5 YEARS LATER............
|| Kiera Stevens's POV ||
" You must go, Kiera!", My dad finally raised his voice, speaking after a short cough. His days weren't going well after he crossed his late sixties. Sometimes, he just passed everything to his assistance and rested for days at home.
Sighing, I straightened up my spine to reconsider his proposal. He wanted me to join a business party tonight, a hall full of artificial people. Yes, I called them artificial because they could do anything for the publicity stunt. I hated business life, this career that he intended to pass me one day. But staring at his wrinkled face, I didn't find my courage to turn him again.
" Just today...", I mumbled after a long sigh, turned around and headed upstairs with the magazine in my hand. He wanted me to take his place because my recent advertisements had made headlines, so many people admiring my stunt.
Yes after a fucking damn 4 years break, I was comeback on runway, on screen. I think,being rich made my life a little more easier. My rich father had arranged everything in abroad, safely brought my precious son in this world. It was all a dark secret that we kept safe until now.
It wasn't easy to move on from the past but I had my lesson. After breaking and shattering myself into pieces, I made my comeback a year back. Although, I didn't achieve anything massive so far, I was happy enough to know that I was progressing. Stepping on the hallway, I sighed, praying that everything would work out well in today's business party.
__________
" You look stunning in this outfit girl! ", Mr.Marshallow commented, raking his eyes through my body. I tried not to cringe the way, his eyes looked deep through my skin.
" Thanks!", I responded with a polite small, rocking the champagne in my grip.
This party was so boring. Everyone around me was talking actively like some controlled robot, so formalities always. I heard from my father's assistant, Arnaldo that the party had all the important business figures of this state. I better try to communicate with more people. But I must say that the organizer threw a vast amount of money over this single party. The red, soft carpet underneath my feet was definitely exported from Iran even the curtains. Wines, champagne everything were exclusively brought from overseas. Not only that, the staff were excellent in English to communicate well with the guests.
Rich Party!
Probably, it was the reason that my dad asked me to dress properly. This sea blue backless dress around my body made me stiff while moving. My face was well painted by my makeup artist, Alba. She did my make-up most of the time and made sure that I was looking presentable. For hairs, I did it all by myself, only straightened after combing through it.
" Did you meet the new investor?", Mr.Mashallow spoke through his sip, his eyes still stayed lustfully on mine.
How badly I wished that I could tear off his dirty eyes!
I shook my head, remembering how my father gossiped about a new investor in this state. He claimed that the investor had a powerful background and happened to carry Italian names. If it was possible for me, I should be grabbing this opportunity to talk to him but not with Mr.Marshallow, please.
Mr.Marshallow boasted arrogantly, smirking like a professional playboy,
" Well, I know him from a recent party. You can come with me if you want. You know, not everyone gets this opportunity to talk to him especially when he has a serious temper."
I was mature enough to detect his fucking ideas. Even at his fifty something like age, his dirty character didn't improve a bit. He was still a fucker. He wanted to lure me on his trap. Before I could give him any reason, a sweet buttery voice came from the other side,
" Honey!"
I saw his wife, walking in high heels. As soon as they became closer, they locked their lips briefly. I just rolled my eyes, admiring how my thoughts were right about this business circle. Everything, they do just for the publicity stunt. Mr.Marshallow's wife eyed me for a second before dragging her husband away from there. Trust me, I thanked seven heaves for that. Sighing in relief, I turned to head for the corridor to get some fresh air.
____________
" You are finally into business!", a voice pulled over my thoughts from the starry sky above. Startling slightly, I whipped my head back to see Jasper Winston, standing in his dark grey suit.
Jasper..
A name that used to bring a big smile on my face. Even his presence used to lead me squirming like a happy kitten. I bit my lips hard, unable to face the emotional blow unexpectedly. It had been four damn years since we last talked... corrections argued.
Humming, I drew a long breath to control my palpating heartbeat. It wasn't easy to suppress your emotions in front of the man whom you used to love once. Jasper changed over the past few years. The boyish face had long lost and was now replaced with a manly aura. He had joined his father's business not too long back. I guess, it was my stupidity to think that he wouldn't be here tonight.
Jasper's eyes danced all over my expression, speaking in a low, careful voice,
" How are you doing?"
Healing faster than before...
I wanted to shout at his face those words but swallowed them all down only because he deserved better. After blowing my cheeks out, I spoke casually,
" Well.. what's up with you?"
Jasper pressed his lips to say something when another sweet, melting tone froze his words midway,
" Baby!"
Soon, the sounds of high heels hammered over the marble floor. Anastasia Brown made her appearance at the right time.
My jaw clenched hard at the sight of her smiling face. My once bestfriend now rival in modeling career gave a sweet kiss on her fiancee's cheeks. Jasper smiled at her awkwardly and restrained himself from speaking anymore to me. Anastasia glared at me and smirked when Jasper made his way back inside the party after she whispered something in his ears.
Fuck! Was she trying to make me jealous?
Anastasia and I debuted together in the industry. After the scandal 4 years back, I took a long break from the industry and Anastasia rose fame too fast. Now, she was the most demanding model in this state. The mystery behind my drugging at that after-party was still unknown but I strongly believed that it had something to do with Anastasia since I found her in bed with my so called boyfriend, Jasper at that same night. I remembered those moments from the party clearly. I and Anastasia were half-drunk then had to book separate rooms to spend the night. Actually, Anastasia was the one who booked those rooms for us. Then, I had no idea how the hell, I ended up, entering into a wrong room and fucked a complete stranger. The following day, I blamed alcohol for everything until a specialist in abroad told me that he detected drug in my blood. Unfortunately, I had no time to comeback and look for the answer since I was pregnant. The news was already exposed to the media but fortunately, my father had a strong team to wipe those rumours. Furthermore, nothing could change the fact that I was pregnant with a stranger's child.
Why did she had to backstab me so cruelly?
Anastasia trotted over me, her arms folded over her chest. Glaring hard at my face, she spouted with hatred,
" Are you trying to seduce my fiancee,Kiera?"
I chuckled, resting my eyes lazily on her face,
" Sorry, Miss Brown. I don't want to steal some second handed pieces of trash."
Her face stiffened hard after she let out an arrogant snort. Moving closer to my face, she smirked devilishly,
" Are you jealous that he chose me over you?"
I rolled my eyes and parted my lips to respond but Anastasia added with a wicked smile,
" But unfortunately..he doesn't wish to stay a whore like you who was fucked by three men at a time."
My fists clenched aside after she slammed those words at my face and trotted away, wiggling her hips dramatically. Tears threatened to spew over from my eyes. Days passed yet the scar didn't heal completely. No matter how many times, I convinced myself, telling that only one man was appearing in my blurry vision. It wouldn't change anything because people believed rumours more than my truth.
But were there really three separate guys that night?
Even the thought gave me the urge to vomit at myself. How could I be so stupid to trust Anastasia always blindly? I regarded her as my sister from a different mother.
Fortunately, my memories didn't get the time to sink deeper as the host announced passionately from the stage,
" EVERYONE!! Let's welcome our new investor of state, AZRAEL DE LUCA!"
|| Kiera Stevens's POV ||I stared at the tattooed man,a a few feet away from my standing spot.Azrael De Luca!It was a new name in the business world but was succeeded to leave a deep impression on everyone. One thing, everyone knew about him that he was gossily rich.The man named Azrael sat across, crossing his legs together. His one hand gripping the red wine had multiple tattoos, crafted from his fingers and disappeared under the long sleeve of his Armani suit. My eyes switched to his next hand, spotting different remarks of tattoos, wondering how long they had on his body. It was very unusual as a business man. My dad used to lecture me that only goons had such dangerous tattoos. But I bet, he wasn't that sort of guy. Security was tight in this city and such a mafia business was a fairytale to us.I bit my lips tightly to observe his features. His grey hairs had mysterious gleams like no other else in this room. Even his dark black hairs were perfectly settled, glistening throu
|| Kiera Stevens's POV ||The air thickened around me, suffocating without any proper reason since I couldn't feel anything except those tattooed arms around my waist. Each time, we moved with the rhythm, his sleeves rolled up, displaying those scary tattoos.It was just a dance! Did he have to threaten me like that?His eyes held a contended smile when my body moved along as per his wishes..well, it was an order. He asserted his name like a king as if he could do anything if I refused to compile his order. I never wanted to dance with him since his presence scared the hell out of me. The intimidation was so much that I could barely breathe properly. But my father's business wasn't running too well in these last years. I didn't want to put his business in danger because of my disturbing mood." You were in love By Bryska" were playing in the background. The slow, sensual tone was developing an unhealthy romantic atmosphere, not for me." Why are you doing this to me? Do we even know e
|| Kiera's POV || " Like my gift, Pretty Girl!" His one line kept reverberating in my mind, taking away all my strength in a matter of seconds.The road in front of me seemed too long to end. Silent tears shed from my eyes whenever I remembered the presents from him. It was all the images from my days abroad. God knows how the fuck he got those pictures of mine when I was fully pregnant with Ryan, walking around the street or doing groceries. It made my heart skidding like a race to think that someone was holding my darkest secrets. Until now, I was pretty sure that my father had removed all the evidence of my pregnancy from the world through his money. Then...how the hell did he get those from local cameras? A fearful shudder passed from my lips. I was failing to stay on track on the road because of my anxiety. Azrael De Luca was threatening me to come to the city's abandoned place where people call it haunted currently. I didn't even get the chance to tell my father where I was he
|| Kiera Stevens's POV ||Silence.......There was a long awkward silence around the room. My breathing caught in my lungs, chest rising up to down heavily in anxiety. I stared down at the dead cockroach, lying next to my feet. The bullet that came from my back was only an inch away from my feet. His door has gotten a big hole from the piercing bullet. I prayed that no one was hurt outside. I hated blood more than anything else in my life.How the hell did he have a gun?I sucked a deep breath, my mind playing with the image of him, aiming the gun on my back currently. But when I looked back, it was all a lie. He was smirking like he had hit some jackpot just now. My eyes dropped on his gun, finely wrapped around his long fingers as if he was used to it." Did I scare you?", he said, raising one of his eyebrows playfully. I just stood there like a frozen ice-cube, too afraid to move or do anything. He continued, taking slow, predatory steps on my way," This is what I do when anyone d
|| Kiera Stevens's POV || " Mumma!", my little happiness shouted from the stairs, jogging in his small feet all the way down. I screamed back instinctively, snapping back to the reality that I was a mother not any model, " Be careful, Ryan!" My son giggled, throwing himself at me as we both knocked on the ground. I kept showering peeper kisses on his face, his smiles taking all the uneasiness from my heart. Even Luca's warning disappeared from my mind as soon as I saw him. Ryan wrapped his arms around my head, his tight felt possessive as if I would vanish in a moment. " You can't believe how long he has been waiting for you!", Aisha spoke from the stairs in her night gown. I thanked God several times to bless me with this best friend of mine. In my absence, Aisha took care of Ryan's needs always. I knew my baby well. He preferred Aisha's company more than his grandfather. I smiled, standing up from the ground, " Thanks mate!" Aisha rolled her eyes in response. She didn't like t
|| Kiera Stevens's POV || My steps paused in an unexpected shock, staring mutely at his bearded face until some distant road lights flashed across his face. The man was above 50 years old, almost catching my father's age. If my consciousness was caught right, he runs some company in the town. But there was something different, coming from his eyes. It was mysterious, lustful something like that. Although my instinct was pushing me to go away, I stood there numbly to hear the rest of his words. Because I was doomed practically from every corner. Swallowing, I tilted my head back at him to ask nervously, still wobbling on my knees, " What.. what do you mean?" The man gave me a cocky smile which I didn't like. Approaching me closer, he continued in an arrogant voice, tapping on his chin, " Well, I am the owner of DGK Enterprise. You can become our brand ambassador. Trust me, Azrael can't have his influence on my company." DGK was a well known cosmetic brand who run different busines
|| Kiera Stevens's POV ||He just left.....After imprinting a forever haunting dream of shooting someone in my mind, he left without words. His dogs followed him hurriedly. Cluelessly, I remained there, shivering. A few guards were left behind who showed no pity on me. That man kept begging for mercy but who was I to forgive him? I was sure that Luca didn't give a shit about me. After all, I was his play tool only.As soon as the door was closed, I stumbled, backing out to fall on the chair. Only that time, I got some reaction from the guards," Miss..."One of them approached me, uncertain about how to touch or grab me. He spoke pretty politely," Are you feeling good?"I hummed, massaging the back of my head," I...I..am..fine..."How could a human feel fine after shooting a person for the first time?It felt crazy to recall the moment. Thankfully, the guards took him away from here, allowing me to breathe properly. I had no idea for how long I had to stay there but Luca was going
|| AZRAEL DE LUCA'S POV ||Another lie! Another attempt to strip me down from my position!Did these people think that I was so naive to believe in their lies?That girl was choking on her breath. She dared to lie, looking straight into my eyes. She deserved death but not before telling that who sent her for me. She coughed vigorously, stammered her words out shakily," I..I.. didn't..lie..."I groped her chin hard. She flinched in pain, eyes gathering tears in fear. I shouted at her face, asking for a damn answer," Tell me the fucking truth! You said that you had C-section? Where's the scar? Where's the scar, bitch?"Her eyes went wide, realizing that she had fucked up with her own plans of lying. She pressed her lips tightly without giving me any answer. Something dangerous gleamed from her eyes. I knew at that exact moment, she was someone from my rivals or else none of this fucking bastards had the powers to look into my eyes.Out of nowhere, she stretched her arms out to grab th