“Raphael is alive,” Armand mutters as he looks Julien square in the eye. Julien’s eyes widened as he processed his Father's words When was the last time he heard that name?His gaze traveled through Armand’s facial features for any tell-tale sign of the game he was playing. As their eyes met, he saw nothing but stark sincerity with a hint of fear.“That is impossible Father.” He finally uttered. Although, he could hardly believe his own words.“He escaped the fire, narrowly, he was in shock for months a lot of intensive care was administered.”Julien’s throat went dry, as he spoke, he barely recognized his voice. It sounded raw and gravelly.“So you’re telling me that for eleven years you Raphael?“Precisely my point,” Armand rasped but didn’t meet his eyes.Julien thought of a hundred words he could use to describe his Father, Armand was debased, Selfish and manipulative. However, with this revelation he wasn’t sure any of them would suffice.He clenched his fists and gritted his tee
“We have to stop him Elsida,” Anne sobs, breaking the stark silence in the bedroom.Elsida’s head remains bowed as she focuses her gaze on the marble tiles, “We can’t stop him, Anne. There’s no way.”Elsida’s voice comes out even, all traces of nerves dissipated and replaced with a hollowness so deep in her stomach. She had accepted their fate, death seemed more appealing as she pondered over it.No more pain.No more nightmares.Anne let out a heavy sigh, “Look behind your seat Elsida.”Elsida’s head snapped up and she wrinkled her nose as her gaze focused on Anne.”What are you talking about?”“Just turn your head Elsida,” Anne said, her voice coming out rushed.Sighing reluctantly, Elsida twisted her head. She was starting to think Natasha had lost it until her gaze collided with metal.Perched precariously close to the edge of a mahogany drawer was a pair of scissors. If she leaned in just enough, she would be able to grasp onto it.“That's Hope Elsida,” Anne rasped as her eyes sho
A gasp escapes Elsida’s lips as Anne’s body falls to the floor.” Anne!” she bellows as tears slide down her face.Raphael’s face blanches as he takes in the blood pooling around them. In a fleeting second, he’s on his knees. He cradles her limp body in his hands desperately as he starts to sob.“You’re not supposed to die, Anne, it was meant to be her,” he murmurs with one hand placed firmly against her skull.“Raph I..” Anne sputters as blood rushes past her mouth. “I love you… save my Father please,” she says with one last pleading look at him before her body goes still.“No!” Raphael bellows as he shakes her limp body.“Do something Elsida, don't just stand there.” he sobs as his eyes bore holes into her skull.Elsida remains stiff as she takes in the bloody scene. Her hands tremble at her side but she is unable to move. In a haze, her mind catapults back to the death of her mother. Her limbs give in on her and she falters to the ground. Sobs vibrate within her as she crawls to Ann
As Elsida stalks towards the living room, Julien’s head perks up from the floor. Elsida pauses in her tracks as her breath escapes her. He’s perched casually against the green couch, and his long legs are splayed in front of him.Her gaze travels from his Bruno Magli shoes to his all-black suit and rests on top of the disheveled mess crowning his hair. Her gaze moves to his eyes and for the first time in years, his emotions are on full display.“Elsida,” he rasps as their gazes collide. His azure eyes shine with hurt and relief as they penetrate her green voids.“What are you doing here Julien?” she manages to utter as she takes a tentative step to close the gap between them.“I'm here to see you El,” he rasps, his voice clear as day as his gaze flicks back and forth between her eyes.“Why?” she mumbles as her gaze shifts to the green couch.Julien rises to his feet and closes the gap between them with a step in her direction. His index finger tips her chin up so she has no choice bu
“I’ll have a cinnamon roll and a chai latte please,” a petite blonde recites her order to Elsida.“Will you have it to go?” Elsida raises her eyebrows. the girl shakes her head and Elsida heads behind the counter to retrieve the order.It's been two weeks since the kidnap and exactly ten days since Julien confessed his feelings to her. The mere thought of it made her cheeks flush.For the past ten days, over a dozen bouquets had been delivered to her house; white roses, lilies, tulips, and peonies. Her favorites. She wasn’t sure if there was space in the house for any more flowers but her heart managed to speed up rapidly every time the doorbell chimed with a delivery.Her lips twisted into a large grin as she went on taking and serving orders. “Damn Elsida, I'm sad that in all my years of existence, I have not managed to make you smile like this” Natasha chuckles as she throws a towel at Elsida in the kitchen.“Now you’re just bluffing Nat,” Elsida scoffs.“Girl, you wish I was. I'm
LUTON PREP BOARDING SCHOOL MANHATTAN11 YEARS AGO, TWO WEEKS BEFORE SPRING BREAK AND THE BENOIT AND DALTON CAR CRASH.“You’re late Elsida,” Professor Muton raises his eyebrow as she steps into the classroom.Students snicker and mumble incoherent words as she stalks to the only empty seat situated in front of the classroom.Her leg skids to a stop when she notices the occupant of the seat next to hers. Julien’s head is bowed, oblivious to the murmurs around him. His gaze rooted to the phone in his hands.“Shit,” Elsida murmurs when she pulls the seat out. She gingerly takes her seat and keeps her eyes trained on the digital board.Julien flicks his head up and his gaze settles on her. Elsida shuts her palms tightly and her gaze remains firmly planted on the board. However, her skin heats up from the intensity of his stare.“Now where was I? You will work together with your peers in groups of two for this project. It's on Othello, you’ll have two weeks to create your rendition of the e
“How long has he been sick for?” Elsida mumbles as she wipes at her tears. Her gaze drifts from Nancy to Jasper. His blue eyes shine with curiosity and he waves at her. Elsida drifts back to Nancy as her heart beats frantically against her ribcage.Nancy’s eyes trail Elsida’s movement and a small frown blooms across her lips. “About a year and a half, the doctor says he has less than a year to live,” she whispers.Elsida sucks in a sharp breath. “Thank you for telling me,” she rasps, her gaze brimming with sincerity.Nancy sees it as an invitation and her warm hands cover Elsida’s that have gone cold.” I know I wasn't supposed to contact you but I couldn't bear the thought of you not knowing. He is your biological son Elsida, you deserved to know.”Elsida’s gaze moves to the teary gray clouds and she sighs heavily, “Yeah.”Nancy draws soothing circles on the back of Elsida’s palm and she sighs,” And so does Julien love.”“It's been eleven years,” Elsida murmurs, choking on a sob.“His
After managing to tug Julien towards the couch, Elsida meets his curious gaze and she lets out a heavy breath and clasps her hands in his.“Julien we.. we have a son,” she rasps.Julien’s hands go still in hers. His thumb pauses its caress against the back of her palm and his eyes narrow slightly.“I'm not following El,” he rasps.“We have a son, Julien,” Elsida croaks, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she holds his confused gaze.Julien freed his hands from her grip and he pulled back slightly. His jaw ticked and his gaze flicked between Elsida’s as though he was searching for a lie.“I'm going to need more details Elsida because believe it or not this is very difficult for me to wrap my head around,” he drawled sharply.Elsida felt the sting of his words in her gut and her gaze wandered to the couch. “It happened the first time we had sex, eleven years ago.”Julien’s jaw hardens and his gaze becomes unreadable. His hands clutch her chin softly forcing her gaze to meet his azur
ELSIDA “Tell me El, did you run from the peony garden to get to me?” My cheeks flush impossibly redder as I try and fail to glare at him. The moment I stepped into Julien’s limo his eyes started to twinkle and his lips drew into a large grin before he took in my disheveled expression. “Fine,” I huffed. “I won’t tell you.” His gaze grew serious as he closed the gap between us with one arm reaching for the curve of my neck. “I’m never letting you out of my sight El. Never, nothing is going to stop us from being together. Morals be damned.” I let out a bated breath as his lips hovered over mine. I try to speak but my mouth opens and closes like a fish. My head swarms with so many thoughts all at once but one stands out the most. I have him now and I don't plan on ever letting go. He robs me of breath with a light peck on the mouth that starts first as light, almost tender before it picks up. All at once, he’s everywhere. I’m clutching onto his shirt like a lifeline
ELSIDACORONATION MORNING 5:45 AMThe last thing I remember is Adrian joining me on the bed in the earlier hours of the morning, pulling me softly to him, his grip almost fervent as he whispered sweet nothings to me.“I love you El, I hope you know that,” I recall him whispering and now at about 5 AM I feel nothing but guilt stretching me into four equilateral pieces.I stifle a yawn and stretch to his side of the bed. Noticing the emptiness, I sit up and my eyes quickly adjust to the brightness of the day.Where could he be so early?Adrian never got up until at least 6:10 so this was a tad bit too early for him to be up.I wrap my silk night robe around my body, place my feet in my slippers, and make my way through the castle in search of him.I needed to see him this morning before it was too late.I needed to tell him how I felt about everything and what I wanted to do even if he’d hate me for it.I search almost every living space of the bustling castle where servants and maids
ELSIDA My little surprise meet cute with Beatrice turns into a sob session I had no clue I needed.Scratch that, it’s exactly what I needed, it was like the universe positioned us in the same place when I needed her the most cause what were the odds that I would find the only female friend I ever made in high school in Spain?“I know I shouldn’t love him but I just-“ I croak, trailing off as I wipe my tears hastily.“Oh please Elsida, don’t say that. We cannot control who we love. If we were able to do that, I don’t think love would have had such value.”“Not helping,” I murmur. “You’re supposed to be telling me that it’s entirely wrong and I shouldn’t be thinking about Julien in such a way when we share a sibling.”Beatrice blows a raspberry and moves closer to me, she rubs my arm softly. Luckily, the peony garden shields us from my guards and over-curious maids.“You know I can’t do that, this isn’t the first time something like this is happening in the universe. Shit happens, our
ELSIDA PRESENTWith Adrian in Cartagena carrying out the coronation tradition and the bustle of the castle, I needed a freaking reprieve from everything.A reprieve from work, a reprieve from work, Fae’s incessant disturbance due to boredom of not having her brother around to pester, Natasha’s nagging over what she was going to wear on the coronation, and my father’s constant “Are you okay?” I didn’t think twice before I slipped past the castle doors, packing a picnic basket alongside my laptop and other drawing essentials.It was just 9 am. Two hours after the sun had risen but it seemed as though the sun had been up for over eight hours.It was all too stimulating.I let out a sigh as I chew on a strawberry and my free hand doodles nonentities on my sketchbook.“Hi El.”Julien’s voice slides into my ear and my hand flies to my chest as I stare at him with wide eyes, my heart thuds at a rapid pace as I take in casual yet classy attire.“What the hell Julien, you’re not supposed to b
CONTINUATION OF FLASHBACKELSIDA“Can I turn around now Beatrice?” I huff as I cross my arms around my chest and feel the shimmery fabric of the red Dior dress my mother dearest purchased for me.“One more minute, patience is a virtue dear!” I snort. If I were allowed to have my eyes opened, they would have rolled to the back of my skull by now at her overzealousness for high school events.“Okay, you can open them now. Tada!” Beatrice Bellows just as I blink at the 2.0 version of me in the mirror.A smile tugs at my lips and for a split second, I let it slip through. “I look…”“Magnificent!” Beatrice completes.“Don’t you think it’s too much though?” I ask uncertainty clawing my thoughts. I looked like I was going to draw a lot of attention, attention that I could certainly do without.“Oh please Elsida, who cares? There’s no going back now. Give me a minute, let me slip into my dress and we can get going!” She bellows as she scurries across the room with her perfect-as-ever makeup
ELSIDATWO MONTHS LATER “Are you ready?” I peer up at Adrian from my position on the bed. He sent all his assistants away who tried to pamper him with traditional powders and help him complete tasks he considered too menial to not get done by himself.He gave me a small smile through the mirror but I could see the slight frown forming on his forehead.“I’m okay Elsida,” he mutters and I have my answer confirmed.Adrian was far from okay I was one hundred percent certain that beads of sweat were lining his forehead even before I rose to my feet and clasped my hands around his shoulders.“You’re going to be a great King Adrian,” I whispered into his ear and drew soothing circles on his shoulders, the exact thing he did whenever I was nervous.I don’t blame him. If I were him, at this very moment I’d be shitting my panties.It’s not every day one got to partake in a reversal coronation.His shoulders visibly unclench. “Thank you Princessa,” he murmurs and places a soft kiss on the back
JULIEN Two months later.It’s been exactly two months, three weeks, and four days since I last had a meaningful conversation with Elsida. She’d done her best to make sure our interactions were curt and cordial at best but whenever the opportunity came for us to be alone or have a casual conversation, she would immediately dismiss me and not spare me a further glance.However, I could tell from the longing in her eyes, that it wasn’t what she wanted, we both knew what she wanted but it wasn’t the right thing hence, at least one of us had to be mature and leave it to Elsida to be the bigger person.“Mr Benoit,” are you listening?” A business associate’s voice filters into my mind putting a pause on my mental spiral.“Of course, yes go on,” I rasp, zooming in on a recent photo of Elsida attending a ball with none other than her lovely husband.I turn my laptop off and fight the urge to throw my phone on the floor, I don’t think I can stand another minute of listening to any talk of bus
ELSIDA“Are you ready?” Julien asks while I readjust my lipstick in my compact mirror.“Just a second, Mr Benoit.”Julien’s glare is scathing when his gaze flicks away from his phone to mine. “I told you to stop calling me that.”I ignore him and return my compact in my Chanel purse, I place my hand on the door to make my exit when his warm palm snakes around my ankle.“Are you good El?” He calls me by the nickname even though I’ve warned him several times not to use that title on me and I roll my eyes at him.“You know, this is a very important meeting for this project, we cannot let our emotions get the best of us.”As if I wasn’t aware?I knew how important this meeting was, this company was my baby and Mr Gonzalo’s investment wasn’t something I planned to play around with.He was a very successful business tycoon in Spain who liked to give nouvelle companies and empires of the sort a chance with his hefty investments and today might just be my lucky day. So, to answer his questio
ELSIDA I swallow. “Yes your majesty, that’s the name, Julien Benoit.”“Hmm,” she mumbles before taking a sip of her tea. “And your company for J, tell me, what inspired the name?” She asks in an all too curious voice.Holy shit, I muse.The Queen knows, there’s no way she’d be asking this question if she didn’t.My heart thuds faster against my rib cage and I do my best not to fidget.“Could you rephrase your question, I’m not quite sure what you mean Your Majesty,” I add the last part with a bow.The clang of her tea cup against the plate is resounding and her eyes narrow to stilts in my direction.I’m so fucked.“Let’s not pretend Elsida, I tried sugarcoating this to see if you would come clean but since you insist on me being blunt, I have no choice but to cut to the chase then.”“Your majesty I-““I know about your past with Julien dear. I know everything,” she says, her voice soft.How her tone switches gives me a whiplash and I’m left staring at this formidable woman with my