5. Stay, Good Boy.

Alex’s POV

The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed and was grateful for it. I winced as I sat up, feeling my muscle ache. Images of the night before flashed through my mind, and I dropped my face in my hands, feeling the warmth of my cheeks against my palm.

This was really happening. I had hoped it was all a crazy dream, but this was now my reality and I had to face it.

I glanced around the room, wondering where Luca could be. I’m sure he didn’t spend a night with me, that would be too intimate, I was nothing but a plaything to him after all.

An envelope on the desk caught my attention, and I struggled to stand, my knees weak. He didn’t hold back. That man….

The envelope held a letter that was addressed to me, written by Luca Moon himself. I suddenly felt uneasy. If he left a note then it could only mean he wasn’t home.

Taking a deep breath, I read the letter, my eyes widening momentarily. It was a direct order not to leave the penthouse till he got back, and he mentioned a contract I had to sign. That was when I noticed the file beside the envelope, and inside it was a contract as he referred to, one that would legally bind me to him.

It also stated that only he could annul the terms of the contract. And I’m reminded of his words when he said my life was no longer mine.

I swallowed hard. My grip on the file tightened. Why would he go to such lengths? Was this all really for his pleasure? Or was it something more? Either way, I still had no choice.

I flipped through the contract, my eyes narrowed in concentration, but a certain section made my heart leap in my chest.

“Holy shit?” I gaped, my jaw hitting the floor.

It was written that I would receive a monthly allowance of ten thousand dollars! I read the section multiple times, making sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

Ten grand? Plus I had to stay in this lavish mansion. It all felt too good to be true, but he didn’t look like someone who would be fazed by that amount.

He was obviously rich, but to think he was this rich…

I paused. Recalling how Mr. Gerald was killed.

Of course. He was an assassin. Every dime he earned was at the cost of someone’s life. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, reality giving me a hard blow in the gut.

That money was enough to pay off my debts. But I could never accept it, my conscience wouldn’t let me. I had to remember that this was a cage, no matter how beautiful, even if it was made with gold. A cage was still a cage.

Just then a soft tune resonated around the space, and I recognized it as my ringtone. It was in the pocket of my trousers, which was discarded on the floor last night. I went to pick it up, seeing that it was a call from a classmate.

“Hello?”

My eyes widened in shock. Shit. Because of everything that had happened, I totally forgot about my school project. It was a very important course, and if I failed it, I would have to stay an extra year. I couldn’t afford an extra year.

“Just my luck.” My fingers combed through my hair in frustration, pacing about the room. I stopped in front of the large mirror in the corner, eyeing the bruises on my skin.

My reddish brown hair was tousled, and my droopy green eyes had long since lost their spark. My skin looked pale, a huge contrast to the red hickeys on my neck. I sighed. Was it my looks? I had always been deemed attractive, but I never felt like I warranted such attention. If not for this face, would Mr. Gerald have left me alone?

If that was the case, he wouldn’t have died in my apartment, and I wouldn’t have met Luca Moon, but there was no changing the past.

I reached for the necklace around my neck, fiddling with the locket as my heart ached. My life had always been chaotic.

My phone rang again, pulling me from my train of thought. I had to make a decision. I can’t miss my project, yet Luca has given me a direct order. If I just left he would think I ran away, and when he found me he would kill me.

So I wrote a note as a reply, saying I had an urgent matter to take care of and would be back. I left the note on the desk, then rushed to have a bath. I wore the same clothes as yesterday, sparing one last glance at the apartment before leaving. The front door was locked, but I remembered the code he used, grateful for my photographic memory.

I would finish my project quickly and get back before he returned.

*****

I finished up my project early, but there was no way for me to know if Luca had arrived. As I stood at the bus stop, I realized the odds were against me. The bus to his place wouldn’t arrive until the next two hours, and I didn’t have enough money for a cab.

I was still sore from last night, and I couldn’t make it in time even if I walked. In the end, I decided to take a shorter route, although it was more deserted, it was the quickest way by foot.

“Hey!”

My steps hitched to stop, and I spun around to see a group of men lurking around the alleyway, their expressions twisted with malicious amusement.

One of them in particular caught my attention, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.

He stood out among the rest, dressed in an expensive jacket that looked all too familiar. My eyes widened in realization. It was the same one Mr Gerald wore on the night he died.

“Alex, right?” The man started, his lips splitting into a mocking grin. “You owe me motherfucker.”

“Who…who are you?” I staggered back, looking for a way to escape, but more men emerged from the shadows. They had me cornered.

The man shrugged his shoulders, “My father can answer that, but you would have to meet him to verify.”

Before I could react, one of the men swung a baseball bat against the back of my head, knocking me to the ground.

My vision blurred, and I struggled back on my feet. The man crouched to my eye level, his crooked smile replaced by a deep scowl that spelled nothing but trouble.

He grabbed me by my hair, forcing me to look up at him. “You were the only tenant who owed my father, then somehow he winds up dead and you leave right after?” He spat, his voice full of spite.

I remembered him now. He was Mr. Gerald’s first son. Fred Hawkins

“I—”

“Shut up!” He slammed my head against the ground, silencing me in an instant. Blood trickled down my wounds, and I was slowly losing consciousness.

“Listen here pretty boy, you have until tomorrow to get the money you owe my father, or else I won’t hesitate to kill you. Got it?”

When I didn’t respond, he delivered a harsh blow to my stomach, knocking the air out of my lungs. Blood splattered from my mouth as I erupted into a fit of coughs.

“But for now…” He looked down at me with a sly smirk, and the men around him snickered in unison. “I’m going to play with you a bit.”