NIGHTMARE I

Ethan spared Eleanor a glance, once, before turning back to his door which he opened and got in. As he walked inside the room, the entire place lit up without him having to touch anything.

The mini penthouse suite was designed in the most exquisite way to suit his taste, and all the furniture was mostly in black, except for the twilight fog carpet which was placed at the center of the room, and the twilight fog tv console close to a wall.

Ethan removed his suit, dropped it on the couch, and loosened his necktie before walking to the counter to his right. Letting out a soft sigh, he brought out an Isabella Islay whiskey from the cellar with a cup, and added some ice inside the cup, before pouring the drink.

He gulped everything down in one go.

With the bottle of the drink and the cup still in his hands, Ethan walked to the couch in the room and placed them on the table.

Pouring more drink into his cup, he took another sip as he leaned back on the couch, resting his free hand on the top part of it.

.

Eleanor walked past Max and Ethan's bodyguards who still stood at the door of Ethan's suite. As she walked past them, Max's eyes never left her face even as he gave some instructions to the rest of the guards.

Not minding the attention Max gave to her, El walked to the door of her suite in the same hallway, opposite Ethan's, and opened it by swiping her card, before getting in.

The room lit up when she got in and she tossed her bag on her couch. She was enraged about how the evening had turned out, but mostly because she ran into Ethan again.

When she entered the next elevator, she had taken deep breaths and calmed herself down with the promise that she wouldn't have to see his face again, but the promise was broken a couple of minutes after.

She walked to the kitchen and brought out a bottle of water from the fridge with a cup from her cupboard. Pouring some water into the cup, she emptied it some seconds after she lifted it to her lips.

Gulping the cold water angrily didn't seem to disperse the anger she felt, so she decided to take a long, relaxing bath. She picked up her purse from the couch, before storming into her room.

Eleanor huffed angrily as she yanked off her heels in her closet, and quickly undressed. Everything that happened moments ago played continuously in her head, and that seemed to drive her more insane.

She quickly tied her robe and walked to the bathroom where her bath was already prepared for her by her room service team which she had informed a couple of minutes ago before her arrival.

Letting her robe slide from her body, she entered the water slowly, dipping one foot before another. As she sat inside the bathtub, she could feel every muscle in her body relax. The smell of the scented oil combined with that of the bubble bath that was put in the water was so cozy, that she let herself sink into the bathtub.

Everything was perfect, thought Eleanor as she inhaled the sweet fragrance that came from her bath; the temperature of the water, the amount of foam from the bubble bath, and the feel of the water on her soft, tender skin. She just sat inside, enjoying the peaceful feeling.

If only her day had turned out to be this peaceful, just as she had planned from the start of the day.

She almost drifted to sleep inside the bathtub, but stopped herself and lazily came out of the bathtub.

After putting on her nightgown, she walked to the bed and finally went to sleep.

.

Ding!

Ethan dropped the cup in his hand on the table in front of him and walked towards the door. When he opened the door and saw that it was Max, he walked back to the couch folding his sleeves up and max entered closing the door behind him.

The room was dark and the only light that was reflected in it was the one from the hallway, which disappeared when the door was closed.

"I thought I told you I don't want to be disturbed?" Ethan sat back on the couch, staring nonchalantly at Max who was now in the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry Sir, it's important."

His gaze narrowed as he picked up the remote placed on the couch, and increased the brightness of the light in the room. "Of course it is, you're fully aware of the consequences of defying an order."

Max didn't utter a word. He had worked long enough with Ethan to know this was a trap. His boss was probably bored right now, and his talking back would only allow him to do something sinister to him.

"Don't keep me in the dark, Max." Ethan rested his passive face on his knuckles.

"Your parents are in the country, including your siblings."

"How does Gage's presence in the country concern or affect me ?" His indifferent reply had Max's brows crumble slightly.

Not minding Max's changed expression, Ethan took a sip of the drink in his cup, his eyes still fixed on Max.

"They are here with your grandfather, Sir."

Ethan froze for a second, before gulping down the rest of the drink in one go.

"I'd like to be left alone."

Max bowed and left the room.

He poured more drink into his cup and gulped it in one go again. Still holding the cup in his hands as he stared at the open space, he smashed the cup to the floor in irritation and walked out of the living room to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, he let the hot steamy water pour down his body. As he stood completely naked under the shower, he stared at himself from the mirror in front of him.

He was fully aware of the reason behind his family's visit to the country. His parents wanted him to get married and his refusal made them bring the old man to pester him into changing his decision on the matter.

Marriage to him was nothing but a trap, a cage, that bonded him into doing things, not out of love - he never believed in that, but out of responsibility, responsibilities that deprived him of freedom to make choices, and he wasn't planning on embarking on those responsibilities for now.

He knew what his grandfather was capable of. As much as he hated to admit it, the old man was similar to him. They both can do anything to achieve their goals. Who knows what the old man is thinking of doing to him in that head of his to make him bend and follow his proposals?

The thought of people making decisions and imposing them on him made him angry, and he clenched his fists as he continued staring at himself.

Trying to control the burning fury inside him, he raised his head to the direction which the steamy water poured from, and after some minutes of torture, he felt his anger die down.

When he came out of the bathroom, his skin had turned red from the hot water he stayed under for a while, especially on his face.

He wore a pair of his pajama trousers only, and laid with his back on his bed, looking at the ceiling as he got lost in his thoughts, but then his eyes got heavy and he drifted off to sleep.