CHAPTER 4

FIORA

                    

The very first time I met Alder he was nothing short of an infuriating asshole.It was my very first gig as a private chef.

My big break after resigning from Dad's law firm and deciding that Law was not my passion, cooking was.

I was hired by the Asher Williams family to cater for a small get-together they were having in honour of Asher's birthday

Unfortunately for me,Asher is Alder's best friend and clumsy little me decided the best person to accidentally spill a drink on was him.

He in turn regarded me like a naive little brat and made the entire night miserable for me.

Every other person loved my food but of course Alder thought it was mediocre.He complained that my entree was too salty and my dessert too sweet,made me serve him his dish personally which was not my job by the way because the party had waiters and complained that the bouillabaisse—which I so delicately prepared–had hair in it

But spilling a drink wasn't the biggest mistake I made,it was thinking he was just like every other regular egotistic and snobbish billionaire that I'd had the displeasure of being in the same room with.

Little did I know that I hadn't even scratch the surface

The tip of the iceberg

I hadn't noticed the demons that lingered beneath the surface and were waiting for any opportunity to burst out and show their ugly faces

Like right now

His fingers are wrapped so tightly around my neck I can't breathe or think straight

I claw at his hand, desperate to free myself but I might has well be scratching a wall. he doesn't even flinch or release me

“Let me go!”I try to scream, but it comes out as a weak, pitiful whisper

“What do you want from me?”

His eyes searches mine,eyes I once thought were just cold and calculating. Now, I see they’re so much more.

He’s a man driven by something darker,something I didn’t see coming until it was too late.

Alder’s hand slides from my throat, but the suffocating tension still lingers in the air. I stagger back, clutching at my neck, but my mind is too jumbled to process anything beyond the ferocity in his eyes.

“You really don’t know, do you?” he says, his voice dripping with venomous amusement. He is pacing the room like a predator circling his prey. “You stand there so naive, so clueless. Let me spell it out for you, Fiora.This is about blood.The blood your father ruthlessly spilled”

His words strike like whips, but I still can’t understand. I don’t know where this is coming from. I don't understand how any of this involves me or my father. “What are you talking about?”

Alder halts in front of me,his shoulders rigid “it’s been twenty one years, Twenty one fucking years since your father used his own hand to destroy my life…Twenty one years since your father pulled the carpet from under my feet and left me with nothing…Twenty one years since he fucked up my life with his existence.

“Twenty one years since I watched him murder my father in cold blood!!”

My breath catches and my heart hammers painfully in my chest. “Lies!!. My dad would never—”

“Enough!”Alder interrupts,his eyes blazing. “He did in fact murder my father, and do you know why? because he was having an affair with my mother”

The air around us suddenly feels so thick, it's suffocating. I shake my head“No! Dad would never cheat on mom,he loved her dearly and worshipped the ground she walked on!” 

My mind goes back to the times my parents had arguments about my dad's travelling habit because he was barely ever home.but as I grew older,they rarely ever quarrel and their marriage was good up until the day she died

Or was it all a facâde?

 Alder advances towards me

“They were lovers,” he continues “While your father was married to your mother,he was sneaking around with mine. And my father? He found out. He couldn’t handle the humiliation,so he confronted them. Your father didn't want his secret to be exposed so he killed him. Shot him. Right in the chest. A clean, brutal execution.”

Feels like the ground is slipping from underneath me. My knees wobble and I brace myself against the wall. "No…you're lying. My dad is not a killer!he wouldn’t…he couldn’t…”

“I have proof” he growls, pulling out a small,worn envelope from the inside of his coat. He tosses it onto the table and I glance at it as though it’s a ticking time bomb.

 I pick up the envelope with trembling hands and there it is,the evidence stirring me right in the face—pictures of my father and a woman who has a striking resemblance to Alder laughing, holding hands… kissing.

Beneath the photos is an old crumpled police report. The details are there in black and white. My father’s name, the charge of murder… and his eventual acquittal on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

So this was why Alder had that gleam of recognition in his eyes when I spilled the juice on him at the Williams' party..This was why he was watching me at the club and knew exactly when to come save me

My whole body goes numb and It feels like my reality is being ripped apart, piece by piece, by Alder’s cruel hands.

My parent's marriage was all a lie

“No” I whisper, shaking my head as tears prick my eyes. “This can’t be true. There has to be a mistake. My dad….he–”

“Your dad’s a killer,Fiora” Alder snaps,his face so cold,it's freezing me alive. “He killed my father and walked away from it, free. But do you think I’m going to let him live the rest of his life in peace? Oh, no. He’s going to pay for it. I’ve waited years for this moment.”

I clutch the photos to my chest, desperate to deny it all.I can’t breathe. The betrayal from all sides is crushing.

“So you are using me as a pawn?” I don't even recognize my own voice anymore

Alder’s face twists into a dark smile, one that makes my skin crawl“Wow,Guess you are not at naive as I thought” 

He moves closer and grabs my neck again but this time he doesn't squeeze..Goosebumps erupt on my skin and my whole body shivers under the scrutiny of his touch 

“You’re the closest thing he has to a weakness. The only thing. And if you want to keep him alive, you’re going to marry me”

At this moment,I'm wishing..no praying the floor would just open up and swallow me whole. 

“What?!”i try to pull away but that only makes him tighten his hold

“You heard me”He gently strokes my nape with his thumb “You will marry me, It’s the only way to settle this debt. You, in exchange for your father’s life.”

My breathing catches and I'm about to start hyperventilating. “You can’t be serious. You’re going to blackmail me into a marriage I don’t want?”

He lowers his head,and speaks so close to my ear,I feel every single word “Your father doesn’t deserve to walk free after what he did to mine. And if I can’t have justice through the law, I’ll have it another way. Through you. You’re going to be mine.You’ll carry my name, my legacy. And if you refuse?”

His next words send a wave of nausea rushing to the back of my throat. “If you refuse, I will expose everything. I’ll destroy him. I’ll make sure the world knows what kind of monster your father is. And then? I’ll make sure he suffers. I’ll make sure he pays for every second he’s been free. You don’t want to know what that looks like.”

“Please don't do this”

A tear rolls down my cheek but Alder wipes it off and squashes it between his fingers. A low chuckle comes from his lips and for the first time today, something shines in his eyes. It’s not hatred this time.

It’s pure sadist light.

The light of someone who is utterly pleased with himself.he's enjoying every minute of this..

His voice seeps into my soul like poison “Marry me, or watch your father’s world come crashing down. And this time, he won’t get away with it. I’ll see to that personally.”

My whole world is crumbling at Alder's feet and for the first time ever,I feel my life hanging in the balance. 

i'm trapped and there’s no way out.