“Bradon!” Alfred ended up yelling even louder.I’d just about had enough of him at that point, which led me to hang up and turn off my mobile phone altogether so that he couldn’t call me again. Everything felt like such a bother, and I didn’t want to deal with any more of their selfish demands.…**The night after**Although the bedroom that Bradon had arranged for me was only on the second floor, the fact that the floor-to-ceiling of each floor was so high meant that the distance was still something if I wanted to jump or climb down there. After sitting close to the balcony for almost an hour, I finally decided that the best way was to find something that I could hang onto while I climbed down there. Inspecting the things available to me in my room didn’t leave me with many options.The bed sheets felt like the safest bet. With the help of the very small scissors that were present as part of the sewing kit stashed away in the wardrobe, I managed to cut the bed sheet from the bed and
“Jenna…” I called her name softly.“Yes, My Lady?” she replied as she turned to face me again.“Umm…has Bradon been coming home late lately?” I asked while trying not to sound too suspicious.“He must be busy with work…” she replied while looking apologetic although she had done nothing wrong.“Then, I guess he will be back late tonight as well…” I said before smiling a little her way.Testing the waters a little bit shouldn’t be a bad idea…“I’m afraid that might also be the case,” Jenna replied sadly.She must have thought that I wanted to see Bradon so badly and that I hated the fact that he came home super late every night. That couldn’t have been any further from the truth. Of course, I was asking precisely to check that today would be just like any other day and that would mean that Bradon wouldn’t come back home until super late at night. Better yet, I hoped he would just come back at dawn or not at all.“I see. Have a good evening. I feel quite tired, and I want to sleep after
I was quite certain that I had not watched a documentary before in my life about the topic of starvation and what it could do to the human body. Of course, from my various trainings, I knew how it all worked and exactly what would happen in detailed stages. However, that did not explain the documentary-like voice that rang through my mind as it repeated the effects of starvation on the human body.The troubled state of mind was followed by my mind deciding to have a private talk with itself. I could hear my own voice echoing in my mind as it asked and then answered its own questions.What if she dies…?She won’t die.What if she gets sick?“Fuck…” I cursed softly as my eyes snapped opened.By that time, I had already lost all patience with myself and had given up on the idea of sleeping for the night. It did occur to me that I might be going insane but that didn’t scare me at all. Immediately, I regretted not drinking enough alcohol to knock myself out for the night.It felt like year
There were no signs of struggle in the room so that meant that no one came to kidnap her. It wasn’t like anyone could or would break into my mansion anyways. Security was so tight that it allowed absolutely no unauthorized entrances…as well as exits…“Oh, no. Where is Lady Diana?!” Jenna exclaimed from behind me.“Did she say anything to you?” I asked emotionlessly.“She…just told me that she needed to rest…” Jenna replied softly.So, she didn’t want to be disturbed. Great.“Where are you going?” Jenna asked with clear urgency in her voice.“Stay away from here and do not alert anyone else,” I instructed calmly.I walked the short distance from the foot of her bed toward the balcony where the night breeze still swept into the room. One glance downward gave me the answer to almost every question that I had in mind. A flowery bedsheet had been cut and tied with ugly knots into a long rope with one end tied to the railing of the balcony. I scoffed at the ridiculousness of the idea that D
Please just let this be the result of my own imagination and nothing more.I could hear the rustling of leaves on the ground, and it felt like something was moving behind me. My body froze from fear as my mind wondered if this would be the perfect time for me to run and never look back. Running straight up ahead sounded easy but the fact that it was quite dark, and I couldn’t see so far in front of me made that difficult. The leaves rustled again, and I began truly regretting my decision to leave the mansion.Wasn’t the wall or the gate supposed to be just a short walk away from the mansion?I closed my eyes and let out a sigh before taking a deep breath as I tried to gather my courage again. While telling myself that it was probably nothing, I slowly turned my head around to look over my shoulder. At first, I couldn’t see what it was clearly, but I was certain that something was moving in the darkness like a mysterious shadow. I should have started running but something told me that
While letting out a louder scream, I pressed my eyes shut and winced to brace for the impact of my fall. To my further surprise, I never completed my fall and never hit the ground. Instead, I felt my legs being lifted up from right under me. When I opened my eyes again the whole world was upside down. My eyes widened in shock as my mouth dropped open before I let out a much louder scream than before when I realized that I was hanging upside down.“Get away from me!” I yelled as the dog took a step toward me.I never dreamt that I would find myself in such a scary and ridiculous situation. The dog was still there, and it looked like it was ready to chew my head off and instead of running while I had the chance, I somehow got myself trapped and ended up hanging upside down with my legs tied. I stared down at the dog as I wondered if the dog would now jump up and nip at my head.Why is there a trap like this in his garden?The dog began barking again and it appeared even more agitated an
I ground my teeth in frustration as I watched Brandon turn to pay loving attention to the dog.“Good job...” he complimented the dog as he placed his large hand on top of the dog’s head and began petting it.The aggressive black dog that wouldn’t stop barking and baring its fangs at me just a moment ago had turned into a meek little puppy now that Bradon was present. It was even wagging its short tail now that it sat down to be petted. The adorable scene that unfolded right in front of me would have been touching had I not been hanging upside down with my feet tied together right up in the air.“Bradon…can you let me down now?” I asked while pleading sweetly.Since acting demanding didn’t seem to work with him at all. I quickly switched to the my ‘poor woman in distress’ mode with the hope that it may work better against him. Bradon continued stroking the dog’s head for a bit as it made cute whimpering sounds in its throat before turning his attention back to me.“I told you not to le
“Umm…can you…help me down now?” I whispered sweetly before I pressed my lips into a thin line and smiled.“I really should kill you…” he murmured as if he was just talking to himself.Bradon let out a long and unsuppressed sigh before his hand reached up to untie whatever it was that was restraining my ankles and feet together. When I felt the restraining sensation in my ankles subside, I wondered if he was simply going to let me fall down onto my face on the forest ground. The warmth of his arms around my body as he slowly lowered me down helped to put my fears to rest, at least for a moment.When this whole putting my escape plan into action started, I never dreamt that I would end up being kissed by him and then being carried in his arms like this. My desperate attempt to get away from him ended up bringing us together instead. Not to mention the fact that he was the one who ended up helping me out of my sticky situation. I stared up into his face while thinking that until the whim
Just thinking that the fool right in front of me dared to say he was in love with my sister, while he couldn't even tell the two of us apart, made my blood boil. It took a lot of effort to repress the urge to reach out and strangle his neck right then and there. I reminded myself that I had a part to play and quite an audience to impress."No... this can't be..." Mr. Malton whispered hoarsely from a distance, stepping even further away from me. I stood up from the table, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back to my side as I glared up into his face."It's actually quite simple to fool you. All I had to do was dress up in my sister's clothes whenever I met you and talk a little more sweetly..." I said, letting out a hysterical laugh. I could still feel everyone's eyes on us as the attention in the room escalated even more than before.Mr. Malton was speechless as he tried to pull his arm away from my grip, but I wasn't about to let him get away so easily."Well, now I guess the secret is
I had no idea how Diana managed to keep the girls silent up until that point so that the news wouldn't spread; however, I knew that it wouldn't be too long before everyone in school knew about this illicit affair. We would be extremely lucky if this news did not spread beyond the school walls. Despite the gravity of the situation, Mr. Malton was already ready to make his retreat."What if they don't believe us? I feel so scared. I don't want to be alone, and I don't want you to leave me," I said pleadingly just to see his reaction."You know that I would never do that. It would just be temporary until everything blows over. I promise that I will never leave you. How could I possibly leave you? I love you so much," he declared his love for me boldly.The more dramatic things became, the more I felt that his act of adoration was completely fake. No matter how many times he claimed to be in love with my sister, it seemed like he couldn't even tell us apart. I wondered what kind of face h
"Leya, you need to help me find a way out of this. Diana simply cannot make this kind of mistake," my sister told me slowly and clearly as she stared directly into my eyes."You're right. You can't afford to make these kinds of mistakes," I agreed solemnly."No one else must find out about this. We have to do something before word gets out because word is definitely going to get out,," my sister stated calmly, and I could tell that she had returned to her calm and collected self."Can't we tell them that they simply misunderstood and that it's not true?" I asked, daring to harbor a little bit of hope."They probably won't believe what we tell them, but they might believe what we show them," Diana replied, and I could tell her mind was made up.Without using any more words, it seemed like an understanding had formed between us, and once again, it felt like it was us against the entire world....**The Next Day**As I pushed open the back door to the building that was supposed to be off
The moment that thought entered my mind, I quickly killed it and pushed it out of my mind as if extinguishing a small flame before it would spread and engulf everything. I told myself that it wouldn’t have to come to that and that we could find another way to figure things out.“Does it matter? Why does it have to matter?” Diana asked, and her tone was cold.My sister’s response quickly snapped me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I narrowed my eyes at her as my irritation started to take over.“It does matter! Have you completely lost your mind? He’s our teacher,” I reminded her as I started to truly lose my head over what my sister had confessed to me.Had I known that the person she had been dating was one of our teachers, I would have definitely stopped her. That was probably the reason why Diana decided to keep it a secret, even from me. In reality, I had my own doubts about whether or not I could have persuaded my sister not to pursue her taboo relationship with Mr. Malton
"I guess he is not someone in this school," I said as I ran my mind through potential candidates who could be my sister's true love."It's a secret," Diana repeated again before pressing her index finger teasingly against her lips."Are you really not going to tell me?" I asked."Honestly, you have no idea just how much I am dying to tell you who he is. But you see, I did promise him to keep it a secret between us... at least for now," Diana said before flashing me a regretful smile."I don't think I will end up liking this guy. He's telling you to keep secrets from me," I replied teasingly."I'll make sure that you're the first one to find out," Diana promised me with a beaming smile."I guess that it's good enough for me that you're happy," I told her honestly."Thank you, Leya. I love you so much. You're probably the only one who truly cares about my happiness," my sister said before pulling me into her embrace.Back then, when I held my sister in my arms and hugged her back tightl
“Shall we?” Bradon asked as he offered me his arm invitingly.“Thank you,” I replied as I smoothly slipped my arm into his.Appearing in front of the public as Diana, with Bradon as my escort as he flawlessly acted out the role of Anthony, drew quite a lot of attention to us. I could tell that Bradon felt restless, even under his calm and collected exterior, and that was probably because he couldn’t wait for this engagement announcement to come to an end. Even though he should have been reassured now that Diana was taking my place at the ceremony, it seemed that nothing could make Bradon completely feel at ease given the situation.“I sincerely hope that they keep it short,” Bradon whispered right into my ear before planting a soft kiss against my temple.I was sure we looked like the perfect loving couple, and perhaps that wasn’t so far from the truth. For the life of me, I had no idea how Diana managed to convince Desmond to let her take my place at the engagement ceremony, but I wa
"So, are you going to get on your hands and knees to beg? How much longer will you keep me waiting?" I asked while pointing my index finger at the empty floor right in front of my feet.If looks could kill, I would have died an extremely painful death, stabbed by the millions of daggers flying out of my father's eyes from the way he was glaring at me. Even when I was clearly his only route of escape from the impending hell that was awaiting him, it was clear that my father felt nothing but hatred for me. I returned his stare with one of my own as I continued pointing to the floor where I wanted them to get on their hands and knees."I'm still waiting. Oh, but if you're not willing, then I'll make sure that some men will escort you out," I said before grinning at them. I could tell that my father was hesitating, and that meant that he was truly considering abandoning whatever pride he had left to get down on his hands and knees to beg for help from his long-abandoned daughter.Time mov
“Dahlia, dear! Please help your dear father!” The head of the Alnault family desperately pleaded for my help. I squinted my eyes at his face as I took in the evident panic and helplessness displayed on his features. I wasn't sure what I was hoping for when I wanted to see him, but his reaction surely surpassed even my wildest expectations. Gone were all of his confidence and arrogance. Perhaps, for the first time in his life, this man was feeling truly hopeless and helpless. “Dahlia! You have to help get us out of this. You need to help our family!”my mother's high-pitched voice begged openly for my help.I glanced in her direction. I wasn't at all surprised to feel absolutely no pity for her. The only question that went through my mind was why these two people were still standing on their feet rather than kneeling in front of me on their knees. My biological father continued begging while giving me countless reasons why I should help him out. However, most of his words were lost to
It was true that I had ample opportunities to tell Bradon about it, but it was also true that bringing it up would ruin the romantic and joyful mood between us and whatever we were in the middle of doing. Bradon came home early and in time for dinner every day, as if it was a change in habit. We spent time together just like regular couples—staying at home, watching movies, taking a dip in the pool, walking together in the garden, and doing many other things just to enjoy each other's company. It felt like we were making up for all the lost time.…**Around a week later**Diana's brewing plan kept me on edge. The secret preparation for the royal engagement announcement was in full swing. As for me, I spent a lot of time mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Each peaceful day that went by felt like the perfect calm before a raging storm. One day, I woke up to find Bradon sitting on the side of the bed, his eyes on me as if he was waiting patiently for me to wake up from my sl