I sit at the bar, not ready to mingle with the crowd, yet. The music is so loud and doesn't give room for me to think of my sad life.
Maybe the club is actually a good start, after all.Clara on the other hand, left me few minutes ago to meet a friend she recognized and hasn't been back to her loner friend since them.So, yeah I'm sitting alone. Currently finishing my third shot of liquor, I turn to the bartender. "Another please." I point into the cup. He gives me a weird look before turning me around round of the liquor. I look away from him only for my eyes to come in contact with a strange guy sitting at the other side of the bar.I furrow my brows and look away as a guy and his drunk girl walk to stand before him to get a drink. I could no longer see him.I stare at the funny dance steps of drunkards and sober people in the dance floor as I take from my liquor.Unconsciously, my eyes move to the strange man again. The guy and girl were no longer there, so I could see him now. He keeps staring at me as he empties his glass of drink into his mouth, before grabbing his bottle of drink on the table and walk towards me.I move in my sit uncomfortably and look away to continue my drink, ignoring the fact that he's coming to meet me.Another relationship is the last thing I want right now. Except that's not his motive."May I?" He says.I look at him swiftly and shrug my shoulders. I hear him chuckle at the impolite attitude I just gave him, but I just sit there and watch the crowd, ignoring his presence. Not totally, though.It should be up to two mins now I guess but I haven't heard a word from him. He does nothing but stare at me and drink from his glass.I roll my eyes and move my head to look at him."Ok, firstly, you continously stare at me from over there..." I point to where he was sitting before. "...then you leave your comfortable spot to sit next to me and do nothing but stare.""Are you upset that I'm staring at you or that I haven't started flirting with you yet?" He asks with a light smile."I'm upset that you are continuously staring at me. Like, what are you? a staring contest champion?""You're beautiful.""Oh, thank you and no, I don't need you to flirt with me.""You're a tough one.""I am.""I would have considered withdrawing..."I scoff. "You should.""You didn't let me finish." He scoffs out a laugh. "I was going to say, I would have considered withdrawing, but I love the attitude you give.""You shouldn't.""Are you always like this? Have you never been flirted with before?""I'm more than you know." Is all I say.How do I explain to a stranger that I'm not usually the tough type but I'm just a woman trying to protect her heartbroken heart from more damages.I'm just here to drink away my worries, dance away problems and have fun but all I've been doing since I got here is just drink, drink and drink and watch people party party and party."I would like to know you more then.""That's not happening.""What's your name?""No. You. What's your name?" I say in a drunken tone. The liquor is slowly taking it's effects and I'm not even close to ending my drinking session anytime from now. ."I'm James.""James." I nod. "Nice meeting you." I sloppily grab my bag and liquor bottle. "That's my bestfriend over there." I don't point at her. Making him furrow his eyes at the crowd, wondering on who the bestfriend I talk of is. "I have to go.""Come over here." Before I could stand, Clara runs to me and pulls me into the crowd for a dance."Bye." I stretch the words as I follow her into the crowd.I swear I saw his soft face change into something else as I left the table.One could say someone like Clara only remembers the courtesy rule once in year, which is definitely not today. With the way she dragged me away, disregarding that man, what's his name again?... Whatever."How dare you leave me?""Saw you had company, uh. Who was that.""A guy I wanted to escape from."She chuckles. "Yeah, the dance floor is better than those terrible men and damn, isn't this dj of much better company than him.""You don't have to tell me, girl." I stretch the last word as I wiggle my hands in the hair. Flying my hair over from side to side. I don't miss pouring my drink into my mouth every little minute.Just what I planned to do. Drink, dance and have fun. The combination is ecstatic."There he is." She points behind me. I turn and struggle to look at the man at the far end of the room, who she points at.I look back at her. "Who's that? He's...handsome?" Handsome and familiar."He is, right?" She squeals with excitement as she stares at him from afar with a smile."He is. Who's he?" I ask again."Sophie's brother." I turn to look at him again. They do have some physical traits. Like full brows and curly full hair. They must be hairy in their family.Sophie is the girl Clara left me to meet. She was one of Clara's close friends while they were children and stayed in Clara's neighborhood until Clara and her family moved to a different area.I can't lie. I do get jealous atimes when Sophie comes over and they talk for hours. She happened to Clara before I did. I moved here when I was 21, met Clara and since then we've been best of friends. It's been three years, so it kinda justifies my jealousy but I can't stop her from making friends. I just really love my best friend and can't bear losing her to her childhood friend."Ooh." I raise my liquor to drink but pause as the realization hit me. "Wait, George?" My eyes widen. She nods shyly. I've never seen Clara this shy before.Well, it's expected, we're talking about George. The guy Clara has had a crush on for years. I would call this love. Yes, love. It can't be a crush. It has to be love. For more than ten years. It has to be a childhood crush, turned into like, then classified as obsession. But come on. This is love."Tell me he looks better than his i*******m pics.""Do I need to?" We both squeal and laugh out loud."He likes me. I think he does.""I don't need to be convinced. You are a hottie.""I know, right." She laughs. "He kept staring at me while I was with Sophie and then later approached me. Goddamm he's so sweet. He's still the same. But his friends ruined our moment. Maybe if they hadn't, we would have kissed or something. Gosh?" She covers her face.I guess this explains why she ruined the stranger's moments with me at the bar."Look at you. I was there mending my broken heart and you were somewhere having the time of your life with your childhood crush. Damn. You're one hell of a bestfriend." I playfully push her shoulders."It was so unexpected. Trust me." She smiles widely. "But I don't regret a single moment. Fuck it. I don't regret leaving you.""Ouch." We laugh at each other. "Permit me to enjoy my time with you now, cause soon. Hmm."She chuckles. "I'm not even sure of how soon."I chuckle too and continue dancing with her.The club is never a bad idea.The dj keeps the vibe on in the room with his beats and good music pulsating through the speakers. I keep dancing with Clara, throwing one or two jokes her way due to my already drunken state. Sophie had came to dance with us then left and now she's back again. She briefly complains about George's annoying friends making Clara secretly blush and I can't help but wonder if Sophie also knows about Clara's feelings for George. She has to know, right?Girls notice the little things and like pairing their brothers with their friends atimes. Just like Clara can do the same for her little brother.I, on the other hand, can't relate. I do have a brother, but a step brother and I've never been that close to him because he attended a boarden school. And now, I still can't be close to him cause I'm far away from my family with an identity of my own, due to certain reasons. The thought of my family after a long time, suddenly make my heart ache. I don't like thinking of it. I don't like thinki
ALEXANDER'S POVI put on a stern look as I walk into 'Hell'. My favourite room in my mansion. It's a place where I make people regret their actions and give them enough pain that they wish to be dead. It's my favourite place because here, people who mess with me realize what it actually is to be helpless. They realize what it means to be at my mercy. They realize the importance of so much power.It smells of dried blood from the injuries and killings of different people who decided to test what it's actually like to mess with me. Atimes it smells of sweat and now it smells of an unclean old man. He's my current prey and I have this cute feeling that Collins Fisher will be next. "I would be sad to know you didn't miss me." I tell the old man and nod at Simon to untie the cloth from his mouth. He bends his head and breath through his mouth in relief. He snaps his head up to me with wide eyes. "My son. You killed my son." "I did and you are going to do nothing about it." "What do y
JANE'S POV I suddenly feel like I have a hangover in my stomach and feel the need to throw up. I struggle to raise my hands to cover my mouth, but I can't so I just move my head to the side and let it all out. I scrunch my nose at the awful smell and throw my head backwards to catch my breath. "You're finally awake."I bring my head forward to look at the man standing before me, with weak eyes. I struggle to stable my eyes so I can see him properly. When I do, my eyes widen at who I see standing before me. "You!""Yes, me.""What's that your name again...aah, aah, James." At least he told me his name before the liquor completely took over my senses. I look down at my stiff hands to see they are tied to the arm rest of the chair I'm sitting on. "Why am I tied up?""Because you are Janet Stewart.""Janet Johnson." I correct him."Why Johnson?" He raises his brows."Because that's my surname. Any problem?""Yes.""Well, not my concern. Untie me and let me out of here.""No." I bend m
ALEXANDER'S POV I scroll through social media as everyone take their respective seats. Right now, I seem to be the only one less bothered about interacting or making all possible means to win.I know I will. There are no two ways about it. I always get what I put my mind into. I planned while they slept, now I'm going to win while they plan.The auctioneer says one or two things before going straight to the business of the day. "We'll start at 10 million." He announced."16 million." A man far from me is the first to bid."18 million." A lady behind me says.I don't raise my head to see the biders. I keep going through my phone, yet paying close attention to how the auction is going."Come on. Don't hesitate. It's worth bu...""21 million." Another lady interrupts him by saying."Sir, aren't you going to bid?" Seth asks, curious at my silence."I believe you trust me better than to be questioning me.""But boss..." I raise my index finger to shut him up."Collins." I look up at him.
JANE'S POV I cry profusely next to the strange man who bought me at the auction. I meant to run away. I meant to run to Clara. I meant to start afresh after Collins but it was always one problem to the other. First my father, then Collins then to James and Carlo Gigante. Now, I'm in the hands of a strange man.It's like I'm destined to be kidnapped. Destined to never have my freedom.I've always tried to have a good life after the death of my mother but I've never been lucky from the start. Life keeps throwing challenges my way and I don't even know if I should give up or go with the flow of things.For sure, I can't just stop here. At least I have to give up in a better situation than this. How can I give up in the hands of a stranger. In the hands of a man I've never met in my life. In the hands of a man who is ill mannered enough to bid for a lady. To make her his property. A lady who has her own dreams and wants nothing but to be free, happy and be proud.Unfortunately I'm that
ALEXANDER'S POV I walk out of Jane's room with my hands in my pockets as I make my way to my office. I sit behind my desk before making a call to Seth.I stare at my desk thinking of the successful auction and Janet. I'm glad I have her. I acquired her by my own means, not because of Collins. So yes, I'm glad I'll have another coward to torture. Torturing that old man only, is turning into a boring activity. I need someone new like Collins, to add.Janet on the other hand...now, that I think of it, I don't know what to do with her. I have her at my possession but have no use for her...yet.She seems soft and gullible. She'll be an easy one to control of course, except she decides otherwise, but that's no worry, cause I got her covered. My office door opens and Seth walks in. "Boss.""How did it go?""We finished the job. No soul working for Carlo nor Carlo Gigante himself, was spared." I nod for him to go on. "The other guards collected our stolen weapons while we finished them off
Jane's POVI snap my eyes open and abruptly stand up, when I realize I had slept off. Shit. I planned to escape from this place as soon as I was aware everyone is asleep. But instead, I joined them in the dream world.I quickly walk to the curtain to see that it's still a bit dark outside. I sigh in relief knowing that the devil and his guards should still be very much asleep. I turn to look up of the wall at the clock, to see it's 5:27am. I huff and walk to my door. It unexpectedly opened. I expected them to lock me in here since I was brought here out of my own will. The door might not be locked but going out through it was impossible. I stare with wide eyes at the guards who turn to look at me. They are both standing on each side of the door staring at me with raised brows. I fake a wide smile in embarrassment that I've been caught. I quickly shut the door and walk to and fro in the room, thinking of what I should do now.Why are they there? Don't they sleep? It's frustrating
I made use of the aloe shampoo in the bathroom to wash my hair after brushing my teeth with the spare toothbrush I had found in one of the drawers. The liquid bathing soap smelt of vanilla, was nice and refreshing. I haven't taken a proper satisfying bath since I was captured by Carlo. It felt good to feel this clean again.I had picked a knee length knicker with a plane polo shirt to wear. There were shorts, rompers and some below the knee dresses, but I didn't like the idea of walking round the house with men positioned at every corner of the house.I put on my shirt without bothering for a bra since I didn't have one and there was no spare in the wardrobe. Even if there was, I couldn't trust that it has never been used by whoever kept them here.The door creaks open as I take my shirt down from the top of my breast."Oh, I'll come later then." The feminine voice makes me turn in surprise to see a middle aged woman moving to shut the door."Hold on." She pauses to look at me. "You