Meera’s POV The morning comes with a flurry of clanging utensils, screaming cooks, and scared and nimble waitstaff making their way in and out of the grand kitchen of Alejandro’s penthouse as the charity gala— for lord knows what— commences in full swing out on the expansive terrace and pool area attached to the living space of this outrageously luxurious home. “Girl! One of the waitresses twisted her ankle and spilled champagne on one of the guests! Go clean up after her!” Marta— the head chef of Alejandro’s kitchen pushes a wiping rag in my hands— the sheer quality of the cloth making me wince. Nodding my head, I take the cloth from her and the wiper that Jo, one of the cleaners hands me, and make my way outside. If Alejandro wants me to be his maid, his secretary, his cleaning lady, then that is what he will get. And for now, I just have to hold on until I can manage to escape again. Even though I know just how unlikely that is. I keep my head down as I enter the swarm of wel
Ace's POV My heart ached watching my wife being disrespected and mishandled by Serena but what shocked me the most was what she said about Cairn. Oh, the utter horror I saw in Meera's eyes and the way they had widened with nothing but pure, liquid fear, was something that made my blood boil in my veins. Cairn and Serena ought to have done something extremely wrong to Meera while I had left her in that hellhole, and I am going to find out what it was before I make her pay. I will do that by hook or by crook. And then that bitch had made the mistake of pushing my wife onto the ground— another thing added to her list of offences. Serena Van Dyke will die in the most brutal and dangerous manner possible and I will make it a spectacle for the world to watch. Meera left after cleaning the floor a while ago and I found myself making small talk with one of the guests who had come all the way from Korea for this gala. To the world, this gala was being held by my company to celebrat
Meera's POV I hurtle into the nearest powder room that I can find, bursting through the door I allow the contents of my tray to go crashing down onto the floor before slamming the door shut as my tears start streaming down my face as I rush towards the toilet, attempting to hurl up anything that might be in my stomach. Nothing comes out. That figures since the last meal I had was two days ago. I slide down to the ground, resting my head against the wall as I try to swallow the taste of sheer disgust and horrifying disdain that I can still feel from the phantom sensation of Ace's hands grabbing at my body right in front of that...that monster...that demon who was looking at me with such hungry eyes since the moment I stepped into that damn room. I cannot believe the level of utter disrespect and cruelty that Ace has stooped to and I wonder where I went so wrong in the three years that I was married to him. I mean...even in those initial days when he didn't know me well enough, he
|Ace’s POV|My heart is racing inside my chest, threatening to jump out of my own mouth as I search room after room for Meera. The gala wrapped up an hour ago and all the guests have left for their respective homes. The sun sets upon the horizon of New York city, drenching my entire penthouse in the golden hues of the evening but as the tangerine turns violet, my worries grow because I still haven’t had any success in finding my wife. I haven’t seen her since she left my study this morning after I practically assaulted her in front of a pervert just so I could keep his paws off of her. Serena enjoyed the shit out of that show and I was left with nothing but utter despair and disgust with myself for having treated my wife in such a lewd manner. But after that, Serena had left me with Viktor for about fifteen minutes— probably disappearing to raise hell somewhere else— and in those fifteen minutes, Viktor had the gall to enquire about my wife at least twice before I had subtly warne
|Ace’s POV|Her blood stains the front of my white shirt. My shivering hands clench and relax while my knee bounces sitting outside the operation theatre where Meera’s injuries are being looked over. I cannot believe I have brought her to this. Not two days have fully passes since I entered her life again, and she is already fighting for it because of me. Serena has gone too far this time and when I called her up after admitting Meera into the hospital, there was not a single tinge of remorse in Serena’s voice. |Flashback| “WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE, SERENA?” I growled into the phone, the nurses and the patients passing me by looked at me with concerned and fearful glances as I turned my face to the wall while keeping the phone against my ear, waiting for her response. “Awwh, sweetheart, did you finally find your little bird?” She asks before her voice drops into feigned pity, “I hope you weren’t too late, she was rather too injured when I left her, and if you managed to find h
|Meera's POV| I've been walking for a long time now. Just walking. With no end in sight, I wonder how long will I be stuck in this labyrinth. There is a shrieking pain the in back of my head but I don't bother to do anything about it. I'm just walking. Walking towards what, I don't know.I feel like I have been here for centuries, just walking, breathing but my chest hurts. Where even am I?“I love you, Meera…I wish you were able to listen to me…” My eyes widen as my feet stop walking but I am still surrounded by nothingness— a vast expanse of it. Alejandro… My eyes tear up as I hear his voice and I wish to scream his name, to call him out but nothing seems to be working. It’s like I don’t have my own voice. “I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you, Meera, I don’t deserve you.” His voice comes again and this time, I am confused about his words. We have just gotten married six months ago…right? And these last six months have been nothing but completely pleasant and lovely
|Ace’s POV| “How is this possible?” I urge the doctor to reply in a hushed manner as I stand just outside of the room where Meera is currently napping. She believes that we are currently 2 years in the past, just before everything went to hell. The doctor turns his head to look inside from the panelled window in the wall of her room and sighs, “Mr. Harrington your wife received severe trauma to the head. And from the kind of wound that has been inflicted upon her, it is quite possible for the patient’s memory to be altered. And earlier on you were too…erratic…for me to ask this question, but dare I know what exactly happened to Mrs. Harrington?” He asks with a fearful expression on his face before asking, “you wouldn’t happen to be the cause behind this…would you, Mr. Harrington?” I feel shame overtaking my expressions as I realise how easy it is for anyone to believe that I am the one behind the bruises on Meera’s body. And in reality, I actually am. I am the cause behind al
|Ace's POV|"She has...what?" Serena's voice comes through the other end of the line as my eyes roll in impatience, wanting to end this damn call and get back to my wife. "Your antics in the powder room led to her losing her memory. She has lost all memory of the last two years. She still thinks that we're married and happy together." I inform her, knowing well enough that she will anyways find out about everything from the chip she thinks she has planted inside me and all the endless eyes and ears she has arranged to be around me. I've brought Meera back home and have sent all the guard dogs in Serena's command out of this place with only Marta and her staff ensuring that the household keeps running smoothly and Meera is cared for at all times. And right now, I need to find a way to escape the Van Dykes so that Meera and I can have a good life together. I need to free my daughter from her grasp as well. As long as Serena has my daughter Ophelia, I cannot act against her no matter
|Flashback; 4 Years Ago| |Ace's POV| "Meera!" She ignores my call as she struts to the dance floor, leaving me standing by the bar as I cuss out under my breath. Shaking my head at her carelessness, I enter the swarm of drunk men and women, dancing to the beat that the classical music lover inside me would never understand. I push past the sweat ridden bodies of intoxicated beings before I finally find her in the centre of the dance floor, swaying to the music with her hands thrown up and her head thrown back. A loud growl escapes my lips but gets muddled in the high volume of the music when I see a man trying to snake his way behind her. I snatch her by the waist before he can lay a finger on her, glaring at him with such hatred that he actually pales in comparison and gulps before scurrying off of the dance floor. Good. Because I have no intention of killing anyone tonight, like I had had to kill the brunet who made the mistake of forcing himself upon her all those months ago
|Flashback, 4 Years Ago| |Meera's POV|"One more." I tell the bartender who nods his head and pours another glass of Irish whiskey in my glass before going away to attend to other customers. My phone lays in front of me on the bar-top, flashing with Ace's name for the thousandth time tonight but I could really not give a fuck about him right now. I returned from Paris a few hours ago and the only place I could think of going is this nightclub that I am currently sitting in. It is past midnight already and I don't know how many drinks I have had by now. But clearly not enough if I can still feel my chest aching and my heart pounding with pathetic hope every time that my phone rings and it says that it is my darling husband calling me. The entirety of the last month was a fucking whirlwind and right now, I am so fucking exhausted that I could just sleep for a week straight. The first two weeks were hectic with the wedding shopping and making sure that everything went in accordance
|Flashback contd.||Meera's POV| His lips crash against mine and my entire body freezes in its spot as I stand there with my hands suspended by my sides as Alejandro's lips move over my own. What is happening? After two months of animosity why is he kissing me now?An impatient growl escapes Ace's lips as he pries my lips open, pulling my body up against his own, he presses me flush against himself. The woodsy scent of his cologne and the taste of mint on his breath is enough to remind me of all those times when he has kissed me before, the way his hands know just how to handle my body same as they are right now, and the way my body melts at his touch — as if he is the only one who is ever meant to touch me. My head starts to spin and I let out a strangled cry as I start kissing him back with fervour. My hands reach up to cup the sides of his neck just as he deepens the kiss and his teeth nip at my bottom lip, eliciting a surprised gasp from my lips. That is all the entrance he n
|Ace's POV| Guilt rides heavy on my shoulders as I push in the button for the penthouse after entering the lift. My suit jacket is hanging limply in my hand while there is blood splattered against the fabric of my white shirt, my skin, my hair. I cannot even meet my own eyes, looking like death incarnate, as the events of the night continue to flash through my head.Serena had demanded that I help Viktor Brullo— New York's crime lord— with whatever he might require, and today, I had to go and pull an odd job of being his fucking handler. And the job required me to torture a man in front of the eyes of his very pregnant wife because he had stolen some petty amount from Viktor Brullo and the asinine crime lord wanted revenge on the poor man. Drenched in their blood, I want nothing but to succumb to the darkness of my room right now, in hopes of perhaps forgetting all the heinous crimes I have committed ever since the day that I became a pawn at the hands of the Van Dykes. There wa
|Meera's POV| We're in New York.So away from home. Ace says it was to get me the best treatment for my head injury. When did I even get it? I don't even remember. And this penthouse...it's so...personality less...almost as if Ace never planned on coming here and now it's just a liability. This is so different from all the properties of his that Ace has taken me to. He has a taste for earthiness, he has this raw, nature driven aesthetic that he likes his houses to have, and all this penthouse looks like is just sharp edges and black lines. There's not a single plant here, for fuck's sake! Ace loves his plants. I sigh, bored out of my mind as I wait for Ace to return home. It's already past 9 in the evening and there's no sign of him. He hasn't once texted me about when he will be back and that is surprising because Ace always informs me if he's to be late in coming home from his office. "Mrs. Harrington?" I look away from the buzzing canvas that is the city of New York to meet
|Ace’s POV| |Flashback, 1.5 Years Ago contd.|“You what?” I growl, my words seething with nothing but rage as I glare at her with all the hatred in the world. This cannot be possible. She cannot have been the one who killed my parents. “It’s true.” She says lightly as if talking about what dress to wear to her next brunch, “your father begged me to save your mother’s life, to kill him and be done with it when he realised that he had been bested, but oh, the pure satisfaction of life draining out of your mother’s eyes when I strangled her. When I made sure to kill her slowly and painfully, knowing well enough that all the blame was going to go on Meera’s family and no one was ever going to doubt me.” My entire body freezes before anger overtakes me and I don’t think for even a second before loading my gun and pulling the trigger. But nothing happens. The bullet doesn’t fly out of the barrel of my gun as I gape at it before pulling the trigger once again. Nothing happens again.
|Ace's POV|"She has...what?" Serena's voice comes through the other end of the line as my eyes roll in impatience, wanting to end this damn call and get back to my wife. "Your antics in the powder room led to her losing her memory. She has lost all memory of the last two years. She still thinks that we're married and happy together." I inform her, knowing well enough that she will anyways find out about everything from the chip she thinks she has planted inside me and all the endless eyes and ears she has arranged to be around me. I've brought Meera back home and have sent all the guard dogs in Serena's command out of this place with only Marta and her staff ensuring that the household keeps running smoothly and Meera is cared for at all times. And right now, I need to find a way to escape the Van Dykes so that Meera and I can have a good life together. I need to free my daughter from her grasp as well. As long as Serena has my daughter Ophelia, I cannot act against her no matter
|Ace’s POV| “How is this possible?” I urge the doctor to reply in a hushed manner as I stand just outside of the room where Meera is currently napping. She believes that we are currently 2 years in the past, just before everything went to hell. The doctor turns his head to look inside from the panelled window in the wall of her room and sighs, “Mr. Harrington your wife received severe trauma to the head. And from the kind of wound that has been inflicted upon her, it is quite possible for the patient’s memory to be altered. And earlier on you were too…erratic…for me to ask this question, but dare I know what exactly happened to Mrs. Harrington?” He asks with a fearful expression on his face before asking, “you wouldn’t happen to be the cause behind this…would you, Mr. Harrington?” I feel shame overtaking my expressions as I realise how easy it is for anyone to believe that I am the one behind the bruises on Meera’s body. And in reality, I actually am. I am the cause behind al
|Meera's POV| I've been walking for a long time now. Just walking. With no end in sight, I wonder how long will I be stuck in this labyrinth. There is a shrieking pain the in back of my head but I don't bother to do anything about it. I'm just walking. Walking towards what, I don't know.I feel like I have been here for centuries, just walking, breathing but my chest hurts. Where even am I?“I love you, Meera…I wish you were able to listen to me…” My eyes widen as my feet stop walking but I am still surrounded by nothingness— a vast expanse of it. Alejandro… My eyes tear up as I hear his voice and I wish to scream his name, to call him out but nothing seems to be working. It’s like I don’t have my own voice. “I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you, Meera, I don’t deserve you.” His voice comes again and this time, I am confused about his words. We have just gotten married six months ago…right? And these last six months have been nothing but completely pleasant and lovely