. . . Emilia stood nervously outside the balcony, her fingers clutching the thick platinum neck chain she just found on the aisle outside Daniel's room. Its cold metal was warming in her grasp. Both Kevin and Daniel have their rooms on the same floor but on different wings. Emilia would often linger around this floor driven by the chance to satisfy her eyes with the stunning visuals and physique of Daniel. It's the rarest of rare times that she is able to catch a glimpse of his captivating presence. Though it brought storms in her raving heart, it seemed that Daniel had never noticed her. Not that it mattered to her - being her sister's room on the same floor provided her with the best excuse if he ever noticed. She ran her thumb over the backside of the chain where Daniel's name was beautifully calligraphed in elegant scripts. Emilia has observed this personalised chain always dangling around Daniel's veiny, sensual neck, as a symbol of his strength and allure. The thought of
You used to work for the Romanos?" Rose asked with a hint of sympathy. "I was sold to them. I was ordered to work as a maid until I turn eighteen," Miliani answered. It brought no surprise to Rose, she herself was going to be a pawn of her father's dirty trade. "And what after that?" Rose asked sincerely. "I am not sure .. maybe they wanted to make me a surrogate for their family" Miliani hesitantly answered. At least she knew what was in store for her in the Romano's family but here, she was completely oblivious of the Knight's intentions with her. Before leaving the Romanos mansion, a fellow house help had confided in her that the Knights had killed her brother and captured her father. She expected a similar fate awaited her at the hands of the Knights but the uncertainty of what lay ahead only deepened her terror. She could not decipher their intentions and the unknown was far more terrifying than any certainty. Rose sighed. Having no words to say. This revelation stirred
Versace ~ Dior ~ Prada ~ Chanel "Ughhh" being annoyed, Emilia huffed. Time was already slipping out of her hand. Guests from all over the globe had already arrived, and here she was still stuck in front of the mirror, doing 'this or that', and could not even decide which brand to wear. The grand arrangements were all in her sister's honour, she could not afford to look anything less than perfect. Reporters and photographers from all the leading media outlets and magazines will be present at the party down the hall. Emilia was more than just excited to be part of this once in a lifetime experience, she was determined to shine. Wasting not any more of her precious time, she finally decided on the royal blue gown and slipped into it. Once her makeup felt flawless, her dress impeccable, Jimmy Choo shoes shining in elegance and the pieces of jewellery sparkling, Emilia took a deep breath, she was ready. With a final look in the mirror, she approached her sister's room. . Ro
Kevin was attending some of the guests coming his way with Rose by his side. Kevin had always envisioned introducing his wife to the world in a grand, spectacular way. That's why he blocked all media and opted for a very private ceremony when they got married, as they got married in a hurry, leaving no time for him to prepare for a grand celebration and ensure utmost security measures. But today, at this perfect, lavish party, pride was evident on his face. This was the moment he'd been waiting for and he stood tall, finally able to showcase the woman he cherished in the imperial way he had always envisioned. Whereas Rose could sense the jealous and envious eyes upon her mingling with a few amused glances. What a facade she thought. This outward display of extravagance served well to musk up her inner turmoil. The laughter, the admiration of the crowd for her dolled up exterior was nothing but a mockery. Beneath the simmering surface, there lays a soul shattered by unseen sorrows.
. .Letting a sigh of relief, Kevin asked Daniel to assure and attend to the guests on their behalf and wrap up the party as it was supposed to be. The doctor then administered fluids intravenously to raise her blood pressure and help her sleep better and then she called her assistant to draw Rose's blood and take it for running some quick necessary medical tests in her in-house laboratory. "Doctor", Kevin addressed concernedly, not looking in the doctor's direction when she came back after almost two hours. Not leaving Rose's side for a second, he was sitting beside her. "She has conceived, Mr. Knight. Even though that's not the main reason behind her fainting. Her blood pressure was quite low and the hasty atmosphere of the evening didn't help either." The doctor said with a calm yet serious tone. A radiant smile broke across Kevin's features, finally getting what he was hoping to hear for the past few months even though the situation was not ideal. Holding both of his wife
. . . "Master really went out this time. Have you seen these imported flowers before?" The maid asked her companion while setting up the last vase with flowers on the dinner table. "And these Salmon Rosettes! I have never ever seen those kinds before, let alone serve it." She exclaimed while putting down the golden cutleries around the delicacy dishes. "Be careful with that Mousse cups, it's a work of art." The first one alarmed her quickly. Time was too short on their hand to indulge their selves in some gossip. .... Kevin has arranged a surprise candle light dinner for his wife. He has been leaving no means to impress her on various occasions nowadays. Sparing no expense and ensuring every detail was as romantic as possible, he wanted to surprise Rose. The evening promised to be an unforgettable affair with an ambience of pure romance. Carefully minding her slow steps Kevin brought Rose to the garden yard of the Knight's mansion, enchanting Rose with the exotic a
• It was past midnight when Rose's sweet tooth ached for no reason, unabling her to sleep peacefully. Even though Kevin instructed her to ask him first if she needs anything at anytime still surrendering to the toll of this pregnancy, Rose quietly tiptoed out of her room. Stepping down to the first floor, she observed a dim light coming from the side of the aisle. She had noticed the same thing the previous night as well. As curiosity piqued, she followed the source only to find Miliani reading a book under a study lamp, sitting outside of her and Emilia's room. Not expecting someone to intrude here at this time, Miliani looked up at Rose in unease. "You can use the desk inside your room" Rose suggested. Their room is quite large for two people, there is no need to be seated like that on the floor that is too late in the night. "I did not want to disturb her sleep," Mili answered with a slight smile referring to Emilia. Emilia prefers to sleep in the dark not even allowing
⚘ ' Mili ' that was what written in cursive on the small wrapped up box which a maid delivered to Miliani this morning. ' If you don't come downstairs wearing it, I'll come upstairs for you - D ' If this small note was not attached to it, Miliani would have returned it already. Even though she could not understand why Daniel would want to give her something, her fear of him was so profound that she dared not to defy him. Miliani clutched the small roll paper in her hand while entering her room with the box on her other hand. Emilia had already begun preparing herself for the evening ahead. Emilia batted her eyes with utter annoyance towards Miliani. If letting Miliani stay inside her bedroom was not enough, Miliani even managed to get on her elder sister Rose's good side, on top of that Emilia came to know that their birthday also coincided on the same fucking day. She had enough reasons already to hate this unwanted girl but crashing her special day was something totall
Kevin’s world tilted on its axis. He had suspected betrayal, but hearing it from Kate’s own lips was a dagger to the heart. Tristian’s small, evil laughter echoed in the room, a sound devoid of any humanity. He wanted to take advantage of Kevin's most vulnerable moment and Kate served in his favour well. Kevin’s heart pounded with a fierce mixture of fear, rage, and a desperate determination. The day’s harrowing events had driven him to the edge, and the sight of Tristian in his home, holding his family hostage like the Romanos did in the past and his own sister shaping all these behind his back pushed him over. He wanted to reach out and throttle Tristian, to make him pay for every ounce of pain he and his family had inflicted on Kevin and his family. But with Kate standing between them, the path to vengeance was blocked. For the first time ever in his life, Kevin felt his fingers shaking on the trigger. "Kate, you know, you don’t have to do this," Kevin implored, his voice raw w
• • • Rose had just given birth to their twins under the most harrowing circumstances and now, the ominous sound of a gunshot shattered the fragile peace that had barely settled over their mind and home. Kevin was all alert on his senses standing in the hallways, his intuition battling with unpredictability and determination that something was terribly wrong for sure. He glanced back toward the bedroom where Rose and their newborns were resting, safe for now. The decision gnawed at him, should he stay and protect his family or investigate the threat that lurked within their mansion, their safe boundary? Being unable to put the damn network into any work, he frustratedly threw his phone off and after a moment of agonizing hesitation, he resolved to ensure the safety of his loved ones by confronting the danger head-on. Kevin hurried downstairs to his study on the first floor. He opened a concealed drawer, revealing a sleek, black handgun. The cold metal felt reassuring in his
• • • Rose was not due in a month but the sudden panic attack induced her labour. All the while, Kevin stayed by Rose's side, not leaving her even for a second and urging her constantly to breathe through the contractions. "You are doing great, baby. Just keep breathing for me," He hushed softly near her ear. Rose tried to focus on Kevin's voice, but the shooting pain was overwhelming. Each contraction felt like a wave crashing over her, leaving her gasping for breath. She clenched Kevin's hand, barely holding onto her consciousness. "It hurts...," she cried out of sheer helplessness, tears were streaming down her cheeks, strands of hair sticking onto her face, "...so much." "You can, Rose," Kevin said firmly, though his own heart was breaking to see her in such excruciating agony. "You're going to be the strongest mother I know. Just keep breathing, okay? We're going to get through this," he tried to coo her, boosting her courage. Maria and Agatha worked quickly,
A thousand thorns were pierced on her belly at once, that's what it felt like for Rose when she could not stop herself from dropping onto her bare knees. Rose swept on the floor on her side with a cry of agony at the gruesome sight of her kitten's lifeless body, the blood scrawled word BITCH got washed away painting her forearms with the fresh warm blood of her feline baby. Relentless waves of panic tied a burning knot inside her stomach forcing her to curl into a small ball. All the muscles of her distressed body contracted altogether. Rose shot her eyes closed, haphazardly gasping for some air and just as she was about to collapse, a sharp, searing pain shot through her abdomen causing her to shriek with all her might due to the spasm. Rose sensed the popping feeling of water gushing down her inner thighs. Miliani, rushing back with a glass of milk, screamed, calling Rose in alarm, watching her lathering on the floor. Dropping the glass out of instinct, she sprinted to Rose
"What do you mean?" Rose questioned back. "Rose, I desperately wanted to meet you cause I had one very important piece of information to share which I am bearing with myself for the past six years. I can never confess this to anyone in this family except you and trust me, you need to know it," he truthfully said as it never really mattered to him in the past but since the day he got to know about Rose being attached to this family, he was searching for an opportunity to deliver this crucial information to her. Rose looked at him with querying eyes and unwavering focus. "Kevin was initially against our relationship but not after all the drama Kate put him through. And that day, it was not my plan to escape; escaping was never really necessary for us, to be honest. It was Kate, she tricked me into pulling that desperate act. That rainy night, we were having a deadly argument, and she was driving the car at a high speed when that unfortunate incident occurred. I had no other way o
• • • "Mili?" Rose softly called. Miliani was seated behind Rose tenderly messaging Rose's head with a light hair oil. "Hmm?" She answered carefully working with her fingers, aiding to Rose's relaxation. The final stages of the pregnancy are indeed very difficult to bear. Rose's feet have swollen, she finds it hard to straighten her back properly due to the heaviness of her belly, her breaths have become shortened, she often feels painful cramps in her lower back, also the excessive tiredness consuming her body does not help either. But whenever Miliani messages her scalp and then, reads Rose some of her favourite books, Rose finds it quite relieving. "How about you finish your school, get that degree and enrol for some college?" Observing Miliani's keen interest in studies Rosalia suggested. Also, deep down, Rose does not want her to serve as a maid in this mansion forever. Rose had suggested Mili to drop working as a maid at the Knight's mansion but the young girl
"I've something to say," she said hesitantly looking down, "Do you know Curtis is Caspian .. he was - he was there in Italy wi-" "I know," Kevin answered making her cease. As he might not be fond of her talking about another man for long, Rose did not speak anymore but she, being dubious, could not look into his eyes. She was unaware of what he might be thinking about her. "But I trust you," Kevin lifted her chin gently, his eyes locking onto hers with a genuine smile on his face that made her chest tighten. Rose's heart swelled up with his reaction but she felt bad knowing the lengths he was going through for his sister's recovery, all while being completely unknown to the absolutely opposite reality. But she was very determined that moment to disclose everything to him as the weight of his trust felt heavier on her shoulders than she ever presumed. Rose slipped her hands into the side pocket of her dress and pulled out a mini button sized camera. "There's something import
I would suggest you take a look at the chapter named 'Stress reliever' to understand this chapter better. • • • "Curtis!" Kate blurted out; she was flabbergasted at the sight, like he was the last person on earth she ever imagined she would confront again. It did not go unobserved by Kevin that Kate smoothly recognised her ex, the father of her son, Curtis. Kevin proudly smiled to himself as he took one big step towards her recovery. As the doctor instructed, something or someone deeply attached to her past might serve her against the current trauma. That's why he brought Curtis to help her recover sooner. "Caspian" Rose mumbled against her overly shocked breath. Why Kate is calling Caspian as 'Curtis' ... Does that mean Caspian and Curtis are the same person? Rose felt overwhelmed. She did not dare to call out Caspian loudly in front of everyone. Caspian and Rose both never shared their past with each other during the quite brief time they spent together in Italy. But R
The pain must be part of the cure ~ • • • Kevin, nestled in Rose's warmth, knelt before her and murmured the lines in urgency, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything, Rosalia." Today he felt the most deficient of all time. There is no such pain as painful as being unable to save the love of your life. Rose's serene features drunk with moonlight, her soft inquisitive eyes searching for something in his face did not allow him to make her aware of today's dreadful event. For the first time in his life, he actually felt so vulnerable that he could not bring himself to judder her peace with the bitter truth of what was about to happen to her. Such huge stress would not be any good for her at this stage of pregnancy, she was due in less than nine weeks. Whereas Rose was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, torn between whether to reveal Kate's deception to Kevin or keep it hidden. She had waited so long, endured so much, and tried so hard and now, just when Kate seemed ready to co