“Mom, do you think I would do anything like this? Believe me, I don't hurt kids,” Alice spoke, his tone concealing the manipulation within it.Of course, he doesn't hurt kids, because until now, the situation has never arisen.Now he's facing a situation where he can achieve his desires by doing something wrong. According to him, his whole existence is wrong, so what's the issue? Nothing.He's not directly getting his hands dirty or physically harming kids, so nothing seems bad.“I know, son,” Daisy hesitated, continuing. “It's not good; whatever you're considering won't end well. Think about it. If someone warned you about harming me, would you sit idly?”“I'm going to ruin them all,” Alice angrily replied, then it dawned on him what his mother was trying to convey.She's trying to make him understand the repercussions of his actions.But he has the power; he can protect people. What about Alisha? He's already giving her time; even if she isn't powerful, at least she would have the r
"Where?" Alisha asked in shock as she heard Mary's suggestion.Unable to understand what she meant, they had to leave from here.Where would they go?Moreover, her college and the other kids' schools, or this home, is the only thing they have.If they went to another place, how would things be restarted? That's quite a question."I don't know anything, Alisha, but what I feel is that we need to leave. We can't be here, or else he will harm others and then will marry you. No way I want you or the other orphanage kids to suffer, so it's better we escape," Mary explained, all panicked."But we don't have money, we don't have a place, we don't even know where we will go!" Alisha questioned."We can go anywhere, but it's better than this place. It will be fine. About money, I can sell this house," Mary answered as she sat down, her stress showing all over her face.Alisha sat beside her, wiping her tears, holding Mary's hand. "Mother, what about everyone's education? Your work, how will we
"Miss, we can only buy it at this price. The house is old, and you want all the cash in a hurry," the man said, sitting on the chair, negotiating the price."But $50k is too low. The whole house is worth more than that. How can you buy it for so little, Mister?" Mary asked, looking at the man, who appeared to be in his 40s. They were here negotiating the price for the house.This house held a special place in her heart. Her late husband had built it, and they never had children. They adopted Alisha, and after her husband passed away, Mary turned the house into a small orphanage, adopting more children or taking them in after various incidents.Never did she imagine she would have to sell it, but today was that day. She didn't want to face tomorrow knowing Alice would come and cause trouble because they refused to marry Alisha to him.Here she was, ready to sell it now. The only person willing to do so urgently was exploiting the situation, knowing they were in urgent need and taking a
“Sis, where are we going? Why is Mother selling the house?” one of the kids asked, concern etched on their faces as they all sat in Alisha's room, feeling stressed.Mary was busy downstairs, dealing with the situation, while they anxiously awaited her return, hoping to get some answers.Alisha looked sadly at the children. She didn't know how to ease her guilt, knowing she was the reason for everything. It weighed heavily on her heart.She didn't know what to say or how to answer their questions. The decision to leave had been made, but neither she nor Mary knew where they would go or what the future held.Beyond her own regrets, Alisha was heartbroken, especially knowing how much this house meant to Mary. It held so many memories, especially of her late husband, which the kids might not fully understand.“We will go to a better place. Mother Mary thinks this place is a bit old for us all, and we need a change of surroundings. It will be better,” Alisha lied, forcing the words past he
"It's my daughter, not a thing, and even if you are the last guy existing around this whole globe, I won't be marrying my daughter to you," Mary retorted, her voice laced with defiance as she squared her shoulders, attempting to conceal her fear.In all her years, she had never encountered people like Alice—wealthy, powerful, and utterly intimidating. This was uncharted territory for her.She knew the danger he posed, evidenced by his underhanded tactics in purchasing her house. If she had known, she would have given the house away for free rather than let it fall into his hands.But now, she realised the extent of her mistake in selling it without proper research. Money could cover a multitude of sins, and she had unwittingly played into his hands.He was a monster, capable of burying her with ease and covering his tracks without a second thought.Even as she filled with these thoughts, one question nagged at her: Why had he bought the house in the first place? The unsettling realis
"See, Alice, I'm literally begging you, please just stay away from my daughter. She's too innocent for the crap you're trying to pull," Mary resorted to politeness, knowing nothing was working in her favour if she kept behaving like this."I don't see you begging, though. I don't know how sitting counts as begging, but you do sound sincere," Alice said, one eyebrow raised. "But I'm not in the mood to accept sincerity."Mary looked at him with surprise shooting from her eyes. Never in her life had she met someone so heartless and cocky. It didn't matter that he didn't even seem to understand any emotions. All he cared about was what he wanted."Keep looking like that, maybe my heart will melt, and I'll take my Angel with me now. You won't mind, right?" Alice's lips spread into a mocking smirk."Take your money back. I don't want to sell anything, at least not to you," Mary pushed back the suitcase of money, feeling disgusted to even touch it now."Quite a drama, but don't worry. Even i
"Alisha!" Mary hurried into the room, her footsteps echoing with haste, and glanced at the kids and Alisha gathered together."Mother," Alisha stood up, walking towards her, eager to know if everything had gone well.Mary sadly smiled as she hugged Alisha, her thoughts filled with remorse. 'I'm sorry, Alisha. I never wanted this, but please forgive me someday. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself, but I hope you can.'Her heart ached as she embraced Alisha, knowing that what she was doing was no less than a sin. Yet, it was a choice she made to protect Alisha from a fate even worse.‘It's a marriage. Alice is rich,’ Mary tried to rationalise her decision, knowing deep down it wasn't entirely right. But for Alisha, he wasn't half bad; at least he'd be well-off."What's wrong, Mother? Why do you seem so sad?" Alisha asked, squeezing Mary tightly in her arms."Yeah, why are you sad?" the other kids chimed in, their concern evident."I'm not sad, just tired," Mary replied,
“Please,” Alisha choked as she thrashed more in Alice's arms, tears spilling from her eyes.Alice took her close to his car, and his driver opened the door for them. He sat inside, placing Alisha in his lap.“Let's go home,” he ordered, and pushed the button to part the partition between the driver and him because Alisha was crying so hard. He didn't want anyone to hear her beautiful crying voice and see her beautiful tears.Vroom! Vroom!The driver turned on the engine and drove off from the place.Alice looked at Alisha, who was just crying now, doing nothing, all shocked, her nose having little red dots, her cheeks all red too, with her choking in her breath.He sighed. “Don't cry anymore, Angel. You're going to get your asthma attack. Please try to breathe in and out.”He rubbed her back as he softly wiped her tears with the back of his other hand.Alisha looked at him, her eyes all red, her heart feeling like it got clogged.Mary's words roamed inside her head, thinking that now
Alisha raised her head, her doe-sized eyes filled with terror and innocence simultaneously, met his gaze.Shock etched on her face as she struggled to decipher his words, aware they carried more weight than they seemed.“I said stand up, sweetheart. Did you hear me?” Alice commanded, one eyebrow raised, jaw clenched.Too weak from standing too long, Alisha felt immobilised.It wasn't just fatigue, but fear rendering her unable to move; the metallic tang of blood assaulting her senses, the dampness on her neck and feet screaming of the dire situation.Summoning all her strength, she rose, keeping her gaze fixed on him, knowing any shift would only provoke him further.“You know what you've done wrong?” Alice's voice, cold as ice, pierced the silence.That's exactly how he sounded—cold and dangerous.Wrong? Alisha replayed the scene in her mind, struggling to identify her error.She couldn't recall any misstep; it was him twisting her words, unfairly blaming her and growing increasingly
“Ahhh!!!!!”Alisha screamed in shock as she fell to the floor, startled by the sudden sound of Alice punching the glass table, causing it to crack in the middle.As Alice stood up, his knuckles bleeding from the impact, he ignored the pain and directed his gaze towards Alisha, who was now on the floor with her hands covering her ears, looking pale and frightened.Internally seething with anger, Alice couldn't comprehend how Alisha could feel pity for someone else when she seemed to only harbour disgust and hatred towards him."What's wrong, Alisha? Why are you scared now?" Alice's voice was laced with bitterness as he extended his hand towards her, blood dripping onto the floor. "Don't you feel pity for me now? I'm bleeding too."He stared at Alisha with intense anger in his eyes, demanding an answer. "Tell me, don't you feel pity now? Instead of fear, you should be feeling pity for me because I'm bleeding more than that bastard guy you felt pity for.”Alisha felt a surge of fear and
‘Does he think I have no work?’ Alisha questioned herself, feeling hurt by his words.She did have work – she was a student and needed to study. But with him invading her life and not knowing when she would be able to return to her studies, more than a week had already passed.First, he took her with him and she went into a coma. Then, after she recovered, she couldn't leave the orphanage because Mary was selling the orphanage and they had to move out. And now, here she was again with him.He is parading her from his place to office, as if it's her who asked it.She wasn't free – she was literally forced into this situation. She didn't have her books or anything else to keep her busy. So, of course, she would appear idle.But what did he mean by saying she was "looking at people"? She had eyes, they were meant for observing. It was absurd for him to blame her for that. He couldn't make her feel any more annoyed than he already did."I have work too, Alice," she replied, her voice ting
‘Delusional?’ the voice in her head commented.Because that's the most sensible explanation. He sounds completely delusional, either unable to grasp reality or deliberately avoiding it.Who behaves like this, twisting words out of context and pretending they were the exact words spoken?"Now, can I go sit?" Alisha asked, annoyed, not wanting to continue the conversation. She'd had enough."Didn't you ask me earlier if I had an allergy, so couldn't you rub it? Maybe it'll make me feel better," Alice said, his eyes wide, giving her the most innocent expression he could muster.It was the same expression he always gave his mother, and now, to Alisha.These were the only two people he showed his inner child to, maybe with Alisha, he could show all his sides, even the ones he tried to hide from his mom."I didn't cause any allergies. I never touched you to cause it, so why would I rub it? And since when does rubbing heal an allergy?" Alisha asked, struggling to maintain her balance.Her fe
Alice looked at her, moving his chair in her direction, spreading his legs wide open, his hand resting on his thighs."What good?" Alisha's mind rang, not understanding what he was trying to praise, as there was nothing to be praised.It had been more than an hour, she stood like a statue, her eyes fixed on him, even though he wasn't particularly looking like anything interesting to look at."Do you know what you look like now?" Alice asked, sliding his hand up slightly, as if he might pull something out if he continued rubbing his palm on his pants like that."What?" Alisha asked, knowing there was no way to dodge it.The way he punctuated his words made it clear how he wanted her to respond."You look all mine, the way your eyes are on me," Alice stated, his voice thick and seductive.Alisha felt awkward seeing him rubbing himself like that and sounding so deep. "Are you feeling itchy? Are you allergic?"The words slipped out before she could realise."Do you want to rub me? Because
Alisha wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and disappear, but she kept them fixed on him, even as he sounded like a devil from hell.“I don't think it will end well if I have to repeat myself. It won't be 'sweetheart,' I can assure you of that,” Alice warned, waiting for her compliance.He knew she couldn't defy him, especially after witnessing his outburst firsthand. Despite any shortcomings, she understood better than anyone how to avoid pushing his buttons.Alisha cleared her head and looked at him, her breath caught in her lungs as if it couldn't reach her mouth due to the intensity of his gaze. Whether it was her imagination or reality, his eyes seemed darker, deepening her fear.“Keep standing here and keep looking at me, only me. If you move your eyes away, you'll face trouble. And I don't think you want that, do you?”Alisha swallowed hard, her throat dry with fear as she nodded slowly in response to Alice's question. “Okay”With a sense of resignation, Alisha kept her eyes locked
Alisha's heart raced as she jumped in her place, hearing his loud and anger-filled voice, not knowing what had made him angry at her when she hadn't done anything to provoke him.He looked at her in anger, without any reason, his eyes screaming that he would kill her and then eat her, without remorse.She gripped both sides of the couch firmly, feeling fear coursing through her veins.“Tell me, what are you looking at?” Alice asked angrily, his eyes blazing with anger.The man who was standing also started trembling. Without wasting a second, he left from there.“I... was…”“What did I tell you about stuttering in front of me?” Alice cut her off, hearing her stuttering fueling his anger further.Alisha closed her eyes tightly, feeling even the veins of her body pulsating too fast; she could hear them in her ears. That's how scared she was in the moment due to his presence, his eyes, and his anger.“Nah, you like it when you defy me, right? Open your damn eyes, Alisha,”Alisha immedia
"Yes, I am fine," Alisha snapped back from her trance, keeping her eyes on her lap.She didn't want to look at him with so many emotions swirling inside her head, making her feel overwhelmed."See Alisha, I know I am the last person you would trust to confide in, but if you feel anything is wrong, you should speak up. Even if I'm the last person you want to turn to, I'm still the only person you have, because you have no one else," Alice's words pierced through her thoughts.‘You are not the only person. You make sure of it by forcing others out of my life,’ Alisha answered silently in her heart.She didn't understand why he wanted to know if she was comfortable when he knew how his presence made everything worse. Suppressing the urge to say anything, she didn't want to break the fragile illusion he was trying to create.Alisha remained silent, her mind tangled in a web of conflicting emotions. She couldn't shake off the feeling of being suffocated, trapped in a reality she never ask
After an hour, they arrived at his office.Alisha stopped crying, appearing much better than she had at home.He stepped out of his car and opened the door for Alisha. "Come down, sweetheart," he smiled, speaking softly.Alisha looked up, seeing him smiling and acting so gently, a stark contrast from his usual behaviour.Did he hit his head somewhere? She questioned internally."Sweetheart, come down," Alice repeated, noticing her lost in thought, gazing blankly at him.Alisha was startled by his voice. Without further delay, she exited the car and surveyed their surroundings. They were in what seemed like a parking lot.However, besides Alice's car, there were no other vehicles parked in the spacious area.His driver remained seated inside the car, as Alice was the first to alight."Shall we go, Angel? If you prefer not to walk, I can carry you again," Alice suggested, eager to lift her.He found it oddly satisfying to carry her in his arms, a source of amusement for him."No, I can