Aria's POV;
"I guess I'll be the only one doing the talking. I'll start with my name. I'm Damien," with one hand on the wheels and the other out the window, allowing the wind to pass through his fingers, golden locks stranger said. One couldn't blame a lady for being too scared to speak in the presence of someone who left her with no choice. The best thing I could do for my safety was to sit up straighter than I ever hand, with my hand protectively clinging onto the seat belt like my life depended on it. Yet, another word from him and I still wasn't saying anything. Even if I wanted to, my mouth wasn't ready to cooperate with me, too scared to speak in front of this psychopath. Yes, although, he called himself Damien, but the best name that suited him was Psychopath. I was thankful that the trip to college was a very short one and I was ready to be out of his car as fast as i could. Judging from my love for sports car, one would have thought I'd happily be free spirited and cheery to enjoy the mood but instead, all I wished for was to be out as best as I could. Finally, we arrived there and without another word, I had my hand on the car lock, ready to open it. A quick snort from Damien had me pausing, my limbs going stiff for a brief moment. "Looks like someone enjoyed my company much more than I thought." Every one of his words was dripping with sarcasm, leaving me with the urge to punch his face. Thanks to my weakened limbs and fortunately for him, I wasn't going to be able to carry that action out. "Y...yeah," was the only word I managed to say, facing the other side to avoid staring into his eyes. He wasn't saying much and yet, every one of the sounds he made me me feel like a worm in his presence. No one had ever made me feel this way- scared and at the same time uncomfortable, and yet, a stranger had managed to make me feel like this. The moment he parked his car, I wasted no time in unlocking the door jumping as fast as I could but i didn't realize how much that would end up becoming the biggest mistake of my life when my face ended up right in between two soft undeniably plastic balloons that seemed to have had their fill in a bathtub of perfumes. "Move," unlike every other movie where it would have been a female to speak next, it was a male voice that entered into my ears. I was too caught by surprise that the only word that left my lips was "Ha?" too dumb to speak coherent words. Imagine my surprise when I raised my head, only to see a very feminine face. The sharp curl of her eyelashes and her thin painted lips was enough to make me more shocked than I already was. Since when did she start speaking like a male? "Are you going to keep standing, enjoying the fill of my tits since yours are.... something else?" her lips moved as these words escaped them. Immediately, the next question I asked myself was whether I was starting to be high or if I was beginning to hear the wrong things. I couldn't deny that I had first heard a male voice and now, I was hearing an entirely different voice from that. Did she have some sort of ability that made her switch between voices. "Hey freshman, do you want to keep provoking her or you'd like to avoid troubles?" Thankfully, my eyes was staring at her lips and I was finally able to see that she wasn't the one who had spoken. The voice I just heard was the same as the first one that had asked for me to move. Feeling a shadow cast over me, I subtly turned, only to see a much more taller frame of a male standing beside Bambi. Yes, Bambi was the best word I could use to describe the princess with the plastic boobs. It was easy to tell since I could already smell it on her. Remind me why a werewolf had to go for plastic surgery despite knowing every other of her kind would be able to tell. I shook my head to draw myself out of my thoughts, with a quick bow of apology, I took hasty steps away from them. Only a few metres away and Damien's loud voice had me stopping in my tracks once again. "Take another step and watch me carry you around the school grounds," he threatened while getting out of his car, nonchalantly staring at the students that all had their focus on him. One thing I could tell even if I had only just met him was that he looked like someone of his words that didn't just make empty threats. Thanks to his threatening height that also made me feel smaller compared to him, I was successfully frightened. "Damien, who is she? Why is she with you this morning? Is she the reason you forgot to pick me up?" Bambi was quick to stomp her foot, pouting her lips before walking straight to confront him. Meanwhile, I was starting to wonder exactly what I had done to deserve all of this drama just on my second day of college. Was this the behaviour of the spoilt rich kids? My question was answered when the other guy whose voice I had misjudged to have been Bambi speaking, smiled at me with a wink. "Lucian," he mouthed to me. Now that I could properly look at him, I was captivated by how gentle and calm his features were. If Damien was the one who managed to get my blood rising and my heart unsettled just from one look, then, red hair was the exact opposite. A heavy hand suddenly fell on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts only for me to turn and see Damien's familiar face and body. "Meet my new girlfriend. Esmeralda, say hi to her," came his words while he pulled me tighter to himself. At that moment, the air suddenly seemed to have frozen for me as my scalp tingled. What exactly had I been pulled into before I had the chance to understand?ARIA'S POV; " Please, can we talk later? Do you promise to call me so we can talk? I'm so sorry about yesterday. I didn't know anything about those things that happened," another string of Damien's apology filtered into my ears for the tenth time that morning. Sleep had been so far from me throughout the night and sharing a room with my mother hadn't been pleasant due to her insistence on trying to get me to talk to her. At times like this, I wondered if she was being inconsiderate and not even giving me time to think about the shocking information I had only gotten to know about yesterday. As I made my way out of Damien's mansion with my luggage in tow, and only one place in mind for me to head to, I ignored Damien who kept trying to talk to me. Call me petty but knowing his parents had a hand in the misfortune of my father and if worse, his miserable death was all shades of angering. Knowing I'd possibly have no choice but to listen to him sooner or later or have hi
ARIA'S POV; I stepped into Damien's room, feeling a mix of nerves and anticipation. Every bit of confidence I had before stepping into his home crumpled in an instant. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was determined to learn. Damien closed the door behind me and gestured to the pole in the center of the room. "Okay, first things first, we need to get you comfortable with the pole." I was glad there was no form of talk or awkward discussion and we were just going to get right into it. I nodded, my eyes fixed on the shiny metal rod. Damien walked over to me and handed me a pair of high heels. "Put these on. You'll need to get used to dancing in them." I took the shoes and slipped them on, feeling the familiar click of the heels on the floor. Damien nodded in approval. "Good. Now, let's start with some basic moves." I was glad I had chosen to put on a trouser and a crop top before coming here and to avoid me being in an awkward situation. I pulled off my jacket, handin
Aria's pov; "Look me in the eyes and say all you just said now and I promise I'd let you go and would never appear in your sight again," said Ronald, tightening his hand around while but the seriousness in his voice and the air being thick with tension was the only thing that reminded me not to push this further than I already have. I didn't have to turn to look at him to know he was dead serious and this itself was like being monitored and my hands being tied together, unable to do a thing. "Aria, look me in the eyes and say all you just said again and I swear it, I'll let you go," said Ronald for the second time in all seriousness. My hand which I was just about to pull out of his remained frozen, different thoughts and scenarios running through my head. There were only two ways to this thing. If I truly wanted him out of my life and only claimed him to be a buyer, then by all means, I ought to let him go. Instead, I couldn't find myself doing that and it was as if I co
ARIA'S POV; I've always had a thing with laying on the bed and then closing my eyes, fully aware of my surroundings. As best as I could, it was a coping mechanism of shutting myself out from the things I had to face after waking. The smell of disinfectant and drugs hadn't been familiar since the past month when I didn't have to visit my father in the hospital again. I let my eyes remain closed, only letting my ears do the work of figuring out our surroundings and my nose also do a bit of work. Aside the strong smell of disinfectant, there was the scent of Ronald. My stomach flipped just strong fingers I knew belonged to him gently squeezed mine. The last time I had seen him was when he had waved me off to the club and Caroline asking him about an adoption he was yet to tell her. Curious as to what he was going to say while I pretended to be asleep, I laid unmoving, letting his hand squeeze mine in reassurance while trying not to react to the spark between us. There
ARIA'S POV;I walked through the school gates, feeling a mix of emotions. It happened to be my first day back after the accident, and I was nervous about seeing everyone again, not knowing whether the news had spread already.My mind went back to the brief meeting I had with the dean of my faculty earlier this morning. It was a letter reminding me about the part of my tuition fee I had to pay. “Aria Marblemaw, opportunities like this are rare. So, I suggest you try to meet up as best as you can. The college has helped you enough to the best of its abilities and now, you'll have to do the same,” the dean had said to me and every one of her words hit a certain part of me that had pushed me into picking this college and coming here in the first place, far away from home. Thankfully, my mother had gone back home, leaving me to continue my job back at the club but unlike before where the profit had seemed enough, now, I became aware of how behind I was. As I made my way to my lecture ha
KHALEESI’S POV; Darkness slowly carried me and I willingly let it, too weak to fight against it. Shadows floated above me and I fought for my consciousness, hoping to bring myself out of whatever state this was. Forcing my eyes open, I closed them back immediately, trying to get used to the sudden brightness that almost blinded me. I forced them open again, only to see shadows swimming at the edges of my vision, their hands stretching out to me as if asking me to come. Their hands were spread out towards me, inviting me and immediately, I tried to force my eyes open. “Ah!” With a loud gasp, i sat up on the bed, my eyes flew open, my back cold with sweat and a creepy feeling crawling up my spine. The cold that slowly washed over me was none like no other and the odd scent of burning wood happened to wake my senses. Staring around me, the first thing that came in sight was a small traditional pot with a small fire burning at the middle. Slowly, I let my eyes roam towards the