Aliyah felt like she was in the middle of a cold war. Both their auras were blazing in her direction as she sat helplessly amidst them. Three days since after Cecile came over the air had never been the same—not like it was better before but now it became worse. Eating in the dining room felt like a punishment, Cecile does nothing around the house and is mostly either in her room watching a movie or she's in the living room, using her phone.Aliyah had never seen her step out of the house or go into the garden, so she presumed that Cecile just liked staying in the comfort of the house and not stepping out at all.The unsettling silence that was continually interrupted by dancing utensils, disturbed Aliyah.Nobody was saying anything, she usually didn't have to sit with Ben, but to keep up the charade, she was left with no choice but to partake in this hell, every single day."After we are done eating we can start the lessons," Aliyah said with a faint smile but she was met with a
The tranquil silence in the room was suddenly interrupted when a scream was heard from outside. Aliyah's eyes were jolted wide open and she was about to dash out to go check what was happening but Ben got up before her. He reached for the door handle and stormed out in a flash like his life depended on it, the swiftness with which he dashed off the bed and out the door made Aliyah even more terrified than the scream, as she stood up.He seemed to know exactly where the scream came from, Aliyah also recognized the high-pitched voice and from the direction Ben went she surmised that it was Cecile's voice."What in the world is going on?" she muttered to herself, her voice heavy from exhaustion.Although she felt heavily sleepy and her eyes were still groggy, she dragged herself out of the comfort of her bed and followed behind him—wondering what on earth had caused this abrupt and scathing interruption of her sleep. By the time she reached the corridor, Ben wasn't there anymore
Without saying anything else, Aliyah strode to the kitchen where Viola was busy preparing breakfast already, as soon as she noticed Aliyah's presence, her lips pulled into a smile, "You are up later than usual today, are you okay?" Viola inquired. Aliyah nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Aliyah said, omitting the part where she couldn't sleep after Cecile's panic incident from late last night."I didn't think you'd be coming today, I trust you enjoyed your much-needed leave.""Yeah, I did" Aliyah slowly nodded with a smile. Viola nodded in acknowledgment before she suddenly turned around, her hand resting on the island as she asked, "By the way, I saw a young lady outside when I stepped in. Who is she?"Since she was asking, that meant she had never seen Cecile before. For Viola not to know her, meant Cecile hadn't been to this house in a long time. Aliyah opened the closet and brought out the crates of eggs while answering, "Oh, that's Cecile. She'll be staying wit
Ben's car came to a slow stop when he arrived at a bar, with a slight tuck he pulled off his tie, feeling suffocated. His fingers brushed across the button of his white long-sleeved shirt and he tapped off two buttons before stepping out and closing the door shut. His eyes flickered around the surroundings for the briefest moment before he tucked his hand into his pocket and walked into the high-end bar which was bustling with music to the ears. As soon as he stepped in and his presence was noticed, everyone stepped away for him as he made his way into the bar. A young lady bumped into him mistakenly—his first instinct push her aside but rather, he stepped back and a deep frown marred his face. Immediately she noticed what she had done, she stared wide-eyed at him and apologized. "I'm so sorry, so sorry. It was a mistake," she muttered, while staggering, probably from drinking too much alcohol, she seemed disheveled and her eyes were puffy from crying. Ben nodded, "Move." Sh
As soon as they got into the room, he turned to her. "What on earth happened? How did my sister get such a burn on her hand?"Ben had seen the injury and it didn't seem fresh. He hadn't laid eyes on Cecile since he left home the previous morning and they had no interaction whatsoever when he returned which made it impossible for him to know of it, but someone else spent all the time with her to be aware."There is no way you weren't aware of that burn on her skin," he stated with confidence.Aliyah pursed her lips as she searched for the words to defend herself but couldn't find any. "Or maybe you did, but chose to let her suffer? And not care for her cause she's a pain in your neck?" Ben accused and for a while, Aliyah stood dumbfounded. 'What is going on and what is wrong with Ben?' she thought to herself. He was acting a bit more rash and agitated. Sure he was easily prone to anger but this was different. His accusations stung, she never knew that Cecile was hiding such a thing
"Thanks for your cooperation Mr. Carlo, you made the right choice, I'll have the money delivered to you immediately." He uttered in a dry voice.His words drew no reaction from Ben.Aliyah sat on the floor dejected and betrayed, but then again it wasn't much of a betrayal if he just kept her around to punish her—she might have mentioned regretting having him as her bidder, but in reality, she wasn't that regretful, she preferred him, because at the end of the day, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. And she knew Ben, although not completely.The man in front of her stepped closer, and lowered himself to her eye level, "How long I've waited for this day." He grinned and a cold shiver ran through her spine, she wanted to return with Ben but he didn't seem interested in doing that, "We meet again Aliyah, now you are mine to play with."His face contorted into a devilish grimace and she could sense all the dirty thoughts in his mind, fear crawled on her skin like an end
They were en route for a while and she couldn't even guess where they were taking her, the streets were silent and it pointed to the fact that it was a deserted area.They seemed to have all manner of thoughts concerning her and their eyes did well to show the dark lust in their eyes, none of them were sane men.It didn't feel so different from before when she had been kidnapped from her father's house and was told of his numerous debts that needed to be repaid, she was beyond speechless, it felt like Deja Vu and the chill sent down her spine caused the light of hope to dim in her.They could decide to do whatever they wanted with her, sell her to another willing buyer at another auction, or even keep her to themselves."What do you want from me this time? I thought my debt had been repaid," she finally said after a while of utter silence.There was no response for a while, and she asked again, "Answer me. What do you want from me this time?!" she seemed pissed at the moment. The sm
"Mr. Carlo?." Mark blurted out in shock. "What are you doing here?""Where is she?" Ben asked, with a gun pointed at the man who had a look of utter bewilderment on his face. A row of men dressed in black-clad suits followed after him. Aliyah had terror written on her face due to the horror before her. Blood. Dead men.Mark quickly scanned the area and pointed to where Aliyah was hiding.As soon as his gaze caught a sign of her, Ben strutted towards Aliyah."Are you alright?“ he asked, and Aliyah noticed the hint of concern in his voice, but she wasn't moved, considering he was the same person who sent her to these people in the first place.She stared at Ben with teary eyes wondering what the hell he was doing here, the dam was inches away from bursting within her before Mark's unpleasant voice interrupted the moment"M-M-Mr Carlo, What is the meaning of this? He questioned in a shaky voice, his eyes trailing down to the gun still in Ben's hand."I don't remember doing anything to of