LOGINEMPEROR’S POV●●●●I couldn’t sit still, my mind circling back to the same question as I paced to and fro in the chamber. Why the sudden change in Rhianna's attitude? Why does she seem to care about Freddie now? After everything she did to him. The rejection and the humiliation. She even left him on their wedding night. Now she’s suddenly concerned he didn’t show up for dinner?Still moving around the chamber with my hand running through my hair, the door creaked open, my wife…the empress, walking in quietly. She looked at me for a moment, her lips parting to speak.“You look worried, my lord. You've been like this since we finished having dinner.” She said softly. “What’s bothering you this time? Is it about Rhianna?”“Yes. I'm extremely worried because of her. Isn't it obvious?” I stopped pacing, a deep sigh slipping past my lips. “It is, but why is that?” She leaned her head over to the side, her earrings swaying as she fixed her gaze on me. “She’s suddenly worried about Fredd
RHIANNA'S POV●●●● Everyone stayed seated around the big dining table, the female servants moving in and out of the kitchen carrying platters of different meals. They served fried rice, roasted chicken, grilled beef, buttered vegetables, mashed potatoes, sweet plantains, spaghetti and sausages with tomato sauce, even drinks including red wine, fruit juice, champagne and sparkling water in glass pitchers. Angel joined them in serving at the table too, my eyes fixed on her every step. She felt my stare on her, touching the nape of her neck nervously before walking away.The Emperor cleared his throat to speak,“It’s been such a long, tiring week,” he slowly began, rubbing his hand over his face. “And I’m glad we could all sit to share a meal together tonight.” “You're right, dear. It feels good to have the table full again.” The empress smiled at him, eventually turning to say to me, “And look at you, Rhianna, you look amazing. I must say this gown suits you beautifully.”I smiled fa
RHIANNA'S POV●●●● I stood before the standing mirror, the reflection of myself staring right back at me. And the royal sapphire-blue gown which I selected from the closet among other collections of my outfits to put on, flowed elegantly, clinging to my figure in all the right spots. Though…despite how elegant the outfit looked on me, the zipper at the back refused to slide its way up. “Ugh!” I groaned softly, twisting and turning in vain as my fingers struggled to reach the mid of my back. “Why does this always happen when I need to look my best?”After another failed attempt, I dropped my hands with a sigh. “Alright, that’s it.” I murmured, stepping away from the mirror. I reached for the silver heels beside my make-up table, slipping them on before taking one last look at my reflection in the mirror. Since my hair was still loose and unstyled, I knew it needed a proper touch with Angel being the only one among the other servants that could handle it perfectly.She always knew e
FREDDIE'S POV●●●● I stepped foot into the mansion holding a briefcase which I tossed on the couch so I could loosen the knot of my tie. I loosened it, exhaling a sigh of relief. “Etha?!!!” I called out, expecting her to be somewhere in or around the mansion, but there was no response. Did she not hear me call her right now? What could she possibly be doing, failing to respond to my call? I picked up my briefcase from the couch to head upstairs, the tie held loosely in my other hand. I got to the door of my bedroom which I kicked wide open with my foot to step in, hoping to find her right in, probably taking a nap, but then I ended up seeing an empty space. Neither she nor her shadows were to be found in the room, even the shower room which I checked. Where then could she be? The basement? Swimming pool? Kitchen? Attic? Living room upstairs? Balcony? Garden? Guest room? Where exactly? “Etha?!!! Etha!!!” I called out her name louder this time, my voice echoing through the empty
XAVIER'S POV●●●● “You're okay? You seem a bit off, what's going on? I mean, we're both seated, yet you seem to be the only one lost in thought.” She spoke softly, her voice calm and sweet as ever.“Why do you say so?” I matched her curious tone with a question of my own. If only she knew the naughty thought that just crossed my mind_to have a taste of her, she'd probably react the same way she did in my imagination. She'd definitely go wild for real, either splash her drink on me or worse, slap me across the face in front of everyone and cause a full-blown scene. Can't really blame me. She's just too damn hot to handle and irresistible to ignore. “Alright, enough with the dumb act already. You should cut the clueless act and stop playing dumb for a second. Since you've refused to tell me what this is all about, I might as well take a wild guess. This is about Lisa, isn't it? Wait a minute. Do not tell me you two are kinda pulling some stunt on me.” She set down the crystal gl
𝐗𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕●●●●I rolled the car to a stop in front of the club, the bright neon letters above...reading, '𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁.' And no sooner had I turned off the engine when Etha swung the car door open before I could even reach out to. She didn't stay seated, instead, slid out of the car without giving me a second glance. I climbed out, banging the car door shut to fall into step behind her as we both headed into the club. And in, were red, blue, and green light which shone through the smoky haze, strobes flashing, a stripper twisting around a pole, the bartender moving around with a silver platter, drinks already set down on tables, people dancing in pairs while other danced in solo, all blending into the soundtrack of laughter and music. Without a word to me, Etha moved past the partiers, making her way to a vacant table at the corner to settle down. I trailed behind her, moving cautiously in order not to bump into anyone. She turned around and







