My eyes widened when they fell on Ethan, my fiance. He was standing there, dressed in a black t-shirt, and a pair of brown pants, and his signature jacket was covering his broad shoulders. His dark brown curls were falling on his forehead, his green eyes staring at me with such intensity that I couldn't breathe. "Cat got your tongue?" Ethan asked me, his lips curling up in a smile, highlighting the anger in his green irises. I wanted to speak; I wanted to yell. I wanted to call Silas when Ethan grabbed my arm and started dragging me God knows where but I was paralyzed with fear and terror. Ethan was my biggest nightmare. And unlike other nightmares, this one was real and never-ending. It was like my tongue betrayed me. The words that were forming in my mind couldn't find a way to escape my mouth. I let out a choked cry when Ethan pushed me inside an empty room and turned to look at me. He was seething in anger. I cursed Silas for not allowing employees on his floor. There was no-o
The Silas who was beating Ethan mercilessly, kicking him in the ribs, was a completely different person than the Silas who was sitting in front of me, with a first-aid box in his hand, looking at me with tender eyes. He gently grabbed my hands and ran his rough fingers on my bruised arms, making me shiver. His eyes darkened when he saw the purple bruises on them. My heart almost skipped a beat when Silas lowered his face and pressed a kiss against my forearms. The red, sensitive skin burned under his lips. He was kissing my bruises. No matter how gross it sounded in my mind later on, it sent waves of pleasure and a rabble of butterflies inside my stomach at that moment. "Is it hurting?" He asked me, and I shook my head. It was hurting but somewhere I was finding it hard to feel the physical pain when Ethan had bruised me internally, traumatized me. "You don't need to hide your pain from me, Bella. I hope you know that. It's futile, honestly." He said softly, removing an ointment t
"You are brave and evil." Martin said, laughing loudly, dumping his empty glass of coke, and I shrugged my shoulders, squinting my eyes. "Why would you say that, Martin? You broke my heart. I am not evil." I said dramatically, placing my hand on the right side of my chest, and Martin arched an eyebrow up. "I just saw what you did, Miss Murphy. And is your heart on the right side of your chest?" He asked me, and I glared at him, placing my hands on my hips to intimidate him. "Shut up. I was born special. Now, go and ask him to change the song. Go. Be a good boy." I said, patting his head, and Martin scowled at me, swatting my head away. "I am your boyfriend's right hand, and best friend, Miss Murphy, not a dog. Stop patting me." He hissed, and I grinned at him, running after him to pet his head."Get lost, and ask them to change the song. I want to dance." I commanded him, and Martin sucked in a breath, shaking his head but went away, huffing. I screamed in excitement when Martin m
Alcohol, driving and I were never best friends. When I woke up the next morning, I regretted drinking to forget my problems. The pounding in my head was not helping my embarrassment at all. Holding my head, pulling my knees closer to my chest, I let out a painful groan. "So you are regretting drinking your Beer now?" I heard Silas speaking from the door frame. I looked up from my knees, lifting my head, regarding him with the most hostile gaze I could muster. He was dressed in a light pink shirt and gray pants. He walked inside the room, holding a tray in his hands. "Go away. It's too early for your torments." I muttered under my breath, and Silas smiled sarcastically at me, pulling the blanket off my body and handing me a glass of orange juice. "Have this, you'll feel better. Drinking on an empty stomach was not so wise, you see. Next time you wish to get drunk, eat something before drowning beer in your stomach." He said, and I scowled at him, rubbing my forehead. His eyes soft
"So your father forced you into this engagement?" Silas asked me, not beating around the bush once we were done eating our breakfast. I didn't know how to sugarcoat any of my father's deeds. I didn't know how to tell Silas I was not only forced into this engagement, I was forced to get abused. I didn't know how to put it to him without angering him that whatever he was thinking was just the surface of the ocean he had yet to discover. "He was indebted to Ethan. He had no money to offer, and Ethan kept threatening him." My words sounded pathetic to my own ears.The bitter aftertaste of my words made me feel hatred for my own self. I was trying to save my father from Silas' wrath. For what? I was trying to save him from Silas when he sold me to Ethan without a second thought. I was angry at myself for being weak. So weak. "So he sold you to that fucking bastard who thought it would be alright to raise his hand at you? Seriously, Bella? You're trying to justify your father's actions?"
I had to go to the company after my senior designer called me urgently. Surprisingly, Silas was not there. He didn't come to the office for an entire day. My mind was still replaying the phone conversation Silas had with someone when he was rubbing lotion on my knees. He was going somewhere to fight. And the idea of him being around the guns and goons frightened me. And the fact that Martin was not there to guard me didn't help my anxiety even a bit. If both of them were missing, something was serious.Pacing around the hall, my hair tied in a messy bun, dressed in one of the loose pajamas Silas brought for me, I was waiting for him to come home. He wasn't even receiving his phone. "Miss Murphy, have some coffee, please." The house help suggested, looking at me with her concern-filled gaze, and I shook my head, forcing out a smile. "No, thank you. Let Silas come." I replied softly, shifting my gaze back on the door. "You really love him, don't you?" She said after a while, and I
"You are not taking the sofa." Silas' voice was firm when he looked at me with dark eyes, ready to slice something or rather someone into half. I crossed my arms over my chest, tilting my face to have a good look at the man standing in front of me. He couldn't stand up properly and he was talking about sleeping on the sofa. I rolled my eyes at his dramatic ass. "So where do you want me to sleep, Sir?" I asked him sarcastically, and he glared at me. His upper lip twitched dangerously, his dark eyes pierced into my soul. "Bed. Take the bed, Bella. I'll sleep on the sofa." He said, grabbing the pillows from my hands, and I glared at him sharply. "I get it, Silas. Your honor would get handicapped if you let a woman sleep on the sofa. But you can shove your honor down your throat for one night and sleep on the bed." I said, and he shook his head adamantly. "Bella—" "Either you let me sleep on the sofa or I'm leaving you alone. Choice is yours." I said, looking at him with a smile tha
I couldn't sleep. The ideas Silas put in my mind were haunting me. It was hard, so hard to have Silas so close to me and still control myself. My heart was pounding against my chest. Sleeping in the same room as him was making me feel funny and intense emotions. I turned to my side, trying to get a comfortable position to sleep when I heard Silas whimpering. My eyes moved towards him, sitting upright in alarm. Silas was moving restlessly in his sleep. "Dad please don't leave me." He whimpered again, his voice low, shaky and barely coherent. But I heard him. My heart stopped beating for a second. I was so busy pitying myself that I failed to see how lonely Silas was. Now that he was crying in his nightmare, I realized I couldn't see his parents. His father was nowhere to be seen. He didn't even mention his father once. Neither did Mr. Kingsley, Silas' father came once to see me. And knowing how much the old man admired me, loved me like his own child, he would have come here to mee