Won’t be tossed around

Aurora’s POV

Hell no!

I murmured to myself. There was no way I was going to live with him. How was I going to do that? Over the years, I haven’t been able to stand his gaze, let alone be in his presence, for more than five minutes. Then how was I going to live with him? That was impossible; there was no way I would stay with him.

I noticed Sir Frederick was silent for a moment, probably thinking about what Father had said, which he didn’t have to. He should have just rejected it without giving it a thought.

I overheard Sir Frederick sigh. “I would have loved to help, but you know me. I'm always busy and out of the country. I can't even look after myself, so how do I look after a nineteen-year-old?”

He knows my age. He remembers my age!

I frowned. Why was he addressing me by my age? I didn't like the idea of him addressing me by it.

“But you can try, Frederick. It doesn't matter if you are around or not. I just feel she will be tamed under your roof. Please think about it,” Father pleaded, and I frowned. Why was he bent on thrusting me to Sir Frederick?

“She can also be tamed under your roof. Just follow my advice,” Sir Frederick still stood his ground, not wanting to accept my father's idea, and I was happy about that. It was better if Father cut off my monthly allowance and gave me any other punishment rather than sending me to Sir Frederick.

“Fred, Aurora is my only child. I won't be able to be strict with her. Could you please have a rethink? At least for the sake of our friendship?” Father pleaded desperately. I have never seen him this desperate. Have I turned out so bad that he was this desperate to send me away?

A moment of silence hung in the air before Sir Frederick sighed. “I will go home and think about it.”

“No, there is nothing to think about,” I frowned. I wanted to approach them and tell them to their faces that I wasn't a thing that they could toss around, but I held myself back. Father didn't seem in a good mood, and I didn't want to anger him even more.

Tiptoeing back into my room, I sat on my bed and thought of a solution. I can't live with Sir Frederick for so many reasons. One was that he was very strict; I was sure he would ground me in his house. Another reason was that I had a secret crush on him since I was fifteen. Yes, fifteen. At first, I thought perhaps I just had a natural love for him, like a daughter would for her godfather. But when I turned fifteen and saw him shirtless, I couldn't stop drooling over him. Almost every night, I would have wet dreams about him, and that was when I realized that I was actually crushing on my godfather, a man who was twenty years older than me. Not like he looked his age; he looked way younger, and his body… he was built like a Greek god.

I frowned and shook my head. I was supposed to be thinking of how to get myself out of this mess, but instead, I was thinking of Sir Frederick's hot body.

Grumbling within myself, I got up and began pacing around the room. I knew I needed to do something, and I needed to act very fast on it.

An idea popped into my head, and I quickly left my room. Reaching the sitting room, I realized Father had gone into his room, and Sir Frederick had left.

I walked out of the sitting room and remembered my car was still parked at the club, and there was no way for me to drive out.

“I'll just board a cab,” I said to myself as I approached the gate.

“Aurora, you are going out again?” one of Dad's security guards questioned, and I frowned. “Yes, I have to get something at the superstore right across the street. Do you have a problem with that?” I snapped and saw him shrug his shoulders. “Good.” I opened the gate and left the house.

Luckily, I found a taxi and gave him Sir Frederick's address. As the cab sped through the streets, my mind raced with possibilities. Living with Sir Frederick was out of the question, but what other options did I have? If Sir Frederick agrees to take me in, I know I am doomed, but I won’t let that happen.

Arriving at Sir Frederick's residence, I paid the taxi driver and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Taking a deep breath, I approached the gate and rang the bell. Moments later, one of his security men opened the gate, a surprised look on his face.

“Aurora? What are you doing here?” he asked, clearly taken aback by my unexpected visit.

“I have a meeting with my godfather; he had asked me to come,” I lied boldly and stepped inside without waiting for the guard to allow me in.

“He never told us you were coming,” the guard murmured, but I ignored him and walked towards the building. There was no need to exchange words with him.

Entering the sitting room, I met two guards, and just like the first guard, they seemed surprised to see me.

“Where is my godfather? He had asked me to come,” I lied confidently.

“He did?” The guards seemed confused.

“Yes, he says he has something to show me,” I said, confident in my lies.

The two guards looked at each other for a moment before one stepped forward. “I will take you to him,” he said and led the way.

I followed him upstairs, and we walked through a hallway before he stopped at the door. “Your friend is inside; I believe that is what he wanted to show you,” the guard explained, leaving me a bit confused. Which friend of mine would be in a room with Sir Frederick? Was he involved romantically with one of my friends?

The thought made me jealous, and impulsively, I gripped the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Entering the room, I was dumbfounded at the sight before me. Tied to a chair was Clinton, brutally injured, with Sir Frederick holding a knife, piercing through Clinton's flesh as he screamed in pain. Sir Frederick was so occupied with what he was doing that he didn’t notice me walking in.

“What is happening here?” I asked with a trembling voice, drawing their attention towards me.

I could see the shocked look on Sir Frederick's face when he saw me standing at the door.

“Aurora? What are you doing here?” He didn’t seem pleased to see me; in fact, he was angry.

“Aurora, please save me,” Clinton pleaded, and I tried to take a step forward, but Sir Frederick stopped me. “Stay right there,” he demanded, and I obeyed.

He grunted and handed the knife to one of his men. “Handle him until I get back,” he instructed before walking to me.

When he reached where I stood, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the room.

“Let go of me,” I murmured, but he ignored me and pulled me down the stairs. When we got to the sitting room, he let go of me and faced his men.

“Which of you allowed her in?” he demanded, his tone laced with anger.

“I did… She told us you called for her, and we thought you wanted her to see what you were doing to the young man upstairs, so…” one of the guards explained nervously.

“How foolish of you,” Sir Fredrick grunted. “I will deal with you later.”

He turned to me and groaned. “You lied to my men?” He seemed annoyed.

“Why is Clinton being tortured? What has he done?” I asked worriedly, and Sir Fredrick scoffed. “It's none of your business. Now state why you are here this late at night.” I noticed his eyes went to the wall clock, and I followed his gaze and realized it was past 11 p.m.

“Speak, Aurora. Why are you here?” He seemed annoyed by my silence.

“I will state my reason for being here, but that will be after you explain to me why you are torturing Clinton. I can call the cops on you,” I said, giving out empty threats.

He scoffed. “Call the cops on me?” He raised a brow, and I frowned. Of course, that was a silly idea; Sir Fredrick was a man everyone feared, even the cops.

“If you must know, Clinton was the one who set you up by putting the bag of cocaine into your bag and gave the cops information that someone was with drugs at that party,” Sir Fredrick revealed, and my eyes widened.

“His reasons are that you rejected dating him and embarrassed him before his friends, so he was trying to make you pay.”

I swallowed hard, not believing what I had just heard.

“Now that you know why Clinton is being tortured, will you tell me why you are here?” He demanded, but I frowned and took a step closer to him.

“You have to let him go. You are going to kill him if you continue torturing him,” I pleaded desperately. I knew Clinton was the only child of his parents, and with the way things were going, Sir Frederick might end up taking his life, and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be the reason for anyone’s death.

Sir Fredrick gave out a bitter laugh. “Is that how you say thank you?” He raised a brow at me, and I frowned. “I didn’t ask you to torture him, did I?” Gosh, I sounded like an ungrateful brat.

Sir Fredrick gritted his teeth while his angry eyes were on me, and I nervously looked away. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead due to his burning gaze.

“Your father was right; you have turned out to be a spoiled brat,” he said, and his words got me annoyed, forcing me to look back at him.

“I am not a spoiled brat; I am just like every other girl my age,” I snapped, and he groaned. “Leave!” he ordered, but I shook my head and stood my ground. His commanding presence scared me, but I summoned all the courage I could gather.

“I'm here because I overheard your discussion with my father.”

Sir Fredrick raised a brow.

“Yes, I heard everything and also my father's ridiculous decision to toss me to you, but I'm here to tell you that I won’t accept it. I'm not a kid; I'm nineteen and can make decisions myself, and I have decided that I am not coming to live with you. So I want you to tell my father you can't grant his request.”

Sir Fredrick's expression darkened at my words, but before he could respond, I interrupted him. “In case you have forgotten, I am a spoiled brat, and there are many things I am capable of doing, and I bet you don’t want to experience it. So I’ll advise you to reject my Father's offer. Believe me, this is good for both of us,” I threatened and held his angry, burning gaze for a moment. His fascinating green eyes, which I loved so much, were filled with anger, and I was forced to look away.

“Goodnight, Godfather,” I turned to take my leave, but his next words stopped me.

“Stop!” he demanded, and with a nervous gulp, I slowly turned towards him.

Our gazes interlocked for a moment, and I felt all the hair on my body stand. It’s fascinating how just his stare could have such an impact on me.

“Fox, drive her home,” he ordered one of the guards before walking out on me. I could hear his heavy footsteps as he climbed the stairs, but I didn’t dare to look back.

The moment he left, I released a breath I never knew I had been holding all this while.

“Let’s go, Aurora,” the guard urged and led the way.

He directed me to one of Sir Fredrick's cars, and I sat in the front seat while he took the driver's seat, started up the car, and drove out of Sir Fredrick's residence.

As the car drove through the dark streets towards home, I couldn't shake the dread lingering in the pit of my stomach. I knew that my encounter with Sir Fredrick was far from over, and I couldn't help but wonder what consequences awaited me for defying him.

But despite my fear, I also felt a sense of ease. I was sure he was going to reject Father's request.

Arriving home, I slipped inside the house quietly, hoping to avoid being seen by Father. As I made my way to my room, I couldn't help but replay the night's events in my mind. I didn’t believe Clinton had set me up because I refused his request to be his girlfriend.

Getting back into my room, I took a warm shower, got dressed in my pajamas, and climbed onto my bed. As I drifted to sleep, my thoughts were filled with Sir Fredrick. I knew I was rude to him, and he must be really disappointed in me, but I had no choice. This was the only way I could get him to reject Father’s request.

••••••••••••••••••••••

The following morning, a knock on my door woke me up from my sleep, and while grumbling, I left the bed and went to the door. Opening the door, I was dumbfounded to see Sir Frederick standing before me, his expression blank of emotions.

“What are…” I tried asking, but he interrupted me.

“You have thirty minutes to pack your things and meet me downstairs. From now on, you will be staying with me.”