Chapter 27BRIANNA’S POVWhile on my bed, I practically blinked every two seconds to establish the fact that I wasn’t dreaming. Catherine Stan – the all-time elegant, perfect wife of Alpha King Sebastian. Only child and daughter of late Alpha King Castriel Hardwell. The Luna of Cornerstone pack cheating on her husband with none other than that piece of shit, Ken Johnson. I remembered her words to me that night she saw me returning from the small dinner date Sebastian organized for me and him like it was yesterday. It just seemed too hard to process. Too hard to take in. To accept.I had known Ken Johnson from Aunt Gigi’s jewellery store where I had worked as a salesgirl. He was one of her most valued customers and came around almost every day to buy if not a pair of earrings, then a necklace, or a bracelet or an entire jewellery box collection to the extent I wondered who he was buying them for. Or if he was just using that as a disguise to come to the store every day and bother me an
Chapter 28SEBASTIAN’S POVThe news of Nolan’s death had made headlines on the front page of the morning paper. Such a shame he had to die. It was never intended. I had only wanted to teach him a lesson for hurting Brianna. A lesson he’ll never forget.But after he looked at his crotch and saw that his little soldier was no longer there, he had a heart attack and dropped dead. In an instant, my guards and I swung into action to get rid of anything that could connect us to his murder. We had managed to frame the woman that was grinding him when we came to his bedroom for his death.One of my guards who happened to be a tech genius scrapped the CCTV footage of us coming into the penthouse apartment, leaving the one of Nolan engaging in foreplay with the woman as they entered the apartment.Moreover, she had left in haste, leaving some of her stuff behind. Stuff such as her lipstick and hairband. They served as more evidence to prove that she was responsible for his death.Fortunately, th
Chapter 29BRIANNA’S POVRushing into the kitchen, I reached for a paper towel and tried to wipe the spilt coffee off my apron. Luckily for me, I had an apron over my dress. If not, the hotness could have penetrated through the light fabric of my dress and burned my skin.The coffee stain wasn’t cleaning off. Instead, it smudged some more. It damaged the apron. And there was nothing I could do about it. Even though I knew the stain wasn’t cleaning off, I kept wiping it. Vigorously as tears of frustration stung my vision. Why was Catherine doing this to me? Why was she treating me like this? No matter how hard I tried, it all seemed to hit a brick wall.Amid my frustration, a warm palm rested on my shoulder. I turned to see the large, emerald-eyed maid that had treated my lip bruise the night I came back from that cocktail party. If I remembered correctly, her name was Amelia.“Oh, Brianna,” her eyes softened with sheer empathy as they met mine. “I’m so sorry. I saw everything.”“I jus
Chapter 30BRIANNA’S POVSebastian changed so fast. He wasn’t wearing the morning robe he had on earlier in the dining. But a light t-shirt and shorts that revealed his thick arms and legs that were covered with silky hairs. He was looking different. So different from the Sebastian I knew. I was so used to seeing him in designer suits and formal wear and his silk morning robes, I couldn’t picture what he’ll look like in a t-shirt and shorts.“Hey, Brianna,” he breathed out, his deep-set, olive-black eyes intent on me. “How are you feeling now? I’m so sorry for what happened earlier. Catherine can be…,” he slashed out a quick breath, struggling to find the right word. “I just need you to know it won’t happen again. Okay?”“I’m…I’m feeling better now,” I stuttered. It was so hard to remain coherent with him close. I wondered why he was apologizing for something he didn’t do. Catherine should be the one apologizing. Even though I knew it’ll be over her dead body. “It’s nothing to worry ab
Chapter 31SEBASTIAN’S POVIt was obvious she was lying to me about that mark on her face. I could tell from her stuttering, excessive fidgeting, the way her beautiful, glacial eyes kept dribbling around the building to avoid my gaze. Moreover, no maid had ever engaged in a fight or any kind of squabble in the castle for as long as I have known. Even if they did, the news would have reached me faster than the speed of light.How could she be lying to me? I want to care for her. Protect her like a guard dog protected a building. But she wasn’t giving me the slightest chance. She wasn’t letting me and it was beginning to make me feel like a fool. Feel like she didn’t need me. She even had to call off our reading lesson. Something she so desperately wanted without a solid excuse. There was no way the works in the castle will hinder her. The tons of maids in the castle could do all that. I even offered to grant her spare time. But she refused without a second thought. I never even wante
Chapter 32BRIANNA’S POVAmelia ended up making the coffee for Catherine. When I asked her if Catherine was still angry with me for what happened, she said she was and had given her strict warning never to do my chores in place of me.She made the fourth rule clear to her which stated that I was to continue with my chores and tasks even when the maids got back from their leave. They may lend a helping hand by showing me how to do it or the way to go about it since I was a novice. But I was to do the majority of the work.And with that being said, Amelia couldn’t cover for me. But it was nice of her to be considerate. And she also made me promise to never hesitate in asking her or any of the maids for help when I needed it.Stepping out of the kitchen, I could see Catherine thudding down the stairs angrily, her blue eyes roaming around as she screamed my name.She was wearing a one-shoulder turquoise dress with a little slit just above the side of her waist. The dress was short. So sho
Chapter 33BRIANNA’S POV*****Outside, the downpour was descending heavily. I stood by the window, my breath creating a small mist on the glass as I peered outside. The rhythmic tap-tap of raindrops against the windowpane created a soothing melody that evoked nostalgic memories in me.When I was little, I liked to go out in the rain and play. I loved the sensation of the wet grasses beneath my feet as I danced around in the open space. I loved the fresh scent of the purified air in my nostrils. I loved the way the cool droplets landed on my skin, sending shivers all over me but at the same time washing away my worries and troubles. I loved the joy and freedom. I loved it all.But after all that, I always came down with a cold. My mom will scream at me, ground little me for weeks and threaten not to make pancakes which were my favourite then ever again. Father just laughed it out saying, “Leave her. She’s just a kid.”Anyways, I still went out to play in the rain when Mom wasn’t aroun
Chapter 34BRIANNA’S POV(CONT’D FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTER)I was so startled by Lily’s words, I took a moment to breathe it in. She didn’t turn out to be a snitch like I had thought. But a saviour. A saviour that’ll save me from this hellhole I was stuck in. Thank goodness! Tonight, I'll leave this place.In an instant, I took the breakfast tray from her hands and rushed to drop it on the nightstand. Holding her hands, I guarded her as we sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re sure you didn’t tell him?” I scooted closer to her, my voice husky even though I knew the guards outside my room door couldn’t hear us.“Yes,” she nodded vehemently. “Alpha Hermes is a monster. I have seen what he did to the other girls before you. It was bad. Very bad. And I wouldn’t want to see you continue suffering like you are. I would have resigned and left this castle a long time ago. But I have nowhere to go. So I had to stay back.”Hearing what she said triggered quick, disturbing thoughts in me. Hermes had
CHAPTER 19“W…what do you mean she didn’t make it?...” My voice quivered as I tried to keep it steady. My breath was heavy, coming in short quick gasps that hurt my chest. “S…she’s dead, Lily,” the doctor hesitated before breaking the news with a heavy sigh. “She couldn’t be operated on due to lack of completion of the payment. Her body has been transferred to the morgue. I’m sorry. I did my best. I really did. You need to come now to identify her body and make necessary arrangements…” The weight of his revelation bore down heavily on me like a ton of rocks, crushing me to a pulp. I didn’t know for how long I stayed mute, feeling an acute sense of loss wash over me. My mother. My sweet mother…the only family I had left was gone. I won’t get to see her again. This was all my fault. If only I had gathered the payment and made it to the hospital in time, I could have saved her. She’ll still be breathing by now. Terrible regrets assailed me as hot painful tears burned their way down m
BRIANNA’S POV The pungent smell of drugs and antiseptics came streaming into my nose. Irritated, I grimaced, shaking my head to ward off the smell. My eyes forcefully slid open to find myself in an unfamiliar environment flooded with bright almost blinding lights with the walls painted white too. It didn’t take long for me to realize I was in a hospital, the beeping of the heart monitor and other medical machines I was hooked to the only sounds heard in the room. I groaned in discomfort, breathing out heavily as I tried to gently sit up on the bed. I felt so disoriented like I just woke up from a terrible coma. I tried to recall the events that led to me being here when the door suddenly pushed open and Sebastian stormed in. “Doctor! She’s awake,” he shouted, appearing relieved and overwhelmed with joy. He crouched in front of me, looking at me and touching me like I was made of glass. He was extremely concerned. “Are you okay?” He asked not waiting for me to answer before a
CHAPTER 152 SEBASTIAN’S POV Hermes started moving stealthily towards the car, forcing Brianna along with him, his eyes fixed on us without wavering. Brianna looked at us with a helpless gaze, silently pleading for us to help her. I felt really bad. My body burned with restlessness and the urge to do something. Anything. I can’t just stay back and watch Hermes take her away. I can’t afford to lose her again. I can’t bear living a minute of my life again without seeing her. I didn’t know if there was someone inside the SUV to drive them. I couldn’t see clearly. But Hermes was moving into the passenger’s seat with her. That meant someone was there or maybe he’ll climb into the driver’s seat after he got in. But whatever the case was, I didn’t want him to take her away again. I looked at Dylan in a silent, urgent plea. “We have to do something. We can’t just stay back and let him take her away again…” “I’m sorry Sebastian,” Dylan sighed in pessimism. “But there is nothing
CHAPTER 151 SEBASTIAN’S POV Dylan managed to gather all the association’s security troops in time. With an armoured truck, we burst in through the gates of his castle, taking the occupants mostly his guards by surprise. They didn’t expect us, especially by this time, at dusk. Dressed in bulletproof vests, we jumped down the trucks and shot several times in the air to frighten Hermes’s guards and force their surrender. The order from Dylan was to arrest, not to shoot. But I wanted to kill them all, most especially Hermes. Dylan knew I’d find it hard to adhere to his commands so he refused to give me a gun. Having arrived with five armoured trucks – three for the association’s troops and the other two for Hermes and his guards that will be arrested, we were almost thrice the number of Hermes’s guards. And the fact we came unexpectedly, they weren’t prepared at all. Looking around the place, I couldn’t see Hermes or Brianna. Where the hell was that bastard and where has he t
CHAPTER 150 BRIANNA’S POV I grimaced bitterly, looking away in irritation. “Let me go! I’m going nowhere with you…” But it fell on deaf ears as he started dragging me along with him to the castle’s exit as though I was some children’s toy. His grip was so tight I feared I might fracture my wrist if I tried to break free. “You killed her…” I swallowed with difficulty, tears falling out my eyes as the brutal scenario of how he killed his sister came rushing to my mind. “She was worried about you…she was only trying to help yet you murdered her in cold blood. You’re selfish! You have no heart! You’re a monster ….!! How can you murder your sister like that?!! You’ll never win me over… As long as I live, I’ll continue to hate you…” Exhaling loudly in frustration, he stopped and turned to me, the anger and rage in his eyes hot enough to burn me to ashes. I stopped talking and froze in fear, my breath fluttering in my chest. “Maybe it’s time I gagged that little hole of yours
CHAPTER 149 SEBASTIAN’S POV “What?....what is it?” I asked in desperate curiosity, eager to know the contents of the letter that left him in such a devastated state. “It’s from Hermes’s sister, Hera,” he uttered, rebuffed as he momentarily looked at the me and letter. “What did she say?” My curiosity peaked as I took a step closer to him. He looked into the letter. “She says that Hermes kidnapped a pregnant slave named Brianna Campbell and…” “That’s her!” I pointed out almost hysterically, interrupting him. “She is the one. Do you believe me now? Or are you going to doubt this one too?” I cocked a furious brow, a clear indication I was angry with his nonchalant attitude towards this matter. Even though this letter would help prove to Dylan and the rest of the committee that I wasn’t lying, I couldn’t fathom how it came to be. Why would Hera write and send it, implicating her brother? Hera and I weren’t very much acquitted. But merely seeing her was enough to tell an
CHAPTER 148BRIANNA’S POVPanic began to trickle in. “What…what’s the problem?” I asked her, my voice fragile and shaking “It’s always left unlocked since no one knows about it…I don’t know who could have locked it!” She exclaimed in frustration.My heart started thumping against my chest, the little hope I had crushing to pieces. Hermes was only a few distance behind us. If we don’t find a way to make it out any moment from now, he’ll definitely catch up with us. And I was already tired, hungry, and thirsty. I have held it for long. I didn’t know how much longer I could endure.“Come on,” she said as she took my wrist. “We can still make out before Hermes…”However, her words knotted in her throat the moment Hermes walked into the room.His eyes were dark and devilish, and his features hardened to a lethal frown as he glared at us. Tightly curled around his fingers was a pocket knife. He looked like he was ready to draw blood.I swallowed a lump that hurt my throat and thudded down
CHAPTER 147BRIANNA’S POV“What…?” The shock of what I heard threw me off balance to the extent that reality seemed to shatter. Did she just mention I was sold off to Hermes by a woman? Not just any woman but the one close to me? Close enough to be a relative?“What woman are you talking of?” Desperation and suspense clutched me as I walked to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.From the way she kept glancing around, struggling to recall, it was clear her memory was hazy. “Uhmm…. It’s been a long time so…I can’t really remember. The little I could see was she had curly shoulder-length hair and wore a floral dress…She looked like those types of women who’ll go the extra mile to look beautiful…I’m sorry but that’s all I can remember. I wish I could do better…”She didn’t finish talking when I left her shoulders and suddenly walked away from her. Shock siphoned blood from my body. I was too way to dazed even think or blink. Those descriptions matched Aunt Gigi’s perfectly. She had cur
CHAPTER 146SEBASTIAN’S POVMy face scrunched out of shape in rage as I scowled at him. I felt like throwing him a punch that would knock him back to his senses. Just how the flying fuck did he think I was lying over something this serious? The lives of my twin babies and the love of my life were on the line here, yet he’s telling me to seek therapy?!With all rage tearing me apart on the inside, I wanted to say something to him. Something that’ll cut through his scepticism and make him understand the gravity of the situation. Something harsh that’ll make him understand just how angry I am. But Khan, who was also in the office with us, stepped in to intervene, sensing the escalating tension.“My boss is telling the truth,” he said, keeping a calm demeanour as he explained. “The castle was attacked, and all my colleagues and the maids were killed. Not to mention my boss’s slave was taken hostage. They were all gunshot wounds, and with the way the operation was carried out, we’re convi