Sophia's POV"Who's there?!" I continued to yell, banging even harder on the door. I had jolted awake with an overwhelming headache and a temporary loss of vision. It took me a few minutes to recover enough to realise that I had no idea where I was. The events of the last few hours were all jumbled up in a large mess that I could not even decipher it. I didn't even know if it was still the same day. When my vision finally returned, I cast a glance around the room I was in. I had not realized till now that I was laying in a large, soft bed. I took in the rest of the room, and my jaw dropped slowly as I progressed. I was laying in the most exquisite room I had ever seen in my life. I had only ever seen rooms like this on television. It was a large bedroom painted and decorated with a light mauve shade. Aside from the curtains, bedcovers and bedside lamp–which were in the same mauve shade–everything else in the room was pure white. The tiles on the floor, the furniture, and the closet
Darien's POVI stared hard at the infuriating girl in front of me, the irritation making my jaw clench. I had finally dozed off only to be rudely awakened by the loud banging. I growled in annoyance, springing from the bed with the full intention to strangle her. I hardly got any sleep on a normal day, and when I did, I did not like to be disturbed.As I got to the guest room, still seething, I heard her trying the doorknob in a feeble attempt to open it. Was she daft? It was obviously locked. My irritation threatened to turn to anger. I wondered where Jordan picked this one from. She was acting like this was her first time being sold? What did she think it involved? Rainbows and roses? I slammed the key in the lock and pulled the door open before she could bang on it again. The action must have surprised her, because she nearly fell over. She recovered herself quickly, lifting her head to fix me with angry eyes. Before she could speak, I pulled her forward by the neck and pressed
Sophia's POVI was frozen at a spot. Even if I tried to make any move, I'd have been unable to at that moment. I took a deep but shaky breath, trying to figure out if I'd heard right. I could recognize Alpha Jordan's voice anywhere after months of being around him, so I was certain he was the one on the phone. I stared at the man across the table from me; Darien. Everything I was hearing was news to me. I had no idea why he decided to return me, but it was a huge relief. I wondered briefly why he had changed his mind about me, but my curiosity didn't care enough to start overthinking it.As if that wasn't enough, Alpha Jordan jumped right in with another one. "I decided I'll just let her go and pick up that fucking idiotic stepfather of hers." Those were his exact words. For a moment my breath ceased. It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice all over my head. My hands shook uncontrollably, and for the first time in a long time, hope struck deep inside me. He was going to le
Darien's POVGlee threatened to leak out of my insides as I ended the call with Jordan. I could feel the sudden gloom descending. Very good. Deliberately, I made a show of locking my phone and gingerly placing it down on the table with a straight face. Finally, I looked down at the whimpering girl. Sophia looked small and helpless kneeling in front of me. Exactly as I wanted. The girl was a piece of work, to put it lightly. Usually I would not go to this extent, but she was damn well getting on my last nerve. She needed to learn her place if her stay here was going to be peaceful. And if that meant dangling her freedom like bait to a shark, then so be it. She would learn what happened when you dared disrespect Darien Gray. "Please…" she suddenly let out, nearly choking on her words. "Please let me go…I never did anything w-wrong. My being here was a mistake..a-a mix-up. You heard Alpha Jordan say so…I beg you.."Her eyes were wide and moist with unshed tears. I cocked a brow in am
Sophia's POVI was struggling to breathe.It felt like the whole world was spinning around me, making my stomach churn from the uneasiness that I felt. I was numb all over, and in an effort to feel something, I dug my fingers into my palm. Hard. I needed to feel something…something that would let me know that I was here. That this was truly happening. Perhaps I was also looking for confirmation that this was not a dream. Wake up. I tried to shake myself out of this subconscious state of mind. This could not be happening. I could not be this close to freedom only to have it snatched out of my hands before I could grasp it. My chest constricted even tighter at the thought and I could feel the back of my eyes beginning to burn. 'This cannot be real,' I continued repeating the words in my head. My hands were beginning to tremble and the back of my throat was so clogged with anxiety that I could not breathe. Tears that I could not hold back if I tried sprung into my eyes but I veheme
Darien's POV"Another family dinner?" I ask, already displeased by the words of the other person. "Now, why on earth would they want to do something like that? Especially at a time like this?"it was highly unreasonable, in my opinion, and I could not fathom why they would want to put themselves and us through any of that. Cursing under my breath, I brought the speaker of my cell phone back to my lips."Are you coming?" I asked the person on the other end of the line. If I was going to be subjected to this unpleasantness, I would prefer to have at least one reasonable being who could hold a normal conversation.My sister laughed dryly. "Well, it's not like I have a choice, so you know what the answer is. The only reason I'm coming at all is because you're going to be there."I only grunted, although I was glad. "You are going to be there. Right?" She repeated, and I knew she was looking for confirmation from me. I smiled wickedly, remembering the time I had told her I would be presen
Darien's POVWork breezed by much faster than I had expected it to, especially since the workload at the office turned out to be a lot more than I anticipated. I had to use extra hands in the form of my secretary and two other employees to enable me wrap up the entire thing before it was late. It turned out that there were some imbalances in the projects the company was currently undertaking, and the contracts we had just signed with a partner company were found to have some issues. So we had to tackle that, and it took about two hours to completely wrap it up. I hated to overwork my employees unless they truly deserved it, so I felt a little uncomfortable that they worked overtime. To compensate for that, I made sure they had adequate amounts of coffee breaks, and when we were done with the work, I ordered takeout for all of them. There was no need to get some for myself since I was going to have dinner in a few hours. Plus, the drama from the mansion would fill my stomach in no ti
Sophia's POVMy jaw dropped in horror as I watched Darien walk out of the guest room with a smirk on his face. His words replayed in my head like a record on loop, and I suddenly felt a little scared. There was absolutely nothing I hate more than being left in the dark and not knowing what could possibly come next. It made me feel anxious and tiny, and like I did not have a say or direction in my own life. And this is exactly how I had been feeling for the past few months. It is how I have been feeling my entire life, to be honest.It had been three days since the incident with Alpha Jordan happened, and it did not hurt any less than it had that night. I still thought about it quite a lot. I still replayed the event over and over, wondering if things could have played out differently if I had acted on his command. No matter how much I tried to push it out of my mind, I still turned right back and went through the motions of blaming myself for everything. Being so close to freedom a
Darien’s POVI threw my keys on the side cupboard as I undid my tie. Today had been a very hectic day, I was beyond tired and pissed. Some employees can be very incompetent. Groaning in frustration, I began to undo my buttons impatiently. Pulling my shirt off my shoulder, I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. As the water travelled down my body, I felt the tension in my body loosen, the knot in my muscles dissolved. My hands pushed my hair to and fro, letting the water wash away the heat of the day.After having a proper bath, I walked out of the bathroom, the steam from the bathroom accompanying me as I left. I tied a white towel round my waist, I approached the big mirror by the wall, shuffled my hair some more as I stood facing the big mirror.The sound of notification from my phone made me tilt my head towards my bed. I saw the phone lie flat on the bed, light from the phone came on to indicate the sign of a message drop in. With numbered strides, I threw my leg to
I could not remember the last time I felt so clean and refreshed. And washing my hair was only the beginning. Once we were done, Mrs Ola motioned to the bathroom. "Go on in. You'll have to soak for a little while before I come to help scrub you."Again, I flushed at that. But she was right. I would need help, especially with my back. She gave me more instructions, telling me which of the liquid bath soaps I was to put in the bathtub. "And some forget to wash your face too, okay?"I nodded abashedly and walked into the bathroom fully clothed. I was too embarrassed to strip in front of them. Back when I was Alpha Jordan's captive with the rest of the girls,we would be stripped and forced into a room where they would spray cold water from a hose on high pressure. They would aim it at us and do it continuously until we were shivering from the cold. And that would be our bath for the day. It was torture. So much that the mere memory of it sent a chill down my spine. But now I was here I w
Sophia's POVAs soon as the knock sounded at the door, I jumped from the bed and walked over to unlock it. It was easy, especially since I was unable to get much sleep the previous night. I had spent most of it tossing and turning and worrying about today. I had convinced myself that Darien's words from yesterday were nothing but a means to scare me, but after what he had done to me, I knew that he was not the sort of man that gave empty threats. What did he mean, anyway? Being a personal maid was not a new thing. It was something I had done long enough to be used to it. Back when I lived with my mother and stepfather, the menial jobs I took on included working as a servant for wealthy Alphas and Lunas, so it wasn't a big deal. But the way Darien said it was highly suspicious. It gave a impression that there was more to it than just cleaning up after him. I hoped I was wrong and that paranoia was just getting to me, but I could never be too sure with Darien. I decided that I would no
Darien's POVI froze at the sight of a teary Eloise. As I rushed to where her car was parked, my mind raced as I wondered why she was crying. Once I approached the car, I knocked softly at the window. I watched as she quickly sat upright and opened the door. "Are you okay?" I asked. It broke my heart to see her like this. Eloise and I had bonded closely from a very young age, and I loved her fiercely. Anything that saddened her was something that should be taken care of. And I would do just that. Like I knew she would, she stayed silent. I did not ask any questions for the meantime. "Scoot over," I said. She wiped her face and climbed into the driver seat so I could have space beside her. When I was seated, I left room for a brief silence before I finally spoke again. "What's up?"She inhaled and plucked at her eyelashes before raising her head again. "Nothing. Something got into my eye and I was trying to take it out.""Really? You're going to use that line on me? Come on, Ellie.
Darien's POVAt the sound of Father's voice, the whole room fell silent. I paused in the middle of picking up a piece of sushi and froze, exchanging looks with Eloise. Finally. The man of the fucking hour. I knew something was missing. He marched into the room, and glancing at each of us to make sure we were all here before advancing towards us with obvious dissatisfaction on his face. "Oh, darling, finally," Mother was the first to speak. She stood from her chair and glided down the room to get to the door where Father was standing. "The kids were making such a ruckus, and I was wondering when you'd be here. You know I don't know when to–""Not now, Janet!" Father boomed, cutting her off mid sentence. "Stop with your whining. So you mean to tell me that you cannot control these youngsters?! Maybe your judgement is being clouded by the fact that they are your children. You are Luna! And they are your subjects, so I suggest you start doing your job."My jaw clenched. I hated the way
Darien's POVI turned off the ignition of my car and sat in my car, staring at the mansion in front of me. I had succeeded in containing myself till I got here, but now I was actually here, the same sour taste had come back to rest on my tongue. It was sickening. I had half a mind to turn my car around and leave. Plus, no one had to know I had ever been here. I could easily just say I could not make it because of work, and that would be it.An evil smirk formed on my lips at the thought. I could only imagine what Eloise would do. She would attempt to murder me, I was sure of that one. I couldn't blame her though: being in the Gray mansion, especially with all the Grays present, was a fucking chore. As much as I wanted to, I knew it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Father was the Alpha. He could easily use the Alpha command on any of us who refused to be present, and that would be the end of it. That was the thing with him; he did not ask, he ordered. I held back a curse that was on the
Sophia's POVMy jaw dropped in horror as I watched Darien walk out of the guest room with a smirk on his face. His words replayed in my head like a record on loop, and I suddenly felt a little scared. There was absolutely nothing I hate more than being left in the dark and not knowing what could possibly come next. It made me feel anxious and tiny, and like I did not have a say or direction in my own life. And this is exactly how I had been feeling for the past few months. It is how I have been feeling my entire life, to be honest.It had been three days since the incident with Alpha Jordan happened, and it did not hurt any less than it had that night. I still thought about it quite a lot. I still replayed the event over and over, wondering if things could have played out differently if I had acted on his command. No matter how much I tried to push it out of my mind, I still turned right back and went through the motions of blaming myself for everything. Being so close to freedom a
Darien's POVWork breezed by much faster than I had expected it to, especially since the workload at the office turned out to be a lot more than I anticipated. I had to use extra hands in the form of my secretary and two other employees to enable me wrap up the entire thing before it was late. It turned out that there were some imbalances in the projects the company was currently undertaking, and the contracts we had just signed with a partner company were found to have some issues. So we had to tackle that, and it took about two hours to completely wrap it up. I hated to overwork my employees unless they truly deserved it, so I felt a little uncomfortable that they worked overtime. To compensate for that, I made sure they had adequate amounts of coffee breaks, and when we were done with the work, I ordered takeout for all of them. There was no need to get some for myself since I was going to have dinner in a few hours. Plus, the drama from the mansion would fill my stomach in no ti
Darien's POV"Another family dinner?" I ask, already displeased by the words of the other person. "Now, why on earth would they want to do something like that? Especially at a time like this?"it was highly unreasonable, in my opinion, and I could not fathom why they would want to put themselves and us through any of that. Cursing under my breath, I brought the speaker of my cell phone back to my lips."Are you coming?" I asked the person on the other end of the line. If I was going to be subjected to this unpleasantness, I would prefer to have at least one reasonable being who could hold a normal conversation.My sister laughed dryly. "Well, it's not like I have a choice, so you know what the answer is. The only reason I'm coming at all is because you're going to be there."I only grunted, although I was glad. "You are going to be there. Right?" She repeated, and I knew she was looking for confirmation from me. I smiled wickedly, remembering the time I had told her I would be presen