House Rules Novels & Stories

The duct tape embedded on my lips tasted bitter. The glass windows left no option for ventilation, forming sweat droplets that glued my messed hair strands into my sweaty cheek. He leaned closer and kneeled. Without saying a word, he untied only my hands' ropes, leaving my feet glued to the chair sticks. He then grabbed the silver tape without a single stutter, which burned my lips. "Listen, we will play by my rules here," he said with an unclear voice through the mask. "What do you want?!" "Rule number one, I am the only one who can speak."

As we walked further, we realized there's different sections for each person with a wide space and desk. “Listen up. Kathy rules. One, key cards track your hours. Two, no guests without approval, three, whatever you shoot here belongs to Golden lens and four, you miss quota, you lose the space.” We listened carefully. Then he passed key cards to all of us. “These are all your cards for your studios. You own one each. That's the privilege of being winners. You all have the rest of the afternoon to get to know each other better.”

They didn’t greet Varian either, only melting aside as he passed, like he was a storm front they’d learned not to get wet in. Her gaze swept over everything — a wall of glass panels that seemed to float, white leather furniture set with military precision, and a dining table long enough to seat a boardroom. The air smelt faintly of cedar and something sharper, maybe steel. She caught a flash of gold on a side table — a stack of thick cards, embossed in curling script. She glanced down. House Rules. Printed in gold. Rule One: All guests must remain within designated floors. Rule Two: No unapproved visitors.

Asher said smirking at Jennifer and he motioned the butler to give them house rules papers. The butler went to them and gave a sheet of paper to each one of them. They started reading the house rules in their mind. 1. Do not touch anything expensive. For your kind information, everything in the mansion is expensive. 2. If anyone is caught stealing something, they will get severe punishment. 3. No guests are allowed without permission. 4. Maids are to do the works of Mr. Knight. So no maids will help with outsiders' work. That means doing your work by yourself, even cooking, and doing the dishes in which you will eat.

Everyone in the living room froze. The two teams were nearly equal in strength. Most professionals expected a low-scoring game. A 2-4 upset was something almost no one favored. My father raised a brow, surprised and unconvinced. "You decided that quickly? "The match has only just started. The situation isn't clear yet. Don't you want to watch a little longer?" Sophie shook her head hard. "Dad, just trust me once. Buy in now. It's guaranteed profit." In the end, my father couldn't resist her insistence.

Ready to be defiant. “Rules? How cute. What is this? Mafia boarding school” A ghost of a smirk touched his lips. “Rule one” he said, ignoring my sarcasm. “You will not leave this house without permission” I snorted. “and if I do?” “Then I will come looking” His eyes darkening. “And trust me, you’d much rather I didn’t” “Rule number two” he continued “You cannot speak to the staff about me. About this house or about anything that doesn’t concern you”

Right after we have gone through the round of introduction Miss Randell continued with the meeting, she started with the same old recollection of rules between the houses. First, full-on house wars are still prohibited. Second, an executive committee officer's resignation will result in a house points deduction. To be specific, half of the points that they have would be deducted. Third, romantic relationships between two houses will result in clearance of house points. Forth, challenges can only be conducted with Honorable House Umpires around. Only the existing games would be allowed to be used. If any was going to be added, it had to be added today and today alone.

I hovered in the doorway. “House rules poker,” Jace said, grinning. “Eva, you in?” I cinched the robe and stepped onto the rug. “What’s house rules?” “Loser drinks. Double loser loses a layer.” Jace’s grin widened. “We can adapt for married company.” Mason didn’t grin. He just looked at my bare knees and said, “You don’t have many layers to lose.” Theo shuffled with clean, precise hands. “She’ll win.”

Raising his hand, he held up one finger. “Rule number one, you don’t enter someone’s room or go through their stuff without their permission.” He raised another finger. “You respect each other’s privacy.” He added a third finger, but leaned closer until only a few inches separated our faces. “And rule number three, you never ever tell anybody about what you see or hear in this house. Do you understand, Sin?” I nodded.