CHAPTER 9: Was that a sexual innuendo?!

“ I should be asking you that. Since I met you on my bed. So tell me? What are you doing on my bed? “

Asher asked with a stoic look on his face which left Emma speechless and unable to speak.

Emma was dumbfounded. The audacity of this man to actually ask her such questions with the current situation. She opened her mouth to speak but was reminded of the fact that she was the intruder.

She'd been so occupied with the idea of having her innocence ripped away from her hands to even consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, she was the defaulter after all.

Here she was, in the middle of an exquisite looking room with an odd, unknown but good looking man. Of course she managed to single out herself in the group but that was a story for another day.

" I-I- I was about t-to…" Emma spluttered out, suddenly losing every shred of confidence she'd managed to build during the dramatic confrontation.

Right now, she wanted to cry. She was probably the unluckiest woman on earth. She just turned twenty one and as though getting her heart so critically broken wasn't enough, she also managed to get herself taken without consent.

It felt totally unbearable to think about that fact because she couldn't even remember it or how it happened. Was it because he wasn't memorable or…

Before Emma could finish her string of thoughts, Asher interrupted with a tired grunt.

" Nothing happened. I do not take to liking the idea of being seen as undignified or without moral standards. " He explained perfunctorily. " I also do not appreciate your poor perception of me. Trust me, if we did something, you wouldn't be unsure." He added with raised eyebrows, as though trying to keep her in check.

" Uh– okay?" Emma replied with a small voice. Shocked at the dramatic turn of events. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? Was that a sexual innuendo just now? What did he mean by that?

Emma was even more confused after the clarification. Yes, she was secured and relieved to know that nothing happened but she also didn't understand the need for the extra information.

" As you can see, some change of clothes has been brought in for you. Freshen up in the bathroom over there and meet me in the dining room in fifteen minutes." Asher added and immediately left the room. He was unwilling to engage in any other conversation other than what he had in mind.

He wondered what possessed him into speaking so rashly. What made him so quick to disintegrate all sorts of misunderstanding she nursed about him? Asher knew he was an arrogant and self centered man. A trait which was visible from his plans for the little one.

But after receiving the data from Jason last night, he watched her sleep while going through her file up till the morning, getting a thorough look at what her life looked like prior to the moment, he didn't feel like letting her best herself over something delusional.

In other news, during his little background tour, he conceived an idea he deemed to be fit for both of them.

Albeit a better deal for him than for her in the grand scheme of things, Asher was quite confident in his ability to convince her it was the best for her. He wasn't blind to her sufferings and figured with the right conditioning, he could make the deal a better one for them both.

He just needed to get it done with as little contact as possible to avoid getting too angered or distracted. He had a hunch that avoiding the latter might prove to be taxing and immediately gave himself a mandate to be as curt as possible.

Emma looked between the shut doors and the clothes placed by the bed table. She didn't fancy the idea of listening to a stranger but when the stranger was the obvious owner of the place, it was hard not to…

It wasn't like she was in the best choice of clothing anyway. She might as well do the needful and get on her merry way out. She needed to confront Colton. And Talia. And her step mother.

But that would come after she escaped out of this place. Out of this beautiful place she had been kept against her will. Something told her there were a whole lot of things she was yet to unveil.

She needed to start somewhere.

Emma picked up the clothes and headed towards the washroom. Only after making sure the doors were thoroughly locked did she change her clothes, brush her teeth and wash her face.

She didn't feel comfortable getting butt naked in a place she wasn't familiar with so this was going to have to do. It was time to get this show on the road.

Asher was seated in his dining room while some maidens brought in breakfast and carefully laid it on the large dining table. He had taken his time to print out some important documents in his study before coming out for breakfast but he was yet to see her.

Surely she'd been there for no less than twenty minutes and he was seconds away from heading back into the room and dragging her down himself. He was already late as it is and couldn't continue waiting for her to get off her high horse.

" Good morning sir. Do I need to bring her down?" Mrs Adams said, breaking his chain of thoughts.

After serving the food, she became certain that there was a problem when he stared at the food like he was seconds away from thrashing them and then towards the stairs.

It didn't take a genius to put the two together and know he was waiting for her arrival. Something that wasn't forthcoming after what seemed like more than a few minutes.

" Leave it. I will handle it myself. " He gritted out, his eyes already aflame. " You are excused."

Mrs Adams left after taking a curt bow, deciding it wasn't the best to get involved any more than she had. The night's experience was still quite fresh in her mind and she believed it was even fresher in the mind of the young angry lad taking from his disposition.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Emma was standing by the doors of the room. Unmoving and trying to gather her momentum. She was suddenly feeling scared and uncertain of where she was headed. She wanted to leave but couldn't help but wonder what if he didn't want that.

She was so used to getting locked up against her will and bullied by her supposed family that she couldn't see past the fact that she may have been sold out. Emma struggled to remember the last words of Talia before she blacked out but it proved impossible.

Something told her that if she could at least get some hold on that information, then maybe the reason why she was brought here would be even clearer to her.

When it wasn't forthcoming, she remained locked in the room, forgetting that there was an impatient and angry man waiting for her.

Emma soon jolted out of her thoughts when three successive knocks landed on the door behind her. Her body shook, knowing whoever it was had come to seek her out. She looked through the keyhole and much to her surprise, saw an elderly woman.

Unsure of what to do, she remained steadfast, not breathing a word or attempting to open the door, believing that somehow, if she didn't speak, it would all go away.

She was in for a rude awakening when the knocks resounded again and this time around, with an accompanying voice.

" I know you are in there! Open up or I will." The woman said. After some moments of silence, Mrs Adams produced a spare key and in a matter of seconds, the doors were opened.

" I'm Mrs Adams, the housekeeper. " She introduced herself upon making contact with the young lady.

Emma eyed ger warily but after some seconds, returned the gesture. " I'm Emma."

" Hi Emma. I know you must have a lot of questions and possible fears regarding how you got here yesterday but believe me when I say that you can't get the answers you need if you remain here." She advised.

" What do you mean? " Emma asked, her attention piqued.

" Mr Braxton is waiting for you downstairs. He'll be in a better position to explain what I mean. " She said, directing her out of the room with a smile. " Don't worry, he's harmless. Come on, don't be afraid." She added, noticing her hesitation.

Emma was conflicted. The woman felt reliable but the fact that she knew how she was brought in made her even skeptical when she directed her towards the direction of a Mr Benson?

Why couldn't she just rid her of the stress and tell her what she needed to know?

She had a feeling that the man in question was the one she met earlier and she couldn't quite refer to him as harmless. She was desperate for answers either way and with the popular saying: the earlier, the better; she decided she might as well get it over with.

Emma walked out of the room with small calculating steps down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs, a voice jolted her to a stop.

" You sure took your precious time, princess."