‘’I’m sorry, Rose,’’ I said looking at the crying infant on my lap.She picked up the child and handed her to a girl who I identified in one of the photos. ‘’I don’t want you to be sorry, Octavia.’’ She looked at Zion too. ‘’I don’t want either of you to feel sorry for me. I don’t need you helping me too. But don’t try to stop me.’’I exhaled. ‘’I’m ready to help you get justice, Rose. I have the right connection. The people. Now is just not the time. You can’t win this.’’She returned to her seat and sat on it. I looked at Zion, waiting for him to say something. He couldn’t. I could see his face overpowered with guilt. He had misled Rose to think she meant something to him, and when she needed him, he had vanished. ‘’Rose..’’ I thought of the damage such a news article would do to my reputation. It would be a slap on everything I had worked to achieve. ‘’Say something, Zion.’’He leaned forward and rubbed his palms together. ‘’Firstly, Rose. I’m so sorry for what transpi
She seemed happy to see me. ‘’You are back,’’ she sajid, kissing my cheeks. ‘’It hasn’t really been the same without you.’’I smiled. She was looking radiant. ‘’I just arrived a few minutes ago. How’s my brother?’’‘’Crying and eating a lot.’’ she laughed. ‘’I was told you laid off all the staff,’’ I said, trying to keep my voice from sounding challenging. ‘’What happened?’’‘’One of them stole my necklace, and the others are covering for it.’’ She walked to the cot and looked at her baby. ‘’Or it was a joint theft.’’I didn’t see why that necessitated firing the whole staff. She could have just fired those who had access to her room. Sending hundreds of people out there with information on our family was dangerous. And I expected her to know better. Unless she had a hidden agenda.‘’What necklace was stolen? ’’I asked.‘’The necklace Lionel bought for me when we went to Paris,’’ she replied. ‘’He was so upset that it got missing, Octavia.’’I nodded. ‘’Sorry about that.
She seemed happy to see me. ‘’You are back,’’ she sajid, kissing my cheeks. ‘’It hasn’t really been the same without you.’’I smiled. She was looking radiant. ‘’I just arrived a few minutes ago. How’s my brother?’’‘’Crying and eating a lot.’’ she laughed. ‘’I was told you laid off all the staff,’’ I said, trying to keep my voice from sounding challenging. ‘’What happened?’’‘’One of them stole my necklace, and the others are covering for it.’’ She walked to the cot and looked at her baby. ‘’Or it was a joint theft.’’I didn’t see why that necessitated firing the whole staff. She could have just fired those who had access to her room. Sending hundreds of people out there with information on our family was dangerous. And I expected her to know better. Unless she had a hidden agenda.‘’What necklace was stolen? ’’I asked.‘’The necklace Lionel bought for me when we went to Paris,’’ she replied. ‘’He was so upset that it got missing, Octavia.’’I nodded. ‘’Sorry about that.
/-Octavia-/My body curled on the floor, trembling as the tears streamed down my cheeks. Another kick met me in the stomach, and I rolled, wincing. He took the opening to assault my ribs, and I was screaming helplessly, begging him to stop. I didn't know how much I could take anymore. My heart was constricting tightly; even my lungs were gradually closing up, restricting my airflow. "Please stop... Please..." I sobbed, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. He wasn't going to stop. Nothing would make him stop until I was unconscious or possibly dead. The next blow sent blood gushing out of my mouth. "Pa..." I cried, "it hurts. It hurts."I spat out more blood, and his feet connected to my face; the kick had my blood vessels bursting open. At least that is what it felt like. "I am not your father!" He barked. "How many times do I have to warn you?"He slammed his foot against my chest, pressing down so hard as if the intention was to crush my heart. "Just how worthless can you be?!"A k
/-Octavia-/Six Years Later.I ascended the stairs with a small bag resting on my shoulder. The loud music blazing from the speakers was almost deafening. It wasn't hard to spot Axel in the VIP section with a couple of men. I headed towards him, and his eyes lit up on seeing me. "There comes my Queen," he smirked, and the men's attention shifted to me. The lustful gazes that penetrated my skin didn't bother me. I was in nothing but lingerie and a bra, so it was expected for them to lust after my body. The scars that my father had inflicted on me were concealed, of course. I dropped the bag on the table and sat on his lap. He handed me a cigarette and lit it for me. "The package is already here, as you can see. You can unveil and have a taste of it if you want," Axel said, then turned his attention to me. I dropped my head and kissed him. The bag was opened, and the bags of cocaine were taken out. One of the bags was powered, and a small amount of powder was displayed on the ta
/-Octavia-/The coffee shop was the only thing of value I possessed. The light in my miserable, dark world.You'd think six years of stripping and doing his dirty work would have been enough to pay for my father's death, but he told me to my face that even if I worked for the next hundred years, I would only be able to pay half of it. An amount he had yet to mention to me. He gave me a little change here and there from the night's work, and I saved everything up to open this little, beautiful shop. When Axel found out about it, he laughed, of course, asking if I planned to clear my father's debt from the earnings of a coffee shop. The words hurt my feelings, but I was already used to him putting me down at every slight opportunity. I was already resigned to my fate of belonging to him forever. There was nothing I could do to change it, no matter how many men I slept with or how many bags of cocaine I transported. I opened the coffee shop with a bright smile on my face. This plac
/-Octavia-/It was lunch break, and usually I made some brownies and cookies for those who liked to have coffee in the afternoon.Just as I took off my apron and headed to the front desk, someone walked in.It was probably the milky scent that caught my attention, but as my eyes connected with those oceanic blue eyes, I knew I was in for trouble."What are you doing back here?" I blurted before I could stop myself. Nile was visibly startled by my hostility, but I didn't care. I wanted him to leave before Axel showed up unexpectedly and caused more trouble. "That is not the way to treat a customer." He smiled it off. "I enjoyed your coffee. Came to get another and leave a large tip, of course."A smile threatened to burst out of my lips. He was so kind and soft-spoken. Why couldn't Axel be like that? Why did I have to end up with someone cruel?I didn't let my worries show on my face."What type of coffee? I have muffins and cookies too. You can get some for a couple of cents," I to
OCTAVIA'S POVI caught myself staring into thin air more times than I can admit today. My heart still skips a beat anytime I remember how Nile said he would keep being a regular till I'm ready to accept him. Axel is not going to like this. I closed the coffee shop for the day and headed down the sidewalk to the one-room box-like apartment I rented close to the shop that I don't even get the luxury of sleeping in and took a quick shower. I stare at two teenage girls arguing in front of a dress shop on which color of dress is best to wear to prom as I headed to the casino, where I spend six out of seven nights of the week. Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been if my mom was still alive. "Would I have gone to college? "Would Philip still be alive and nice to me?". I shrugged off the thoughts and put a lock over my mind and put on my mask of coolness. Maybe if Axel would have a problem with me today. The ground floor was filled to the brim with dancing and grinding bodies, as to
She seemed happy to see me. ‘’You are back,’’ she sajid, kissing my cheeks. ‘’It hasn’t really been the same without you.’’I smiled. She was looking radiant. ‘’I just arrived a few minutes ago. How’s my brother?’’‘’Crying and eating a lot.’’ she laughed. ‘’I was told you laid off all the staff,’’ I said, trying to keep my voice from sounding challenging. ‘’What happened?’’‘’One of them stole my necklace, and the others are covering for it.’’ She walked to the cot and looked at her baby. ‘’Or it was a joint theft.’’I didn’t see why that necessitated firing the whole staff. She could have just fired those who had access to her room. Sending hundreds of people out there with information on our family was dangerous. And I expected her to know better. Unless she had a hidden agenda.‘’What necklace was stolen? ’’I asked.‘’The necklace Lionel bought for me when we went to Paris,’’ she replied. ‘’He was so upset that it got missing, Octavia.’’I nodded. ‘’Sorry about that.
She seemed happy to see me. ‘’You are back,’’ she sajid, kissing my cheeks. ‘’It hasn’t really been the same without you.’’I smiled. She was looking radiant. ‘’I just arrived a few minutes ago. How’s my brother?’’‘’Crying and eating a lot.’’ she laughed. ‘’I was told you laid off all the staff,’’ I said, trying to keep my voice from sounding challenging. ‘’What happened?’’‘’One of them stole my necklace, and the others are covering for it.’’ She walked to the cot and looked at her baby. ‘’Or it was a joint theft.’’I didn’t see why that necessitated firing the whole staff. She could have just fired those who had access to her room. Sending hundreds of people out there with information on our family was dangerous. And I expected her to know better. Unless she had a hidden agenda.‘’What necklace was stolen? ’’I asked.‘’The necklace Lionel bought for me when we went to Paris,’’ she replied. ‘’He was so upset that it got missing, Octavia.’’I nodded. ‘’Sorry about that.
‘’I’m sorry, Rose,’’ I said looking at the crying infant on my lap.She picked up the child and handed her to a girl who I identified in one of the photos. ‘’I don’t want you to be sorry, Octavia.’’ She looked at Zion too. ‘’I don’t want either of you to feel sorry for me. I don’t need you helping me too. But don’t try to stop me.’’I exhaled. ‘’I’m ready to help you get justice, Rose. I have the right connection. The people. Now is just not the time. You can’t win this.’’She returned to her seat and sat on it. I looked at Zion, waiting for him to say something. He couldn’t. I could see his face overpowered with guilt. He had misled Rose to think she meant something to him, and when she needed him, he had vanished. ‘’Rose..’’ I thought of the damage such a news article would do to my reputation. It would be a slap on everything I had worked to achieve. ‘’Say something, Zion.’’He leaned forward and rubbed his palms together. ‘’Firstly, Rose. I’m so sorry for what transpi
‘’Will you come with me to Amsterdam?’’I looked up at him, my short hair swinging as I did. I wasn’t sure I wanted to take this trip. ‘’It wasn’t in my plan,’’ I said, watching him dress up. We had spent the night together and at that point, I was quite sure what we were.‘’None of this was part of the plan,’’ he said, fastening his last button. He stepped towards me. ‘’I’d really love you to come with me, Octavia.’’The way he said it made it hard to say no. ‘’You have a way of messing up with my plans, Zion,’’ I said, rocking my body back and forth.It had been more than forty eight hours since my wallet was stolen from the lift. There was still no news about the thief nor the wallet. It was very upsetting and scary at the same time. The wallet contained my real ID, and I was afraid it could fall into the wrong hands. I wasn’t sure if Lionel da Vinci was popular in these parts but it was still very disturbing. Perhaps, going to Amsterdam was for the better. ‘’You had a
‘’You met Rose?’’ I could see he was finding it hard to follow the conversation.‘’Yes,’’ I said. ‘’I bumped into her as I was rushing out of the Ladies. She has a photo of Luca grabbing me in the bathroom. And she wants me to testify.’’He rubbed his fingers into his hair and stood up. He paced for a while before he returned to the seat. ‘’Are you saying Lucas has been harassing women sexually?’’I nodded.‘’And he tried to do that to you?’’‘’’Yes,’’ I said.‘’Damn it! Fuck!’’ He stood up. ‘’This is my fault. I should have told him who you were to me. I’m so sorry, Octavia.’’I said nothing.‘’You said you saw Rose?’’ he asked.‘’Yes. I left the hall with her,’’ I said.‘’Are you sure it was Rose you saw?’’I looked at him. ‘’I would know Rose, wouldn't I?’’‘’I’m sorry,’’ he said, rubbing his forehead. ‘’You mentioned that Rose wanted you to testify.. That she had a photo. What is it about?’’I let out a deep sigh. ‘’I’m not sure, but I think Lucas probably had his way
‘’Thank you so much for coming,’’ I said, shaking his hand warmly as I looked around for Octavia.‘’Beautiful presentation.’’I walked down to the table I had seen her last. It was unoccupied. A couple were seated just beside her table.‘’Good afternoon. Please, I’m looking for the lady who was seated here,’’ I said.‘’Oh,’’ the woman replied. ‘’She had some wine poured on her and she rushed off to the Ladies, i think.’’‘’Thank you,’’ I said, walking away.I stood a few feet from the table, waiting for her return. I was excited to share with her what the investors thought. I paced around, and glanced at my wristwatch. She had been gone for too long. I reached for my phone and began to dial her number while I walked towards the Ladies. I bumped into Lucas.‘’Hey, Lucas,’’ I said, observing the cut on his face and the wrinkles on his shirt. His hair looked roughened too, and he seemed upset. ‘’I was just looking for Octavia.’’I dropped my phone in my pocket as the call went u
‘’You’re kidding, right?’’ she said.I wished I was. ‘’I will publish the whole story, Octavia. And you will see it. I want you as a witness.’’‘’Publish? A witness? Are you out of your mind, Rose?’’ she asked, sitting up and facing me. ‘’I can’t.’’‘’I’m not the only victim,’’ I said, closing my eyes. ‘’I have at least five women who are willing to testify. You are the only one who can testify with an evidence.’’She turned away. ‘’Please, stop the car. I’m dropping off here.’’ She reached for her purse and pulled out some notes and handed it to the driver. ‘’I won’t let you mess my life, Rose.’’I pulled out a cigarette from my purse and inhaled the fumes as I rested my head on the back seat.—It was almost 7pm when I returned home and the sound of Angel crying grated my nerves. Lydia was rocking her but the crying continued, relentlessly.‘’She’s been like this all day, ma’am,’’ she said, still rocking her. ‘’I don’t know what is wrong. I’ve tried everything i can.’’‘’I
I pushed him away and ran for the door. The man had disappeared amongst the crowd of guests. I looked around and cursed.‘’It’s okay, hon–’’I turned around and slapped him on the face. ‘’You bastard!’’He held his cheek for a second, flustered and embarrassed. ‘’Who do you think you are?’’I started to make my way out of the bathroom but he slammed the door and yanked my hair and pulled me in. his hand curled into a fist and he tried to land a blow on my head. I dodged, the attempted blow setting him off balance. I grabbed his second arm and twisted it behind him, till he yelled in pain. Then pushed him towards the sink, sending the mirror above it breaking and crashing into the sink.From the broken mirror left in the wall, I could see terror in his eyes. ‘’Let me go,’’ he said, his voice devoid of any remorse.I twisted his arm again until he cried for mercy. ‘’Please! Who are you?’’ his voice trembled.I moved closer to him and looked at him through the mirror. ‘’Someo
She didn’t resist. I guess she wanted me as much as I wanted her. Her lips relaxed and took mine too. My hands wrapped around her back, pulling her closer. I felt hot flashes in my body. Her arms stretched over my shoulder, pulling my head in. I slid my hands down to her ass, raising her up. I couldn’t get enough of her.We staggered to the wall, lips still locked, hands all over our bodies. Outside, thunder rumbled and lightning crashed. She was pinned against the wall, breathing heavily when I pulled away from the kiss. ‘’I want you, Octavia,’’ I said, searching her eyes. I could see the raw desires in them. She wanted me just as much.She tugged at my shirt, ripping the first button loose. Her eyes were fierce and inviting at the same time. I knew I was supposed to be avoiding her, but whatever drew her to me was too powerful than the both of us. ‘’Have me then, Mr Giovanni,’’ she whispered, her words sending shocks down my spine.I reached for her again, pulling her and