I paced inside my room, my heart thudding as Sally's earlier announcement rang in my ears. It explained why Julian hadn't come to visit me in the past month and why Donna had been very busy lately."Your birthday is approaching, Donna. In regards to this monumental moment the boss has given you the chance to wish for whatever you want from him."Before I could've opened my mouth and uttered the words that I wanted to blindly throw at her, Sally cut me off. In the most stern way she ever had, since I got here."After the wedding of course, for now, you can only think about what you want." she said.All thoughts of demanding for freedom vanished from my mind, I should've seen it coming. That man was hellbent on keeping me here, even if it meant having to tie me up in a room. That fact Sally had clarified for me.I was frustrated, anyone who saw me could've guessed that. I couldn't talk to Sally because she could relay everything to him and Julian and Donna were both busy while Edward was just out of question. So I was left alone to my thoughts.Thoughts that border-lined on friendship and wedding. I was close with Julian, we both knew that but I had never been intimate with him and the thought of kissing him made my heart thump away in my chest.How was a wedding supposed to be?
I knew about the dress being white and bouquet of flowers but my knowledge didn't go much farther than that. I knew how to be a spectator not how to be the bride.Whining to myself, I stood up from my bed and speed walked to the door. I knocked on it from inside knowing that a nearby guard would hear and come have a word with me. I was proven correct as only moments later, someone knocked on the door from the outside."Is something the matter, Donna?"A gruff voice questioned. No male was allowed in my room, at least not without the boss's permission, but unknown to the boss both his sons had broken his rules."Iwant to have a word with Julian."Everything went still for a while as I strained my ears to pick up any sounds being made outside, unfortunately, I was greeted by silence.I knocked again, not sure if the guard was still outside. Whispering greeted my ears and a few minutes later, Sally knocked on my door before stepping in."You called, Donna?"I shook my head and took in her expression that clearly said 'I have better things to do and places to be'."I want to talk to Julian."She frowned and folded her arms in front of her chest. From the time that I had known her, I had picked up on small details, for example: If she folded her arms in front of her chest, it meant that she was stuck between supporting me or reprimanding me. Though I can assure anyone that the latter option was her favorite."No."She replied, her lips thinned into a grim line as I frowned."Why can't I talk to my Fiance?"Sally gave me a once over and stiffened as she met my eyes. For a moment, I caught onto the flicker of curiosity that flashed through her eyes but it was quick to disappear."Why would you want to talk to him a few weeks before the wedding, Donna?" She asked."...I want to see him." I said but Suddenly feeling shy, I lowered my eyes to the ground and peeked up at her through my lashes. She stood there, glued to her spot for a moment before sighing."He's currently busy with the wedding so close."I frowned and pursed my lips, I really wanted to have a word with him but at the same time I guess it was for the best that I didn't get to see him nor did I get to ask him the embarrassing question that clogged my mind.Sally silently turned around and yanked open the door."I'll send for him." she said. I looked at her back in shock as the door closed behind her. But I was quickly snapped out of the daze as I realized what I'd have to ask of Julian. My cheeks caught fire at the very thought of it.
"You called?" A voice said.I jumped off the couch, the book flying out of my hands as my heart rate quickened. Quickly turning around, I was met with the amused eyes of my soon to be husband."You could've walked through the door, this time Sally sent for you."He shrugged, the other times that he had snuck in were times where Sally wasn't present or when she didn't know because none of us told her. But with her knowing, I would've guessed that coming in would've been easier.He closed the window behind himself and walked over to the book that lay open upside down. Its perfectly blunt edges, now being slightly deformed. As he picked it up slowly my face heated up.How was I supposed to explain this to him?His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he turned the cover to face me and ran a questioning gaze over me saying "Brides guide?"I nodded and ducked my head as heat filled my cheeks."Now why would you need that?" he asked.His tone was light, almost defying the calm look on his face, he sounded amused."...I just wanted to do some research." I said.He hummed thoughtfully and flipped through a few pages as I stared at the soft white rug beneath my feet. I heard the flipping sound stop and peeked up to see his eyes squint."First night secrets?" he asked.I blushed cherry red and toyed with my fingers, a habit I had developed when in front or around him."I-I'm not there yet." I whispered in a weak voice as his eyes transferred to me, his gaze was strong and heated. One that I could feel without having to look at him to double check. He shut the book and placed it on the desk beside him before motioning me closer with his index finger.I gulped before taking a step forward, his finger twitched again and I took another step forward. He leaned against the desk and folded his arms deciding to speak with words rather than actions."Come closer." he said.I hesitated before stepping closer till I was only a few feet away from him. As soon as I was within arms reach, he pulled me forward by my waist. I gasped as his hard chest pressed against me and my breathing halted as my eyes met his.I lowered my gaze without another word, the action making him grasp my chin and tug it upwards to look into my eyes again."What is it that you called me for?"He questioned as I stiffened and shook my head forcing a smile to my face."N-nothing, I was just wondering if we could r-relax like old times."His grip momentarily tightened around my jaw before relaxing again as he drew soothing patterns with his thumb over the place he had pressed."Now why would you lie to me Amrita?"I gulped and shook my head."Amrita."His voice was low and sent a rush of goosebumps flying over my body as the heat in his eyes seemed to prick my skin."...I..."I trailed off and he used his hand to make our eyes meet yet again after I had turned them away."Neither of us has ever... done a-anything like what the book says." he said.I watched as the ghost of a soft smile danced on his lips."Trust me baby, I would've done so much more had it not been for the fact that I didn't want you running away." he said.I swallowed as my mouth dried from his words. Had he just implied what I think he had? Staring into his eyes, I knew for a fact that he had meant every word of what he had just uttered."Is that why you called me here?" he asked.I nodded slowly while searching his eyes. The calm look in them didn't embarrass me as much as I thought it would, at least now I knew that he was thinking about the same things as me. We stayed silent for a few minutes, me wrapped up in his arms and him pressed close to me, that was until a knock on the door interrupted us.I looked towards Julian and blushed when I didn't see the resolve to let go."Julian I~"I never managed to finish my sentence as his lips met mine and the background noise dulled into oblivion.
"Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God!!!"Donna and Sally stood by the door, both of them looking extremely amused as I had a mental breakdown in the dressing room.They had woken me up at 6:00Am and basically kidnapped me, to take me to the hall that had been booked for today.It was a 4 hour ride in the car, filled with excitement from the Donna, silence from Sally and confusion from me. I had ignored the atmosphere and given in to the urge to get some shut eye. Once we had arrived, I was practically dragged into the hall, not even being given anytime to take in my surroundings.Several women and guards had launched themselves at me. The women leading me to the dressing room, all while gushing to themselves in shrill voices. The guards on the other hand, had formed a circle around us and led us to the room.It was after I was pulled inside and forced into the washroom that I realized what was happening. But I didn't have much time to think about anything again, as Donna and Sally start
He didn't meet my gaze immediately just like the last time we encountered each other alone, instead he stepped up to a mirror and began fixing his hair as best as he could. I could tell that it had been perfectly styled before the Donna shuffled it. His eyes met mine in the mirror and we both scanned each other from head to toe.When our eyes met again, he grinned a Cheshire cat grin. A sneaky, cheeky, mischievous grin. That had alarms blaring in my head."Glad you didn't run away?" he said.I froze yet again, out of all the times he could've mentioned it, it had to be now. When no one was around and when there was no chance of Julian calming me down. But before I could go into full panic mode, he continued."Lets get this straight, You hate me, I hate you. End of story, everyone's happy."I frowned as his words register."I don't exactly hate you... I just don't like you."He paused and frowned at the mirror."Hard work gone down the drain then, I suppose."He mumbled to himself in an exaspera
I stood frozen as the doors slammed shut behind me, my eyes focused on all the- dead- female children in the room. Their horrified impressions printing themselves into my memory, sad faces with tears streaming down their cheeks. Mouths parted to scream, screams that were now forever silenced.All of them had boards carved right beneath their feet, boards that gave away their names, ages and time of death. Almost like a cemetery, this one though was only for kids. My eyes went from one girl to the next, there were so many. I simply couldn't believe what I was seeing. This wasn't a work of art, it was cruelty and maybe if I didn't know that these were real people at a point, I might've praised the artist.My head was swimming, my heart was thumping and my eyes were filling with tears as they followed the trail, every next girl breaking my heart into another piece. I could only imagine the fate they had suffered before this. My breathing halted as my eyes landed on one specific girl, the b
"I haven't mentioned this before so listen closely, it is very important information for your security." Julian said.I nodded in response and hugged the pillow tighter to my chest as Julian sat across from me, on the couch. A good few feet between us, as he put aside his laptop with care."The way it operates in the lair is slightly different than the rest. When a new boss is selected an oath is to be taken by the members of the gang, an oath that binds them to my command. But, after they had taken oath on my fathers hand, father introduced a method of choice and it's quite popular with the members so I can't remove it just yet."I nodded as he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, almost as if reminding himself of it gave him a headache."In the other gangs, an oath is taken right on the night the new boss is announced, thanks to my father, it doesn't work that way around here anymore. The members are given the time of a year to take an oath, during that year it is for them to de
His eyes raked over me in a way that would scare any maiden to death, in my case though, death wasn't an option. I was yet again, nearly bare in the presence of a man. It seemed that Edward and him were more likely to catch me off guard and undressed, than Julian was.But in Edwards case, I knew he couldn't touch me or Julian would be displeased, very displeased. I wasn't so sure about his father and from the way he was looking at me, I couldn't even force myself to relax."It seems I've caught you at the wrong time." he said.He tilted his head to a side and assessed me yet again before humming to himself. He looked away momentarily but when I made a move towards the cabinet his head snapped back to me."I would like to have a word with you." he said.I swallowed to moisten my dry mouth before nodding at him."Of course, just let me dre..."I was saying . "I'm afraid it cannot wait."He interrupted me making me frown as he met my eyes. What could've been so important that he would come all th
A hand threaded through my hair, lips tracing my cheek as an apology greeted my ear. The familiar voice and the familiar warmth made my nerves relax as I snuggled into him.His arms wrapped tightly around my waist, the soft material of his shirt rubbed against my nose as he sighed while burying his head into the crook of my neck."Have you eaten?" he asked.I shook my head in response, ready to doze back into Lala land but he kept me awake with slow and soft administrations of affection from him. When his lips connected with my neck, I jolted out of sleep and right into a panic attack.Julian pulled back with clear worry in his eyes as I became a sobbing mess. Curling up into a corner of the room, I ducked my head and hiccuped as the tears rained down my face.Julian tried to step forward, towards me, but when he realized that it sent me into a frenzy, he stopped and cussed under his breath."Amrita, Love, let me help you." he said.I shook my head without meeting his eyes through my half li
Feeling absolutely done with everything. The smallest of actions made breathing a hard task. Every time the doorknob would jiggle while I was awake. I would start hyperventilating, imagining him returning to finish what he had started.I didn't want to be alone, no matter how far I locked myself away and for how long I did, I didn't want to be left alone. It was so much scarier alone, so much worse than before. My senses were heightened when I was alone, especially in the dark.I peeked through my arms and found Julian still seated on the ground, his eyes locked with mine and he smiled. The small act encouraged me, and I hiccuped before unwinding from myself and slowly crawling over to him.He settled me against him in his lap. Arms wrapped around me and his forehead pressed against mine."Jul..jul..."I was saying.My sentence got cut off as I hiccuped again. He shushed me calmly, his hands resting on my cheeks and wiping away my tears as he whispered gently"I know love, I'm sorry." .Carefu
I opened my eyes slowly, the sound of intense typing pulling at my conscious to wake up. The first sight which I was greeted by after sitting up was of Julian. The furrow between his brows drawing my attention as I struggled between getting out of bed to remove it or sit back and frown at it, till it went away.Julian was quick to notice me assessing him with my eyes and put his laptop aside to walk over to me. It had become a routine now, after our actions of the previous night. I became even more sluggish when it came to getting out of bed and Julian took it upon himself every day to help me out and freshen me up."Come on Love, I've prepared the bath." he said.I shook my head slowly and frowned."I don't wanna move."I replied. His brows drew together in worry as I snuggled closer to the blanket, knowing the question that he was going to throw at me."Does it hurt?" he askedI looked to him and shook my head again as he approached his side of the bed. I had pulled his pillow to cover up t