Audrey walked and walked until her legs started to ache.
How could that jerk leave her in the middle of nowhere?
Cars hardly passed by and the few cars that passed didn’t stop for her.
The last 24 hours had to be the most bizarre hours of her life.
She slept with a man for money.
She sold her virginity for 100,000 dollars.
She wanted to cry as she recalled her mother’s lifestyle.
After making so many promises not to turn out like her mom.
She couldn’t believe she did something like this.
She blinked back her tears.
She wasn’t a slut.
She wasn’t cheap.
She had not turn out like her mother.
Audrey desperately tried to console herself.
She only did this to prevent her future from getting ruined,completely.
She would be alright.
She will move on and forget that ever happened.
She would completely forget that she ever met a man like that asshole.
After walking for quite some time,she finally got to a spot where seemed like a small marketplace.
Her reflection from a store window caught her attention.She was still beautifully dressed and it only reminded her more of what had happened to her since last night.
Wanting desperately to forget about it,she decided to change out of these clothes.
She hurried into the store and into their restroom.Audrey took off the clothes from her body.
She changed into one of her old clothes and washed off her make up.She also took off the expensive jewelries.
Sighing, she stared at herself in the mirror.
Yeah.
This was the real her.
She was a good girl.
She would not let that one night haunt her forever.
She was still a good girl,a good person.
She stared at the clothes,sandals and jewelries on the floor.
What should she do with them?
Should she sell them?
No.Selling them would only make her feel cheaper than she already felt.
She decided to just leave them there.
Then she headed for her father’s place.She would give this cheque to Matilda and she will never step her feet in that house again.
She would never give them the opportunity to play with her life again.
***************
Matilda was shocked to the bones when Audrey handed the cheque to her.
Never in a million years had she imagined that Audrey could get the money.
“How did you…?Where?How did you get this money?”
“I don’t think that should be your concern.You better make sure it’s delivered to that man.I am not going to be his wife and if you desperately need someone to trade with,use Talia.I’m never setting my feet in this house again.”
Matilda sprang up to her feet.
“What about your father?Are you going to make his take up his responsibilities?”
“You could try doing that.He’s your husband, afterall.”
“He’s your father!And don’t you dare forget who had made him bankrupt.”
“I would not let your guilt-trip me into taking care of this family’s expenses anymore.I’m not the reason my father went bankrupt and I refuse to believe that I have bad luck.I’m going to live my life and I’m going to live well!”Audrey sworn and stormed out of the house.
Just as she walked down the street.
She wondered how she was going to live well and her heart sunk.
She didn’t even have anywhere to go.
Her best friend,Tracy crossed her mind.
She might be back from vacationing with her boyfriend.
Audrey quickly gave Tracy a call and Tracy indeed informed her that she was back.
So Audrey headed for Tracy’s place.Tracy lived off-campus and had a roommate,Becca who was also friends with Audrey.
***************
When Audrey got to Tracy’s place.She told both girls what she had happened with Josh.
She left out the part where she had slept with someone for money.
She really didn’t want to be judged right now.
“Megan,that snake.She barely sticks to one guy.It’s as if she wants to date all the guys in the world.”Becca let out.
She never liked Megan even if Audrey had been friends with her.
Megan had been nice to Audrey and Audrey had thought she genuinely wanted to be her friend.
“I was such a fool.I can’t believe she only wanted to be friends with me so she could get closer to Josh.And I had no idea.”
“It’s okay,Audrey.And you shouldn’t blame yourself for anything.Josh is the foolish one here and trust me,a real man can’t be stolen.Since he was swayed by that bitch,then it’s just a sign that he wasn’t meant to be in your life.”Tracy advised.
Audrey sighed, sadly.
“What are you going to do now?You said you had a fallout with your stepmom?”Becca probed,concerned.
“You can stay here for the meantime until you get things figured out,Aud.”Tracy suggested.
“Really?”Audrey asked,touched.
She didn’t want to be a bother but she really had no choice right now.
“Yes.”Becca agreed.”And girl,you shouldn’t sit there sulking anymore.Let’s go partying,that will definitely cheer you up.”
“No,I can’t…”
“Aud,you need this and don’t worry.I’ll make sure you have a nice time.”Tracy coerced.
Audrey sighed,she really needed to have some fun to get her mind off a lot of things.
And so the three girls got dressed and hit a club.
**********
As the walked into the club, seeing how lively everywhere was, Audrey was suddenly in the mood to drink and dance.
“I called ahead and got us a VIP booth.”Tracy announced.
“Yes!”Becca squealed.
The girls made their way over to the private table.
As they approached their table,they heard a familiar voice.
“Josh,come over here,baby!”
“Shit!”Becca let out catching sight of Josh and Megan.
“What is it?”Audrey asked as Becca tried to block her vision.
But she caught sight of them already.
Josh saunter off to Megan’s side and she pulled him down for a kiss.Audrey swallowed the thick lump in her throat.She had expected him to be remorseful,even if it was just a little bit.But instead,they were making out,fervently in a club as if they had been caged before.Technically,they had been trying to hide their relationship from Audrey and now that it’s been discovered,they were free as a bird to do whatever they wanted.Audrey blinked back her tears.It was still very hard to believe that this was the same man who had promised her the world.“Let’s get out of here.”She turned to leave but Becca stopped her.“They should be the one leaving.And besides,Tracy reserved this booth that they’re currently been stupid in!”With that,they moved up to Josh and Megan.“You two,go find somewhere else to be disgusting.”Tracy ordered.Megan stood up,furiously.“What right do you have to ask us to leave?”“I reserved this booth.”And then the girls began to argue except Audrey.She wanted
“What…what happened to him?!”Audrey panicked.“He had an accident.I just texted you the address of where we are.You need to hurry over now.”Dread filled Audrey.She did not want to believe what she had just been told by Matilda.Her father was dead?Dead?!No.The man might have stopped caring about her but he was still her father.And she could never forget the time in her life when he did care.She was a whirlwind of anxiety and panic as she headed out of the house,barely explaining anything to Becca and Tracy.She hailed down a taxi and headed for the hospital.No.She still wanted this to be a dream.Maybe by the time she gets to the hospital,he would have woken up.She really didn’t want to see his lifeless body.After what seemed like an eternity,she made it to the hospital and rushed in.She found Talia and Matilda at the hospital.“Where?How…where is he?”Audrey asked,shakily.“He was severely injured and he’s in surgery right now.”Audrey blinked.”You mean he’s not dead?”“No.
“Your father?Interesting.”Lucien drawled,darkly.With the look in his eyes,Audrey knew instantly that he wouldn’t let this go,easily.But she still had to try.“I…I don’t even know where to start apologizing.I know the accident must have been traumatic for you and I’m deeply sorry.”“Will your apology fix my car?”She swallowed recalling how expensive his car had looked.She wondered how much it would cost to fix it.Shakily,she asked.”How much…how much damage was made to your car?”“Quite a number.And it would cost nothing less than 400,000 dollars to fix it.”Audrey’s jaw dropped.”Just for fixing?Are you getting a new one?”He laughed.”Do I look like someone who would ride a car of 400,000 dollars?!”She gulped unable to comprehend how much rich people spend on stuff.She was feeling dizzy…she had sold her body to get 100,000.She literally had nothing more to sell.Will anyone buy her soul for 400,000 dollars?She felt so frustrated.“I…Can you give me some time?”She pleaded.”I’ll
Audrey slowly slumped on a chair in the waiting room.Should she just run away and leave her father to his fate?Afterall,he hadn’t been a good father figure to her for years now.Why must she go through all these for him?Deep down,she knew she couldn’t abandon her father.She didn’t have the heart to do that.Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she was pulled out of her jumbled thoughts.She took out her phone and saw Tracy’s name as the caller’s ID.“Hello.”She began,sadly.“Hey…Becca said she saw you running out of the house this morning before I woke up.What happened?”Tears dropped from Audrey’s eyes.“Oh,Tracy…things are bad for me…so bad.”She cried.**************Within an hour,Tracy and Becca were at the hospital to comfort Audrey.Her father just got out of the second surgery and they were staring at his motionless body through the glass opening at the door.They weren’t allowed to go in yet.“He’s going to be fine.”Tracy cooed,pulling Audrey into her arms.Audrey then told
A small gasp escaped Audrey when the figure moved.Fear gripped her and she stepped back towards the door.The figure matched her every step.Menacing slowly towards her.“Help!”She screamed and bolted to escape.She turned around and launched herself at the door.Large arms snatched her by the waist and she crashed into a body.“No!Let go of me!”She struggled.“Will you calm the fuck down!”“Lucien?”Audrey stopped fighting and turned to look at her captor.“Were you expecting someone else?”He teased.Audrey wrenched herself out from his grasp and shoved him in anger.He didn’t move.“I thought someone broke in or something!You…you turned off the light and was standing there looking dangerous.”He laughed.”I like the dark.”“Yeah,you do.”She eyed him.”Just like how dark your heart is.”He stared at her,intensely.”You’re right and I like it dark.That way,no one would come in.”Her eyes were transfixed on his.She tried to understand why he was this complicated.This mean.She couldn’t t
She wanted to stay stiff and not enjoy this but she was more than enjoying having him devour her body.Sinking more of his body weight on her,he molded their bodies together as if they were two pieces of clay becoming one.Pleasure reeled through her as he fucked her,the slap of their skin echoing around them.She was drenched,flooded with arousal.“Oh Damn,I love this pussy.”He grunted,bringing his mouth to her ear.Hot breath fanned over her ear and throat,her muscles quaked,and her nipples hardened even more from his thrust.Releasing his hold on her hip,he pulled out of her and placed her on all fours.He slammed into her again and started fucking her from behind.He grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged her head backwards.The skin of her scalp screamed,the pain searing through each strand as his grip,tightened.He kept touching her clit from time to time.Her lungs deflated in her chest and her eyes fluttered closed.A tsunami of an orgasm overtook her,pulling her into a deep
Audrey was still in a daze even after he had left.What the hell had just happened?She had signed an absurd contract.She had officially become his toy.There wasn’t time to dwell on that or let it sink in,though.She had classes today and also had to stop in to check on her father.Quickly,she selected some clothes from the hotel room’s closet.Much to her chagrin, they were all high-end designer labels.Sighing,she rifled through the clothing and selected the most causal outfit she could find.It was a simple dress but it still looked overly expensive and she was skeptical about wearing it.“Ugh,I’ll just have to deal with it.”She put on the dress and marveled at how soft the fabric was.She had never worn something so luxurious and so comfortable.She brushed her hair,recalling what Lucien had said,that he preferred it if her hair was longer.Audrey suddenly felt compelled to do something different with her hair.Perhaps,if she could style it differently,then he might grow to like
She would have to thank Lucien for this when she sees him later.With this extra help, her father would be able to recover quickly and she would be able to go to class and work without feeling too drained.As she walked out of the hospital,the driver that had brought her was still waiting.Ugh.Does he have to follow her everywhere?He held open the door for her and she sighed knowing he was just following Lucien’s orders.She also didn’t want to go against his orders so she got into the car.**********For the first time in a long time,Audrey was able to focus in class.For a blissful few hours,she didn’t think of any of the horrible things that had happened to her.She was positively blithe with the world.The lightness in her heart was eclipsed when she saw Josh and Megan canoodling in the hallway.“Oh Josh!”Megan squealed,loudly when she noticed Audrey.”I love it…I love it so much!”She turned around and held her up.Josh clasped a delicate gold necklace around her neck.“Happy seven
NEARLY TEN YEARS LATER….Lucien came to a halt in front of a school,he sometimes come to get the kids from school,sometimes Audrey does that or their driver.He got down from his car and saw them approaching,all three of them.Louis ran up to him excitedly.Lucien caught him and carried him on his arms.“How was school today?”Lucien asked.“It was fine.”His eldest child,Bella replied with a broad smile.He gave Braylon,his second child who was seven years old a fist bump as they got into the car.***********Lucien hurried around the kitchen,Audrey was busy with work today so he had wanted to take care of the children,feed them and put them to sleep before she comes back home so that when she gets back,she can have a good rest…well a good rest after they finish making love.He was preparing pasta for the kids and he knew he had to make it perfect,otherwise,Braylon would complain and tease him for days.Audrey has been busy these past couple of days but she promised to make it up to him
“What does that even mean?”“He had a strange obsession with Lucien. Everything Lucien did, he wanted to do. Everything Lucien had, he wanted to have. There was one year that he intentionally matched everything Lucien wore. He used to tell everyone that they had the same middle name. He even started talking to another girl in our class named Mia just because that was Lucien’s girlfriend’s name. I never liked him.”“Lucien never noticed this?”Mark let out a long, heavy sigh.“What you need to understand about Lucien, especially at that age, is that he was hungry for validation. Starving for it. If anything, all that strange attention made him feel important. To be perfectly honest, there may even be a good chance he didn’t even notice it. He was so wrapped up in Mia… his world didn’t have capacity for anything else.”Audrey felt small for a moment.“He really loved her, didn’t he?”Mark glanced at her for a moment and noted the sadness in her eyes.“He thinks he did. That wasn’t love,
“We saw that sexy ass car out here, and Nathan got the keys to go move it,” another young officer explained with tears in eyes and panic in his voice. “We all wanted… we all wanted to see. But when he turned the key… when he turned the key…” the young man sobbed. “Some people were too close and got caught in the explosion.”Captain Whitlock looked over at Lucien.“I think you were already bait and didn’t even know.”It was as though he was moving through sand. Nothing registered. Nothing clicked. Not the unnatural metal of the handcuffs as they tightened around his wrists. Not the officers’ angry voices as the read him his rights, or the rough hands that pushed and shoved him into a cell. Not when those cell doors slid home with a loud, echoing clang. Captain Whitlock tried to stop the way they were mishandling him. But they had lost one of their own. A young man who was vibrant and full of life, at the beginning of his career.Another one. Because of me?“I get one phone call. I need
Lucien’s eyes flashed up at the captain, filled with anger and anguish.“She contacted me while I was in Italy,” he almost snarled.“After you and Audrey had just been married?” Captain Whitlock raised an eyebrow.“Don’t judge me. There were… circumstances about that marriage. Either way, I didn’t want to see her. But she said that she needed someone to keep her from… Hurting herself.”The irony. She had run to him once to prevent that. But in the end, she had forced him to witness it. His eyes were dark and stony as he fought to keep his emotions in check. Part of him wanted to give in. To breakdown and just give in to himself. Anything to make these feelings go away forever.Captain Whitlock softened as he realized what was going on in Lucien’s mind.“Sorry. Why was she seeking such an intense escape?”“She was running from him. She said their marriage was in shambles and that things had gone horribly wrong, that he was cheating on her.”“That was it? He wasn’t hurting her?”“She sa
“Philip Carson”The name hung in the air between them, like a two-ton brick. After all this time, Ghost had a name. Now the hunter, could become the hunted.“Holy shit,” the captain fell back into his chair. All the air left his lungs. “That punk? That punk is Ghost?”“You know him?” Lucien’s eyes almost fell from his head.“I had him. Right here in this office years ago,” Captain Whitlock seethed. “Right there!” he shouted and kicked his chair across the room. “Ghost was right there!”“What the hell for?”“That piece of shit kid was always getting into trouble. Vandalism, petty theft, property theft, arson… all kinds of stuff. Typical spoiled rich boy shit. No offense. I always knew that kid was disturbed. He had no remorse for anything. The only thing he ever regretted was getting caught”“This was before he became Ghost obviously.”“Well, yes. But do you know that this means?”“What?”“It’s insanity. It’s the most oversimplification of anything that has ever happened.”“What?” Luci
He began spending most of his time at the building. “Command” they’d been calling it. Eugene and Mia couldn’t be trusted. The first prisoner,Racheal…Rebecca … whatever her name was, was being beaten even though he had given explicit instructions that she was not to be touched. And Mia could not at all be trusted with the other one. God, what was that one’s name? Ava? Avery? It was something with an “A”he was certain. Either way, it didn’t matter. They had to keep them both alive and the two overly emotional idiots he was working with were going to mess it up.Lucien was supposed to do a press conference and announce that he was relinquishing the company over to his cousin. The press conference was Eugene’s idea. He wanted a public take down and humiliation of his cousin. He was all for anything that made Lucien suffer. This plan wasn’t going to work. But he was interested to see how it would unfold.They planned to watch the press conference together. After it, his plan was to slink
His life had become a tunnel and the only light at the end of it was the demise of Lucien. It was the driving force in his soul. It was the pulsing his blood. His first meeting with Eugene set his plan back into motion. There was no improvising. Without even realizing, Lucien had been slipping through his fingers like fine sand. Always just beyond his reach. But this time he would get inside of Lucien’s world and destroy him from within.He kept a close watch on Lucien’s personal life. It seemed Mia had run back to marry him as he had anticipated. What he didn’t anticipate was the wrath it fueled in him. It was interesting. It had been so long since he felt any real emotion that it caught him off guard. Ever since he’d killed his father, it was as though he’d murdered his own feelings as well. Other than hate, nothing else lived within him. He often wondered why he even continued to do anything. He did have to admit that he was chasing the thrill of that first kill. Nothing ever seeme
“I told you not to get involved with her. Her father is my rival, and he has been encroaching on our territory. This,” he indicated the dead woman. “is a message.”“I loved her!” he screamed back, cradling her corpse in his arms.“You loved the other one too.”“This was different,” he cried. “She was pregnant! You killed my woman and my baby! We were going to tell you tomorrow night at dinner!”“Then I did you a favor. Children are a weakness, and you aren’t strong enough yet.”“Not strong enough?” he saw red. The vestiges of whatever humanity he had left dissipated. All that was left behind was anger and a thirst for vengeance. All the warmth left his soul. There was nothing left now. Nothing except an abyss with no end. He leveled his own gun at his father. “No one is stronger than me.”“Son, be careful.” His father’s eyes went wide. He dropped his gun and threw up his hands. He walked backwards slowly, like an animal being cornered by a predator. “You’re overly emotional right now.
Once she made the mistake of asking him what he and his father did. He brandished a gun and held it to her chest. To her immense relief, it wasn’t loaded. But she found that out only after he fired it. Bone aching terror was all she knew. Whatever life she had was almost gone. The only thing that was left was the memory of Lucien.Being with him was the last time she felt happy and safe. She clung onto the memories, and they were the only things keeping her afloat. Life was a nightmare and she just wanted to sleep.He knew he should have been treating her better. He knew that, but he just couldn’t seem to care. They were in love once. Or perhaps they just thought they were. The truth was that he was an escape to her. An escape from a life she thought she didn’t want. It was obvious that she wanted out. But his one issue was who she wanted to run to. He’d let her go if he knew that she wasn’t going back to him, back to Lucien.He refused to lose to him. So, as long as he knew she would r