William Brown was back home in Apex city to enjoy his vacation.
3-years ago, at the age of 20, he graduated with a double doctorate in Architecture and Computer Engineering. But he only told everyone back home that he got a post-grad degree in Architecture.
In the past three years, he worked in the highly reputable Scott Designs in Z city as the chief Architecture Engineer and had built a name for himself.
This summer, he resigned from his job to focus on his own company - AR Group.
Before he got busy with work, he decided to spend two months at home and help his beloved cousin Ria with her wedding. However, he told everyone that he had taken total leave of 3 years.
Since the day William came back, he spent his entire day working on restoring the house that he had secretly bought at 18 unless he was helping his cousin with something.
Tonight he had returned to the Brown family mansion utterly exhausted and ready to pass out as he had been doing for the past two weeks. But he could not sleep.
Tring Tring
Even before William picked up his phone, he knew it was Evan calling him out for a drink like he did every other day.
“Hey, Evan. Where’s the party tonight?”
“Gee! Will, did you get attacked by an alien tonight? How come you are asking where instead of refusing flat out?”
“Just give me the address.” William ignored the jab.
“Friends bar.”
William hung up without replying.
William went to the bar still in his two-sizes-too-big t-shirt, loose trousers, unkempt hair, and tired face.
Just a glance could tell he had come straight from the bed.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Pete flirting with this average-looking petite girl.
William wondered why Pete-the flirt, changed his target today as he usually tended to flirt with the big-chested-scantily-dressed women.
The girl he was flirting with was flat-chested, casually dressed in denim, a t-shirt, and converse shoes. She had loose shoulder-length hair partially pinned on the back.
William wondered if the girl was underage and unconsciously frowned at the thought.
Moreover, the girl was constantly refusing him, but Pete kept on pestering, which was weird because Pete never bothered anyone who did not flirt back. At most, he would try thrice.
Perhaps, because of that, William could not take his eyes off the pair and the highly amusing banter. He could see everyone seemed to be enjoying it.
He saw Evan and the others waving at him two tables from the girl and her group, but he ignored them and sat at the counter close to where Pete was to listen in.
“Oh, c’mon. I’m just asking for your number. I swear I won’t call or text you”.
“I don’t want to give my number. Please excuse us, Sir. ”
“Uhm, I’m not that old. Don’t call me sir. Please tell me your number, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Sir, please leave. I don’t want to share my number.”
“Alright, how about this? Tell me your name, and I'll be out of here.”
“Alright, my name is Anna. Please leave now.”
“Hello, Anna. My name is Pete. Now that you are acquainted, how about we exchange contact details?”
“..”
“Here, let me give you a call.”
“...” “Sir, please leave!”
“Call me Pete. My name is not Sir. Are all beautiful ladies this respectful?”
“...”
“So, Anna, how about I buy you a drink?”
“...”
“Excuse me. A margarita for this pretty senorita, please.” wink
“...”
“Anna, is there anything else you’d like to drink? Don’t be shy! We come here all the time.”
William watched as the girl stared at Pete for a few seconds before she drew a deep breath and smiled at Pete.
She was a total stranger, but somehow, William could tell Pete was in danger.
A part of him told him to go and rescue his friend. But he impulsively wanted to watch how she dealt with him.
Rosaline Dayne was on a 6-week break before she had to report for her first real job.Having worked her ass off on her internship and thesis to finish up her post-grad with a double major in Interior design and basic Architecture, she was all hyped up for the break before she shifted her focus back to work and career. A few days after she was back, she invited her childhood friends to celebrate the end of her graduation and the start of her actual adult life.She was 20 years old this year and had spent the last seven years of her life trying to grow up faster. Unfortunately, with each minute, she was getting quite irritated with the idiot ruining her party.Rosaline could see in his eyes that he was not interested in her. But he would not stop bugging her as if he was possessed. Finally, having lost her patience, she decided to get rid of him in her way.Since none of his friends decided to help him and watched the show, they could not blame her for being ruthless. She took a dee
Rosaline followed the hand on her arm and traced it to the sleepy-looking guy who still had the drunk Pete holding onto his other arm and shoulders tight. “He is not always like this. Can you listen to his side of the story? Find out why he treated you so disrespectfully. Please?”William said with pleading eyes, though his face and tone betrayed no emotion. ‘I don’t want her to think badly of anyone around me.’ William was confused about his thoughts. ‘Dude, she is probably underage. Calm down! What’s wrong with you?’ he told himself. ‘Wait! That’s not the point. Why am I so bothered that she might be underage?’‘He is quite good-looking now that I look at him and seems like a good friend.’ Rosaline thought. ‘WTF? Why would you think about him? Get a hold of yourself,’ Rosaline told herself.Pete’s sniveling brought them back to their senses. Rosaline looked at him and pointed at his hands which were grabbing her arm with raised eyebrows. “Well?” Rosaline said with a ‘Talk! Yo
William sighed, having to explain.He had always hated explaining, and this happened to be something he practically covered for Supriya for over a decade on account of their mothers being friends. But it was time to let the cat out of the bag.Moreover, he was reluctant to hide things from the petite girl and let her misunderstand him, a thought which terrified him just as much as it surprised him. “Do you remember when we were kids, she used to chase me around and pretend that we were childhood sweethearts who would get married when we grew up?” William asked Pete. Pete rolled his eyes, “Don’t we all know that?”.William sent him a glare which made Pete stammer. He smiled hesitatingly and asked him to continue. William shook his head helplessly, which made Rosaline squint her eyes at him. “Well, she wrote me a love letter which read like she was begrudgingly replying because I stalked her. And she made sure to get caught. That got me in trouble.”“She testified to the teachers t
“Is that why you never liked her?” Pete asked.“Why did you not tell us this before?” Pete’s eyes were full of grievances. “When we grew up, she flirted with all of you, although subtly, to avoid confrontations.”“She was always clever to avoid suspicion and looked pitiful whenever someone tried to oust her.”“I never thought she liked you or anyone for that matter. That’s why I told you to be careful.” William explained. Pete was flabbergasted. “Why did you not tell me all this in detail? I thought you just did not like her on account of the trouble she caused in school”. William shrugged, “Her mother’s good friends with my mom, so when confronted, she begged to keep it under wraps and that she would ensure she never bothers me.” Pete looked like he was constipated. “What about the other things?”Before William could reply, Evelyn piped in.“He did. So did I, but all of you were blind as a bat.”“And she cried so pitifully whenever confronted that you guys always let it slide.”“
Rosaline was shocked by her outburst.‘What’s wrong with me? I don’t know them. I should be calling the cops for all that guy did to me earlier.’ She smiled awkwardly, trying to hide her embarrassment but frowned upon seeing the smile in William’s eyes. That made her roll her eyes.‘Screw it! I’ve already said it out loud. Let’s just go with it.’ “Well, you can also get back together with her. Get screwed again.”“Spend your entire life trying to figure out when NO means NO and when NO means YES. And every time you break up and get frustrated, you can ruin some other innocent girl’s evening.” William curled his lips at the word innocent, which made Rosaline want to kick him. But she ignored him and continued.“Or since she already told you that you broke up. Just accept it and detoxify yourself.”Evelyn hooted at that and gave Rosaline a high-five, “well said, bro!”.‘I have a feeling we’ll get along well.’ Rosaline smiled at that but was shocked by her thoughts.‘Shit! I’ve to le
Rosaline saw William as soon as she exited the bathroom.He squinted at her as she made her way back. She only glanced at him, furrowed her beautiful brows, and ignored him. Somehow, this made William smile. He walked up to her and tried to start a conversation.“Hey, got a minute?”“And may I ask why you would need it?”Her voice was cold and held clear distance and indifference.William felt awkward. He tried hard to understand why he was so bothered about the probability of her being underage. But he masked his emotions well.“Well, I just want to say sorry and thank you.” He replied confidently without any awkwardness.“It does not matter,” Rosaline said with a sigh.“Can I ask you something rather inappropriate?” William decided to bite the bullet.“Why would you ask if you already know it’s inappropriate?” Rosaline retorted with raised eyebrows. “Maybe I’m just selfish.”“...” Rosaline was speechless, and that made William smile. “How old are you?” Rosaline could see the nerv
Rosaline got up quite late, having partied till late last night.Looking at her sleepy appearance in the mirror, she thought of William. She shook her head, flattened her messy hair, and went on with her morning routine. There was a commotion at the breakfast table with her parents waiting for her. She had an uneasy feeling about it. “Good morning, people!” Rosaline said with a smile.“You guys did not wait for me for breakfast, did you?” She had hardly finished what she was saying when her father, George Dayne, slammed the local newspaper on the table. She picked it up with curiosity and saw two pictures of herself which were rather vague.One was her leaning toward Pete, and Pete’s face was unmistakable.The other picture showed her leaning toward William; even William’s back view was vague. The headline was rather glaring.“Shameless groupie steals another woman’s boyfriend!”Rosaline instantly knew that it was Supriya’s doing.As the photographs were from inside the bar that
On the other side of the city, Tom and Rita Brown also saw the news.Tom Brown and George Dayne were professors at Apex University and had been friends for over 20 years. Their families were close as well. George’s nephew, Maddox Dayne, got acquainted with the Browns while visiting his uncle and got to know Tom and Rita’s daughter Ellaria.They became childhood sweethearts and were about to get married in 5 weeks. They had known Rosaline since she was a little kid. They had thought William and Rosaline would be a good match.Both families had agreed to set them up during Max and Ria’s wedding. But seeing the news report, both Tom and Rita hesitated.‘Although we have known her since she was a child, Lina studied abroad for the last five years, and five years before that, Lina was in a hostel. God knows what she has become these years.’ ‘Maybe we should wait and see for the next few days before settling things.’“Tom, what do you think about the news?” Rita asked, obviously worried
William lay on the bed with Rosaline in his arms and little Parth in his crib on the side. “Lexi?” William whispered. “Hmm?” Rosaline hummed in his neck. “Falling in love with you is the greatest achievement of my life. Thank you, darling. I never knew I could be so happy that my heart feels like it’ll overflow.” William said emotionally. “Don’t steal my line. That’s how I feel. With you by my side, I feel invincible.” Rosaline murmured. “I love you so much.” He said hoarsely. “I know. I would argue I love you more, but we both know that’s not true.” Rosaline giggled, peppering kisses on his neck. “Don’t do that!” William sighed. She teased, “Do what?” “Our son is here. We can’t do anything, so don’t provoke me. Besides, you have not healed yet.” William answered. “Teasing you is no fun. You have better control than me.” Rosaline complained. “You should be happy about that. I want you more than you want me.” William teased. “I have noticed our desire for sex and food follow
Everyone had gathered at the AR mansion early as Asteria was to bring Rosaline and William’s baby.Tessa jumped first and ran to the door.She could not snatch the baby from Asteria’s arm, and Asteria would not give him away.They argued as they reached Rosaline’s side.The silent baby finally made a cooing noise as he leaped at Rosaline.“You heartless brat, I have been looking after you for two days, and you did not even speak to me once,” Asteria exclaimed, making everyone laugh.She had become much more cheerful in Apex city. She was unrestrained and happy.Everyone was waiting to hold the baby.Leena whistled and said, “Don’t crowd around him. Give him some breathing space. Rosy will introduce everyone to him.”They all grumbled and sat down.Jack had to grab Tessa and Albert by the collar and make them sit.Meanwhile, the baby rested his head on Rosaline’s shoulders but kept facing outside.“Don’t be mad at Mamma. Mamma was busy. Look, Mamma brought Dada home.” Rosaline convince
Danial, Isabella, Rosaline, and William went to the Scott family mansion.They had identified and reported the spies to the authorities.Someone had screened the entire mansion for hidden bugs.They enjoyed a lively dinner. It was the most peaceful meal in over five months. They shared what was going on and celebrated the reunion.They had planned to fly to Apex city the next day.They had given a week off to everyone in both companies except the support staff. It was to gear everyone up for the drastic changes that were to happen in Scott Group and to set the pace they would pick up at AR Group. Finally, William and Rosaline were alone in their bedroom.He hugged her close as soon as they locked the door.“You worked so hard,” William sounded sad.“It was the only time I had gotten physically involved. I only worked from the sidelines and helped the rescued people. It was emotionally draining to see so much suffering.”“But I tried my best to channel it into helping others, spreadin
Rosaline tried to soothe her.“Forget those vile creatures. That phase in your life is over. It’ll never go away, but it’s only a past now.”“The baby is innocent. It’s 29 weeks old now. Already fully formed.”“That gives you three options - you can keep the baby.”“You can abort it.”“Or you can wait a few more weeks. After the 34th week, we can do a c-section. The baby will be kept in a NICU until it is ready to be taken away.”“It’ll have a very high chance of survival after 34 weeks. You need at least six weeks for your physical injuries to heal anyway. You will be in the hospital regardless.”“And even if you want to abort, you’ll have to wait two weeks before your other injuries are healed enough for the procedure to be safe for your body.”“You can sleep on it and make a choice.”The girl looked at her and asked, “If I give birth, what will happen to the child?”Rosaline answered, “Depends on what you want. You can leave it in CARE if you don’t want to raise it. I promise the c
Rosaline broke the silence before the reporters could ask anything.“This little girl needed 30 stitches to heal the wound caused by rape. I had qualms about signing the consent form to terminate the pregnancy, which she called a monster. It would have undoubtedly torn her already vulnerable body apart.”The host silenced the reporters and played another clip.It showed a hospital bed and a young woman with a big pregnant belly. Her face was blurred, but she looked young.A police officer took her statement while a nurse and Rosaline stayed in the room.“Miss , let me confirm the details as you have mentioned previously. You met Peter a year ago in a cafe. He asked you out, you refused, he started to harass you, and then you filed a complaint against him.”“We found the complaint in the FIR box in the police station of south branch-9, which is close to your house. You and your parents met with an accident five days after you had filed an FIR.”The girl trembled, and Rosaline hel
Rosaline asked.“Whose permission do we need to terminate any possible pregnancy? They are too young to consent to anything, and god knows when we will find their families.”She slumped down and leaned on the wall as she sighed.“On top of everything, I don’t want them to have to carry a pregnancy to term. Under a proper environment, there is a chance they might heal and have a life, a family, and a future ahead. Let’s protect that.”“Thank you, Chief!”“Can we also get permission for the girls to choose if they want to return to their homes or stay in CARE?”“I suspect one of the girls got sold by her family. The others were in unwanted, improvised conditions. Only the 13-year-old seems to come from a loving family. If they don’t have a healing environment at home, let them stay in CARE. When they are better, they can move out anytime they want.”“Thank you, Chief. I will get the documents from you and prepare them after I get checked at the hospital.”“Don’t worry! I won’t mess with
A reporter asked a question that was not related to the case.“Miss Dayne, there are rumors that all the rescued rape victims get forced to have an abortion before being admitted to CARE. Could you shed some light on the matter?”The host replied, “Please keep the questions limited to the case.”Rosaline smiled at the host and answered, “That is not true. But I think I should be able to answer more clearly if your question was specific.”The reporter was stunned but soon asked, “Is it true that you have signed the consent form for abortion for the rape victims who were underage?”“Yes, that is true.”The reporter sneered, “In that case, it is true.”Rosaline countered, “I think you should get your facts straight and understand the nuances while discussing a sensitive topic.”“I have signed a consent form to terminate the pregnancy caused by six months of continuous rape of an 8-year-old who was in no way capable of sustaining a pregnancy on her physically undeveloped body that needed
Chief Green continued after the reporters quieted down.“After an in-depth investigation, we uncovered some evidence which indicated Mr. Jackson Senior’s involvement in the accident of Mr. Andrew Scott’s pregnant wife.”“Mr. Jackson Junior’s involvement in missing funds and misappropriation of money and resources within Scott Group subsidiaries came to light. We also found evidence of him bribing many staff members of Scott Group.”“Ultimately, there was evidence of their involvement in child trafficking. It linked both cases together.”“Furthermore, Mr. Jackson Senior was the leading investigator of the case of Mrs. Andrew. He was also the senior leader overseeing the capture of the suspect - Peter.”“However, there was no motive linking them, and their accounts were clean. And the evidence was not enough.”“So, we had to dig deeper, and we uncovered Mr. Jackson’s sister, who had wanted to marry into the Scott family, had gone missing and was presumed dead two years before Mrs. Andre
“You bitch, you called the cops,” Michael said venomously, spittle spraying from his mouth.“Someone is indeed helping you from the inside. No wonder we failed three times.” Rosaline said calmly.“Hahaha, you are smart. No wonder you found all my hideouts. Too bad you can’t catch me, though.” He sneered.“For what you did to those little girls, I will make sure you get caught, even if it’s the last thing I do,” Rosaline vowed.“Those little cunts were so tight. I am getting hard just thinking of them. The youngest one, how old was that bitch again? Ah! 8, 7 when I bought her. She was one feisty bitch, so much like you. When I shoved myself inside her, she begged until she passed out. One day, I will make sure you do the same. I won’t kill you today. I am going to fuck you bloody first. And, you won’t be able to do anything because you can’t touch me.”Michael punched her on the stomach, spat on her face, and left.Rosaline took a minute before she managed to stand.She took off her ea