ELISE'S POV
My eyes were swollen and it was like I was going to fall down on my face as I stood without even being aware of my surroundings. Last night was hell with my family after I told them about the job I got with Uncle Damien.
The hatred and scorn from my parents toward him was too much. At this point, I still couldn't decipher why they would feel that way toward such a sweet man like Damien.
Later on, I had to promise them continuously that I would not work as Uncle Damien's assistant. And now, I was out late at night to work at the bar.
"Hey, what are you thinking? Get me a glass of whiskey!" A gruff-looking man shouted at me and I was drawn out of my thoughts, abruptly.
"I'm sorry! I'll do that right away." I said, quickly in panic as I looked at the man before me. My hands moved to take the bottle of whiskey but then it froze, in the air.
My lips shivered in fear seeing the creepy smile he was giving me.
"Nice to meet you again, Elise." He said to me with a wink. I was disgusted and also afraid of his presence and I started to take steps back.
As I took another step, my back was met with two sturdy chests. I turned around to see two huge men behind me, looking down at me with serious looks.
I looked forward again and the man was looking at me, with a seductive smile. At this moment, I knew I was done for.
"Get her!" The man yelled and before I knew what was happening, the two huge men took me up in their arms.
"Ahhh!!" I screamed and thrashed about. I knew what they would do to me if they took me away. But then as I continued to scream, no one came to my aid. The bar was booming with music and the others went about their business like they saw nothing.
"Please..." I let out, slowly.
"Please, let me go. I'll pay! I'll pay whatever I owe you." I said as tears dropped from my eyes.
No matter what I did, I couldn't release myself from their grasp.
Before long, they threw me off and my body hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Ahh..." I screamed in pain as I scrambled to sit on the floor. My hands clapped together, in pleading.
"Open her legs!" The gruffy man ordered with a naughty look.
"Since you have refused to pay me, you may as well open your legs and let me fuck you however I wish!" He said, through gritted teeth and I shivered.
"Please, don't do this to me..." I said in between sobs. I couldn't fathom the thought of being violated.
Without any power to resist, my legs were spread open. My clothes were torn and I was left almost naked.
My pleas and cries fell on deaf ears as the gruff man laid on me. My head whipped side by side, in disagreement about what was done to me. I was crying, thrashing, and screaming.
He had his trousers undone already and I could feel his hands on my body.
I thought all hope was lost and I would be violated at last. All because I tried to get a better life for my parents, I was put in this position.
"Ahhhh!!!" Suddenly, the gruffy man screamed and he was thrown off me with speed.
I saw his body rolled to the side and his heavy body thrashed all about.
My eyes widened in shock at what just happened and my head slowly turned to look before me.
My heart skipped a beat, seeing my Uncle Damien standing tall and proud before me.
"Uncle..." I let out, shakily as a tear dropped from my left eye.
"Close your eyes, princess. You are too precious to witness such brutality." He replied, with a wink. He looked nonchalant but in the next second, I could see him dash toward the huge men behind me.
I was quick to go as he said and all I could hear were kicks and punches with loud screams and bodies falling over.
All I prayed for was that Uncle Damien be safe.
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I was a whimpering mess as I lay in Damien's arms, in his car. Right after he defeated the bad men, he came running to me to check if I was alright.
"Uncle Damien..." I called out as I looked up at him, in his arms.
"Yes, princess." He said to me with the most sensual tone I have ever heard. He treated me with such utmost care and I could feel my heart wavering.
The childish crush I had on him years ago, was being reignited. He was my savior.
"We are home." He said to me and I nodded. I would have gotten away from him due to my parents but right at this point, I had no will to even separate from him.
Slowly, he carried me out of the car, princess-style. He did not care even if my parents would be angry at him. He just wanted me to be alright.
Soon, he knocked on the door and a few minutes later, the door opened to reveal my parents.
"Hello, brother. It's been a while." He greeted my father robotically while he looked straight at my father.
I could feel the air was stiff and I burrowed myself deeper into his arms, in fear.
They exchanged gazes and I couldn't imagine the little war that was going on between the step-siblings.
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"Are you out of your fucking mind?" My father yelled at me as I sat limply on the floor. I was in pain but all they cared about was how I was gallivanting around town with Uncle Damien.
"You are forbidden from seeing him! I have warned you, Elise! Else, you will be disowned by me!" He yelled and I flinched. My heart was torn to pieces at the realization that they could disown me after all I had been through.
I was almost violated because I would go around to borrow money, just so they wouldn't starve.
I wasn't even appreciated.
"Why, father? Why do you have to treat me this way?" I asked, with tears.
"You have no right to speak, Elise!" He clapped back.
"From now on, you have been grounded!" He added and I looked up at him in shock.
How are we going to live?
For days, I had been locked up in the house and I had no way of going out to get money. At the same time, I only eat once a day now and it was taking a toll on me.
"Elise..." My mother called out to me from behind the door and I shut up to my feet. For three days, I have not seen her and I would only talk to my father because he barred my mother from seeing me.
"Mother! Mother!! I'm coming!" I said with a happy look as I rushed toward the door. She was quick to open the door from the other side.
The sight of her caused me to gasp. In just three days, she was looking all haggard and unkempt. My heart broke seeing that my mother was almost on the verge of death.
ELISE'S POV"What's going on, mother? Where is father?" I asked, in panic. I was worried sick for her at this point."I... I feel weak, Elise. My drugs have finished and there is no way to get new ones." I heard her say and I gasped. I realized that we didn't have any money and my father wasn't making any effort to get money for my mother's bills."Mum... Mother, I'll find a way. Please, hold on." I said as she shakily held onto me. My heart was breaking every second and I couldn't continue to watch her suffer that way because of their strife and hatred toward Uncle Damien.Before long, we heard loud footsteps and before I knew what was happening, I got pushed into the room, and the door slammed shut. It was obvious that my mother was afraid of my father seeing us together.As I paced around my bedroom, I came to a decision. I couldn't let them hinder me from growing. I took up my phone and texted Uncle Damien. I accepted the job and he agreed to pick me up the next morning.__I was
ELISE'S POVDamien's words made me free of all my worries and I couldn't wait to be his just like he wanted.But at the back of my mind, I knew we could never work."No, Uncle Damien! I can never consent to this!" I replied while I pushed him away. I acted like his touch scarred me and like I was disgusted with him."But you feel attracted to me, right?" He asked with raised brows. He looked dejected but I wasn't going to let him fool me."No, I'm not attracted to you." I lied, smoothly."I can never be! I cannot disgrace my parents. Let us keep our relationship strictly business with no strings attached!" I declared and in the next second, I directly walked out of the office.__It was a new day for me and as usual, I walked into the company's building with Damien by my side. Sneaking out of the house has become so easy now.At this point, I had eyes on me as usual but then there was a shift in the atmosphere.Everyone looked at me with eyes filled with disgust and it was like they d
DAMIEN'S POV"What do you want here, Elise?" I asked coldly as I saw Elise walk in.She wanted to sit beside me but I was quick to stand up and face her."I.. I..." She let out, stutteringly, she was obviously disoriented by my cold stance. "I have been thrown out by my father. Please, I have nowhere to go except here." She said, shakily."You have no place here, Elise! Leave now." I declared and she froze. I couldn't look at her the same way anymore after what happened."What... What did you say?" I asked, in shock."I say you have no place here anymore! Leave! Get out of my life! You are the cause of all this! Go!" He yelled and I staggered, in shock."Please, don't do this to me. I have nowhere else to go. You know I'm innocent, uncle!" She said as she was about to go down on her knees to beg me.But before she could do that, I took hold of her hand and dragged her out of the house.I flung her out and her body landed on the floor with a loud thud."Go, Elise, and never come back
DAMIEN'S POV. I retracted my hand from her neck and glared balefully at her. She disgusted me. "Get out of my house! I don't want to repeat myself." I yelled and stepped away from her.Nicola smirked darkly; she simply walked past me and went to sit on my couch. My eyes widened in anger and I faced her with disbelief written all over my face. "How dare you sit on my couch? After everything you've done? Do you know the damage that you've caused, you ruined that poor girl's reputation!" "If you wanted to do anything, you shouldn't have involved her. It's me you wanted, you should have come at me!" I yelled, shaking in anger. Instead of showing any remorse or at least fear. She parted her legs and placed one of them on the couch, showing me her panties. This was the height of shamelessness. The next thing I saw her doing was taking her hands into her gown and removing her panties. She was so desperate to have me but was the first person to push me away. How hypocritical was she?
CHAPTER 7 — From rags to riches. Elise's POV. My eyes slowly opened and my nose was welcomed with a scent that I found familiar. I tried moving my body but a pair of hands were firmly wrapped around me. As my eyes fully opened, they were staring at someone's hairy chest. Curious and terrified to know who I was lying with, I raised my head slowly and my eyes widened in shock. "Damien" I gasped but instantly closed my mouth. I wriggled slowly out of his grip because I was disgusted by his embrace. Last night, he slammed the door heartlessly in my face and now, he had his hands wrapped around me. Something wasn't adding up. Successfully getting out of his arms, I quietly crawled out of the bed. As my feet touched the cold floor, I let out a soft gasp. I lowered my eyes to look at myself and I was completely naked, there were also dried blood stains between my thighs. Tears stung my eyes and I looked at him, he was also naked as well. My hands desperately flew to my head as I tr
Elise's POV. "Elise, I know that you might not want to return to California but it's high time you get over your fears. And anyway, no one would be able to recognize you." Jones said. Jones was wrong about me being afraid but he was right about my hidden identity.I was known as the faceless model for a reason. It was a nickname I was given because I never revealed my face. I always wore a beautiful mask that made my identity unknown. This made me different and so special from every other model. My walk and body were perfect but my masked face attracted more attention to me. I became the hottest and most mysterious model in Country N, and from there, my fame spread around the world. The rest is history.Jones was also unaware of certain things about me. He didn't know one crucial detail about me which was my real name. He thought my real name was Annabel Claw. My life was surrounded by secrets but it didn't matter as far as it was perfect. "Annabel, you aren't saying anything.
Elise's POV. I dodged the knife, by tilting my head. The knife ended up hitting the mirror and causing it to break.Quickly, I moved away from there but I wasn't planning to run. I didn't know her but I needed to know what she wanted from me. "Why are you here and how dare you try to attack me?" I questioned, my voice cold and raised scarily. "What…do you want from me?" Instead of responding, she got a hold of the knife again and made threatening steps towards me. "So, you ended up getting famous to seduce him again right?" She asked, her voice filled with resentment and malice. "I always wondered who was behind that mask, I always wanted to meet you but the moment you stared at Damien like that. I instantly knew you were Elise." How did she know my former name? What connection did she have with Damien? Was she one of his playthings? "I don't know what you're talking about." I feigned ignorance. Although Nicola's claims were true, I couldn't let myself get drawn in. I didn't kn
Elise's POV. "Annabel, is there something that you're hiding from me?" My manager asked. I jerked out of my reverie and looked up at him. "Why would you ask that?" I inquired with a straight face. He sighed and lowered his gaze before speaking. "I understand that you don't like talking too much about your past but if there's anything that can be dug out and used to ruin your reputation then please tell me." "Anna, I can't help you, if you keep hiding secrets from me. I won't be able to save your reputation if everything goes downhill. So, whatever you've done or has happened to you…" He paused. "Maybe you've spent some time in prison or you hurt someone in the past. Were you a bully in school and that crazy woman was your victim?" When I heard that guess from him, a chuckle escaped my lips. I couldn't believe that he would think of Nicola as the victim. People truly have a strange way of seeing things. "Have I ever shown any trait of aggression before?" I asked with my gaze o