Meera
Hushed whispers reached my ears as I walked down the lobby of my office building, trying my best to keep my tears at bay as I realised that everyone here found out about the immaculate demotion that I had just received.I bit the inside of my cheeks as I tried to gather my emotions, knowing well enough that when I come back here tomorrow, I wouldn't be a paralegal, but instead, Alejandro Harrington's personal secretary.And I know that I cannot run, I cannot let him fire me, because a lot many important things depend on me keeping this job.I cannot allow Alejandro to take away the mere semblance of happiness that I have conjured up for myself.The moment I step out of the building, my hair curtains my face from both sides as I step into the pouring rain, seeming as if even the skies are weeping at the turn my fate has taken.I don't have an umbrella to protect myself from the biting cold showers pouring down from above, but instead of the cold, I focus on rushing out of this place as I cross the boulevard in front of my office building and start walking down the street towards where I usually get a cab back to my place.I don't want to speak with anyone from my office right now. Because everyone knows about my demotion and I would rather have the ground split open and eat me whole than be more humiliated about it. Anyways this Monday is going to bring a lot more embarrassment to me when I finally do start as Ace's personal secretary.But for this weekend, I just need to lick my wounds and prepare myself for the hell that my ex husband is going to bring back.Deep in my thoughts, I turn to cross the street, without realising that the traffic lights hadn't yet turned red until a car comes to a screeching halt right in front of me, almost having hit me if I hadn't jumped back and the driver hadn't pulled on the breaks at the right time.My jaw slackens with fear as I look up at the black Rolls Royce standing tall and proud in front of me, knowing well enough that I am in for a good tongue lashing by whoever the driver is.That is when the rear door opens and I see the glint of Ace's deep brown hair as he steps out of the car, facing me with an insidious expression on his face.My heart thunders in my chest as I look around, hoping to find someone to help me, but all around me are people rushing up and down the street, trying to avoid the rain while the cars honk past Ace's vehicle stopped in the middle of the lane."Get in." His words snap at me in a more icy manner than the water currently seeping through my clothes.However, even then, my feet are stuck to the ground, unable to move.I am not getting in that car with the man who plans to torture me.I am not going to relive the month of horrific things that Serena did to me, and from what I know, he was the one commanding her to do all that to me; I will never forgive him for that."It's late, Alejandro, let me go back home." I respond in a meek voice, but even then, I know that nothing is going to make him change his mind.Ace always gets what he wants.Always.Instead of saying anything, he seems to roll his eyes before sliding out an umbrella from the door of his car before dashing towards me, with the umbrella looming over his head.He shelters me from the rain but the price of that unnecessary relief is that now his breath is fanning my face and I am unable to think clearly about anything anymore."Have you forgotten what I told you?" He snaps, "you are to become my shadow. My personal assistant inside the office and my housekeeper outside of it. Or have you forgotten that I can ruin your life in more ways than one?"My eyes widen, "but...my job is supposed to start on Monday...I still have to go home and prepare for everything.” I sputtered, afraid that he would just take me away from every semblance of joy I ever knew and plunge me into a deep abyss of sadness. Just like he has done in the past.“Your job starts when I say it does. And I say it starts today. Come on, I have a gala tomorrow morning, and you better make sure that it is a blast because guess what?” A sinister smile overtakes his lips, “I have given an off to every single one of my staff for this weekend, it is all up to you how tomorrow goes.”My eyes widen as tears threaten to spring free into my eyes as I look into his unrelenting green eyes, knowing well enough that he is not going go budge.He was serious about making my life hell and he would stop at nothing until he has achieved his goals.“Get in.” He spits, anger evident in his eyes making it clear to me that if I refuse now, he is going to force me into the car.And so, with my head bowed low, I gulp at the lump of emotions forming in my throat and get inside his car, knowing well enough that I have signed my life away to the devil.|Flashback; 4 Years Ago| |Ace's POV| "Meera!" She ignores my call as she struts to the dance floor, leaving me standing by the bar as I cuss out under my breath. Shaking my head at her carelessness, I enter the swarm of drunk men and women, dancing to the beat that the classical music lover inside me would never understand. I push past the sweat ridden bodies of intoxicated beings before I finally find her in the centre of the dance floor, swaying to the music with her hands thrown up and her head thrown back. A loud growl escapes my lips but gets muddled in the high volume of the music when I see a man trying to snake his way behind her. I snatch her by the waist before he can lay a finger on her, glaring at him with such hatred that he actually pales in comparison and gulps before scurrying off of the dance floor. Good. Because I have no intention of killing anyone tonight, like I had had to kill the brunet who made the mistake of forcing himself upon her all those months ago
|Flashback, 4 Years Ago| |Meera's POV|"One more." I tell the bartender who nods his head and pours another glass of Irish whiskey in my glass before going away to attend to other customers. My phone lays in front of me on the bar-top, flashing with Ace's name for the thousandth time tonight but I could really not give a fuck about him right now. I returned from Paris a few hours ago and the only place I could think of going is this nightclub that I am currently sitting in. It is past midnight already and I don't know how many drinks I have had by now. But clearly not enough if I can still feel my chest aching and my heart pounding with pathetic hope every time that my phone rings and it says that it is my darling husband calling me. The entirety of the last month was a fucking whirlwind and right now, I am so fucking exhausted that I could just sleep for a week straight. The first two weeks were hectic with the wedding shopping and making sure that everything went in accordance
|Flashback contd.||Meera's POV| His lips crash against mine and my entire body freezes in its spot as I stand there with my hands suspended by my sides as Alejandro's lips move over my own. What is happening? After two months of animosity why is he kissing me now?An impatient growl escapes Ace's lips as he pries my lips open, pulling my body up against his own, he presses me flush against himself. The woodsy scent of his cologne and the taste of mint on his breath is enough to remind me of all those times when he has kissed me before, the way his hands know just how to handle my body same as they are right now, and the way my body melts at his touch — as if he is the only one who is ever meant to touch me. My head starts to spin and I let out a strangled cry as I start kissing him back with fervour. My hands reach up to cup the sides of his neck just as he deepens the kiss and his teeth nip at my bottom lip, eliciting a surprised gasp from my lips. That is all the entrance he n
|Ace's POV| Guilt rides heavy on my shoulders as I push in the button for the penthouse after entering the lift. My suit jacket is hanging limply in my hand while there is blood splattered against the fabric of my white shirt, my skin, my hair. I cannot even meet my own eyes, looking like death incarnate, as the events of the night continue to flash through my head.Serena had demanded that I help Viktor Brullo— New York's crime lord— with whatever he might require, and today, I had to go and pull an odd job of being his fucking handler. And the job required me to torture a man in front of the eyes of his very pregnant wife because he had stolen some petty amount from Viktor Brullo and the asinine crime lord wanted revenge on the poor man. Drenched in their blood, I want nothing but to succumb to the darkness of my room right now, in hopes of perhaps forgetting all the heinous crimes I have committed ever since the day that I became a pawn at the hands of the Van Dykes. There wa
|Meera's POV| We're in New York.So away from home. Ace says it was to get me the best treatment for my head injury. When did I even get it? I don't even remember. And this penthouse...it's so...personality less...almost as if Ace never planned on coming here and now it's just a liability. This is so different from all the properties of his that Ace has taken me to. He has a taste for earthiness, he has this raw, nature driven aesthetic that he likes his houses to have, and all this penthouse looks like is just sharp edges and black lines. There's not a single plant here, for fuck's sake! Ace loves his plants. I sigh, bored out of my mind as I wait for Ace to return home. It's already past 9 in the evening and there's no sign of him. He hasn't once texted me about when he will be back and that is surprising because Ace always informs me if he's to be late in coming home from his office. "Mrs. Harrington?" I look away from the buzzing canvas that is the city of New York to meet
|Ace’s POV| |Flashback, 1.5 Years Ago contd.|“You what?” I growl, my words seething with nothing but rage as I glare at her with all the hatred in the world. This cannot be possible. She cannot have been the one who killed my parents. “It’s true.” She says lightly as if talking about what dress to wear to her next brunch, “your father begged me to save your mother’s life, to kill him and be done with it when he realised that he had been bested, but oh, the pure satisfaction of life draining out of your mother’s eyes when I strangled her. When I made sure to kill her slowly and painfully, knowing well enough that all the blame was going to go on Meera’s family and no one was ever going to doubt me.” My entire body freezes before anger overtakes me and I don’t think for even a second before loading my gun and pulling the trigger. But nothing happens. The bullet doesn’t fly out of the barrel of my gun as I gape at it before pulling the trigger once again. Nothing happens again.