Exotic

Two Weeks Later

“The man refuses to speak but I think they are planning to attack her again,” Stefan suspected, frowning slightly. 

Nikaulas didn’t seem as affected by the news as him. His expression was calm and cool as he dismounted Roar, a brown stallion. Stefan was standing some steps away. Currently, they were at his barn. Nikaulas owned a stable full of horses and he liked to spend his free time here. Horse riding was one of his favorite hobbies coming second only to shooting.   

Nikaulas' taut muscles were out on display as he tended to his horses. His tanned skin glistening like fine gold under the light of blazing sun. His biceps flexing deliciously as he stroked the horse. The servant came rushing with a bowl of food for the horse.         

“ They think they will have you by your throat if they manage to get her,” Stefan added in a solemn tone. Nikaulas rolled his eyes and continued to play with his pet. His enemies were dumb and boring. A part of him wanted to let them catch her so that he could destroy their confidence. 

Apparently, a rival group had attacked Angela when she was going back home from the hospital. The woman was rescued in time though. She had suffered some injuries.       

“She needs protection,” Stefan asserted in all seriousness. The firmness of his tone caused Nikaulas to turn his attention towards him. He arched his brow in question. His right hand clearly had a soft corner for his wife.They had met just once and he had already joined the group of her admirers. And It came as a shock to Nikaulas as Stefan was as impervious as him. Stefan wasn’t the one who could be charmed, fooled, or impressed easily, at least not in just one meeting. 

He wondered what people saw in that woman. Yes she is pretty, he will give her that but for him she was nothing more than just a disable. And a whore’s daughter.     

He smirked, wondering if his right hand was into his wife. 

“You like her or do you pity her?” he moved his attention to the horse. The question threw Stefan off guard. His eyes flared in surprise. Nikaulas seemed completely casual. He didn’t seem offended or curious, just amused. The muscular man quickly schooled his features to blank.      

“ I respect her,” Stefan replied in all honesty. 

“Whatever,’ Nikaulas remarked, having already lost interest in the topic. 

“Make sure the news doesn’t travel to Spain,” Nikaulas instructed and turned to fix him with a serious gaze. Stefan nodded, knowing very well what would happen if Mr. Serrano found out about this. He will have Nikaulas’ head if something happens to Angela. The only person Nikaulas feared was Kilian Serrano. That man was lethal when provoked and deadly if his family is brough to harm.  

Nikaulas couldn’t let this matter slide. Angela was the string that was holding Spanish and German the two most powerful mafia clans together. She was the essential factor and he had taken the responsibility of safeguarding her; more like the responsibility was forced on him but still. Besides, she was the queen of the German mafia. Her name was associated with his. A scratch on her would be a scratch on his pride. And his pride was something he cherished dearly.  

“Get the jet ready,” he instructed Stefan while patting his pet. He was flying back home. He will have to take the bull by its horn.

Stefan left at once. 

Once the horse was full, Nikaulas climbed the beast and rode towards unknown.  

“You must have already heard from many but let me say this you are truly gifted, Mrs. King. Not many are endowed both with talent and beauty,” Henry, a businessman admired her with a knowing smile. Angela returned his smile with her own. 

“Why Thank you, Mr. Aicher. But I believe more than talent it takes dedication to succeed and beauty is quite temporary, don’t you agree?” Angela replied amiably. Mr. Abney who was standing beside Mr. Aicher let out a chuckle.  

“Didn’t I tell you Mr. Aicher, Mrs. King is quite a charming lady,” Mr. Abney told Mr. Aicher while flashing Angela a good-natured smile. 

“Quit charming indeed,” Mr. Aicher eyed her with deepened interest. 

“You flatter me,” Angela continued to smile for the sake of politeness. 

“I speak the truth, Mrs. King,” said Mr. Aicher with a smirk. 

“See you soon, Mrs. King,” Saying that, Mr. Aicher and Mr. Abney walked up to their respective tables. Angela turned her face forward and released a sigh. 

“Are you alright, madam?” Graham, her CEO asked in a concerned tone. He knew she wasn’t fond of social gatherings. Angela nodded and gave him an assuring smile. 

Currently they were sitting on the front row of a charity event. She usually avoided events and all but the chairman of NGO had specifically requested for her presence.  

 It wasn’t the first time Angela had received a compliment on her beauty or talent. She was called beautiful, talented, skilled, and many other things but unfortunately, all these qualities even if put together can’t outweigh her one lacking. Her disability outranked her every quality, every talent. She was the owner of Alma but she was more known for being the lucky disable who got married to Nikaulas King. 

At the time of her wedding with Nikaulas she had seen headlines flashing. 

The heartthrob took a disable as his wife

Who wouldn’t want a man like Nikauas King. The owner of King Enterprises doesn’t care if his wife can’t walk.

Nowhere they had mentioned her name. For them she was just a cripple who had hit a jackpot. It seemed as if her whole existence had boiled down to her disability. Angela appreciated the fact that Nikaulas wasn’t bothered by her invalidity but at the same time she was saddened that her most highlighting feature for the world was her disability. She would have heard more about how lucky she was for getting married to a handsome business tycoon despite being a disable if Killian had not stepped in and threatened the media. 

But that wasn’t the first time her disability was mocked. She had been enduring harsh comments since her childhood. First in school where kids bullied her for being lesser than them. They would snatch her bag from her and drop all her things on the floor and she would watch them doing it with helpless eyes. And sometimes they would carry her to the upper floors and leave her there. It would take her hours to crawl downstairs where her bullies would already be waiting to laugh at her. 

Angela wasn’t a timid girl though. She fought back wherever she could. But it was tiring. She was tired of proving to others that she wasn’t lesser than them. For how long would she have to do this? Not only the children but elders too. They didn’t bully her like other children but the pity in their eyes would reiterate what she was fighting; that she was lesser than them. 

The worst time of her life was when she entered her college. By that time she had learned to ignore rude comments.

She has no idea how did they find out but they did find out and from then on she was mocked for being a whore’s daughter. It was written on classboard, on the desks, in the last page of library books, everywhere she could see. That had hurt like bitch. Like a final punch, it had shattered her. Her already cracked spirit had broken to pieces and she had no one to piece it back for her.

She wasn’t ashamed of being a whore’s daughter what pained her was the way people described her mother as. How they could be so heartless? She was gone. Can’t they show some respect? 

The worst thing she did to herself was to bottle up her feelings. Angela never breathed a word to Ara and Killian no matter how hurt she was. She already felt grateful to them and didn’t want to add to their trouble. After high school, she moved to another state for her studies despite Ara’s disapproval. Ara was like a mother hen who wanted all her kids around her all the time. 

“ I would like to invite Mrs. King on the stage for sharing some words with us,” the announcer said and the room resounded with applause. Angela felt a great deal of discomfort when she steered towards the stage. There were eyes judging her. She hoped she was being judged for her professional acheivements and not for something she had no hold over. She made her way towards the stage only to find there was no way for her to go up. Her face reddened with embarrassment.  

The chairman smirked and shared an amused look with her husband who was Angela’s rival.

The room was dead quiet, everyone was watching her.  

Angela didn’t let her smile waver and decided to try her luck. Graham quickly rushed to her side to help her. Angela calmly held his hand and climbed up the stairs on her shaky legs. She kept her smile despite feeling humiliated to her core. She let go of Graham’s hand and decided to walk to the dias by herself just to show her enemies. People watched her with their mouths hanging open as she staggered forward without support. Every fiber of being was twisting in pain but her resolve was firm. She walked a few steps but unfortunately her legs were not as strong as her heart. They couldn’t bear the burden of her resolve for long and gave away. In a second, the woman fell down to the floor causing a collective gasp to erupt from onlookers.  

More than the physical pain, she was hurt internally. She failed. Embarrassment washed over her. Angela felt the tears of humiliation stinging the back of her eyes. She had successfully made a caricature of herself. She inwardly cursed herself for refusing Graham’s support. She was a fool to think that she can do it on her own. That she could walk a small distance without anyone’s support. With her hands planted on the ground, she pressed her eyes closed to keep tears from falling. She heard Graham climbing up the stairs and towards her. She raised her hand for him to take and pull her up but instead she felt him bending and then it hit her.