When Lucas left, I lay down on the bed, my head resting on the elevated pillows at the headboard. My thoughts are preoccupied as my curious eyes surveyed the room. The room gave me a different vibe. It feels like it doesn't belong to me and that I haven't been here before. My wandering gaze pulled into a stop at the left side of the room where a large portrait of a woman stood. A woman with red copper curls gloriously tumbling down her shoulders was seated elegantly in a throne-like chair. Her bright amber eyes stared back at me and a sudden chill ran down my spine. It was unexpected, and I couldn't explain the feeling. The woman in the portrait was me. But there was something about her which tell me I wasn't her. Just for example the silk night gown she was wearing, leaving nothing to the imagination. I was so sure that I would never wear a revealing outfit like that even if someone would put a shotgun on my head. Staring at her face feels like I'm staring straight into the very
Breathlessly, I emerged out of my hiding place. My cheeks burning in humiliation. I wonder how he was able to know I was there. Lucas Nicholas, as if he read my thoughts, gestured to my foot which was still wrapped with a bandage. "Your toe was sticking out." He supplied the information for me. The remark turned the color on my cheeks even brighter. If the situation were a bit different I could have laughed at my own stupidity. But instead of laughing I found myself swallowing hard by the way he looked at me. His melting gaze was turning my knees into jell-o that if it weren't for the crutches supporting me, I would have fallen to the floor. "Come here." He ordered, patting the space beside him on the long Victorian sofa. "We need to talk." He added with a dangerous glint upon his black onyx eyes. I swallowed hard and ignored my increasing heartbeat. Slowly, I made my way to the sofa where he sat while I silently wish for some kind of miracle to happen and save me from an impendi
The moment my gaze landed on the raven-haired boy, my heart lurched forward. Tears welled my eyes while my chest tightened until I had difficulty breathing. "Mumm. " He said, in his soft, childish tone. His large eyes locked to my own. "Niall." His name sprung out of my lips. This was the child I brought with me the night I ran away with my lover. And this child—I almost got him killed. The thought filled me with indescribable anguish that for a moment I found myself unable to say a word. How could I do that to an innocent child?Intense guilt ate me inside as I looked at him. As if a button had been pushed, I remembered the mistake I committed and I realized that I will never forgive myself for dragging a child's innocent life into danger. The fact that I nearly lost him from the accident made the pain in my chest unbearable… It was indeed a miracle that we are both able to survive. I cleared my throat and pulled the door wider, allowing him to enter the room before closing it
The gentleness of his fingers moving against my skin nearly made me close my eyes. His fingers traced the outline of the tattoo on my naked flesh which I wasn't aware of until he told me about its existence. "A beautiful rose and a rosary," He mumbled absentmindedly, his breathing heavy against my back. He was so near to me that I suddenly became aware of my nakedness. I pressed the shirt he just handed to my chest to cover my bare breasts. I tried to ignore his presence but it was impossible. It was hard to ignore an overly six feet tall demigod, packed with rippling muscles and irresistible charm. Especthat he's caressing my back in a gentle way I never knew he's capable of. "If you didn't love me, why did you need to put my name on your skin?"Before I could even respond, he lifted me up from the floor as if I weighed no more than a feather and turned my body to his until I was facing him. His dark midnight eyes caged mine.I blinked rapidly, shocked by the sudden shift in his
Lucas opened his mouth as if to say something but changed his mind at the last minute and closed it again. The flicker of tenderness I thought I saw crossed his face was nowhere to be seen. Instead a face masked with a paper blank expression is what was staring back at me. "You must be tired. You can go back to your room and rest. I'll take good care of my child. " He told me in a tone which was filled with a chilling civility. He was right, I need to go back to my room. I have no reason to stay in his room any further. My gaze stared back at Niall. There was a dull ache in my chest as I wiped the wetness at the corner of his eyes. I still wanted to stay, to hold him in my arms like a mother should but I felt that Lucas didn't want me there at all. I couldn't blame him for hating me. I've done something unforgivable and no matter how much regret I have now, It's impossible to make him forgive me, especially that the wound was still raw. "Goodnight Niall." I whispered to the chil
Lucas Nicholas sat into his throne—his swivel chair with forehead crumpled in disgust as he glared at the report he held in his hand. "So it was confirmed? It was Brix—your illegitimate brother—which Alexandria ran off the night of your wedding anniversary?" It was his loyal best friend Ace Carter Greyson seated into the swivel chair opposite him with a glass of brandy in his hand. "The man's body couldn't be identified since the car was fatally wrecked by the explosion but Brix's ring which was engraved with his family initials was found on the scene. There was no doubt in my mind that it was him." He replied grimly, not taking his eyes off the report. "It was fortunate of him to not survive the accident for I would have killed him myself if he did escape the clutches of death." He added coldly, a dangerous gleam crossing his inky eyes. Brix was his father's illegitimate son and he was older than Lucas by a year. If it happened that his father married Brix's mother then Nichola
A soft knock sounded on the door of the library. From looking at the newspaper in my hand, I lifted my head and stared at the door, waiting for it to open. When it did, Thompson came in. "Good day, Mrs. Alexander you have a visitor." He announced in the same formal tone he uses when talking to me. "A visitor?" I repeated. Surprised. "It was your friend, Miss Hamilton." He said. The frown that scrunched my forehead quickly disappeared. The news of a visitor managed to revive my glum spirits. 'Miss Hamilton'. I repeated the words in my mind but completely failed to recognize her name. I tried recalling how she looked but I failed in that aspect too.Disappointed, a sigh broke from my lips. I raised my head at Thompson who was still waiting for my response. "I will meet my visitor downstairs." I told him and quickly rose from the sofa. I don't want to keep my visitor waiting. "Miss Hamilton was informed about your heel injury. She volunteered to meet you here in the library." Thomp
Miss Hamilton was gone and yet I was still on my feet shaking from shock and utter disbelief. I didn't expect the situation to escalate from bad to worse. Just reliving what took place moments ago sent shivers down my spine. The ugly mask of rage I saw lit her face up told me that if she's holding a gun she could have shot me in the head and feel no remorse afterwards. Not that I could make an excuse to defend myself, I knew all too well that I deserve to get punished after the ruination she went through alone because of my ploy. My strength escaped my body and I slumped on the sofa still in daze. Perhaps Miss Hamilton was right, I told myself with reluctant resignation, I'd been a terrific lightskirt, villainous bitch and that set of adjectives wasn't even enough to sum up my unholy bitchiness that sent countless lives to their doom. I was still there on the sofa contemplating my disastrous life when an urgent knock sounded on the door. Then a few seconds later it opened and Thomp