I honestly meant it as a joke, but the sorrowful look that entered the depth of his blue eyes and his face told me that he didn't find my joke at all entertaining. Suddenly, the atmosphere around us felt awkwardly tense. Just as I wondered what I could say to ease the tension between us that I had unintentionally caused, Bradon spoke up."I'm sorry, Dahlia," he said as he pressed my hand against his forehead. I could hear and feel his regret, and I truly believe that he genuinely regretted his actions and that affected my heart.For a moment, I was stunned into silence as all I could do was stare at him as my body froze in place."No, I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I'm not really blaming you," I said before trailing off."It's fine. It is my fault," he said. I wasn't sure at that point if my words bothered him more or if his reaction bothered me more."You should try your best to fall asleep," he advised after a moment of silence."I think after 3 days of doing nothing but
"I guess you'll have to hold back this time. You shouldn't bully the sick, right?" I asked teasingly as I patted the empty spot next to me on the bed again.This time, instead of hesitating in silence, Bradon chuckled softly before climbing into bed with me. The hospital bed creaked from his movement and his weight. The space that we had to share was certainly too narrow for the two of us to sleep separately, so it felt very natural when he pulled me into his embrace and hugged me tightly with my back towards him. I could feel the warmth of his breath tickling the top of my head like a gentle breeze as his chest rose and fell from his steady breathing."Are you really scared?" Bradon murmured.I wondered if I was really scared about the possibility that my life could be in danger. Honestly, it still felt very unreal, although I knew that it wasn't completely impossible for something like that to happen."I was just fooling around. I'm not scared," I said before trailing off with the w
It felt like his fingers were slowly unraveling my defenses as I found myself surrendering to the pleasure of his seduction. It wasn't the first time that we were about to have sex in the hospital. The first time that Brandon seduced me into doing it with him was right after Desmond left after his visit. I didn't have much time back then to be curious about the present that Desmond mentioned before Brandon practically jumped up on me. My insides ached and felt like a mess for an entire day after he aggressively pumped his cock in and out of me and made me climax multiple times on end.Maybe because he felt guilty for fooling around with a patient that was supposed to be recovering in the hospital, Bradon became much more patient and gentle the times that we did it after that, to the point where I found it slightly annoying."It's really dripping wet," Bradon whispered in a low, seductive voice, and his words managed to snap me out of my thoughts. I let out a small cry when his hands
I could hear the strong beating of his heart as our bodies became completely joined. My pussy quivered around his cock as I hugged him tightly while sitting on the hospital bed."If you don't let me go, I can't start moving," Bradon said teasingly before letting out a little chuckle.I slowly unwrapped my arms from his body while hesitating to let him go. I planted my hands behind me instead to prop myself up as I spread my thighs invitingly."Oh...Ahh...Ahhh!" I moaned louder and louder as his cock began moving inside of me. Bradon stimulated my insides with slow but deep thrusts. The sensation of his cock dragging slowly along the walls of my aching pussy as he withdrew it almost completely out of me made my entire body tremble. I cried out each time that he plunged his cock into me. Although the slow and deep way that he was entering me felt so pleasurable, it didn't take me long to crave something more rough and dominating."Please..." I pleaded in a strangled voice as I lifted my
I was slightly disappointed that he didn't come with a new game to teach me that day, but I had nothing to complain about. Since I wasn't allowed to leave the hospital, my days when Bradon wasn’t around usually involved browsing social media using my phone or doing some online shopping to ease my boredom. It was extremely challenging to keep updating Diana's social media channel now that I was stuck in the hospital. Diana wasn't supposed to be in the hospital, so I couldn't exactly post photos of myself in my hospital gown to show to the world. After missing a few days of posting on social media, Diana's followers began feeling restless, and I received countless comments expressing their hopes that Diana was doing well. Diana's followers were not used to her absence from social media and were undoubtedly looking forward to getting updates. I had gotten used to the number of notifications that would pop up on Diana's social media channel. Although it wasn't anything to be proud of, I
"Dahlia," Bradon called my name again as he came closer.I knew that he was waiting for me to respond to him, but my mind was still struggling to process the fact that there was a very high chance that my sister was now back in the city, and I didn't know how to break the news to him. It was a very strange feeling not to know what I was feeling exactly at that moment as various emotions grappled for supremacy within my chest."My sister is back," I said in a low murmur as I felt my brows draw together in a frown. I couldn't find the right words, so I ended up spitting out the first words that came to mind."Diana is back?" Bradon said, and I could hear the surprise in his voice. I couldn't help but wonder what he thought or felt about the fact that my sister had returned."Did you know about this?" I asked as I stared at his face. Although he looked genuinely surprised when I told him that Diana was back, I wasn't sure if he knew about this in advance. If I had to take a guess, I wou
Maybe she ended up getting it all wrong once again after all…"Did you manage to find her?" I asked as I sat up straight in bed the moment the door opened. I knew instinctively that Bradon had finally arrived. After staying up practically all night the night before, I was wide-eyed to greet Bradon, although it was very early in the morning. "We've picked up her trail but we've yet to secure your sister," Bradon replied. I was hit with a sudden wave of disappointment, although I told myself that Bradon wasn't at fault. It would probably take a little more time in this game of hide and seek. It did surprise me a little that Diana managed to evade Bradon's search, even if it was only for a night."Does this mean that she's desperately hiding from me?" I asked before finding myself frowning while trying to figure out Diana's intentions. I honestly did not think that she would take her teasing so far just to get back at me because I was sure that Diana wanted to see me as well. "More l
Wanting to let go of my sister so that I could look into her face, I was first overwhelmed by the purest sense of joy just at the sight of her face. I could tell that Diana also felt emotional, and it looked like she was on the verge of crying. We both smiled at each other before giggling as if we were young little girls planning something mischievous for the upcoming days of the holidays. Although I knew that we needed to talk about so many things, at that moment no words came to mind, and I was just happy to rejoice in our reunion."I'm very happy to see you again," Diana said before she smiled sweetly at me. We held each other's hands tightly as if we couldn't bear to be apart from each other again. I figured that if Desmond could issue a royal pardon for me, then it probably wouldn't stretch beyond his power to bring Diana back while safeguarding her from our parents or whatever interference that could adversely impact her life. However, I also knew that if Desmond made the decis
My heartbeat thundered in my ears as I approached them. The three of them were engaged in such an intense conversation that, at first, they did not recognize my presence. Diana's voice was the first that came to me. Her voice was shaky, as if she was barely holding herself together."The doctor said that there's no change in his condition. Anthony is still unresponsive, although it's been months, and this whole thing with the snipers is only making it worse..." Diana said.I came to a stop as my mind struggled to process her words. My heartbeat grew even faster in my chest, and for a moment I thought that perhaps I had misheard my own sister. What did she mean when she said that Anthony is still unresponsive?Diana already knew that Bradon had taken Anthony's place, and that meant that the man who was shot was none other than Bradon. Yet how was it possible that Anthony was the one who was unresponsive? Nothing made sense to me at that moment. It felt like I was missing a very key pie
It hurt me more than anything to realize that I couldn't blame him, even if he did that, because I was the one who betrayed him first. I left him without a word or farewell, running away from him as if he were the one who had done something wrong. Memories of our time together came back like waves. The fake honeymoon that we enjoyed together felt more real than anything, right at that moment. I remembered the way that he would laugh whenever he let his guard down on the nights when we enjoyed each other's company simply as our true selves, and the dangerous world outside and our identities didn't need to complicate things for us.There was a time when I thought that love was enough, but a small voice inside of me reminded me not to be so foolish. As time slipped by, I found myself praying that the door would just swing open and that Bradon would be standing there with his arms wide open. I wanted nothing more than to be held in his arms once again. I had to admit to myself that, with
"Where is this?" I asked without hiding my suspicion. I knew very well where the Vulkan mansion was located and also what it looked like, and the place that we had just parked in front of couldn't look more different than the mansion that I remembered."You didn't think that we would take you to our home, did you?" Mrs. Vulkan snapped before looking away with a clear look of disgust on her face."I guess your home would be the first place that Bradon would look when he finds me missing," I replied dismissively."No more chit chat," Bradon's father said as he urged me out of the car.I told myself that it did make sense that they would find a place for me to stay, but did it have to be such a shabby-looking place? The isolated low-rise building looked like it could use a round of maintenance. The room that they led me to was simple, with a single bed, a television, a desk, and absolutely no windows."How long am I supposed to stay here? I thought we made an agreement that you would h
"Why would my son want to keep you here?" Mr. Vulkan asked as his eyes seemed to search my face for the answer that he was looking for. "How am I supposed to know? Maybe he hasn't had enough of me yet..." I replied before showing them a fake yet extremely sweet smile. "Even if he isn't considered a normal member of our family, I still can't have you associating with him," he continued on as if he was lecturing me of my lack of worth. "I just told you that I'm not the one begging to stay here and with him," I replied coldly. I had hoped that by then it had become plain obvious what I wanted the two of them to do for me. With their help, I was certain that they could find a way to get me out of Bradon's mansion. Bradon wasn't around, so the next in command was Zain, whom I did not think could directly stand up against the head of the Vulkan family. At least, that was where I decided to place my bets at that point in time. "So you want to leave but he won't let you? Is that what you
I quickly followed them inside, sensing that the two of them were here looking for trouble. One glance at Zain, and I could tell that he was already informing Bradon of their unexpected arrival. It wasn't like Zain could throw out Bradon's father and stepmother, so I could understand the pitiful position that he suddenly found himself in. I straightened my back and followed them further inside, thinking to myself that I needed to hold the fort until Bradon returned. Whatever it was that they wanted, I needed to make sure to find out.The two of them sat comfortably on the sofa as if they were in their own house by the time I made it to the living room. The fact that neither of us spoke a single word as I sat down on the sofa only made the tension in the room skyrocket."I'm sure that Bradon will be back soon," I said, more to tell myself than to tell them."Why are you still here?" Mr. Vulkan asked as he turned his cold gaze in my direction.The way that he looked at me left no room f
**A few days later**"How many times do I have to tell you? You can't keep me locked up in here!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my hands clenching into tight fists. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as anger and frustration took over.Over the past few days, I had already lost count of the number of times Bradon and I had had this argument. For some reason that I could not comprehend, my life as a prisoner inside his household had resumed. There must have been a change in Bradon that I couldn't fully understand-something that had led him to decide to keep me under house arrest. Going out was no longer an option, even if I was escorted."You may leave when I tell you that you can," Bradon replied with the same infuriatingly calm response he always gave, his tone ticking me off even more."Listen, I'm not doing this because I want to be selfish. If there's a reason why you can't let me go outside, then please just let me know, and I'll try to be understanding," I said, taking
"I'll try not to come back late," Bradon replied without any further explanations. I only managed to simply nod my head before he was already out of the living room. The look that Bradon gave me told me to hold my tongue and not ask him any questions. I knew very well that asking him anything would be useless because he most likely wouldn't give me any kind of answer. As I stared at the doorway, my mind became even more unsettled than before. Something was definitely going on and Bradon was keeping it away from me. "Probably just work..." I mumbled to myself. It wasn't unusual for Bradon not to tell me much about matters related to his work, and I never minded. A sigh escaped my lips when I realized that I had officially failed once again. The worst part was that I felt very relieved at the very same time. Bradon's parting words, telling me that he would hurry back home gave me something to look forward to and that made me realize just how much I yearned to be with him. "Stop it,
I needed to leave him and as soon as possible, but I didn't know how I could achieve that. My past experiences have taught me quite directly that I couldn't truly run away from Bradon. Escaping from the mansion was unquestionably impossible. I could not run away, so that meant that I needed to get Bradon to agree to let me leave. My legs already felt weak, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and shut my eyes to escape reality. I knew that I needed to talk to Bradon about ending our fake marriage as soon as possible, although I had no idea how to bring up the topic. Something told me that it might prove to be difficult to get Bradon to agree, and there was always a risk that he might react unpredictably.However, if everything he did was simply him just acting out his role and his feelings for me didn't truly exist, then that might be the solution to all of my problems. If he felt no attachment to me, then he should have no problem letting me go just as planned. After all
The party ended early, yet it was quite eventful, at least for Bradon and myself. I felt like there was a storm raging inside of me all the while that we rode back to his mansion. It felt like there was something right at the tip of my tongue that I wanted to say, but yet I couldn't bring myself to say it. There were times when I thought that I fully understood myself and what I wanted, and yet at the very same time, I felt so confused and lost. The feelings that were struggling to take dominance inside of me did not make sense, and it made me feel as if my thoughts and my feelings were heading in the direct opposite direction of one another.Bradon's words of defiance as he confronted my father came back to me loud and clear:"Dahlia is not your daughter anymore, and neither am I one of the Vulkans. I will never let you take my wife..."I should have known that entering into this contract marriage with Bradon, while taking my sister's place, would somehow lead to blurring the line be