It was hard getting a quiet place to talk without the whispers of people trailing after them like bees on a quest. Orleans seemed to think it was all her fault. He didn't need to say it. Veil saw it in his eyes; the accusatory glance he cast her way at intervals, the soft parting of his mouth and how it snapped shut almost immediately. He followed her around as she kept looking for a suitable place, coming up empty. There were either shagging couples or people who wanted to ask her a million questions about her relationship with Anders. One of them had even called her a desperate bitch that wanted to take what belonged to Sophia. No amount of mental and emotional preparation would have gotten Veil ready for this. She heard Orleans sigh exasperatedly behind her. He suddenly grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him as they went through a narrow stairway that seemed to go on and on for ages until they came up to the rooftop. There was a guard at the entrance, but the moment he re
Her hand flew to his chest, pushing him away with all her might. But the strength her wrist possessed was nothing compared to Orleans’ determination to get what he wanted and his obvious obsession with her. He planted a firm hand on the small of her back, pulling her impossibly closer to him as he forced his way. He tugged at her bottom lip, coaxing her to open up to him.Frustration soon found its way to him, and at the same time, anger; anger that she wouldn’t look at him the same way she regarded Anders, anger that he had been nice to her from the very beginning, while Anders made her day intolerable, yet she still chose Anders over him. Veil gasped against his lips, trying to plead with him wordlessly. His hand groped her waist roughly, and her dress raised off the grounds a few inches. Veil’s mind screamed for help. She panicked, using her claws on his skin, drawing as much blood as she could.Yet, Orleans wasn’t stopping. She wished she hadn’t gone to talk to him alone. Hell,
Veil stared at her reflection in the mirror, frightened eyes staring back at her. She tried to blink it away, to push the events of the rooftop away from her mind, but the impossibility pounced back at her. She needed a drink. She saw the door handle turn, and Veil braced herself for what she had had to endure for the past five minutes. The few ladies who had walked in through that door seemed to think she was the villain of this story. She wondered if that would change if she told them about how she had just been harassed by another media sensation a few minutes ago. But unlike Orleans, Veil would never do anything intentionally to ruin a person she cared about. Or used to care about. She saw a pair of boots push in through the door first before the rest of her figure followed. She was talking to someone on the other side of the door, nodding briskly before sauntering into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Autumn’s hair was put up in a messy bun, and her face was ba
Veil gasped as the liquid hit her chest, dripping down to the dress she had sworn to protect. That was the only thing she could think about – the ruin of the most beautiful dress she had ever owned. Her mouth hung open in shock as Anders moved swiftly, getting her to stand behind him. “Fuck! Sophia!” Anders had never hit a girl in his entire life, yet, for the first time, Sophia had made him think about doing just that. He folded his hands into fists by his side and looked away sharply. That one-second break was very vital in keeping him away from doing something that was bound to backfire. Anders didn’t know about regrets. He doubted if he would regret this. “What the fuck are you trying to do?” he yelled at the top of his voice. A small crowd had gathered regardless, so he might as well let it play out here. If Sophia didn’t care about her status here as he had believed, there wasn’t any need to hold back anymore. “I’m treating the wench how she ought to be treated,” Sophia y
Anders got Veil home in one piece, even though his mind was screaming different ways he could have made the night end better for Veil. He was doing the same thing he did with Camila. He blamed himself for how the night had gone. If he had been faster, he would have gotten Veil out of the way before that drink landed on her. Or maybe he shouldn’t even have taken her along with him in the first place. “I’m fine, Anders,” Veil muttered, as the driver took the turn that led to Ander’s house. “You don’t have to look so worried.” Anders wished it was that easy. He didn’t even want to be in that situation. He didn’t know what to call it. Obsession, maybe? They had known from the get-go that tonight wasn’t going to be all flowers and champagnes. He knew that and ensured to communicate it to Veil before they signed that contract. Yet, he couldn’t stop the terrible feeling in his stomach that blamed him for putting her in harm’s way today, from Orleans putting his disgusting hands on her,
Veil’s head whipped up sharply, thrown into a sea of surprise. The first time Anders asked if she had a boyfriend, Veil hadn’t drawn the connection. All she assumed was that her boss was some playboy who flirted with anyone around him. She didn’t know how to feel about the thought that it all started that day at the club – the same day she got her invite for the interview at Kingston Groups. “You look flustered,” Anders muttered, eyeing her. “You didn’t think about it that way, did you?” “I didn’t…” She swallowed. “I thought you hated me. You acted like you did. You were unbearable, gave me impossible tasks, and threatened to pull me off the job like I even wanted to be your secretary in the first place.” “Veil,” Anders scoffed. “I was attracted to you. Every part of you called out to me like a drug, and I just wanted to see the stuff you were made of, taste the stuff you were made of.” “And now?” Veil feared that it was all over. He already had access to her body since that wa
The stairway was dimly lit, enveloping Veil in a dark glow as she walked down. Her initial plans were to go into the kitchen to take some warm milk before trying to fall asleep again. Her mother had used that when she found it difficult to fall asleep donkey years ago, and Veil was hoping that it would work again. But when she reached the floor directly under hers, her feet refused to take the next flight of steps. Instead, they ushered her down the hallway, with her breath hitched in her throat and her pulse racing. She stopped in front of the door at the end of the hallway and took a deep breath. With her hand poised above the door, Veil readied herself to knock when suddenly, the door gave way and pulled open before her. Her mouth hung slightly open as she stared at a shirtless Anders standing in front of her while her hands were still hanging in the air. “Hi,” she breathed nervously, letting her hands drop to her sides. She took in deep bouts of air, but it did nothing to ca
Anders touched her like it was the very first time, faces drawn close together like they were each other’s oxygen, silent whispers being drawn, eyes rolling in pleasure, silent sighs enveloping the dimly lit room.A hand wrapped around Veil’s waist, he drew her impossibly closer to him, tasting the skin on her nape. Veil sighed in his arms, trying to blur the difference between her dreams and this reality. She should have thought harder about it and paid more attention to the fact that Anders would never want her the way she wanted him to. But her feelings for him were too strong, and they clouded her mind, roped her in, and finally acted like the strong walls had been torn down.But the minute they would get up the next morning, it would be there, maybe stronger than ever, daring Veil to scale without risking grazing her knee.Veil stroked his throat as he leaned down to kiss her, her fingers bearing all the intensity and passion entrapped inside her. He trembled underneath her touch