. Teenagers saw that as an opportunity to throw parties, have sleepovers and do other silly things they did whenever they had the chance.For me, it was… It meant different things depending on my mood. It could be a cue for me to get to the woods and do what I did best, or it could mean I needed a me time—just me in my chambers. But not today. No, no. I knew right from when I woke up this morning that I wanted to fuck. I had to fuck.Well, I deserved to. I bore no hard feelings for my hormones. They were aware of how stressed I’d been lately. That girl. Olivia or whatever was a pain. Literally a mule. Frankly, I was going to have her thrown in the
==Olivia==I'd been in the bathroom for close to an hour now, doing nothing but stand while the shower rained on me. My eyes remained open, even with the sting I felt.Purge. That was what was on my mind. To strip my body of the past and the memories that came with it. Minutes later, when I was sure the warm shower had done its job, I stepped from the stall. Cold frigid air hit me There was a towel hanging on the rack close by. I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around me.My hair was dripping wet, plastered firm on my scalp. I walked into the room, immediately catching sight of the dress on the bed. It was a long robe. Yes, robe. Not dress. Burgundy with some embroidery around the V-neckline.I blinked. O
==Matteo==I was there. Again. Surrounded by nothing but darkness. Just like the previous time, I couldn’t move. No matter how hard I tried. No matter how much effort I put in doing so. My lips were sealed, only opening up moments later and just in time for me to say, “Anyone here?”I got no response. Again. I cursed. What a fool I was. Of course, I'd been stuck in this limbo to know what the drill was. So, I waited.It wasn’t long before she appeared.Angela De La Crux, as she had told me. Donning a dazzling white gown, she drew close to me till it was just a foot that separated us.“Could this stop?” I said before she speak. I knew just what she wanted to say. &ldq
==Matteo==I was almost done eating when my butler returned. He didn’t come with Olivia, but rather had a look of concern on his face.“There’s a problem, sir.”“What is it? I asked.“She’s unconscious.” I didn’t know why I had thought he was going to say that she escaped. But this news about her unconsciousness rattled me. I left the dining and stormed into the atrium. There she was, face up. I walked up to her and felt her pulse, my chest pounding, fearing the worst. I could feel a pulse at her neck. That was a relief.Her entire brow was covered in sweat. I carried her out of the atrium and got into a room. I laid her on the bed, instruct
EPILOGUEFew months later...==Olivia==I applied one last coat of lipstick on Leah's lips, before bloating the excess. It was said that pregnancy brought out a person’s glow. Well, I partly agree with that. Leah was a beauty queen. Her dark hair had taken up this lustre I didn't know its origin. Her skin was smooth, her body chubby. Pregnancy looked so good on her. However, my case was different. I was fatigued most of the time, and the only plump thing right now was my boobs. Although, in retrospect, I'd have squealed in glee. The baby had begun to kick, especially at night. Phew. If I didn't know better, I'd say there were as much as five foetuses in me. "Isn't this too much?" Leah asked, looking at the mirror skeptically."Too much for your baby shower and my housewarming?"She rolled her eyes and I couldn't help but smile. I was glad she agreed with me that this wasn't much. I helped her hold down in a French braid and added some decorative pieces around it. "And done," I sai
Later that night…==Matteo==Darkness had covered everywhere now. Night had set in. I could hear the irritating sound of crickets and the breeze. Fucking nature. I laid on my makeshift bed—which was my perpetual position now—and stared straight ahead. I waited for sleep to take me. One of my men rose from his bed and walked out of the room, probably to take a piss. I didn't care. Moments later, he dashed back inside, eyes wide open.But still, that didn’t move me. His words, however, shook my up. "We're surrounded." At first, it didn't make sense, but then he repeated himself. "Sir, we're surrounded. There're people around the precinct."I rose from the bed. Surrounded? Bu whom? Whispers broke and I glared at my men. "Shut up!" And there was dead silence. "Philemon," I called the guard that'd come with the news. "What did you see?""Wolves. White wolves. They're hiding in this bushes and possibly armed as well." I shut my eyes, trying to process the information. White wolves! H
==Matteo==It had been 84 days of hell. I had lost everything. Everything. The mansion, my business, my men, my image….Olivia. Everything. And funnily enough, I hadn't spilled a tear, neither had I roared in pain in the beginning. The entire occurrence had simply felt surreal. The stench of silver hanging in the air was a proof though, that none of this was a dream.Yosef had lost his life. I'd spotted his charred body in the gazebo, while I was scampering away for my life. My trusted butler was gone. He had been the only living vestiges of my childhood, as he was my Dad's secretary. And now, I had lost him. Just like I had lost everything that mattered to me.Like I'd said, I hadn't cried initially. Upon finding shelter around the Brookehurt—Eggortin mountains, however my composure broke. I had done that which I hadn't done for years. Cry. The truth was scary. I would never see Yosef again. I'd never repay him for all his loyalty and endurance. Yes, that man had kept up with my exce
Two days later...==Olivia==Suddenly, all I saw was a bright white light. It was so harsh I tried shutting my eyes, all to no avail.It came pouring in, inflicting a pounding headache to me. I groaned, even as my body began to tremble. And then everything ceased. The light, the trembling. Everywhere was quiet for some time and darkness pervaded. I didn't know why, but the thing that came to my head was: death. I must have died. And now, I was in this sort of limbo where nothing existed. Having this belief, I gasped and started to grope around for anything I could touch. Surely, this place wasn't a void! And I was right because someone grabbed my arm. I whipped my head in the direction, ready to punch whomever it was off. "Olivia? Oh God, yes! Wake up. Open your eyes." Open my eyes? Did that mean my eyes were shut? And so, I did obeyed… or rather, my eyes did so on its own accord and I came face to face with this brown haired lady who looked so fucking familiar. I took a second,
==Matteo==9:13 pmI held a wolf by its throat, pinning it to the wall. I had punched the hell out of him and he was almost lifeless now. But I wasn't done. I'd make sure I snuff the life out him. And so, my hands held his neck like a vice, tightening as seconds rolled by. His eyes began to glaze over and just when I was about to deliver a deathly blow, someone called my name."Macini!" I frowned. Who dared to call me by my last name. I delivered the intended blow on the wolf, watching it slip to the floor.I was startled the moment I turned around. "Oh, you recognise me. Good riddance." Not much of that was the truth, because the reason behind my surprise wasn't this jerkass standing before me, but Olivia. I growled, "Let go of her now.""Who? Oh, her?" He laughed. The sound grate my ears. "Nah, she won't appreciate that."My frown deepened. The fool was messing with me. I attempted taking a step forward when Olivia spoke."Don't." There was something strange about her voice
7:00 pm==Matteo==We were ready. With the snipers, grenades, shotguns and pistons, we were prepared for battle. In addition to the guards at the gate, there were those stationed at strategic places all over the Malchian Grove. They would take them down even before they reached the mansion. I could hear the distant sound of gunshots and wolves growling. They were near.I cracked neck. I flexed my fingers. With my fist balled and my eyes staring straight ahead, I was ready. The sound approached, getting dangerously close to the gate. Just like that, shots begun to be fired. The guards at the gate fought well. They fired all their bullets on the invaders, but then, something weird happened. The invaders came pouring in numbers.I stood, shocked. I hadn't expected this kind of number. A sea of people forced themselves through the gate. They had with them ammunition.Someone threw a grenade, shooting everyone around the gate off. Yosef gave me a look; I shook my head. No. We wouldn't
==Olivia==5:55 pm.I would so fucking deal with Matteo! The fuck, the dude had told me to stay in his room pending his quick arrival. Guess what, eons….epochs had passed by and there had been no sign of him. Not even his shadow. Not even his smell, scent, whatever. The room was growing darker, and dear mister wasn't here yet!Initially, I had left the room to meet him outside. Lo and behold, the entrance was completely manned by guards. My anxiety peaked. I'd guessed a similar phenomenon existed in other entrances/exits, and I hadn't wasted my energy trying them out. Again, rather than going to my room, I'd returned to Matteo's, mainly because it had a balcony which would likely offer me access to the outside. However, to my chagrin, that balcony was locked. I had remained in Matteo's room because I felt safe here. I couldn't tell why I felt so, but that was it. I stopped pacing about and sat on the bed. First it was a curfew, and now this? What… I buried my face in my palm befo
A knock came and Lyons—still with his eyes fixed on his nightstand— said, "Come in."The door swing open. It was the butler. "Sir, the hall has been assembled." Lyons waved him away. Now was the time. Turning away from the nightstand, Lyons walked out of the room and reached the hallway. He descended quite a number of stairs, before reaching the basement door. As he opened the door, noise of chattering people hit him. He could make out what each one of them was saying.The noises died down as the people spotted Lyons. He looked ahead to see a multitude. Hundreds and hundreds of Brookehurtian citizens. He smiled to himself.He stood in front of them. "Good evening, the great people of Brookehurt. I'm so glad you honoured my request. As you know, our town has been under attack, in which loves and properties have been destroyed. May I use the opportunity to apologise for that." He paused fir let that sink in. Everyone paid rapt attention. "As a way of helping out, I am donating a sum
==Matteo==Pulling shirt down my face, I was set to leave. Olivia on the other hand was still in the process of putting on her bra. I looked away, not sure I wanted to catch sight of her pointy breasts. They were so fucking tempting. When I looked her way again, she was done. Her hair was tossed, an evident of the body slamming exercise we'd had moments earlier. A look on the clock on the wall confirmed it was way last our lunch time. I walked up to her; a smile appearing on her face. I picked up her scarf that laid some feet away and gave it to her. "Here." Still having the tiny smile on her lips, she took it from me and tied up her hair.As we left the chambers, I could sense she was exhausted from the thing we had. So, to save her any more troubles, I'd let her rest for some time before we met for lunch. I escorted her to her room and when we got to the door, I leaned to kiss her light. Yes, a chaste kiss this time around."See you at lunch."She smiled in response and steppe