24• Micah.

Watching his back was another beautiful thing I always enjoyed. But what the hell is wrong with him?

Yesterday evening, he was with Rosa when we suddenly heard Rosa shout for help. We rushed to the scene and found Sullivan lying unconscious on the floor.

Mrs. Stone had asked about what happened but Rosa seemed to have gone out of idea as she had looked as though she wasn't interested in telling Mrs. Stone the actual cause of why Sullivan collapsed. He had been hurried into his room by the security and Doctor Fiore had come in to treat him, amidst his treatment on Sullivan, Mr. Stone broke the news to us that news had reached him that Ginevra was dead which had had Mrs. Stone almost collapsing and we didn't believe him at first but when he showed us the picture of Ginevra lying breathlessly covered in a white robe, Mrs. Stone had screamed in agony not wanting to believe it but the corps who had also visited us confirmed the picture was real and we had concluded that Sullivan must have heard the news first and that was why he collapsed.

Dr. Fiore had specifically instructed us not to remind Sullivan about what he had heard, and I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes at the doctor's suggestion. In any other situation, I would have scoffed at the idea that mentioning Gin's death could worsen Sullivan's condition. But with the current state of the family, I knew it was not the time for such displays of disbelief.

I had seen Mrs. Stone cry for her lost daughter and had felt a sharp pain every time I reminded myself that the bright lady who always took her brother's side was dead.

It was hard to believe that the lady I had spent time with just the day before, the lady whose hand I had held, was dead. The shock and grief were palpable in the air, and I had seen it in the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Stone. They looked as if they had lost all hope, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness myself. It was hard to believe that such a vibrant and kind person could be gone so suddenly and I didn't want to remind myself of the possibility of her death which the corps had told us the previous night, still, I had the urge that it might be connected to Sullivan which had made me remind him of the death of his sister, Gin.

Back to reality, I'm still yet to understand what Sullivan was doing with the bookshelf probably searching for the ROP button...

Don't tell me he wants sex now. I thought raising my eyes furiously at him expecting him to prove me wrong.

I heard the door slam shut, and then I heard him organizing the books he had knocked over in his fit of anger. Finally, he turned and looked at me, his expression unreadable.

He was red in the face with his veins popping.

I realized that reminding him of his sister's death had been a mistake. Even though it had been a day since her passing, it was still a wound that was too raw and painful to bear.

It's been tough earlier this morning especially putting Mrs. Stone to bed.

"Get me, Rosa." He commanded with dark squinted eyes that added to the terrifying aura he already built inside the bedroom.

"I would do as you say." I didn't want to sound too submissive, even though I'm his submissive. "And I'm only going to run errands for you, because---"

"Shut the fuck up and fucking get me Rosalina now." He pronounced his expression dark and unreadable and I could feel the tension radiating off him. I secretly rolled my balls at him before walking out of his bedroom not wanting to bicker with him yet since I have no idea the fuck he could be capable of doing now.

I descended the stairs and entered the foyer, where I found Mr. Stone in conversation with several high-ranking officials. The atmosphere was tense and serious, and I could tell that whatever was being discussed was of great importance, but I could guess it would be about Ginevra since he looks saddened, he has been on that expression ever since he heard about Gin's death as though he was trying to be strong for his wife while I thought of my crazy fucking greedy dad who would feel no pain or sadness when I die. I scoffed at the reflection of my dad's face in my memory.

Someday I would like to punch his knucklehead till it bleeds and probably shoot some bullet to his forehead. I could go that far in getting him out of my life.

I made my way to the storeroom, where I could hear Rosa barking orders at one of the maids. "Make sure to clean the room properly," she said in a low tone. "And you, make sure to polish the silverware until it shines." She commanded. I cleared my throat to announce my arrival, and the room went silent as all eyes turned to me including Rosa who dismissed the maids at once and they all got back to the work assigned to them

"Is Master Sullivan awake?" She asked with a hint of concern, her voice quivering slightly. My intuition told me that Rosa had a soft spot for Sullivan, and perhaps that was the reason she seemed to dislike me. I glared at the thought, my eyes narrowing in anger. At that moment, I realized I was glaring at her as well."When you're done will you please answer my question?" She snapped at me and I got my act in order.

"He called for you," I said dryly.

"Is he doing fine now?" She asked again.

"You could go see him and find out yourself," I replied about walking away.

"Wait." She stopped me and I turned back to look at her. "While I go visit him, please give this juice to Mrs. Stone and make sure she takes her drugs," Rosa said stretching out a tray with a glass of juice and some medicine on it which she had collected from a maid gesturing for me to take it. Her expression was stern, and I knew she was not going to take no for an answer.

"I don't think that's my responsibility here." I decided to argue.

"Well, I didn't say it was your responsibility or you'd have to take on the responsibility as of now but do it for now as everyone is busy, will you." Rosa fired before huffing as if she was getting tired of my stubbornness. "It's an unhappy day today. Bad day to be precise, so will you please try not to serve Master Sullivan alone?" She asked stretching out the tray and I sighed before hesitantly collecting it.

With the tray in hand, I walked out of the storeroom and made my way up the stairs. My footsteps echoed on the marble floor as I climbed, my destination clear in my mind. Finally, I reached Mrs. Stone's bedroom; I knocked slightly as I opened the door, entering the big room of the Stones couple.

Mrs. Stone was on one side of the bed, her back facing me.

I dropped the tray on a table fixed to the wall, carrying the juice and holding the medicine as I walked towards her realizing she wasn't asleep but simply staring blankly at the window.

"It's time to take your medicine. Ma'am." I called instead of the signora, Rosa had addressed her as yesterday.

Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

The memory of my mother's tear-streaked face as she was rushed to the ICU flashed through my mind. At that moment, I wondered if she had cried not only for the pain she was in but also for the pain she knew I was raped. She must have been so distraught that she hadn't even noticed the truck speeding towards her, and I couldn't help but wonder if she even thought about me in her final moments before being driven to a coma.

I had no idea I was getting emotional as well. "Ma'am," I called, fighting with tears that were reminding me of my mother. "Everything will be fine." The assurance was for both me and her.

I dropped the juice and medicine on the bedside drawer, squatting to Mrs. Stone's height and my eyes met with her heartbroken look.

"I'm sorry." I began crying. "I'm sorry for the loss of Ginevra." I sniffed, not unleashing my tears yet. "It's my fault." I cried remembering my dad always blamed me for my mum's accident. "I'm sorry."

Mrs. Stone seemed to understand me as she pulled me into a hug, shedding her share of tears while I did the same.

We were both entangled in a hug, lost in our world of heartbreak. I thought of my mother who got into an accident because she was worried about me even while she was being rushed she had tried to come up with an apology and her tears even made me more guilty leaving an unforgettable memory to me until she drove to a coma.

I am not the type to cry easily but now that I did, I felt relieved, less burdened. I decided to see the bright side of life even though my life has always been dark thanks to my dad's captivity. Nevertheless, I would always be the strong redhead Micah everyone knows me as.

I eventually pulled out of the long hug facing Mrs. Stone who still needs time to process her grief. "Let's take your drugs before going back to bed," I mentioned realizing she was already sitting upright.

I smiled a bit before grabbing the juice from the drawer and giving her a pill which she took before gulping down the juice..

I collected the cup after she gulped some quality of it and helped her lay on the bed.

"What about Sullivan?" She asked, her voice teary.

"He's fine," I replied surprised that she was still worried about her son. "He is awake and... You don't have to worry about him." I assured her.

"Thank you. I'm glad you're here." She managed to smile.

"I'm glad too." I returned honestly.

"Please tell Rosalina; I won't be taking any visitors. And I don't want disturbance." Mrs. Stone instructed, and I nodded understandingly.

I covered her with a blanket properly and she smiled at me while I was still standing staring at her. "You can go now." She said and I smiled awkwardly recollecting how I had cried with her as well.

"I will come checking up on you from time to time," I told her and she nodded a bit in response.

I walked to the table which was fixed to the wall, putting the cup on it, I carried the tray and walked out of the bedroom.

As I stepped out of the bedroom, I bumped into Sullivan who must have been eavesdropping.

I raised a sharp look at him but it had no slight effect on him. "When have you been here?" I questioned.

"Don't interrogate me." He said.

"It's a question," I add in hotly.

"Oh! I don't want to be questioned."

"And If I do?" I dared tighten the small space between us and I could feel his warm breathing on my neck, with his manly smell and deep blue eyeballs.

"You would beg me." He replied as though he was making me remember how hard he had spanked me the previous day and I pursed up my lips, imagining my ass being beaten up by him again, I was about to say a word when I heard a familiar voice call...

"Sullivan." I recognized it at once immediately to be Mrs. Stone!

Oh! Did she hear us?