Author's point of view... "The drama begins..." Nathan muttered to himself as he read the content of the text message he received. He had anticipated this would come sooner or later. Luke noticed the change in Nathan's mood and stood up giving him the privacy he needed. That expression clearly meant that the text he received just now was from his family and Nathan hated of anyone pry into his personal matters. And of course, Luke had already dug a nail for himself by bringing up the topic of his wife. He slowly walked away. Nathan narrowed his eyes and read the text ignoring Luke completely. [Nathan, there's a family dinner tomorrow. I know things are not quite well now but family is family. And you have to keep the promise you made. Bring your wife to introduce her to the family!!] Nathan felt a pang of irrigation building up in his chest. He had agreed to get married but had never signed up for a drama that was about to unfold. However, he had to attend it, as the
Author's point of view... The Dawis family was complicated. Jonathan had Nathan with his first wife, Amelia Dawis, a strong woman from a wealthy family in London, the Smiths. Of all the children, Nathan was the unwanted one while Logan was the favoured one. Ericka masked her emotions, pretending not to know Logan and Elvira, and greeted them politely. Though Ericka greeted everyone in the hall, only a few reciprocated the others just ignored her like she was some plague. These are all a bunch of arrogant brutes..! she thought. Once the formal greetings finished, Jonathan's commanding voice echoed. "Where’s Nathan?" Jonathan Dawis asked, displeased. Ericka was jolted as this was her big boss a while ago. She hesitated for a moment then answered in a low tone, forgetting the fact that she was not an employee at Dawis group. “Aa...Mr. Nathan Dawis is unwell and couldn’t come,” Ericka replied, using the excuse she had prepared in her mind. She used to work for them and fo
Author's point of view... Though the old lady didn't want to talk to Ericka, she tilted her head and peeked at her twice. The girl has something so natural and pure about her. She thought. Lila smiled, clearly understanding her mistress's interests. "Madam, your grandson has a great choice. That girl is so beautiful." Amanda unconsciously smiled but immediately contained herself. She was clearly pleased with the girl but hearing all that rumour about her, she hesitated if she could believe in her grandson's choice and in that girl. Maybe, that young girl was also behind the name, fame and money of her grandsons like the other girls were. Elvira saw that the old lady was hesitant but was also pleased with her sister's appearance and she instantly felt a pang of jealousy settling in her heart. She was completely ignored by the old woman. In order to grab the attention back to herself and to sabotage her sister's dignity, Elvira's crooked mind schemed a plot. She stepped forwar
Author's point of view... As if waking from a trance, everyone turned their attention to Elvira, who looked like a delicate flower. Elvira sniffled wiping her fake tears and added, “Sister, you were the one who wanted to marry Nathan,” she countered smoothly. “Are you regretting it now that you've realized he isn’t even close to that of Logan?” The Dawis family members exchanged glances, their expressions shifting. Suspicion flickered in their eyes, and they wondered if Ericka had ulterior motives. Meanwhile, Elvira smirked, her gaze laced with mockery. This topic, however, intrigued Logan's attention. He stared at Ericka eagerly. He wanted to know if that was true. At least, making the deal with that stupid girl, Elvira, wasn't that boring. He thought. “Don’t fight me, Ericka. You’re too inexperienced for that, dear sister...!” Elvira thought, her expression smug. Ericka’s expression remained neutral as she quietly responded, “What are you talking about? Where did yo
Author's point of view... The group soon settled on the dining table. Ericka was assigned the worst possible seat, at the very end of the table, isolated from the conversation. The others laughed and chatted casually, treating her like an outsider or nothing more than a wooden log. She merely observed as they enjoyed themselves. Elvira was still the centre of attention but in the other way around. They didn't take Ericka's words seriously. “Logan, try this. You’ll love it,” Elvira cooed, holding out a forkful of food for him. Though Logan wasn't into this fake relationship, he faked a smile and nodded, acting alongside his so-called girlfriend. “Oh, look at them,” Selina gushed. “These two really do make a lovely couple.” Jonathan nodded approvingly, and Albert added, “Logan and Elvira are a perfect match.” It was all an act, a show that the father and son came up with, just to show the old matriarch of the family that the shares she wanted to pass on to her eldest grands
Author's point of view... Ericka was as scared as she was irritated. Her stomach turned because she could see the lust in his eyes. She was in his area, and not a single person would come to her aid if she needed it. There was no doubt that no one would believe in her, regardless of what Logan did. "I should have asked Jack to stay with me," she thought, terrified as the realization struck her. She took a couple apprehensive steps back. Logan smirked. "Come back to me, Ericka. You deserve better...that cripple won't be able to satisfy you but I can..." He took another step ahead and Ericka shivered. "Logan, stop there... did you forget? I'm already married to your brother. I'm not getting back to you," Ericka said firmly. "That's never going to happen." She looked at him determinedly, but Logan refused to accept her words. "He is crippled, Ericka. He's not for you," Logan scoffed. "And what about in bed? He's a pitiful worm that no one in the family likes. He can't sa
Author's point of view... "Honey, did you miss me?" Ericka's heart fluttered as the words echoed in her ears. Even though she couldn't clearly see his face in the darkness, she immediately recognized his cold and intense gaze. Those eyes stared intensely at her. "Nathan?" she whispered in shock. "You're here!" She tried to get up only to get pulled back even closer. He tilted his head slightly to look into her surprised eyes. "Did you miss me?" he repeated the same question, his voice dripping with amusement. Though this behaviour was unexpected, Ericka felt relieved as she saw him. But soon, as she thought about everything that she just spat, her face turned red. Did he hear everything? How long has he been here? She was just bluffing around to piss Logan off, he won't take it seriously, will he? She opened her mouth to speak, but with Logan standing right beside her, she was at a loss for words. Nathan's sharp eyes flicked to Logan. His expression remained c
Author's point of view... "You call him your son? He is just an insult to the family" Selina continued ranting, "He hadn’t attended the family meal, and now, his shameless wife was seducing my son..! Are you going to just sit and watch..." Selina questioned her husband. Jonathan, however, rolled his eyes in irritation. He kept his head low and massaged his forehead with his hand. He might be having a headache due to this. Jonathan knew clearly that his wife was exaggerating things, and he knew what kind of a woman Ericka was, but he chose to let that woman humiliate Ericka and his deceased wife. That old man is just a toy...! Ericka thought. “If he doesn’t respect you, why should you respect him?” Selina sneered. “In my opinion, you did that all right back then for the first time. You should just remove him and his wife from the family name and that slut of a woman, Catherine, from the family cemetery! She doesn't belong there... ” Ericka’s eyes widened. She suddenly
Author's point of view... A hush came over the room. Everyone sat speechless as Elvira's lies were exposed. Elvira, out of any ideas to deal with the matter, pretended to faint and slumped into Logan's arms. "She might be stressed!" Nathan said coldly, the sarcasm evident in his voice. Ericka, however was not at all in a mood to see through her sister's act. She was so furious that she felt her cheeks started burning. "Logan, just take Elvira to rest" Jonathan was the first one to speak, easing the awkward situation. "That little girl...she might have done it by mistake. Why would she harm her own sister?" he tried to cover up Elvira's lies. Nathan scoffed but didn't say anything. With that, the matter was closed, just like that. Logan, however, shot one last glance at Ericka before scooping Elvira into his arms and rushing out of the room. Finally, a staff member broke the silence by announcing that breakfast was ready. Everyone left the room as the show was finally ov
Author's point of view... Elvira was so stunned in disbelief that it took a few minutes for her to recover from her shock. "You dare hit me...!" she growled when her mind reeled everything back before her eyes. It was the first time in her entire life that someone had slapped her and out of all, the one who slapped her was none other than Ericka, her useless sister, who was not more than a punching bag for her and her mother for years. That was utterly unbelievable. "You bitch..." Elvira was just about to spring up to grab Ericka's hair, but Ericka kicked Elvira's knees, making her slump down again. Ericka was done with everything that had to do with this shameless sister of hers. "Stop messing around..." Ericka warned through gritted teeth but her words were cut off as Jonathan strode to them. Taking advantage of the situation, Jonathan stepped into that mess, standing between the two of them. He glared at Ericka with disdain, clearly declaring his stand for the other o
Author's point of view... As Elvira walked in, she saw how affectionately the old lady held Ericka's hand while she was being ignored completely. She couldn't take it anymore. As the only daughter of the Hollow family, she was used to being treated like a princess, whereas Ericka, being the breadwinner of her family, was treated like a maid who would do anything. Elvira couldn't just see Ericka being loved. She just wanted that attention to herself. How could her cousin, a girl from a mediocre family, have that importance while the only daughter of the Hollow family was being ignored!! That's not going to happen...! That old hag must be blind to not see her!! She gritted. Moving forward, Elvira stood beside Logan. "Oh my, Ericka, you are here. We were all so worried about you last night, weren't we, Logan?" Elvira remarked, nudging Logan with a smirk. She just wanted to show herself quite dissolved in the family before the old lady. As if she cared a lot about her siste
Author's point of view... "No..no.... it's not like that" Ericka instantly tried to explain but the old lady brushed it off with a knowing gesture. "I know..." she grabbed Ericka's hand and continued, "I know very well about little Nati's temper, Darling. You don't have to tell me about it..." Ericka stared between Nathan and the old lady, stunned, clearly not knowing what to say. Amanda laughed and looked at Nathan who was glaring daggers at Ericka. Despite the anger, there was also a hint of surprise in his eyes. He never saw his grandmother taking sides, especially when it comes to him. She was never so friendly and happy before, laughing and chatting like how she did at that time. He was very puzzled about how Ericka could impress anyone by just being there without putting any efforts. "You know..." the old lady continued, "I was so worried about this boy..." Amanda turned her gaze back to Ericka, who was still so confused, looking as if she had walked into an alternate
Author's point of view... After getting dressed, Ericka walked out. A maid was waiting outside for her to receive her. Nathan had made sure she would always be tailed behind by someone to keep her safe. The maids and servants he planted in the Dawis mansion were all his people, all trained in martial arts and weaponry. After what had happened the day before, he couldn't help but feel unease. He was sure that someone from his family was trying to harm Ericka and that was because of him. He felt guilty. At least he had to keep her safe until he reached his goal. "Ma'am, this way please" the maid escorted her towards the ancestral quarters to meet the old matriarch of the family. Ericka looked around. Neither Nathan nor any of his men were anywhere to be found. She gulped nervously before asking the maid, "Have you seen Mr Dawis anywhere," the maid looked at her confused, Ericka instantly corrected herself, "I mean, Nathan?" That maid shook her head, "No ma'am. I haven't
Author's point of view... Ericka was stunned. It didn't take him a second to scoop her fragile body into his arms. Before she could understand what was happening, she was already in his arms. "You...Nathan...I am..." she stuttered, unable to speak normally. He stared at her and finally said in his ever so commanding tone. "You are sleeping with me..." Ericka instantly felt her throat dry. Sleeping with him? Is he serious? "But...I...I don't want to trouble you" she finally said with a futile effort to set herself free. He narrowed his eyes and snorted through clenched teeth. "Aren't you afraid?" Nathan asked. Ericka lowered her head. She was indeed afraid of closing her eyes. "Yes," She admitted timidly. "Then you can sleep next to me. You won't be afraid anymore." he said, his voice calm but unreadable. Nathan recalled the strange emptiness he had felt when she had chosen to sleep on the couch instead of beside him. "I'm just having trouble sleeping tonight
Author's point of view... The more Nathan thought about Ericka, the more intrigued he became. After he left the bathroom, Ericka closed the door and exhaled deeply. Was he going to kiss me? she wondered but soon smacked herself out of that thought. "He wasn't..." She confirmed. "He didn't even kiss me during the wedding, why would he do that now? He was just trying to intimidate me." she was sure that it was all because he was trying to scare her. Maybe trying to make her forget about the wolf. But that method was even more scary. She thought as she peeled off her filthy clothes, tossing them aside before stepping into the shower. The cold water cascaded over her, washing away the black mud that still clung to her skin. The air filled with the damp, earthy scent of mud as it swirled down the drain. With every drop of water that ran off her body, she felt her anxieties melting away. It was as if she had narrowly escaped death, and now, standing under the cool stream, a wa
Author's point of view... "Nathan...I...you..." Ericka stammered, staring devastatingly at his deep brown eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as the thought occurred to her about what he was going to do next. He isn't really wanting to bathe her, is he? She was so terrified at the thought that her entire body stiffened. If she was scared earlier by that huge black wolf, she was now even more scared of the handsome wolf in front of her. She looked like a trembling lamb before that wolf who was staring at her. He grabbed her wrist with almost no particular expression on his face. There wasn't a single bit of softness in his gaze, only disgust. Ericka couldn't understand what she did now to piss him off. "Do you really think that I would let you walk around my personal space like that?" he spat in his cold tone and Ericka finally understood what was going on. She looked down at herself, wherever she was moving, a line of mud appeared, cascading down her dress. She stared up a
Author's point of view... "Just put me down..." Ericka groaned, moving her body to jump down from Nathan's embrace. But his embrace only tightened. She tripped earlier and fell on a mud pit and was now covered in dark and stinky mud. Nathan was a clean freak and it was already hard for him to carry her and her protest only increased his annoyance. "What?" he spat annoyed. "I don't want you to touch me..." Ericka was fighting back the tears which were threatening her to run down. She was livid. If not for him, why would she have been here to begin with? If it were not for him, why would she have been in such a dangerous situation? It's all because of him...! She gritted. Nathan heaved a sigh. Maybe his wife was so scared that her mind was not working properly. "Ericka, calm down, you are safe now," Nathan said suppressing his anger, trying to calm her down, "Safe...?" she furrowed her eyebrows. As she recalled those deadly red eyes and that salivating mouth of that wo