Larissa's viewpointI drummed my fingers on the steering wheel and nodded my head to the music, waiting for Starliss to join me. She asked me to pick her up for school. It was safer if she didn't drive in her present mental condition.Starliss opened the door and slipped into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut. She sighed heavily and flipped her wet hair, spraying a bit of water on me. I chuckled. "You overslept?""My damn alarm didn't ring," she grumbled, "and Javelin thought it was smart to bug me this morning. I'm in a terrible mood,""Are you still not on talking terms with him?""Until the day he dies," she growled. Let's leave it at that. I nodded, igniting the engine. I felt her gaze on my neck and she clicked her tongue. "You do realize that you have love bites painting your neck, right?" I grinned and drove the car. "I thought you said you're never having sex again,""You took me seriously?" I asked with a smile, not sparing her a glance. She chuckled. "Zayne is tryin
Zayne's viewpointI checked the time for the umpteenth time. It was getting late and he was yet to return. I brought my hand to my pendant and fiddled with it, starting to get worried. He wasn't the best with punctuality but he was never this late. What happened?I ran my fingertip on the side of my phone, fighting the urge to dial his number. Not yet. Instead, I unlocked it and dialed Zachary's number. The phone rang a bit before he picked up. The sound of a video game boomed from the background. "Brother,""Are you playing games?"He snorted. "Zyaire moved himself into my room,""Ah," I looked around as if I could hear something. "What are you doing?""Keeping an eye on Dad,"I sighed with relief. "Is he alright? That's why I called,""He's more than alright. The deal is just taking more time than he planned,""I still can't believe he agreed to go undercover for this. If Mom finds out he put himself in danger again, she's going to be angry for months," Zyaire piped in, completely u
Larissa's viewpointI nervously drummed my fingers on the desk, tapping my foot impatiently and anxiously. I had two reasons to be worried. One, today was the day the result of my hard work will be shown to me. The tests were over and as usual, the results would be presented in a day. It wasn't easy to study but I tried my hardest and it got particularly harder after I got used to sex. It was the only thing I could think about when we were alone and holding books. Probably a way to escape reading.I remembered the last time he guided me through my work for a math test."Urgh, I'm so tired of studying. I don't want to study. My brain is going to die on me!" I cried for the umpteenth time, burying my face into the big mathematics textbook, my hands stretched into the air. "I'm dying!"Zayne patted my back comfortingly. "You're doing great, sweetness. Two more hours and we'll be done,"I whimpered with despair. "Two more hours?! Why?! Why me?!" I cried. He stroked my hair, in
Zayne's viewpointI glanced at Larissa for the umpteenth time, rolling my eyes afterward. She anxiously tapped her foot, shoving peanuts into her mouth. She claimed she was stress eating and because she was stressed, she commanded me to follow her home so she could introduce me to her family. Of course, I didn't want to go, but she was in a mood with a hint of madness. I did not want to be at the receiving end. Besides, it was time I properly met her family. I couldn't call the meetings with her brother a proper one since he always aimed for my head.The other reason I agreed to go was because I wanted to be next to her when Starliss called to deliver the information that would help me plan my next step and comfort her in case it went as she predicted. I prayed for the former but I seriously doubted it.I parked the car in front of her house. Larissa suddenly patted my shoulder comfortingly. I looked at her and arched a questioning brow. "Relax, Zayne. Don't be nervous. I'm sure one o
Starliss' viewpointThree Years AgoI nervously bit into my lower lip, fiddling with the hem of my skirt and staring at the gift in my other hand. I worked hard to make what was inside with the hopes that my feelings would reach out to him. Of course, the chances of that happening were slim, but all I could do was hope."Just relax, Cinderella, you'll be fine!" Larissa exclaimed with the highest level of cheerfulness. For some reason, she was more enthusiastic and optimistic about this. I still couldn't understand why she was that happy and hopeful for me. I had a lot of doubts."What if he doesn't like them?""He would love them! You worked extremely hard on these so he will love them," but you're wrong, Larissa. Neo isn't as selfless and kind as you think he is. He's a jerk. I love that jerk."Yeah, I guess so," I murmured, looking away from her. The happiness on her face flavored my tongue with bile. I shook my head to get rid of the thought buried deeply in my mind. I shouldn't th
Larissa's viewpointI sang along to Anne-Marie's song jamming in my ears. I was in the mood to play her soundtrack on shuffle because I was happy and worried. Zayne was in the living room with Ramsey, Tristan, and Dad. Ramsey popped out of nowhere with Mikayla, screamed about a match that was going on and that was the end. My poor Zayne got dragged into the mess with no way out. According to them, any man who would enter the family must know the basics of sports. I don't get it either.Mikayla and I made dinner, then she went to pick up Odette. She was stranded somewhere. I had no idea how she ended up there. I thought she left school with Jiro. I was left to wash the dishes because the dishwasher went kaboom the other day. Odette decided to test what it could wash aside from utensils. It didn't end well."I saw it comin', I let it goMy girls will tell me, 'I told you so.'But I was so intrigued by your style, boyAlways been a sucker for a wild boyI'm better than this, I know my wo
Larissa's viewpointIt is time!I happily pulled my yellow and black Adidas running shoes into my feet, humming happily and nodding my head to the song. It was Saturday and my parents were going to meet Zayne's. We were meeting at one of their family friend's house this time. I was extremely excited."Alright!" I jumped to my feet energetically, then bounced to the mirror to check how I looked in the outfit. Since I wasn't sure how the day would turn out, I wore something simple and sporty. It was like how I used to dress before only that the clothes were more expensive and less flashy colored.I wore a magenta Adidas tracksuit with a black criss-cross back sports bra with a fancy back clasp, a scoop neckline, and a little extra push-up. The bra was printed with three shades of pink, magenta included. I zipped up the tracksuit of course. I also prepared extra clothes just in case of an emergency.Mikayla braided my hair. I was wearing my hair in pretty stylish braids, like an African
Larissa's viewpointI ate in silence, smiling and watching everyone chatter merrily. The games ended nicely and I was exhausted. Rominic won the game. I don't know how but against him, my strength was nothing. He paralyzed my legs and arms just by touching me and then he won the right to have me on his side of the football game. Of course, we had Zyaire, Jewels' Dad, and two of Rominic's Asian friends on our team along with others. We won, again. That gave us the right to choose how the karaoke game will go down tomorrow.Rihanna took a serious liking to Odette and stuck to her like glue. She sat on Odette's lap, grinning from ear to ear like one of her favorite cartoon characters jumped into the real world and fell in love with her. For some reason, she thought Odette was mega cool and Starliss was a star fairy. She had her small hand holding Star tight, refusing to let her sit anywhere other than beside her. I'm happy for her.Zayne had to sit next to Odette, making Odette sit betwe
Today marks a year and seven months since Larissa went into a coma. The project to fasten her healing remains a failure. There has been no positive result since. So far, the doctors still deem her survival impossible and the medicine to help the impossible become possible is nothing but a failure. The agreed number of experiments I can carry out is getting close. I promised my parents that after the number is three hundred, I will not carry out any more experiments. Even if they are condemned criminals, even if they throw away gangsters from the assassin association and mafia, they are still humans. Or so Mom said. Almost two years isn't enough to heal the wound in my heart, or anyone who truly loved her. I miss her. I miss everything about her. The world has no colors without her. I caught him, the bastard who made this happen. It's a shame he died from the third experiment. I would have loved to put him to more use. Larissa's parents welcomed a new baby last
Zayne's viewpointI tapped my foot on the floor, my hands clasped and pressed to my lips. I silently prayed with my eyes closed for a good result since we didn't have the time or anyone to test it out. It wasn't something dangerous, that we were sure of but anything could happen. It'd been almost nine hours since the operation began. There had been no news from Dad or the doctors. We weren't allowed in there.Savia huffed for the umpteenth time. She had been pacing for four hours without a break. Neither of us could sleep. Serenity slept off thrice and woke up with a scream. She had nightmares. Zyaire slept off along the way, but unlike Serenity, he did not wake or shake, he cried in his sleep. None of us could be bothered to soothe each other's pain."Argh!!!" Savia screamed, ruffling her hair and shaking her head wildly. "This is driving me crazy!""Relax, Savvy," Aunt Rylee said softly. She accompanied us to the hospital along with her husband, Uncle Phineas. We kept Mom's conditio
Larissa's viewpointI looked around the house, walking in slowly while Neo went in to get something. It was strange. He told me it was an apartment and his Grandpa was sending him away but for someone who was leaving, they put a great effort into the interior design of the house. Note that I said house, not apartment. It was undoubtedly a beautiful home. The taupe gray, silver, and cream theme with a bit of brown was lovely, along with the furniture and the styling."I'm back," he announced, drawing my attention to him. He walked to the cream camel back sofa with a bottle of Beaufort a Ambonnay Grand Cru Doux Rose, two white wine glasses, a big plate of Swedish meatballs, and dark chocolate almond barks. He dropped the tray on the table and sat down."Shouldn't you be using champagne glasses for those?" I joined him."I broke them," I picked the bottle first. It was one of my favorite wines. "So how are you doing? Since you got out,""Not good. My grandparents are shipping me off to I
Larissa's viewpointI stood at the airport, listening to my Dad nag about how he'd like to return home and meet his house the same way he left it. It was the day after the wedding. My Dad and Mikayla were officially married. Zayne got me the VIP pass to the hotel I asked him to. I still couldn't shake off the grin on my face from the way my parents reacted. Though it was a gift Zayne spent effort on, it was still from me. Dad made sure to rub that on my face but Mikayla was sincerely grateful. I wish I could exclude him from the honeymoon."And you cannot throw or attend any party in our absence. Odette and Tristan, if I find out you broke anything in another argument again, I'll destroy your souls, use your flesh to make leather, and wear them as boots—""Dad, that's not—""Boots!" He snarled, daring us to correct him again. "Larissa, I promise you, I will hunt you to the end of the earth even in death if you dare redecorate my house," he growled, glaring daggers at me. I gasped. How
Larissa's viewpoint"Are you hurt?" The expected question. He needed to stop worrying about me. It was sweet of him but also unnecessary. I wasn't like before. If it hurt, I'd let him know."I'm fine, don't worry,""I’m still going to… fuck me," he groaned when my walls clenched hard around him. He fell over, using his hands to hold up his weight from compressing me. "Damn. I'm going to go a little stronger than before. Please don't hesitate to–""Tell you if it hurts or if I can't handle it, yes, I know. Can you move now?""Remember to—""For goodness's sake, I will," I laughed, a bit impatient and lust showing in my tone. "I promise I won't foolishly take more than I can handle so please continue or I'll flip us over and fuck you myself. You know, that was the plan when I wore this underwear. The plan was to tie you up and have my way with you," Zayne chuckled and put strength in his arms, holding back his desire (as always) to destroy my insides recklessly, and the result of that w
Larissa's viewpoint"I've arrived!" I shouted, kicking Zayne's bedroom door open. He spun the giant white ball chair around, revealing the red interior. He looked at me flatly and I grinned in response. "Zaddy, I'm home!" I shrieked again. Of course, we were at his private house. We agreed to meet there, but he didn't have the large chair the last time I came."That door is worth someone's yearly salary, be careful with it," I nodded, swinging the bags in my hands happily. "You're wearing a coat," he stated."For dramatic reveal," I replied, dropping the bags on the glass table. "And no, I'm not bothered by what my mother said to me. If anything, I feel sorry for myself," he stretched his hands out, gesturing for me to come closer. I planned to go over to him anyway. "I feel pity and disappointment for myself. I allowed the fear of what I might be like if I became anything like her to torment me for years. I feared becoming like her the most but seeing her right now, I'm forced to won
Larissa's viewpointI exhaled through my nostrils, rubbing my throbbing forehead. My body felt heavy and in desperate need of a massage or to shut down for three straight days. It's been two weeks since Zayne left school. We barely saw each other. I couldn't be selfish and bother him with my fantasies and loneliness, so I focused on work and my parents' wedding. A lot of things were going on. I'll start from the beginning.I felt bad about what I said to Neo and wanted to make amends but I never got the chance to. Proof of illegal dealings was found in his father's office. I was greatly appalled when the truth behind their success was exposed. Neo's father owned a secret organization for prostitution and slavery. People were illegally smuggled into the country by will or by force and worked as sex workers. There was also a section for children for sick bastards who couldn't enjoy normal sexual relationships with adults. There were a lot of other illegal sexual activity, including rape
Larissa's viewpointI nervously walked into the house and the moment I did, I felt the dark and gloomy energy inside the house. The energy made a chill run down my spine, making me hug my body tightly. I looked around the house and just then, Zyaire walked into the living room, scratching the scruff of his neck as he yawned. The first thing I noticed was that his hair was a mess and his eyes were red and swollen. Zyaire had been crying."Zyaire," he halted, then slowly raised his eyes to look at me. His eyes looked lifeless. "Hi," I greeted. He looked at me coldly, then quietly continued walking."Zayne won't be able to see you now, he's busy. You can wait in his room or wait here if you wish,""What is he doing?" I asked, walking over to join him on the couch. "He sounded very miserable on the phone– your Mom, how is she?""She's alive for now,"I smacked his shoulder scoldingly. "Don't say it like that. You'll make me nervous,"He chuckled. At least I managed to pull that from him.
Starliss' viewpointIf I already didn't have a goal for my future, I would have considered becoming an actress. Masking my emotions, and pretending to be someone that I am not is a huge part of me and I'm greatly skilled at it. I'm not blowing my own horns here, I am proudly stating facts.I watched as Larissa's eyes darkened involuntarily. She was incredibly softhearted when it came to Neo but she was merciless if anyone touched Odette. Anyone being able to hurt Odette and Tristan was the height of her rage. She might not always react with anger, but she always makes the right decision when they are hurt in any way. The moment I saw the dark expression on her face, I couldn't fight back the smile I knew she wouldn't notice.Larissa turned around and walked out. I followed her quietly but stopped at the door, making sure to hide myself but look between the cracks. She knocked on the window of Neo's sports car and tapped her foot impatiently. It was something she did unconsciously when