Chapter Four

Joana's POV

I couldn't sleep, my eyes were wide open all through the night. Every sound rattled me because somehow I felt I was being watched in the quiet but massive bedroom.

“Is this what my life will be ?” I thought outloud.

Suddenly my phone buzzed, drifting me out of my thoughts. I turned to it and it was a text, from an old friend of mine. A friend I spent the first half of my lfive years trying to forget and get past because I knew my absence would hurt her more than anyone else. She was like a sister to me,

She wanted to meet up for coffee that morning, so I responded with a time and place. It was already six, so I showered and cleaned up. I laid down waiting for it to clock ten. Time became deviously slow.

It felt like forever and as soon as it was time, I wasted no second before leaving the room. I signaled to one of the staff who had the driver tag on his uniform.

“You are a driver right?”

“Yes ma'am.” He replied with a smile.

“Okay good. You are now my driver,”

“Sorry, ma'am? Really? Thank you for the privilege,” He appreciated. His face became filled with joy as he exposed all his dental.

“Get the car to the front. We are heading out,” I informed. He hurried out as I came down the stairs.

I took my eyes off the door for a second and my next gaze met Dire's. I leapt in shock, causing his face to beam up with a smile.

“Where are you heading?” He inquired as I walked past him with a sneer.

“How is that a concern of yours?” I shot back

He raised an eyebrow, undeterred

“You inform me of your plans before you execute them,”

His statement made me burst into laughter, attracting the attention of the workers.

“ Are you joking with me? I am your wife, not your child,”

He looked at me with a smirk and replied, “Then you should learn the duties of a wife. Number one and the most important to me, you must submit,”

I chuckled softly, “You want me to be your lapdog?”

“I don't care what you call it. But that is my rule,” He whispered with a deep and stern voice. His gaze fixated on mine with his tall physique covering the doorway.

“And my rule is stay out of my goddamn business!” I exclaimed and tried making my way past him.

I had almost gone past the door when he gripped my hand.

“Careful baby girl. You don't want to wake up the sleeping dogs.” He said with a smile. A smile that rattled the foundations of my mind. I couldn't think or speak, so I left my mouth open.

“Be back before nine,” He ordered and began moving up the stairs.

“Say hi to your friend for me,”

I was frozen in fear, and could hardly feel my legs. I didn't tell anyone that I was visiting Sasha. I had no idea how he knew because I had been awake all morning and my phone had been with me.

“Madam, we are ready,” The driver patted me, cutting through my thoughts. With shivers, I stepped into the car and we drove off to Magritte’s Coffee shop which was our favorite gossip spot back then.

I braced myself for another toxic encounter as I also tried calming the panic attack I was having.

I got dropped off and when I saw her, I was filled with fear.

I was scared of how she might react.

But I was shocked by her action when she ran into my arms the moment she laid eyes on me.

“Hey Sasha,” I squeezed my hands around her. It had been so long, I had almost forgotten how good it felt to hug a friend.

“Oh my God! It's so good to see you,” She breathed heavily.

We sat down at one of the shop's tables and we did nothing but smile at each other. It was one of those times where words wouldn't be enough to describe the emotions we were feeling.

“I heard you got married to the Alpha,” She said before taking a sip of her cappuccino.

“Second Alpha and they are both, no, the first is a dweeb. But Dire is something different,” I replied in a low tone.

“He is Alpha Dire, of course he is something different,”

“Not that kind of different Sasha. He freaks me out and now I feel like he is watching me,” i muttered in fear. My hands were trembling and I couldn't seem to calm myself down.

“Hey, Joana.” She cut through my thoughts.

“Are you okay? What's going on”

“Ofcourse.” I exhaled with a smile.

“Enough about me, tell me about you. How have you been? Boyfriends? Or are they girlfriends?”

We both burst into laughter because my question sparked a memory in our heads. This was a time when Sasha assumed she was bisexual because she had a crush on me.

“No, but I did date Lucien at a time,” She rolled her eyes as she responded.

“What?” I exclaimed in shock.

“I thought Lucien was gay. Wait, what is going on?”

“Yeah he is and that's why it didn't work out and I wanted to ask. Why didn't you come with him?”

“Come with him? I don't understand,” I replied.

“I saw him about twenty minutes back, he was coming from the Alpha’s mansion. He didn’t remove the pass tag attached to his car,”

I tried answering her but I had no idea what to say. I wasn't even aware he was still in town, he was to join my father upstate for a division meeting.

“I think…”

I stopped when I felt my phone vibrating in my purse. I picked it up and saw it was a call from a strange number.

“Yeah? Who is this?” I asked.

“Please is this Joana Thorson?” The cold voice asked.

“Yes. Who is this?”

“I am calling from Genesis Memorial. Your father was involved in a car crash. I am sorry, he is dead,”

It's true what they say about shock. I lost all senses of my environment. I couldn't hear anything but my own heartbeat.

My phone fell off my hand, my cold hand.

“Joana? What's wrong?” Sasha's voice echoed in my head.

“My father is dead,” I couldn't even speak properly.

“Where is he? Let's go,” Sasha whispered, with tears streaming down her eyes. Sasha spent most of her childhood with us in the Thorson’s mansion. She was as much my father's daughter as I was.

“The memorial,”

We wasted no time getting there. A part of me assumed it was a prank that my father was just trying to get me back for leaving him.

But all those thoughts went through the window when I saw his lifeless body in a freezer. I could still smell the flesh decaying even with him under ice.

“I just got back,” I thought out loud. I was still staring at his body with Sasha beside me and Lucien conversing with the doctors when I felt his presence.

I couldn't move because I knew he was standing behind me.

“Alpha Dire,” Sasha bowed customarily while I stood frozen with my gaze fixated on my father's lifeless body.

I could feel him drawing nearer, until he was up against me. He lowered to my ear, sending thrills through me as he exhaled on my skin.

“Sorry our loss, wife,” He whispered.

“We have to take care of the things he left behind. It's our duty,”

His words filled me up with more fear because I knew exactly what he was talking about. He was referring to the company and how control will finally be handed to me and by the marriage contract, to him also.

“What…”

“Remember your curfew, mate. I will see you at home,” He kissed my forehead before turning to leave. Leaving me in fear, overwhelming fear.