CHAPTER 11: BROKEN

Bonnie walked out of the company with a reddened face. Her eyes went to her car tire, and she kicked it. Drexton once again asked her to leave his office. 

"Who does he even think he is?" she muttered, grinding her teeth.

He works for her father, and he has the guts to treat her rudely. She could remember the day he had asked her to leave as usual, and she acted stubborn. He brought out a gun from his drawer and actually pulled the trigger, something she wasn't expecting. She was just lucky he didn't aim at her.

She breathed out.

"That's all in the past," she mumbled, and her eyes caught Ixora.

The scene of when Ixora walked into his office resurfaced in her head. He was too focused on his work not to close his MacBook, but when she came, he gave her his attention.

Am I in the dark, or am I thinking too much? 

Her eyes turned dark as she pulled out her phone. She made sure no one was watching her as she took a picture of Ixora.

She made a call.

"I just sent you a picture, find out everything about the person," she said, and hung up before calling Stacy.

Stacy answered in the third ring.

"Where are you and why didn't you answer my call?" 

"I'm at the agency, you know, I have a shoot today."

"I'm coming there," she hung up and took a last glance at Ixora before she entered her car, and the driver drove off.

****

[CREED'S HOUSE]

Jaxon walked in and, as expected, he met his father, Cesario Creed, in the living room.

Cesario's eyes were red as he glared at Jaxon, who was expressionless.

"You aren't meant to step foot in that hospital," Cesario said.

Jaxon smirked. "You can't stop me."

An ear-splitting slap met his cheeks, causing his lips to burst as his face turned to the other side.  

Jaxon slowly wiped the blood off his lips, that smirk turning into laughter. 

He looked at his father. "Is that all you've got?" 

Cesario felt his blood boil as he folded his fist and landed a heavy punch just below Jaxon's jaw. Blood escaped his lips immediately, but the smirk on his face remained. Only Heavens know how much he's enjoying this. He'd give anything to trouble his old man.

Cesario could feel his eyes reddening as he stared at the annoying smirk on his son's face. He had always been a pain in the neck and had become hell bent on making him go mad.

He raised his hand to slap him again, but Maddox suddenly appeared from nowhere, and the slap landed on his face instead.

Cesario's eyes widened, and he quickly took down his hand, his eyes going soft.

"Oh my gawd, Maddox," Cesario brought his hand to his face, checking for any sort of marks.

Jaxon's eyes darkened as he stared at Maddox's hurt face.

"Why did you interfere?" Jaxon asked calmly, trying to conceal his anger and the urge to kill his father right there.

"Shut up your mouth you good-for-nothing son of a dick!" Cesario thundered at him.

"Are you okay, son?" Cesario asked, his eyes expressing his level of concern.

"I'm fine. Dad," Maddox replied, dragging the 'dad' as though being forced to say it.

"Maddox, you..." 

"Come with me," Maddox interrupted, leading the way to his room. Jaxon folded his fist, the urge to kill his old man growing stronger.

To avoid it, he followed Maddox to the room.

Jaxon kicked the door open and headed for the mirror first, smashing it into pieces.

"Why did you have to interfere? Huh? We talked about this. When I'm dealing with the old man, don't interfere!" Jaxon roared, his chest rising by the second. He reached for Maddox and grabbed his collar.

"You think I can handle you getting hurt, huh? Stop trying to protect me from that old man! I hate seeing you hurt, Madd! I hate it!!" Jaxon yelled again.

"And what about me?!" Maddox yelled, pushing his hand away from his collar.

"You think I can handle it, seeing him hit you like that! Stop letting him hit you, and I will stop interfering! Unleash your demon you bastard! Unleash 'em," Maddox roared and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

He went down the stairs, his whole body growing hot. The more time he spent here, the hotter it got, and he knew he needed it. 

He needs to see it—he needs to smell it—he needs... to feel it.

"Son…" Cesario stretched his hand, but withdrew it when he saw the expression on his face. He only stared at him as he exited the building.

Back in the room, Jaxon ruffled his hair roughly, releasing heavy breaths to calm himself down. He shut his eyes, but they flew back open. He froze momentarily with widened eyes as the realization began hitting him.

"Fuck!" he cussed

"That guy is mad," he stormed out of the room, immediately going after Maddox. He ran past Cesario in the living room, totally ignoring him. Cesario stared at him, his eyes full of hatred.

"I wonder how I ended up being his father," he muttered hatefully. 

[HELL DEVIL'S HIDEOUT, BALCONY]

Drexton was standing with a glass cup in his hand as he stared at his phone—it was the message Ixora had sent to him not long ago, a reply to his message that says "daring".

Play pet: Get to the point...and talk straight.

He's been staring at the message since forever. She's surely bold enough to reply to his message. 

He wanted this side of her—brave, bold, yet stupid and scared. That will make the game more fun. Whether she wants it or not, he's going to bring this personality of hers. His hand suddenly let loose on the cup in his hand, and the clattering sound followed next. He took his gaze to the broken pieces on the floor, some memories hitting him hard.

---

21 YEARS AGO (THE CASTELLAN MANSION)

Roselyn (Drexton's mother) was in the kitchen with little Drexton, who kept trying to help in whatever way he could.

"Mummy, what exactly are you making?" Drexton asked cutely.

"Sir and Ma'am required to have some toasted bread and tea for breakfast, so that's what I'm making," Roselyn replied. 

Even after being maltreated, she still looked as beautiful and young as ever. Her skin glowed with her beauty, and her smile always radiated on her face like the sun. She was a beautiful woman, and Drexton inherited his looks from her.

"Hmm," his smile went down the moment 'Sir and Ma'am' were mentioned.

"Oh, where's dad?" he asked again, earning a sigh from his mother.

"He was sent to the grocery store," she replied sadly, but tried to keep her expression happy.

Drexton noticed it.

"Mum, why are we still living here? They don't value us, and they always treat us like a worthless piece of trash," Drexton said.

"Drex," Roselyn cautioned.

"Don't say things like that," she added.

"Okay, Mom, you can pretend to be happy in front of me," he said, then suddenly smiled.

"When I grow up, I will work hard and make a lot of money. That way, I'll be able to get you and Dad out of this place," Drexton said, his eyes growing into determination.

"Okay, baby, we'll wait for you, my little rich cutie," Roselyn cupped his cheek, placing a peck on his forehead. 

She arranged the breakfast on a dish cart and pushed it to the dining room, where Georgia and Smith were already seated, waiting to be served.

"You're late," Georgia said rudely.

"It won't happen again, Ma'am, I'm sorry," Roselyn apologized with her head bent low.

"Sorry for your poverty-stinking self," Georgia spat in disgust, eyeing her from her head to her toes.

No doubt she felt threatened by her blinding beauty.

Drexton bit his lips. Watching his parents get insulted had been a really hard thing for him.

Georgia slowly picked up the cup and guided it up to her lips.

"Ahh!" she screamed the moment the liquid touched her tongue. The rest jerked at her sudden scream.

"What's wrong?" Smith asked, handing her a glass of water, which she gulped down in one go.

"What sort of tea is this? Is this tea or a fire in a cup!" Georgia yelled at Roselyn.

"I-I'm sorry, Ma'am," Roselyn stammered, her fingers shaking around the edge of the cart. "I only followed your instructions and made the tea hot," Roselyn said, her voice barely audible and laced with dread.

"I said, make it hot, not burn my tongue, you poor wretched witch!" She grabbed the glass cup and forcefully smashed it on Roselyn's face. 

Roselyn instantly yelped out in pain, feeling the hot liquid burn her skin. The glasses also pierced her face, adding to her pain. She fell to the floor, wriggling in agony.

"Mother!" Drexton gasped and made to rush to her.

"Stop right there, you brat!" Georgia yelled, and Drexton paused as hot tears kept cascading down his face.

"Clean up this mess," she ordered.

Drexton made to get the broom when suddenly...

"With your mouth," she added.

He turned around, kneeling before the shattered glass. He began picking the broken pieces with his mouth. More tears poured out of his eyes as the glass cut his lip. 

---

The hard slam on the door jerked him back to reality as he darted his gaze around. He fixed his gaze back on his phone, the reminder message of Joanna sat there, 'DINNER'. He wanted to text when something hit him—a realization.

"Maddox," he muttered, leaving the balcony in hastened steps.