Melinda’s POV “Keith….” I whispered, raising my fingers to brush the surface of the cold mirror. I had thought that I would stop missing Keith after rejecting him, but… he still occupied my every thought.Even now, while I was looking at myself, I could only think about Keith, the way he looked at me when I asked him to reject me, his smoldering gaze when I climbed into his lap and kissed him.The good memories hurt because they stirred a deep longing within me and the bad ones hurt because of the stabbed me. A shaky breath left my lips. That is how it was probably going to be for the rest of my life.Drawing in a deep breath, I adjusted my hair and applied a bit of makeup. Today, I was going to compel Kain into rejecting me. But, before that I wanted to do something for him. I could never repay him for the warmth he had shown me, but I wanted to leave him with a pleasant memory.Pulling out my phone, I texted Kain, ‘Meet me at the Pergola in thirty minutes. I have a surprise for you
Keith’S POV “Veronika!” I gasped, seeing her lying on the floor, her clothes soaked in blood.“Keith…” She mumbled in a feeble voice, raising her head to look at me. “I knew you would come.”Her face was pale and there were marks of bruises on her cheeks; some of them had faded, and some faded. Her eyes were sunken and the corner of her lips were covered in dried blood. Her dress was torn at several places and she was hunched over as if in intense pain,“Why are you in such a state?” I snapped, grabbing the bars of the cell. “Who did this to you?”She lowered her gaze and clenched the fabric of her dress. Shaking her head, she said in a voice that was barely a whisper. “Just forget about it, Keith. I don’t want to create problems for you.”“Veronika!” My teeth gnashed together, and I chewed out. “I. Asked. Who. Tortured. You.”“For the last two days, Alpha Alexander has been torturing her,” the guard standing at the gate supplied. “He wanted Miss Veronika to confess that she is plott
Melinda’s POV ‘Meet me at the Lotus Pavilion in ten minutes.’ I texted Kramen. ‘It is time to pay for your sins.’This was it. One more rejection and all of it would be over. I had expected to feel at least some kind of relief, but all I felt was a sense of emptiness; as if my soul was stranded in the middle of the infinite universe with nowhere to go.An inadvertent sigh left my lips, and I leaned against the backrest of the chair, my gaze landing on the small pond with large, round leaves. Keith had specially gotten this artificial pond created for me when he found out that I loved lotuses. In a couple of months, it would be summer, and the pond will bloom with flowers. Too bad I wouldn’t be there to see them.The water sparkled with a golden glow as the ripples radiated out slowly in the soft breeze; its tranquility soothing my battered heart.“Why did you call me here?” Kramen’s cold voice sounded behind me. “Is this your way of blackmail me or something?”I turned around; adjus
Keith’s POV “Keith…” Veronika’s feeble voice sounded from the bathroom. “Can you come here, please?”My face flushed, and I looked around, a bit hesitant. But when she called again, I walked over. Standing close to the door, I said in a slightly flustered tone, “What is it?”The door opened, and she peeked out before I could finish the sentence. “Can you help me take off my dress?”“What?” I blurted, my face flushing deeper and my mouth going dry. “What nonsense are you spewing?”“Don’t get me wrong Keith.” She said, reaching over and holding my hand. “My clothes are all stuck in the back, probably caked due to blood. I really can’t.”She lost balance and swayed, pulling me inside with her. I spun her around at the last moment to prevent her from getting hurt. In the end, I ended up falling on my back and Veronika landed on me, her entire body pressing against me.We stayed like that for a few moments, too startled to react. Veronika was the first to snap out of it. Holding my arms
Melinda’s POV “Melinda…. Oh my God… You finally picked up.” My mother’s anxious voice sounded through the phone. “Are you okay, hun?”“I am fine, mom…”“Then, why in the world was your phone not reachable, Melinda?” Her voice took on a hysterical edge as she continued. “Thirty days, Mellie. I couldn’t reach you for thirty days. Kramen and Kain wouldn’t pick up and every time I tried to talk to Keith, he gave me vague answers.” “Calm down, mom…. I was a bit sick but I am fine now.”“Switch to video call right now.” She said in a suspicious tone. “I want to see you.”“But, mom….”“You said you were alright… Were you lying to me, Mellie?”“No, mom….” I groaned, massaging my forehead. It was just difficult to explain what I was doing in a cave. “I am really doing good.”“Then, why won’t you turn on the video?”I bit my lower lip and shifted from one position to another. This place was a bit too obvious. Mom would sense something was odd with just a glance.Letting out an exhausted sigh
Melinda’s POV “Give me the craziest dish you have on the menu.” I said, glancing through the dishes. “I want to try something different today.”“Would you like to try our special delicacy, ma’am: The Bird’s Nest Soup.”“The Bird’s Nest Soup?” My eyebrows furrowed. “Now what in the world is that?”“It is an Asian Delicacy made from the nest of the swiftlet bird, ma’am.”“Ohk, bring it on, I guess….” Moments after the waiter left, I started regretting my decision. “Bird’s nest Soup?” I mumbled, looking around. “God knows what I was subjecting myself to?”The glass door of the restaurant swung open and a large group of about fifty people strolled inside. All the seats got occupied in the blink of an eye.A middle aged man walked over to my table and asked, “Can I sit here?”I looked at him for a moment; assessing him. Tall, well built, deep brown eyes and a slight quirky appearance; he seemed harmless. Then again, I had thought George was harmless too.In the end, I decided to just rela
Keith’s POV ‘Does she hate us so much, Keith?’ Jake’s voice sounded like a soft whine. ‘That she won’t even talk to us.’‘Maybe….’ My heart clenched and a sharp wave of agony seared through my chest, as if someone had stabbed me from the inside. Drawing in a shaky breath, I dialled her number her yet again.“Melinda…. Please pick up the phone….” I whispered in a pained voice. “At least let me hear your voice once…. Please, baby…. Once…”The phone rang a few times and beep… disconnected with that ominous sound.‘Why don’t you try calling Kain again?’ Jake suggested in a hesitant voice. ‘Maybe request him to let you talk to Melinda.’“I don’t think he will, Jake….” I blurted out aloud. “Why would he me talk to her when he can have her all to himself.”My mind veered to the day I spoke to him for the last time. Two days had passed since Melinda had rejected me. Driven by the intense need to know what had happened during the rejection, I had called her. Every word spoken by Kain was sti
KEITH’S POV “What do you mean Melinda is not with Kain?” My voice came out in a shocked whisper. “Did you visit his apartment and check?”“I did, Alpha Keith.” Justin paused for a brief moment before continuing. “I visited his apartment and trailed him for two days, Alpha. I didn’t bump into Melinda, nor did I hear him talk to her on the phone…”“How is that possible?” My forehead creased with deep lines as I rubbed the back of my neck. “What about the girl who flew to California with him?”“Alpha… that girl…”“Just spit it out, Justin….” I snapped angrily. “Don’t try my patience.”“Umm… I did some enquiries and found out that the girl who came to California is Ariana.”“Ariana… that human girl? Why would Kain go with her to California?”“I will try to find out, Alpha…”“No need….” I said, massaging my temples. “Let them be. Take the next flight to Queensland. I need you here.”“Got it, Alpha.”Disconnecting the call, I dialled Denver’s number. “So, Denver? What is the update? Is Mel