Mr. Richard Rothchild lounged on his plush leather couch, an aura of smug entitlement surrounding him as he nursed a glass of Macallan 25-year-old scotch. Tendrils of smoke wafted from the cigar between his fingers when a timid knock sounded at the door."Enter," He commanded gruffly without looking up.The door creaked opened and Donald, Amelia's father walked in.. His ill-fitted suit hung loosely on his diminished frame as he wrung his hands nervously.Rothchild's eyes glinted with disdain as they raked over the shabby man. "So you finally decided to show your face, Donald.""M-Mr. Rothchild...I apologize for the delay. I've been trying to gather the funds, I swear..." Donald stammered.A cruel chuckle escaped Rothchild's lips. "Another story for another day. You've been owing me for over seven years. Not that I expected that kind of money from a pauper like you anyway."He ashed his cigar and looked up at Donald with a piercing stare. "Your time is up, Donald. I'm a patient man, bu
Satisfied, Rothchild turned towards the door. "Good, I'm glad we have a definite agreement." His lips curved into a cruel smile. "Oh and Donald? Make sure Amelia is well tamed for. I expect her to be an obedient little wife from the very start."With that parting remark, laced with dark implications, Rothchild swept from the room - leaving Donald to the agonizing task of informing his beloved daughter of her horrific fate.************Amelia hummed softly to herself as she made her way home from the local high school where she taught literature. Her worn but cherished satchel was slung over one shoulder, stuffed with papers to grade and secure in the familiar weight of it against her side.As she approached a crosswalk, something small and furry caught her eye - a puppy, no bigger than her palm was cowering in the middle of the road. Amelia gasped and looked around frantically for the owner before realizing the poor thing was all alone and in danger of being struck."Oh no, you poor
Donald came back and disclosed everything to his wife, Sonia. Sonia could only weep in helpless anguish, her heart already shattered into pieces at the thought of their beloved daughter's innocence being so monstrously defiled.Just then, Amelia wearily pushed open the front door, eager to retreat to the sanctuary of her bedroom after a long day of teaching. "Mom, Dad, I'm home! Good evening " she called out and greeted.She was greeted by an oppressive silence which caused her brow to furrow in confusion. Normally at least her mother would bustle out to greet her but today, the house seemed cloaked in an air of somber tension."Come here, Amelia," her father's gravelly voice responded from the living room. There was a dull, hopeless undercurrent to his tone that prickled unease along her nerves.Shrugging off her satchel, Amelia made her way down the hallway towards the sound of Donald's voice. As she entered the living room, she was taken aback by the vision of her parents huddled t
Sonia released a guttural sob, burying her face in her hands. But Amelia found herself shaking her head in vehement denial. "That's insane! Richard is not good for me, I've heard the rumors about his bad ways of life, while flirting around with girls in school," she protested. "And just today I had a horrible encounter with that brat Richard when I was coming home..."She recounted the tense interaction on the road, the arrogant entitlement and blatant threats laced in Richard's words. Amelia's hands clenched into white-knuckled fists as her voice rose in outrage and indignation."You cannot actually expect me to marry into that viper's nest of depraved cruelty! A loveless marriage to a man I've never met on a date before?" Her eyes flashed with defiant fire. "I won't do it, I refuse!"Donald surged to his feet, face mottled with a combination of anguish and frustration. "I don't have a choice, Amelia! Don't you understand what's at stake here?"He raked a hand through his disheveled
Richard strode into the opulent manor, loosening his silk tie as he made his way towards the grand staircase. It had been a frustrating day of dealing with corporate leeches and simpering yes-men. He was looking forward to retreating to his private suite for a stiff drink."Richard!" His father's booming voice rang out, freezing him in his tracks. "To my study room, now."Grinding his teeth, Richard pivoted and headed for the large mahogany doors leading to Rothchild's inner sanctum. He rapped his knuckles against the polished wood."Enter."Richard pushed through, affecting an air of casual nonchalance. "You bellowed, father?"Rothchild looked up from behind his desk, cigar clenched between his teeth. His cold eyes glittered with calculation."I have news that requires your...compliance, son." He took a pull from the cigar, exhaling a plume of blue smoke. "You're to be married this coming weekend."Richard felt like he'd been doused in ice water. He blinked rapidly, convinced he'd mi
Amelia stood rigid before the floor-length mirror, numb disbelief carving hollows beneath her eyes. The white satin gown she wore was like a funereal shroud, the veil a barbed veil obscuring her rapidly crumbling future."It's time."Her mother's tremulous voice barely penetrated the mental fog enveloping Amelia. This was really happening so very fast. They were sacrificing her life, her freedom, at the blood-stained altar of the Rothchild family's avarice.The Well decorated gigantic mansion of Rothchild ballroom was an opulent vision of vaulted ceilings and crystal chandeliers. But its beauty was tainted, perverted, as Amelia was led down the aisle in a procession of condemned souls.Richard waited before the ostentatious archway, resplendent in his tailored tuxedo. But his eyes were those of an apex predator assessing its latest kill as Amelia approached.On either side of the aisle, Jasmine and Bianca Richard's first cousin and sister looked on with undisguised scorn and contempt.
Amelia's heart thundered in her ears as Richard led her by the hand down the corridor towards the master bedroom suite. Every instinct screamed at her to wrench free and run, but they both knew it was futile - she was trapped, a gilded bird with clipped wings. Richard paused before the ornate doors, turning to face his new bride. His eyes did little to mask his hungry appraisal as they raked over her trembling form. "Are you afraid, wife?" he murmured, the mocking endearment carrying a clear undercurrent of threat.Amelia lifted her chin in a facade of defiance, refusing to show fear before her tormentor. "Should I be...husband?" A flicker of something dark and scorching passed across Richard's features before he suddenly grasped her upper arms in a bruising grip, pinning her against the door. Amelia's eyes widened as she found herself trapped between the unyielding wooden surface and the even more unyielding planes of Richard's body."Let me make one thing exquisitely clear," he ru
Richard undressed methodically, his gaze burning into Amelia with undisguised hunger as she cowered on the bed. With each piece of clothing shed, the atmosphere thickened with dread and obligation.Finally bare before her, Richard stalked towards the bed, eyes glinting with primal possession. Amelia shrank back, trapped against the pillows as he loomed over her. No words were exchanged - none were needed. His hands roamed her body as if laying claim, and she squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to distance herself from the violation to come.What followed was an anguish of flesh and surrender. Richard took her cruelly, rutting into her with animalistic fervor as Amelia's cries of anguish transmuted to hoarse sobs muffled against the bedsheets. She retreated into herself, a prisoner within her own mind as he enjoyed the spoils of his conquest.Afterwards, Richard rolled onto his back, chest heaving. He eyed the shuddering, brutalized form of his new wife with an emotion akin to dark satisf
"Look here, mister, you have to leave here now, or else, I'm going to call the security on you. We are not ready to listen to whatever you have to explain. You can't just come here and cook up a story, then expect us to believe. We are not kids. By the way, Who even gave you the permission to come in here in the first place and disrupt the peace of a woman who has just given birth?""The doctor did....the doctor gave me permission to come in here!" Rothschild replied hurriedly before they got any other second thought. He wiped the tears from his eyes and waited. "The doctor?" The second nurse asked this time. "Yes, the doctor asked that I come in here to see my wife.""She is not your wife, mister. That woman lying there is a single mother and I'd appreciate if you leave here already." The first nurse said sternly to him. Their arguments and noises was disrupting Amelia from having a peaceful rest. It got to a point that Amelia woke up from the sleep. "What....what is going on he
"Amelia?" Rothschild called out as he got closer to her and stared down at her face. He couldn't believe his eyes—he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Amelia had given birth! He rushed to where the child was to see the child that she had given birth to. He held his breath for what seemed like an hour—just staring down at the child who was fast asleep too, with amazement in his eyes. He held himself back from crying. "It's....it's my child!" Rothschild let out, trying to fight back the tears but he couldn't help himself. The child was too beautiful for him to take his eyes off. And the child was equally tiny too. Rothschild wanted to reach down and hold his newborn baby in his arms but the door suddenly opened, disrupting him from touching the child. "Sir, what are you doing here?" It was the nurse who had earlier told him to stay miles away from the ward. "I...I...just came in here to.." Rothschild couldn't seem to find his voice anymore. "Please sir, you need to leav
Rothschild could not contain his joy when he got a response from Amelia the next morning. Although she had not revealed her location to him yet, the contents of Amelia's message made Rothschild leap for another round of joy. Her due date was around the corner and Amelia had wanted him to know that she was going to have their baby sooner or later. "So I'm finally going to be a father!" Rothschild said with excitement in his tone. "When I thought that this day would never come, finally luck has decided to shine its rays down on me." Rothschild said and continued with his preparations to go to the hospital. The result of the test that had conducted on him was finally ready and he had a good feeling that it was going to turn out to be positive. Rothschild ignored Bella's presence still in his home while he walked past her with happiness—he didn't care about anything else, order
"You are impotent, don't you remember and there's the test from the hospital to prove that!" Bella said in response. Rothschild curled his fist into a ball, holding himself back from slapping the hell out of Bella's cheeks. "You bitch!" He roared at her. "I should have known that this is who you really are. Why didn't I know from the start that your heart is darker than night in itself!""How can you speak to me like that. You know it's true, Rothschild, you know what I'm saying is true. Amelia is a liar and a cheat. She got pregnant for another man and now you think that the child is yours?""Be reasonable for just one time in your life!" Bella added. "The only unreasonable person here is you, because you think that I'm a puppet you have your fingertips, isn't that right, Bella?!" Rothschild shot at her but she kept mute. "Answer me, Bella, did you or did you not doctor those test results?!" Rothschild asked,
"Don't you dare put your fucking hands on me, or else I'm going to beat the crap out of you!" Rothschild yelled out in anger. Bella scotted backward in fear, she had never seen Rothschild this angry before and it scared the life out of her. "You lying scum, I don't even know what to call you. You made me send my pregnant wife away from the house and now, I don't even know where to find her!""She wouldn't take my calls or even reply to my text messages and it's all your fucking fault, you bloody bastard!" Rothschild cursed out at Bella who still wore her mask of ignorance. "What...what are you talking about, Rothschild?!" Bella asked, feigning ignorance as she sat still on the floor. "Don't even get me started on that!" He warned. "I want you to go up there, pack everything that belongs to you and get the hell out of my house, I don't want to ever set my eyes on you again, do you understand that?!" Rothschild said and stormed off. "Rothschild please wait!" Bella tried to stop hi
Bella was in shock for almost an hour after Rothschild had left the house. She wanted to run after Rothschild but she found her foot rooted to the ground. "And what was that I had seen in Rothschild's hand, it can't be what I think it is or can it be that...." "No, no way, it cannot be possible!" Bella said aloud to herself, rushing back into her room to change out of the clothes and put on proper clothes but by the time she went outside, there was no sign of Rothschild anywhere, he had already driven away. "No, no, this can't be!" Bella started to panic. She couldn't see what was right in front of her and that caused her to trip over the stairs while she walked. She remained on the floor motionless but clutching her chest tightly. In as much as Bella wanted to deny that she had seen Rothschild walk out of the room with a test results in his hand, so that it would offer her a flicker of hope that Rothschild was not suspecting a thing, it was obvious that the jig was up and soon
"I think you have something up your sleeves, I don't know what it is, but I don't think you've been honest with me lately." Rothschild poked the air in front of her with his index finger. "What...what are you talking about?!" Bella stuttered with a look of confusion on her face. She could see that something was about to go wrong. "Of course, you know what I'm talking about, and don't you dare pretend!!" Rothschild blurted out. Bella could see the seriousness and the anger on his face. "I swear that I do not know what you're talking about!" Bella said as she stepped back. "Alright then, if you do not know what I'm talking about, maybe you should leave this room!" Rothschild said to her. "But...." "No buts, leave now!!!" Rothschild yelled at the top of his lungs, he was already losing his cool at this point. Bella's jaw hung down loos
"You're...you're back!" Bella called out to Rothschild when she saw him walk in through the front door. "Yes, I am!" He replied grudgingly, hurrying up to his room. "Why are you in a hurry, where are you going?!" Bella asked him with raised eyebrows. "It's none of your business, Bella. I don't have the time for this!" Rothschild replied he didn't bother to hide the irritation in his tone as he spoke. "None of my business?!" Bella angrily threw down the magazine she held in her hands and stood up from the couch, knocking the glass half filled with orange juice as she hurried after Rothschild. "And what is that supposed to mean, Rothschild? I am your wife, and I demand to know where you have been and where you are hurrying off to!" Bella yelled out to him. "Look, I already told you that I do not have the time for this; I have a business to catch up with.." Rothschild stopped and turned to respond to Bella who was glazing at him with eyes red as fire. "That does not
Rothschild stopped the car in front of Amelia's mother's house and got down from it without hesitation. He hoped that Amelia would be there and even if she wasn't, her mother would tell him where Amelia was. But if her mother would refuse to tell him, then he would have to find an alternative means to make her tell him where Amelia was. It had been so long since he last saw his mother in law, he didn't know how she would react to seeing him again and in her house. He was certain that Amelia must have told her about the divorce and him showing his face in her house just because he couldn't find Amelia would be like reopening wounds that were already in their healing processes. Rothschild summoned the courage to walk up to the front porch and knock on the front door. "Hello, is anyone home?!" Rothschild asked as he continued knocking on the door. "Hold on just a minute, I'm coming!" He heard a voice from the inside. Rothschild's heart began to pound faster in his chest the m