~Grayson
I bump into another servant and rush out an apology before they can retaliate. Without bothering to check if they are alright, I continue my journey to Renata's room. This is the fifth servant I've bumped into this night in my attempt to get to Renata.Maybe I wouldn't keep bumping into servants if they weren't present at almost every corner of the house. Sometimes it is hard to comprehend why anyone would need so many helpers. It isn't a wonder why Zoe and Phil grew up to be such spoilt brats. They probably never raised a finger to do a single thing in their lives.I'm almost out of breath when I finally reach the room. I place my hand on the door knob but the door cracks open before I can even twist it. I'm about to walk in but I halt on hearing a masculine voice.I peer into the room and from the door, I have a good view of the bed. My heart drops at the sight in front of me. Renata is dressed only in a bra which just covers her nipples, together with a little bit of her boobs, and a G-string pant.She's sitting on the laps of a man who also only has a pair of boxers on. More like sitting on his dick at this point. I'm still trying to comprehend what's going on when I hear his voice again."I would love to babe—""Then what's stopping you?"Renata's voice is impatient and for a minute I try to convince myself that she isn't throwing herself on the guy. There has to be a logical explanation for this."Your husband—""He won't be back for an hour or so.""Are you sure? It's already late and—""Don't worry about that. Clade is sure to give him extra work. They never let him come home on time anyways. They won't start today."Her lips are so close to the guy at this point and I'm still hoping this is all a dream."Besides, you're already so hard. Won't it be torture to leave at this point?"She adjusts on his laps and he lets out a loud groan."Woah, your D is pretty huge. Let's see if it can fit in my mouth."I can't really see his face but from his voice, I can tell he's impressed. "Larger than your husband's?""He doesn't stand a chance."I hear her chuckle after that and just like the first time we met, I feel nothing but sheer irritation. The guy joins her and before I can control myself, I push open the door.It catches their attention this time and the both of them turn to my direction. Renata's jaw drops on seeing me while the man just stares at me. I finally have a good view of his face and I'm able to recognize him as one of the guys who works in the company.We've never spoken before today although I've seen him hovering around Renata one too many times. I turn around to leave but I hear Renata's voice behind me."Honey, it's not what—""DON'T CALL ME HONEY!" I yell, turning around.Both Renata and the retard on her bed flinch at my tone but I don't bother making it subtle."Don't you dare call me honey again."Renata seems to be shaking but it doesn't stop her from rushing out her next words."It's not what it looks like, I was just teaching Ben here—""You really take me for a fool? No, I've been a fool all this while to believe in all your lies. I've been blind and I have given up so much—""I'm sorry.""—I thought it was worth it. I was doing it for the woman I loved and she loved me too. There wasn't a single problem. I overworked myself every single day just to please your family. But what did I get in return? Insults!"I can see Renata tearing up and it only angers me the more."I still thought it was okay. I could do it so far it meant staying with the love of my life."I could feel tears pricking my eyes at this point. Tears I knew I would never—could never really—let out."Six months. I threw away six months of my life with nothing to show for it. And now my sister's on the verge of death in a hospital room and I come back to meet my wife. . ."The word tastes bitter in my mouth. "And now I find my wife with another man.""I'm sorry. I didn't—""I DON'T WANT YOUR STUPID APOLOGY!!!"At this point I'm certain anyone nearby can hear my voice in spite of the soundproof windows and door."Just tell me why you agreed to marry me if you didn't really love me.""Gray—""GIVE ME A FUCKING ANSWER!"She flinches again and at this point, she's trembling."Quit yelling at her dude," the retard finally speaks up.I turn to him and give him a once over before heading towards him. I needed a way to release my anger and he had just given me the perfect opportunity."Say that again," I say, my fingers balling into fists."Quit yel—"The rest of the words get stuck in his throat as I land a punch on his face. I hear Renata's scream in the background but I ignore it as I send another punch to his face. I give him a series of successive punches, not giving him even a second to recover in between the blows.I continue until I see blood. I'm not sure if it's from my knuckles or his face but I continue even as a searing pain tears my hand.All this while, he has tried to rebuff my assault and has failed miserably, only managing to land a successful uppercut before I disable his hands.I raise my hand to land another punch but pause when I see Renata's face instead. The guy takes the chance to push me out, sending a kick to my gut. I stumble back groaning in pain before regaining my composure.Renata is now standing in between I and the guy."Please stop," she says, her eyes pleading with me.I ignore her and make to dive at the guy but she seems to anticipate my move and blocks me before shouting 'Run!' to him.With his bloodied nose and probably dislocated jaw, I'm not sure how he manages to dash out of the room. I try to go after him but Renata blocks my way again."If you want to hit someone, then hit me," she says, refusing to get out of my way.I'm tempted to do so but instead of sending the punch to her face, I let it land on the glass cabinet next to me. The cabinet shatters, causing Renata to squeeze her eyes and scream, while I close my eyes, my mind clouded with the pain emanating from the shards stuck in my fingers.I plop down on the nearby cushion groaning as the pain becomes worse by the second. It distracts me for a moment, from the pain in my chest but it's still nothing in comparison."Oh my gosh! You're bleeding."I flinch once I feel someone touching my hand, my eyes flying open. I find Renata kneeling in front of me.I snatch my hands away from her grip causing another torrent of pain to flow through my body. I toss my head back, closing my eyes in an attempt to get rid of the pain. It doesn't work and I let out another groan."Gray, look at me."I open my eyes to find her climbing my laps. I'm in way too much pain to care so I just ignore her, looking away. She holds my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her.I shake my head with a lot of force in order to get her hands away from my face but she gets a hold of it again and this time, I'm too tired to fight. I'm even starting to feel light headed."Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. I had a little bit too much to drink and I—"I can't smell any alcohol on her and I know she's lying."Let's just forget about it. We can start over. Let's not dwell too much on it."She's pulling off her bra at this point and soon, she also gets rid of her g-string."We can make it right again. This could just be a bad memory, yeah?"At this point, I'm not even sure she's breathing. She's barely even spacing her words.She reaches for my zipper and I stop her, holding her hands with my blood stained ones. I know how easily she gets disgusted by blood so I'm almost certain she'll let me go now. She doesn't."Gray—""Get off me."My voice is low but I'm sure my tone should drive the message home."But—"I'm tempted to shove her off but somehow, for some reasons I still can't comprehend, I just lift her off my laps as I stand. I turn to leave but she hugs me from behind."Please, Gray. Don't leave me. I promise I'll never do this again. I'll even pay for Ari's treatment. I—""Let go of me!""No, don't go."I try to free myself from her grip but she refuses to let go. In an attempt to break free, I end up shoving her by accident. She falls on the floor, a few feet away from me.My heart seems to fall with her and I breath out a sigh of relief when I find out she's okay. I don't wait for her to get back on her feet before I head to the wardrobe to pack my bags.I take my time to gather all my essential things and stuff them into a duffel bag. I double check to make sure I'm not forgetting anything before leaving. By the time I come out of the wardrobe I find that Renata is no longer in the room.It's a relief and I don't bother thinking about what might be going on in her head or why she left before I also exit the room but not without doing a quick scan to be sure I'm not forgetting anything. I've just descended the massive staircase when I find the whole family gathered in the living room.There are a few police officers loitering about too. I'm confused by the scene in front of me but it doesn't stop me from going further into the living room. There's no other way to the front exit and the back door is almost always locked.A female officer pacing the living room is the first to notice me upon my entrance. She turns to someone and I follow her gaze to find that it's Renata.Her appearance shocks me and for a moment, I find it hard to believe it's her. Her lips are puffy and broken, a line of dried blood coating it. She sports a bruise on her left cheek and a cut is also visible right below it.There are also noticeable marks around her body. I can't help the concern creeping up my chest as I stare at her. What could have possibly happened to her?I'm about to ask when I hear the female officer speak."Is he the one?"She glances at the female officer before following her finger which is pointing in my direction. She seems to flinch upon seeing me and attempts to stand from her seat.I don't understand what's going on and I attempt to take a step further but she begins to scream."Get away from me!"She's thrashing about madly in the arms of her oldest brother—Simon—who is trying his best to restrain her.To say I'm befuddled is an understatement."He's the one," Simon says, staring me dead in the eye."Alright."I turn on hearing the female officer's voice. "You're under arrest, Mr. Wyatt. You have the right to remain silent. Whatever you say will be used against you in the court of law."Her words still sound like Chinese to me and before I know what's going on something hard lands on the side of my head. I'm only able to register a severe jolt of pain and a sharp, piercing sound before everything goes blank.~GraysonThe first thing I register on waking up are hushed voices around me. I open my eyes slowly, aware of the pain in the side of my head. At first my vision is a blurry mess of figures hovering above me. It becomes clearer with each second until I'm able to make out the faces of Simon and Philip both staring at me. "He's awake," Philip announces, moving away from me. Simon continues staring at me long after that, till the point that I'm spooked. He looks away from me and addresses someone I can't see because of the inclination of my head. "You didn't have to hit him so hard," he says. I try to raise my head, ignoring the pain threatening to tear down my sanity. "He didn't have to hit him at all," Collin Rodriguez says, throwing his son, Clade, a glare. I spare Clade a glance to see a metal rod stained with red lying at his foot. "That's enough!" The female officer says and soon she blocks my view. "Handcuff him," she tells one of the male officers with her and he obliges.
~GraysonMy heart stops the moment I hear the lawyer's words. It takes a while for me to work through the meaning, even longer for me to digest it. I stare at the girl who seems just as shocked as I am. Her mouth hangs open and she doesn't even bother to close it, her face looking even more drained of color—not that it had any to begin with. I finally get a good view of her face, her green eyes sparkling under the chandelier lights. For a moment, it seems like they aren't really sparkling just because of the lights. They're shinny one minute and the next, they're cloudy? She shakes her head, blinking a bit too much as her fingers curl into fists. Her lips tremble and I can't ignore how her body seems to be shaking too. She pulls her gaze away from the lawyer and anchors it on the ground for a second before they move up, landing straight on my face.Our eyes meet, the intensity of her gaze making me shudder a bit. I look away, trying hard to ignore her glazed eyes. This should be t
~AdelineMy grip on the dresser tightens as the unwanted tears continue to rain down my cheeks. I release my grip from it and swipe at the tears, willing them to stop. I manage to rid my face of all traces of it for the moment but the hollow in my chest remains. I try to steady my breathing as I stare at my reflection. I can barely recognise the image of the girl staring back at me in the mirror. Her face is swollen from crying for so long, her eyes coated a bright red. Strands of her dark hair stick to her face, her green eyes lacking the glow it usually has. I look away once tears begin to cloud my vision again. I can confidently say I look like a zombie and for the first time, it doesn’t bother me. I sigh, trudging across the room before plopping down on my queen sized bed. I try to distract myself by going through the magazine I had been reading earlier but nothing seems to be working. My mind constantly goes back to the fact that I’m supposed to get married to a total strange
~Adeline“What did you just say?”Her voice is stern, her craved brow arched up as her cold stare remains fixed on me, challenging me to repeat myself—to defy her. I take in a deep breath. “I know you don’t understand me now and y-you think you’re doing this for my own good.” I pause, sucking in a lungful of air. “But I can’t just get married because you want me to. This is my life and you should at least let me make the decision myself. It’s not fair that you get to decide what I do with my own life without even letting me have a choice. You’re—”“Not another word from you, Adeline. You will do as I say.”She continues to sway towards the exit. “You’ve lived your life, let me live mine!”My voice halts her in her tracks and she swings around with so much force, I’m almost certain she should have fallen down. “What insolence is this? Since when did you become this disrespectful? You’re getting married and that’s final! As long as you stay under my roof, you have no other choice but
~GraysonI sit at reception of the grand hotel, idly thumbing through the pages of one of the guides lying around on the glass table. Two sets of curved leather cushions surround the one I'm currently seated on, giving me some sense of privacy. Maybe it's just me but the space feels less open—not like there are much people in the reception anyways. My feet tap away on black granite floor every once in a while but I stop the moment I become conscious of the action. I glance up every once in a while to see the red haired receptionist staring at me. She disappears behind the large screen of the expensive monitor in front of her whenever our eyes meet. It happens so often, it's almost become disturbing. When I'm done looking through the hotel guide and marvelling at the prizes of each room, I busy myself by looking around the reception area. Unlike most hotels I and Renata had been to in the past, this one has a gloomy feeling. Usually, the hotels she picked went all out with white an
~Grayson As I stand around waiting for the spoiled brat to come out of the dressing room, my eyes roam about the store. I have just taken interest in a space sectioned off from the rest by a glass door, with several mannequins displaying clothes either made or lined with furs when a soft, silky voice comes from behind me. “Gray.”I’m startled at first before I turn to meet face-to-face with Renata. Her face is devoid of any makeup and expression as she stares at me. Even her lips which are usually shaded a wine red maintain their natural light pink colour. Born more out of habit than anything else, my eyes flit away from her face and trail down her body. She is dressed in an almost nonexistent strap of fabric that might as well be a gown. It comes as a surprise to me since she only ever steps out in moderate dresses and my eyes are still glued to her body when her voice sends them flying back to her face. “You didn’t come to meet me again.” The way her lips curve down in a frown g
~Grayson"I believe we're still in the middle of a conversation Mr. Rodriguez."My eyes snap up at the words to meet a pair of emerald eyes staring back at me. My brain takes a moment to process the sentence before my lips tilt down in a frown. I cross my hands over my chest as I try to prevent myself from snapping at the fox-faced lady sitting in front of me. "Mr. Rodriguez?" Zoe calls again, causing my frown to deepen. Her lips curve up once she notices my frown and it's obvious she's trying not to smirk. If she hadn't been female, I would have knocked that smile right off her face. She insists on calling me by their family name even though she knows how much it annoys me. I might be overreacting but it seems demeaning. More like an unnecessary jab. A constant reminder that I'm nothing more than a worthless live-in son-in-law. "Ren, you didn't tell me your husband was mute too," Zoe says, turning to my wife—Renata. Renata sighs and turns to Zoe. "Zo, can you stop bugging him a
~GraysonI don't let my eyes linger for more than it's meant to before I look away and keep them fixed on the cream walls of the room. "What's wrong, Mr. Rodriguez? Don't you like what you see?"From the proximity of her voice, I can tell she's coming closer by the second. I chance a look at the door to gauge how close it is but she's already in front of me, her full body on display. I look away again, clearing my throat. "Why are you here?"I can imagine the surprise she would fake from her voice before she replies. "Now, come on Mr. Rodriguez. This is my house too."I try not to snap at her but it doesn't work and in less than a minute, my voice comes out a pitch higher. "But this is Ren's room!"I hear her chuckle but I keep my eyes fixed on the walls. "Ren is like a sister to me. Ever since childhood we've shared everything. Whatever is hers, is mine too. If you get my drift, Mr. Rodriguez."I open my mouth to reply but a groan makes it's way out instead when she comes to sta
~Grayson As I stand around waiting for the spoiled brat to come out of the dressing room, my eyes roam about the store. I have just taken interest in a space sectioned off from the rest by a glass door, with several mannequins displaying clothes either made or lined with furs when a soft, silky voice comes from behind me. “Gray.”I’m startled at first before I turn to meet face-to-face with Renata. Her face is devoid of any makeup and expression as she stares at me. Even her lips which are usually shaded a wine red maintain their natural light pink colour. Born more out of habit than anything else, my eyes flit away from her face and trail down her body. She is dressed in an almost nonexistent strap of fabric that might as well be a gown. It comes as a surprise to me since she only ever steps out in moderate dresses and my eyes are still glued to her body when her voice sends them flying back to her face. “You didn’t come to meet me again.” The way her lips curve down in a frown g
~GraysonI sit at reception of the grand hotel, idly thumbing through the pages of one of the guides lying around on the glass table. Two sets of curved leather cushions surround the one I'm currently seated on, giving me some sense of privacy. Maybe it's just me but the space feels less open—not like there are much people in the reception anyways. My feet tap away on black granite floor every once in a while but I stop the moment I become conscious of the action. I glance up every once in a while to see the red haired receptionist staring at me. She disappears behind the large screen of the expensive monitor in front of her whenever our eyes meet. It happens so often, it's almost become disturbing. When I'm done looking through the hotel guide and marvelling at the prizes of each room, I busy myself by looking around the reception area. Unlike most hotels I and Renata had been to in the past, this one has a gloomy feeling. Usually, the hotels she picked went all out with white an
~Adeline“What did you just say?”Her voice is stern, her craved brow arched up as her cold stare remains fixed on me, challenging me to repeat myself—to defy her. I take in a deep breath. “I know you don’t understand me now and y-you think you’re doing this for my own good.” I pause, sucking in a lungful of air. “But I can’t just get married because you want me to. This is my life and you should at least let me make the decision myself. It’s not fair that you get to decide what I do with my own life without even letting me have a choice. You’re—”“Not another word from you, Adeline. You will do as I say.”She continues to sway towards the exit. “You’ve lived your life, let me live mine!”My voice halts her in her tracks and she swings around with so much force, I’m almost certain she should have fallen down. “What insolence is this? Since when did you become this disrespectful? You’re getting married and that’s final! As long as you stay under my roof, you have no other choice but
~AdelineMy grip on the dresser tightens as the unwanted tears continue to rain down my cheeks. I release my grip from it and swipe at the tears, willing them to stop. I manage to rid my face of all traces of it for the moment but the hollow in my chest remains. I try to steady my breathing as I stare at my reflection. I can barely recognise the image of the girl staring back at me in the mirror. Her face is swollen from crying for so long, her eyes coated a bright red. Strands of her dark hair stick to her face, her green eyes lacking the glow it usually has. I look away once tears begin to cloud my vision again. I can confidently say I look like a zombie and for the first time, it doesn’t bother me. I sigh, trudging across the room before plopping down on my queen sized bed. I try to distract myself by going through the magazine I had been reading earlier but nothing seems to be working. My mind constantly goes back to the fact that I’m supposed to get married to a total strange
~GraysonMy heart stops the moment I hear the lawyer's words. It takes a while for me to work through the meaning, even longer for me to digest it. I stare at the girl who seems just as shocked as I am. Her mouth hangs open and she doesn't even bother to close it, her face looking even more drained of color—not that it had any to begin with. I finally get a good view of her face, her green eyes sparkling under the chandelier lights. For a moment, it seems like they aren't really sparkling just because of the lights. They're shinny one minute and the next, they're cloudy? She shakes her head, blinking a bit too much as her fingers curl into fists. Her lips tremble and I can't ignore how her body seems to be shaking too. She pulls her gaze away from the lawyer and anchors it on the ground for a second before they move up, landing straight on my face.Our eyes meet, the intensity of her gaze making me shudder a bit. I look away, trying hard to ignore her glazed eyes. This should be t
~GraysonThe first thing I register on waking up are hushed voices around me. I open my eyes slowly, aware of the pain in the side of my head. At first my vision is a blurry mess of figures hovering above me. It becomes clearer with each second until I'm able to make out the faces of Simon and Philip both staring at me. "He's awake," Philip announces, moving away from me. Simon continues staring at me long after that, till the point that I'm spooked. He looks away from me and addresses someone I can't see because of the inclination of my head. "You didn't have to hit him so hard," he says. I try to raise my head, ignoring the pain threatening to tear down my sanity. "He didn't have to hit him at all," Collin Rodriguez says, throwing his son, Clade, a glare. I spare Clade a glance to see a metal rod stained with red lying at his foot. "That's enough!" The female officer says and soon she blocks my view. "Handcuff him," she tells one of the male officers with her and he obliges.
~GraysonI bump into another servant and rush out an apology before they can retaliate. Without bothering to check if they are alright, I continue my journey to Renata's room. This is the fifth servant I've bumped into this night in my attempt to get to Renata. Maybe I wouldn't keep bumping into servants if they weren't present at almost every corner of the house. Sometimes it is hard to comprehend why anyone would need so many helpers. It isn't a wonder why Zoe and Phil grew up to be such spoilt brats. They probably never raised a finger to do a single thing in their lives. I'm almost out of breath when I finally reach the room. I place my hand on the door knob but the door cracks open before I can even twist it. I'm about to walk in but I halt on hearing a masculine voice. I peer into the room and from the door, I have a good view of the bed. My heart drops at the sight in front of me. Renata is dressed only in a bra which just covers her nipples, together with a little bit of he
~Grayson". . . I'll give you a call once I'm free. Until then—""Can I have a minute?" Philip throws me a glance before turning back to the lady he was talking to. His heavy British accent dominates again as he resumes speaking to her. "I'll get back to you in a while.""Sure." A smile graces her face as she remains clutching an orange file to her chest. Philip nods and starts heading towards the opposite direction. I sigh, resuming my walking so that I can catch up to him. I have been trying to talk to him for the past few minutes but he has been behaving like the ass he is. Just like his sister, Zoe, he just loves getting on my nerves. "Phil—""I don't have a minute to spare."His hands remain tucked in his suit pockets as his footsteps echo around the passage. "This is important!"He stops for a moment to look at me. "Important to you? Sure. Worth my time? No."He resumes walking after that. "I'm leaving early today," I say ignoring his remark. "And why is that?"I can see
~GraysonI don't let my eyes linger for more than it's meant to before I look away and keep them fixed on the cream walls of the room. "What's wrong, Mr. Rodriguez? Don't you like what you see?"From the proximity of her voice, I can tell she's coming closer by the second. I chance a look at the door to gauge how close it is but she's already in front of me, her full body on display. I look away again, clearing my throat. "Why are you here?"I can imagine the surprise she would fake from her voice before she replies. "Now, come on Mr. Rodriguez. This is my house too."I try not to snap at her but it doesn't work and in less than a minute, my voice comes out a pitch higher. "But this is Ren's room!"I hear her chuckle but I keep my eyes fixed on the walls. "Ren is like a sister to me. Ever since childhood we've shared everything. Whatever is hers, is mine too. If you get my drift, Mr. Rodriguez."I open my mouth to reply but a groan makes it's way out instead when she comes to sta