PART 2Kaiser was shaving in the bathroom when my alarm went off. Today marked the end of the first week that I moved into his villa as his ‘female occupant’. He promised servants to attend to me when he wasn’t around. I knew this ultimately meant that he was going somewhere far for a bit, and I was growing dependent on his kindness towards me.“It’s not what you think. It’s just a symbiotic relationship,” my inner voice told me, reminding me to keep up my guard. What happened with Syl would have broken my heart to pieces had I been the old, vulnerable Piper, but once you fell to the bottom and lost everything dear to you, such things meant nothing anymore.I don’t know what happened to him in the end, and though it gave me a little sharp prick in the chest, like havin

“Family?”Ice was glowing red as he answered me. “Maca Ariana. She’s his godsister.”But he never told me about her. How could this be?“Sir Kaiser just wants to protect her, so he allows her to come to the office to look for him whenever she needs him. Excuse me.. Let me just take a breath..”Ice took a deep breath and faced the wall. I realised this was his solution for his nervousness. Once he wasn’t facing me, he was able to talk more efficiently.“She is beautiful, but she fell into bad hands. Someone abused and broke her, as Sir Kaiser puts it. And recently, her abuser has shown his face again. That is why she came today to seek help from Sir Kaiser.”When I heard Ice mention what had happened to Maca, those ‘lost’ feelings of kindness seemed to resurface inside my heart. I had not known myself to be capable of such emotions.“And what happened?”Ice stuttered. “I… I’ve spoken too much. I have to get back to my duties.”………………………………………………………

I wasn’t a weakling. Syl had reappeared in my life again and again to hurt me, but that didn’t mean I had to take it lying down. Those two times he had come to me as a client. This time, I knew there was no next time.What Gri intended to do was to record a video of me having sex with Syl, because she knew our relationship. That video was simply her evidence of me ‘cheating’. I didn’t understand why she had to stoop to such a level. Maybe she was blinded by love, but it didn’t mean I had to let her do what she wanted.I looked down at my feet, which they hadn’t bound. Syl had used his weight to pin down my upper body, and the moment he got up to unzip his pants, I retaliated.It had been some time since I ever had to go physical on anyone at all. My legs were faster than he expected, and he didn’t anticipate what was coming. I kicked him squarely in the balls, making him reel back painfully on the floor. I jumped up naturally, ready like when I was performing karate. I p

Being in the Strauss was unlike in the villa, and everything was the rather high class for me. I was amazed when he linked arms with me, leading me deeper into this very unlikely dream.Was I still awake, or was I dreaming of being with Kaiser in such a place? I wanted to pinch myself hard but I feared I would wake up. Everything was too good to be true.“What’s wrong, Piper? Don’t you like it here?”I hesitated, scrutinising the beautiful painting-laden walls of the majestic hotel. Never once I had ever dreamed that I would set foot in such a place. Neither had I anticipated that Kaiser who I held deep feelings right now, could afford to live here. Even the true reason for him moving us into another country where I was feeling alienated was beyond me. From the foreign looks, the passers-by gave us to the language barrier made me think twice about our life here.But then, this was Kaiser. He was the only man after Syl, that caused feelings

At the right moment, the lights went out, and I presumed Ice had done his work. I pretended to reluctantly follow the man out of the party venue as he sneaked us out through the back door.A feeling of not playing by the rules streaked through me. Carson seemed to be a person who did not play by the rules. This made me wonder how easy it would be to gain his trust while I was doing what Kaiser wanted of me. Furthermore, he seemed to know Kaiser.The night breeze teased my bare shoulders, chilling me slightly. I expected a splendid-looking Mercedes or some other luxurious car, but instead, Carson led me to a motorcycle.“Is it right to leave Oscar like this?” I asked innocently in pretence.“Girl, haven’t you ever cheated during exams?”