CHAPTER THREE
I knew I was screaming, knew incoherent words were pouring out of my mouth, but it didn't sound like me. Never had I produced that kind of inhumane, guttural sound. It was alien and foreign to me. The sorrow tore at my heart and left it in shreds, and I slid to the floor in despair, a boneless, bereft sliding.
I vaguely registered the doctor leaving his seat behind the desk and coming to console me. "No!" I screamed and fought against his grip, but he held me to his chest, murmuring words of comfort.
I couldn't accept that she was dead.
Not until I saw it with my own eyes.
I pushed the doctor aside and dashed out of his office, staring around wildly. A nurse approached me with concern in her eyes. "Ma'am, what do you need?" She asked.
"Take me to her." I yelled, grabbing the nurse by the shoulders. "Fucking take me to my mother!"
The doctor had followed me outside, and he was gently prying my fingers from the nurse's shoulders. He gently steered me away from the nurse and towards my mother's ward, and I stumbled along like a sleepwalking child. I was dazed, my heart hurt beyond repair, but I wouldn't grieve until I saw her dead body myself.
We stopped at ward 21, my mother's, and I peered through the transparent door at the figure on the bed. My mother's body had been covered from head to toe in a white sheet, and my eyes moved to the monitor beside her, the one that measured her heartbeat.
It was flat.
Sorrow numbed me, took away my ability to speak or move or do anything, and all I could do was lean against the door and look at the only person that meant anything to me, now laying in the cold silence that was death.
I wanted to die too.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw a group of four men in black mafia clothes pour into the the hospital. They sighted me and came towards where I stood with the doctor. I knew they were sent by the man I'd had sex with, but I couldn't bring myself to fight them off.
What was the essence of fighting anyway? What was the point of the money I'd gotten? She was gone, never to come back again.
"We'll take her from here, doctor. Thanks." I heard one of the men say, and a pair of hands gently pulled me away from the door. I stumbled along with them, still dazed, outside the hospital and towards the black car they'd brought.
There was a golden circular crest with a lion in the middle, imprinted against the side of the car. That was all I could register as I was pushed into the back seat and two of the men sat on opposite sides of me. The other two men got into the front and started the engine, then pulled out of the hospital's parking lot.
Within minutes they took me back to that dreaded house, and we pulled up at the front of the mansion. The men led me out of the car and I followed mutely, then we walked into the house.
Seeing the grand interior of the house on a normal day woukd have shocked me into awe, but I was too numbed and silenced by the loss I'd just suffered. All I could do was follow the men up the staircase again. They stopped in front of the door of the man's room and knocked before entering.
The man I'd had sex with was standing by one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, a glass of tequila in his hand. He turned as we walked in, and I watched as his lips lifted in an annoying smile when he saw me.
I would wipe that smile off his face with one punch, so help me God.
I lunged at him, trying to do do just that, but the man's goons held me back. "You inconsiderate bastard!" I screamed in his face as he walked closer to me. "You son of the devil! My mother is dead because of you!"
"Sorry for your loss." He said calmly, not fazed by my insults. "But I cannot have you wandering about with my heir growing inside you. Besides, I didn't kill your mother. We had sex and you stole money from me, and before you could reach your mother, she was already dead. I didn't cause that, did I? If anything, you wronged me by stealing from me."
"This is bullshit!" I yelled, feeling the rage burning like an ember through me. "This is stupid shit, and you know it! You could have let me go, and yet you sent your minions after me."
He sighed and took a sip of his drink, then dismissed his men. Then he turned back to me, his electric blue eyes piercing. Such beautiful eyes wasted on such a monster.
"I didn't wrong you." He murmured, gazing at me. "I performed my end of the bargain, didn't I? But you haven't done yours. You've stolen God knows how much from me already. The least you could do is get on the bed and let us finish what we started. I would like us to have sex again, thoroughly this time, to be sure that you'd really get pregnant from the whole thing."
"I would rather die!" I spat in his face, then turned towards the door. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, he spoke up.
"If you try to leave again, it will only be worse for you." He said. "My men would not hesitate to kill you this time. I've already given them orders to do so. I know everything about you, Emily Davies. Everything. From your friends to the high school you attended, to the name of your dead mother. You cannot run from me." He finished, his deadly eyes on me.
Like a robot, I turned back to him slowly, shaking all over with rage and despair. Then I began to take off my clothes again, feeling his eyes burning through my skin. I felt exposed and naked and alone, so utterly alone, and I couldn't control the tears that flowed from my face.
When I was naked, I moved to the bed and watched as he placed the glass of tequila on the table. He took off his shirt and trousers, then joined me on the bed and began his assault on my body again.
This time I was numb, unable to feel any pleasure from the sex. I stared at the ceiling as he thrust inside of me and subsequently released. All that was on my mind was my mother, and what I had to do to get the money. All I could think of was the pain in my heart and the hopelessness that followed it.
I just wanted to get this over with.
CHAPTER FOUREthan's POVIt was afternoon already, and I was sitting in my office, trying to sort out the bills and files that had piled up during the week, feeling the stress press down behind my eyes. My eyes roamed the large figures on the pages of the files.Sucks to be a Mafia Lord on a Saturday.My hand found the glass decanter on my table and I poured myself a generous glass of tequila, then poured it down my throat in one swig. My thoughts wandered dangerously to the young woman I'd left on my bed several hours ago, and I felt guilt spread in my chest.I couldn't get over the hateful look I'd seen in her eyes, and only several years of carefully mastering my emotions had saved me from it.She'd dozed off shortly after our sex, and I'd had to leave her to rest in my room. I knew she'd had a long, stressful day, and I didn't want to be a monster by disrupting her rest. Besides, I was sure she was carrying my baby now. The least I could do was make her feel comfortable.I slammed
CHAPTER FIVEEthan's POV Days began to run into weeks as the woman spent longer living with me. I got to know that her name was Emily Davis, which was a moment too late for me. She never got to know of mine and never deemed it fit to ask, and however much I tried to bridge the gap between us, any sort of friendship between us remained sadly out of reach.I moved her to a room at the very back of the house, so I wouldn't get to see the wariness and hostility in her eyes, yet it burned at the back of my head and kept me awake at night. To all and sundry in the house, I hated her as much as she hated me and I tried to make it known that I only tolerated her presence, but that was a lie. She was an attractive woman: slim, petite, with that thick brown hair I craved to run my fingers through, those freckles that dusted her nose and her cheeks, and damn, was I attracted to her!However, I knew my place as a mafia boss and the leader of an empire, and I knew that she wasn't worth my time. S
Ethan pov I rushed into the ward where Emily lay, my men closely following me. She was on a bed on the far end of the room, and her back was turned to me, but I didn't care. My heart was simply bursting at the seams with happiness.I'd finally have a child of my own.Giddy with joy, I called out. "Emily?"She turned her head to look at me. Her eyes were full of hope, as though she'd been expecting someone else, and I watched as the hope filtered away and her eyes hardened."Good morning, Mr Brown," she said dully and turned back to the wall. I felt the joy in me come down a notch. I walked forward and sat on the chair beside her. "How are you feeling?" I asked."Very well, thank you."The smile on my face faded at the tone of her voice. Regardless, I pressed on. "The doctor said you're pregnant. Have you heard?"Her breath hitched as she took in the news. "Is that so?" She asked, her voice shaky."Yes," I answered. "Since our...act proved successful, I would have to tighten security
Emily's POVI watched as Ethan Brown walked out of the hospital, leaving me with his men. We were all plunged into silence for a few minutes, then the man whom I supposed was his second-in-command cleared his throat."Miss Davis, if you will," he murmured, and I nodded, then stepped forward. Two guards were at my sides, with two others behind me. The second-in-command himself was at my front, leading the way. I felt utterly protected, and yet vulnerable and bare—so, terribly bare. They would never be able to shield me from what I felt inside.The ache of my mother's death gripped my heart as tightly as a wrench, made even worse as this was the very same hospital where she'd died. She was the only thing that mattered to me in this world, and that vile beast of a man had yanked her from me in only a few hours of knowing him.We reached the front door in a matter of seconds, and the second in command reached out to open the door. "After you, Miss Davis." He murmured, and I nodded in than
Ethan's POVI was in my room, a cup of coffee in one hand. Zadok was sitting opposite me, and we were surrounded by a chaotic mess of papers and scattered thoughts. The soft ruffling of papers filled the room, but my attention was elsewhere. I was thinking about Emily: the last time we'd seen was when my mother had visited, and that was two days ago already. I knew my mother was capable of killing anyone's spirit with her words, Emily not excluded."The records are good, boss." Zadok commented, pulling me out of my reverie. "Things have been looking up."I nodded absentmindedly and took a sip of my morning brew. Sunlight filtered through the window behind me and warmed my neck. I rubbed my hand over the warm patch of skin, then picked up a file on the coffee table. I opened it and stared in satisfaction at the numbers on the sheaf of papers.Three million fucking dollars spent on shipping a couple of arms across the Atlantic, much less than we spent only three months ago. I was extrem
Emily's POV Someone was knocking intermittently on my door. I buried my face deeper in the pillows and tried to block out the noise, but it was persistent, pressing against my eardrums annoyingly.I groaned and turned to the other side, dragging the sheets with me. The bed smelled of days-old sweat and several sleepless hours. I hadn't showered in two days, or eaten, or stepped out of the room. And I wasn't planning to do the latter anytime soon, not as long as Ethan Brown was in this house with me. I didn't want to face him just yet; I knew what would happen if I did. My body would fight against my will, and I would remember just how perfectly we'd fit together when we were producing this baby. My insides would clench with desire when I see his bright blue eyes or those long, dexterous fingers; I would remember how they'd played with my nipples, how they'd flicked around inside my folds and given me pleasure.And I would hate myself for it.I was a sucker for the man when it came ri
Emily's POVI gave him a silent stink-eye, then crossed the dining room to where my plate of lasagna still sat. As I passed by him, our shoulders brushed and I felt a spark of the desire I thought was loat, reignite. His tamarind scent wafted into my nose again, and I sniffed aporeciatively. Fuck, what was wrong with me?I pulled my seat back and sat behind my plate of food, then slowly looked up at him. He was a few feet away, his blue eyes fixated on me, his expression stony and unreadable. I turned my gaze to the lasagna before me, which had gone cold and uneatable. Swallowing an angry retort, I picked up my fork and digged in, then raised it to my mouth. The smell of cold food hit my nose and nauseated me and I dropped the fork in defeat. I wasn't hungry, despite having starved myself for two whole days."I can't do this," I declared and stood to my feet, then walked towards the door. As I walked past him, Ethan Brown grabbed my arm and pulled me back. A feeling of deja vu washed
Emily's POV A shot ricocheted through the dark and dank basement, sending my heart into overdrive. I gave a loud gasp that sent Ethan looking straight into my eyes. I watched as his eyes widened and he mouthed the word: fuck.What I didn't wait to hear was him calling out my name.I turned and raced out of the basement, darting up the stairs, the taste of fear lingering on my tongue. My breath was ragged and my heart thundered against my ribcage as I raced through the house, hearing his footsteps behind me."Emily!" He called out again, but I didn't stop. I reached my bedroom before him and closed the door behind me. My hands shook as I turned the key, not stopping until I heard the satisfying click. I quickly took a shaky breath to calm my jumpy nerves, but there was no time to take more breaths. Not with him hot on my heels, the memory of his murderous face imprinted on my mind. I knew what he would do to me if I wasted any time. I knew I had to act fast.My entire body shook as I