Steffan was looking at her in surprise. Although she was uncomfortable under his gaze, she did not look away. “What did you just say?” He asked, his voice low and emotionless. She could not tell if he was simply surprised or angry, or both. She wondered if she should just drop it. The last thing she wanted was to make Steffan mad to the point he left her. That will push his father to punish her.“Before I married you, I had to be examined by a doctor against my will, to make sure I had remained chaste. My father said the Sherrods insisted on a chaste bride.” If she was going to allow herself to be swayed by this man’s kindness again, she had to be certain he was truly a good person, to some extent at least.Steffan just stared at her like she had suddenly grown two heads. She shifted in her seat impatiently, waiting for him to respond. They were drawing close to the presidential villa now.“How did they do it?” “What?”“You said it was against your will, were you threatned or rest
Racheal feared she may faint again. The memory of the whole checking-she-was-chaste experience felt suffocating. She hurried out of the suite and her guards joined her, Steffan’s own guards remained outside the door to the presidential suite.She got into the elevator and rode down to the large hallway, the one that connected all parts of the villa together. She was walking out of the elevator when she heard someone call behind her,“Racheal.” She spun at the voice. “Delbert.” She said in surprise as she saw him standing behind her. It appeared he had been waiting. For her? How did he know she would come down here? Delbert looked charming in a pair of denim and white T-shirt, his skin glowed against the lights that lit up the hallway. “What are you doing here?” She asked, hugging him. This was the first time she had seen him in anything outside a suit. She could not help thinking how men in Yin were competitively gorgeous. Delbert smiled his charming smile at her. She smiled ba
Racheal took her hand out of Steffan's. The memory of her experience at the interrogation room made her eyes sting with tears. “What if YOU hurt me, who should I tell?” she asked, pressing her lips together to hold back her tears. She was unaware that the tears had broken free, till she felt Steffan’s warm fingers wiping her face. Damn! Why was she so quick to break down?“Come, I made a bath for you.” He said turning quickly. He grabbed her hand, and he led her out of the closet. The bubble bath smelled so good, and looked irresistibly inviting to her exhausted body. But did this man intend to bathe her?As if reading her thought, he said, “You can step in with your lingerie on.”“I would like to have a private bath.” She said in the most serious tone she could put on.“No.” He said. “You still have not eaten, what if you pass out again.” What he said made logical sense, and she would have her a pair of lingerie on. At the very least, the lingerie was still one layer between her
“Racheal.” Steffan called, drawing her attention again to the present. She was saved from responding to his question by a mild knock at the door. “Please come in.” She said quickly, grateful for the escape. She found herself surprisingly happy to see one of her maids again. Luna smiled politely at her from the door but seemed hesitant to come in. As soon as Racheal saw the large bouquet of white lilies in her hands, she knew this was trouble. But she asked her to come in regardless. She had a suspicion that these flowers were from the secret sender from yesterday. She did not dare look at Steffan, but she could feel the angry gaze he fixed in Luna’s direction. “Is there a card there?” She asked, trying not to frown at Luna. The girl should know better than to bring this here, especially now that they knew Steffan lived here. But she did not want to be harsh towards her maid in Steffan’s presence. She did not want him to think it was ok to treat her maids disrespectfully in futu
Steffan was still on his knees staring up at Racheal. She wore her dress properly, and went back to her seat in the dining room. He stood up, and she could feel him staring at her, but she did not look up at him. “Racheal, who did that to you?” He asked, watching her intently.“I don’t want to talk about it.” She replied, forking a piece of now cold, bite-sized steak into her mouth. She could not taste the flavours of the meal, it tasted like paper, and her throat burned with tears.“You don’t have to keep holding things in.” Steffan said, “ Don’t you trust me?” He asked. She frowned up at him. How could he ask her such a question so soon after all that has happened between them since they got married. What reason was there to trust him? He had failed her before, who said he wouldn't again?Steffan ran his hand over his face in frustration when she would not say anything. Then he straightened up and walked off, his jacket in the crook of his arms. A guard walked in and picked Ste
Racheal’s eyes were closing off in exhaustion when she heard something that startled her awake. She sat up and stared at the snow globe, alert.She listened in silence, shocked at what her ears were hearing. To a normal person, the sound coming from the snow globe was just an innocent lullaby, but to her own music-trained brain, this was shocking. The tune was similar to the one she was used to hearing from the globe as a child, but in fact was not the same thing at all.Racheal stood up and glanced around her bedroom. She needed something to write on. She had no gadgets, and there was no pen and writing pad here either.Just then, she heard a light tap on her bedroom door, and nearly jumped out of her skin.“Who is…” She began to say when the door opened and Leah stepped in. “Oh.” Racheal sighed in relief. Leah bowed and looked back up at her.“How are you feeling now ma’am?’ Leah asked. “Everyone in the villa is talking about how you were rushed to the hospital earlier.” Racheal
In her hands, Luna was holding a huge bunch of red roses that was shaped like a giant teddy. Racheal’s face involuntarily melted. This was the cutest thing she had seen in a while, She plucked the white card perched on it. Not a secret admirerSteffanIt simply read. She burst out laughing, this man`s jealousy was silly. If their little steamy moment earlier was not proof enough, she knew now for sure that he was trying to woo her. He was picking up exactly from where he had stopped at that dinner where all her problems had worsened. She was not sure about the best way to react to his new attention. She took the rose teddy from Luna and admired it. If she had any good sense this was a no brainer, a man who had abandoned her at a cruel interrogation room was bad news, the brightest red flag and did not deserved any second chances. But she obviously was a silly girl, with was a gaping hole in heart that wanted to be filled with love, a hole that her mother’s sudden disappearance
As Racheal progressed with her story, it became more difficult to speak. Her throat was clogged with tears, so she left out the part of the story where her step-mother used to starve her.She walked away when she was done, changed into a nightdress in the closet, and climbed into bed. A few minutes later, Steffan climbed in beside her and carressed her hair.“Don’t cry.” He said. His gentle tone made her cry even more, and it irritated her. How did she suddenly become this sobbing mess? He did not pull her close like last night, instead he rested his chin against her hair, till she quieted down. He finally placed his finger beneath her chin, and tilted her face up. Racheal found herself staring into a pair of clear blue eyes. All the anger that had been there not so long ago was now replaced with… Adoration?“I’ll protect you.” Steffan whispered to her. “From today, your enemies will be mine.” The force in his eyes made her heart stop. They stared at each other wordlessly.“You may
“Mind Skylar’s head.” Steffan said, watching her get out of the car. Racheal cradled six month-old Skylar’s head in her arms and got out of the car. Steffan turned and walked ahead towards the courthouse. She knew he did not like this, neither did her mother, but she wanted to lead a new life from now on.She would only allow any dispute to be settled by the court no matter how long it took, instead of the torture, killing and all they had done up to the point that she had Sterling.“Maman," Sterling said, peeking his head around his father’s shoulders.“Yes, baby.”“Maman.” He said again, and she smiled at him. Steffan adjusted him in his arms as they walked into the building.It was an informal courtroom, and the biggest case in Xen. This case was what had disgraced Roslyn and made her lose the elections. Journalists waited outside for the final hearing.She and Steffan sat side by side after the judge took her seat, and the accused began to be escorted in by the cops. Roslyl
Racheal followed Steffan into his house quietly. His housekeeper greeted her warmly. She nodded at the woman. She was surprised to see Chef Bennett come out.“Dinner in five minutes, sir.” Then he paused. “Mrs Sherrod.” He bowed.“Make a place for two,” Steffan said. Those were the first words he had said, since she told him she missed him.“Sure, Sir.” Chef Bennett responded.“You kept him?” Racheal asked, as Steffan led the way upstairs. “You liked him.” He said simply.She said nothing more. He surprisingly led the way to his bedroom on the second floor. It was a dark masculine room, wide, dark and intimidating.She stood in the middle, unsure of how to act, or what to do next.He dropped his bag on the bed, and glanced at her.“I am sorry I hurt you.” She said. He paused, midway into sitting on the bed, then started to take his tie off.“That’s rare. Women never apologize.”She made a face at him. But continued anyway. “I was conflicted. I wanted to be with you, but I was
Racheal sat on the toilet bowl, staring at the pregnancy test kit. It clearly read positive. In denial, she took others. They read the same thing.She hurried back to her room and pulled on a dress. It would be stupid to make the same mistake twice. She sat nervously in the backseat as her chauffeur took her to the hospital.She waited nervously as her blood got drawn, and patiently waited for the doctor.She could not smile back as the doctor said.“Congratulations Mrs Sherrod. Would you like to see your baby?”She climbed the table, and stared at the ceiling as the doctor smeared a cold gel on her flat belly.“You are about seven weeks pregnant.” The doctor said excitedly. “Look at your baby.” She held her breath and turned.She could hear the heartbeat of the fetus as the doctor pointed out where the baby was in the sac. It was so tiny, she burst into tears.The doctor helped her up and soothed her, telling her it was OK to cry, that days like these were an emotional day for
The president is dead did not cover the horror of how Spencer Sherrod had died. He stared at his father’s coffin the next morning as the priest talked on and on. He had wanted to kill this man. He had wanted to kill him with his own hand, so why was he reacting this way to the man’s death?His mind kept going back to how Spencer had looked in the video he had seen. He was headed for a meeting, surrounded by his guards, edgy and nervous, and alone.The old woman had come from the crowd, begging an audience. He had hesitated, but asked them to let her through. The woman had hugged him, even as his guards had yelled that it was against protocol.One had even reached out to pull her away. Then flames. He shook his head as he remembered the explosion sound. They had quickly found out the woman was the journalist’s aged mother. The journalist Spencer had killed at Racheal’s office.He felt someone squeeze his arm. He looked down at the little woman. She was the only good thing in
“We should start moving. I don’t want Limuel’s men to find us here," he said as he stocked the fire. She dropped a plate of Ramen in front of him. He smiled up at her, and she smiled back.He did not mind if he lost all his wealth, and became doomed to this kind of life, as long as he had her. She was all he wanted now, all he had ever wanted really from the day he met her.“It will be a few hours still before we can start moving.” She responded. He nodded and picked up his meal. She walked closer and sat beside him. He turned to her, caressed her cheek, and kissed her lightly. She returned his kiss, enthusiastically, the way he remembered, the way he liked.He loved how much she loved his touch. They were soon grappling at each other, their meal forgotten. He squeezed her warm soft body as she moaned his name and dug into his back. He savored the warmness of her, the fullness of her curve, the lusty way she matched his thrusts, squeezing tight around him.He did not want to
Racheal sat shocked, staring at Steffan’s face, just barely able to see it in the near darkness. But she could see clearly enough the honesty in there. His blue eyes were clear and honest, open and pleading.“You should have said that when I wanted to hear it.” She said, shaking her head, starting to move away. But he held her.“I should have. I was a fool not to have.”“I even told you once that I loved you. You said nothing.”“I am sorry.”“Stop apologising. It won’t fix anything," she said, trying to pull away. She did not have to hear this, she did not want to hear this. It would make leaving him that much more difficult. It was easier walking away from a man who hurt her, and had never admitted to loving her even once. But now…“Racheal.” He said, taking her face between his hands. “I love you. I have always loved you. My heart stops at the thought of losing you. The day Isaac told me you were dying, the day you sent that divorce document, my heart completely stopped beatin
“I thought you changed. Apparently, you did not," Steffan said finally, looking away. “You are still as stubborn and careless as ever.”His words stung her.“Careless? You sound like I got some warning that a certain Limuel was after me and ignored it.”“I tried to warn you. I sent a dozen messages, tried to make an appointment,” he blew up.She shrank back. Well. There was no way she would have known. She had his number blocked, so there was no way she could have seen his messages. She still did not know how he had gotten her new contact number by the way. She could not think of any of her staff who could have given him her personal number.She knew he was in contact with Isaac, but could Isaac have given him the number?“After all that has happened to you, I don’t know how you can still put yourself in danger like this.”“One could say I was in danger, hiding with you in a storm like this. At least Maman would think so.” She said quietly, lowering herself to the floor. That got
“What are you doing?” Racheal asked as she watched Steffan walk towards one of the many couches in the room. He said nothing.He placed a bright flashlight she suspected he must have found wherever he found the axe on the floor, lighting the whole room up. He raised the axe, and began to hack at the couch.She stared at him in shock, at first not understanding what he was doing. Then she turned back, and shut the heavy bolt on the door. He had to make fire somehow, or they would freeze to death before the storm was over. Between the both of them, they could probably buy a million couches for this family.She walked further into the living room, past him, checking the whole place out. The only place that was open to them was the hallway, the open kitchen in the living room, and a tiny bathroom at the end of the hallway. All the other rooms were firmly locked. She was not very eager to ruin their locks like she did the front door.She walked towards the kitchen, and turned on th
“What? Why?” Racheal screamed in confusion as she watched Limuel’s guards pull a limp Steffan up.Then they began to pull him to pull him away, his tall frame causing his foot to drag behind him.“I had a suspicion he might come here.” Limuel said, pulling out a big cigar.“What did we do to you?” She asked, looking from Limuel to Steffan, who was being dragged away.“I have no problems with the Sherrods. Just you.”“What?” She asked just as she saw Limuel’s toddler run out of the house. The guards tried to stop the child who was not warmly dressed for the weather. The toddler screamed. He just wanted his father.Lukas Limuel turned at the commotion. “Let him through," he said, standing up. The child broke through the barrier of guards, and ran into his father’s arms.“I don’t have the time to explain anything. I hear your mother has suddenly returned from the dead. I believe she will pay a decent price in exchange for you as compensation for what your family did to us.” Lukas sa