At first, I was confused as to why she looked so surprised to see me. Then it hit me that it was probably because she was surprised to see me setting foot outside of my bedroom. That was to be expected given the many days that I’ve confined myself to that room.“Where is Bradon? Is he still here or has he left for work already?” I asked while praying that I wasn’t too late.“I am very sorry, but you’ve just missed him. He left around half an hour ago…” Jenna replied with a regretful look on her face.How early does he leave the house? It’s like he doesn’t even want to be here…“Oh…” I mumbled with clear disappointment.“The weather is forecasted to be nice today. So, what about taking a stroll in the garden?” she suggested with a smile.I cocked my head to the side as I gave her a curious look. It wasn’t like I intended to follow his orders to the letter or anything like that, but if I remembered correctly, I did not have permission to leave the mansion and that included wandering int
“By the way, is there a nice spot in the garden where I can take some pretty photos?” I asked sweetly.“Of course…” he replied with a slightly surprised look on his face.After hearing Zain out about a few spots in the gardens that might serve as a good photo-taking spot, I quickly made my escape through the mansion’s front door before taking the few steps down. Staying any longer in Zain’s presence might lead me to say something that I wasn’t supposed to. I decided to get away from him before any of that could happen.The gardens were very well tended and indeed very beautifully decorated. The various statues of angels and other mythical creatures looked very magical especially when displayed among a large variety of blooming flowers. The bright and cheerful colors of the flowers made me think of the usually dark and stormy mood and nature of their owner. Turning on the camera of my phone, I used it to inspect my reflection. After practicing my smile and turning my face from side to
“Thank you. Our marriage is going well,” I replied with a blatant lie before showing him a bright smile.Our marriage was going so well that my wife had risked her life climbing out the balcony to make her escape.Just thinking about Dahlia’s foolish attempt at making as escape gave me a headache. I watched as everyone headed for the door after the meeting came to an end. By that time, I had been sitting way too long and it was a miracle that I could still feel my feet. I knew that I had to go outside and get some action before being stuck in the office turned me into an old man.“Mr. Vulkan…” I heard a woman’s voice calling my name.A young woman working in Anthony’s PR team popped her head into the meeting room before looking around as if to check if I was alone. I could already sense that trouble was coming my way as I watched her approach me with a slightly nervous smile.What is her name again?“Is something the matter?” I asked while feigning interest when I couldn’t care less.
“Wow! You sure are romantic. I really envy your wife. Please let her know that she looks stunning in all her photos and that it would be great if she could start posting content together with you too,” she suggested with a joyous smile as if she had just won the lottery.“Sure. Thank you, I’ll make sure to let her know that,” I replied while hoping that she would just leave already.After watching the woman leave, I picked up my phone just to realize that I didn’t even have my wife’s phone number.…Dahlia’s Point of View**Later in the afternoon**I sat cross legged on the bed with my phone in my hand as I waited for dinner time to arrive. My appetite for food had returned and that might be because I was in a much better mood than before.Some progress is better than no progress, I guess…To make me feel better about the situation that I was in, I started reflecting on some of the small steps of progress that I’ve made. Even though I haven’t reached my ultimate goal of getting my fre
Suddenly, there was a knock on my bedroom door, and I lost my train of thought. I let out a sigh as I got up from the bed and headed for the door.“Lady Diana…” Jenna said to me the moment that I opened the door.“Yes? Oh, by the way, you can just call me Diana. You can drop the whole ‘lady’ thing and let’s just talk casually from now on, ok?” I suggested with a smile.“If that’s what you want then…” she agreed hesitantly.“Is there something that you want from me?” I questioned curiously.“I’m just here to tell you that I’ll be setting up dinner for you in the dining room,” she informed me politely.“You can just prepare something simple for me. I’m not a picky eater,” I replied.“I can’t do that,” she replied with a playful glint in her eyes.It felt like she was hiding away a great secret. It made me curious, but it wasn’t like I was dying to know what kind of secret she harbored.“And why is that?” I asked.“You will find out soon. Please come down to dinner at around 7PM. I’ll ma
I had no idea why Jenna honestly thought that someone like Bradon would genuinely want to enjoy a romantic dinner with me. With how he had addressed me, I knew immediately that he had already seen my post on social media. I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I was going to get from him, but I had to say that getting some kind of reaction out of him was better than nothing at all.Without waiting for my reply, Bradon reached for my wrist and began pulling me behind him as he led me into the dining room. The door closed firmly behind us, and I found myself all alone with Bradon in the large dining room. Suddenly, I felt so under and inappropriately dressed for the occasion of our supposedly romantic dinner. Jenna had gone out of her way to decorate both the dining table and the dining room with flowers and various other decorations that I guessed were supposed to add to the romantic atmosphere of the room.“Take a seat…” he said coldly as he pulled a chair out for me.“Thanks…” I murmure
“My father called the other day to tell me to do something about the fact that there’s nothing out there about us. Well, there’s obviously nothing out there about us because there really is no ‘us’ and I’m stuck in here as well…” I pointed out.“So?” he said without a care.My hands clenched together tightly under the table on my lap as I suddenly had the urge to wrap my hand around his neck and wring it. For the life of me, I had no idea why he was acting like this was purely my problem and that he had absolutely nothing to do with this.“I’m sure that your father told you something similar. This isn’t an issue that can be solved by my actions alone. We need to work together on this one,” I proposed brightly as if I was proposing the idea of eternal worldwide peace.“You can count me out. If you think I should not stop you, then at least stop posting things that reference me or may expose the location of this place,” he said coldly.“Don’t you care about the plan going all wrong?” I
I didn’t want things to have to come to this, but it didn’t seem like I had any other choice. I had to go through with it and hopefully this man would keep his word.“Let’s do it. Let’s have sex,” I declared boldly.Bradon’s brows shot upwards before he cocked his head slightly to the side in disbelief. He clearly wasn’t expecting this sudden turn of events and neither did I. Before I could pause to think and change my mind, I began untying the sash around my waist and peeling the robe that I had on away from my body. I could feel him watching my every move, but I didn’t have the luxury of changing my mind anymore.“Did you come here with sex in mind?” he asked as his eyes travelled down my body before returning to my face and narrowing suspiciously at me.“Not really but I’m glad that I’m dressed for it…” I replied casually.He must have thought that I came to seduce him given the quite revealing nightgown that I had on. I guess this might count as dressing up nice and pretty for wha
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