Esther had been lost in a world of paint and canvas all day, her creativity carrying her away from reality. As the clock ticked on, she focused on adding delicate strokes to her artwork, completely absorbed in her craft. Suddenly, her phone chimed with a reminder.
It was an alarm she'd set earlier: "A Date with Doc Mcstuffins - Don't Be Late!" Esther's eyes widened in alarm. She had lost track of time while working, and her date with Riley was just around the corner. She groaned, this is why she hated appointments.With grudging urgency, she barely had time to wash off the paint that stained her hands and face before slipping into a simple dress and rushing out. Her heart raced during the train ride, and she was grateful when she spotted the diner where they'd planned to meet. But something caught her eye.A man in brown overalls was bent, talking to a little girl. Initially, Esther thought they were related because the girl looked unharmed, even smiling. However, her relief turned to alarm as the man roughly grabbed the child. A painful memory from her past propelled her into action.In a heartbeat, she dealt the attacker a powerful kick that sent him crashing into a fire hydrant on the sidewalk.After ensuring the girl was unharmed Esther took her in, and ordered hot chocolate with tiny floating marshmallows which made the little girl smile. As they sat, Esther noticed some men in black picking up the kidnapper and walking away.When Riley arrived, he gave Esther a small hug and ordered their food after asking for their preferences. Though he showed discretion, he couldn't help but glance at the girl."I met her outside," Esther ventured, and Riley looked puzzled. She gestured to the girl. "It was cold out, and she was about to get kidnapped."Riley frowned, concerned. "Is she okay? And what about the kidnapper?""I think someone called the police because some men took him away," Esther replied.Riley sighed, visibly relaxing in his seat. "Are you okay?"Esther shrugged. Just as the waiter arrived with their food, she added, "Yeah, I mean, I was kind of scared, but... I'm fine.""That's a relief. What's her name?"Esther paused, glancing at the girl who was happily eating. "I actually haven't asked her yet."Riley nodded and turned to the girl. "What's your name, little one?"The girl looked up at him and moved her mouth in a soundless answer.Esther gasped, "The poor thing can't talk!" She hit the table in anger. "I should have kicked that fucker all the way to Timbuktu!"She froze, embarrassed to see Riley staring at her in surprise. Even the little girl was wide-eyed.Esther slid down her seat, and Riley chuckled. "We'll have to find her parents somehow," he said."I'll take her to a police station after she's done eating.""I'll take you both," Riley offered.The girl glared at him.After their meal, Riley led them to the car. But before they could board, a tall figure stopped them. The man was handsome, with chestnut-colored hair cropped short, a sparkling earring in one ear, and a pale blue shirt that matched his eyes. Long black pants accentuated his height and made him look imposing. He gave off the aura of a total rogue.Esther pulled the girl behind her, and Riley positioned them behind him, both warily watching the man. The man frowned, a deep, chilling frown. He should have been taller than Riley, and he easily overlooked them both to address the girl."Let's go."His voice was deep and threatening, causing Esther to pull the girl even closer."Who are you?" Riley asked."I dare say I should be asking the same thing," the man snapped. "Where are you taking my daughter?""D-daughter?" Esther looked down at the girl who shook her head. She looked back at the man, whose face darkened."Bloom, get over here," he ordered.The little girl shook her head, tears dropping from her eyes. She opened her mouth, shouting, "ah, ah, ah."The man heaved a frustrated sigh, stalked forward, and reached for the girl."Not on my watch," Esther hissed. She moved and aimed a kick at him. However, to her surprise, the man effortlessly caught her leg, his amusement replacing his earlier anger. Esther's heart raced as he held her suspended, suddenly he let go making her fall forward. Esther caught herself before she crashed into him and glared at him hatefully.Riley picked up his phone and quickly called the police.The little girl ran at the man, hitting him with her tiny purse. He easily picked up her flailing body."You can't leave," Riley stopped him.A police car pulled up beside them, and Riley waved at the officer."He's attempting to kidnap a child," Riley said.The officer looked between them."It's true," she said. "I already saved her from the first man. I'm sure this is his partner."The officer assessed the situation, noting the striking contrast between the well-dressed Esther and Riley and the enigmatic man.He walked towards him with a frown to take the girl. "Give me the child, sir."The man stepped back. "She's my daughter. You can call Timon to confirm."The officer paused, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "You mean Albert Timon, the police chief?"He reached for his handcuffs. "You're under arrest, sir. Anything you say...""Call Albert," the man said, handing his phone to the officer.A mechanical voice replied, "Calling Knucklehead Albert."A second later, the call went through, and a gruff voice echoed through the line, "What is it this time, Sullivan?"The officer recognized his boss's voice and started panicking."Nothing much, just one of your men..." Sullivan bent to look at the officer's badge, "Thompson wants to arrest me."The Chief's voice held a note of exasperation. "What did you do this time, Sullivan?"Sullivan scoffed, his gaze flickering with amusement. "Have I ever broken the law?"Silence followed, then, "Give him the phone."Sullivan handed the terrified officer the phone."Return to the station, officer."Beep, the call was disconnected.Officer Thompson respectfully returned the phone to Sullivan with shaking hands.Sullivan offered a sly smile to Esther and Riley before leaving with Bloom in his arms.Sometime after the officer and Sullivan left Riley drove Esther home. He had wanted to continue the date but after the day's drama Esther had used up all her social juices, right now all she wanted was to have a good soak, eat a big meal and wipe Sullivan's infuriating smirk from her memory.Bloom ignored her father's stare as they ate dinner that night. She reached for the shrimp dish, but he moved it away. Sighing, she attempted to grab the chicken, only for it to be moved as well. Exasperated, she closed her eyes for three seconds and continued eating her rice."So, no explanation for what happened today?" He asked, pushing the dishes back to her.Ignoring him, she picked up the roasted fish beside her."Bloom."She grabbed another piece of fish and stuffed her mouth."Fine, then I'll find them and get an explanation myself." He stood up and walked out of the dining room.Bloom paused, staring at his back. Would he really search for them? Her mind flashed to her father's methods of extracting information.Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought. No way he would kidnap and torture innocent people just to be petty. She took a big bite of her favorite shrimp, but it tasted like sawdust. A second later, she dropped her spoon and chased after him."You can't touch her!"
Esther was in her studio when her phone rang. She had her headset on, listening to a song when the call interrupted her. It was an unknown number. She frowned and dragged the decline button, relaxing again as the song resumed. She mixed two colors and tested them on the canvas when the song stopped again.She cursed under her breath and picked up the call."Hello," she snapped.There was silence on the line. She frowned in annoyance. Fucking prank calls. She disconnected the call and blocked the number. She took a deep breath; when she was calm, she continued mixing and painting. Less than five minutes passed, and another call interrupted her.She picked up and yelled into the phone, "Do you think it's funny messing with me? If you call my number again, I swear I will track you down and string you like bloody cheese, okay!"The caller was silent, but she could hear breathing. Who the creepy fuck was messing with her this early in the day?"Miss Powés, it's a pleasure to meet you too."
With Bloom's insistence, Sullivan waited for the arrival of the painter. Vito had told him that she found the painter herself and even wrote up a contract. She really put in a lot of effort; honestly, Sullivan found it weird. As a child growing up, she had lost her childish innocence long ago; Sullivan didn't hide the dark part of his world from her. He had a lot of enemies, and it would be best if she didn't grow up as a sheltered dove. But still, she was his princess. When had she ever had to do anything by herself? Because of this, he didn't dare take this lightly. What his baby wanted, she would have.A knock sounded on the study door. It was pushed open, and a maid walked in. "Sir, Miss Powés has arrived."Sullivan nodded and followed her to the receiving room. The first person he saw was a large black woman. She was dressed in simple blue jeans and a red floral shirt; she wore no shoes and instead explored the room in gray and white polka-dot socks. Sullivan frowned in confusion.
Esther's lips twitched as she read Dahra's text the next morning:"Your boss is hot!!!"Followed by a series of lewd emojis.Esther sighed and dropped her phone as she remembered the events of the previous night. During dinner, she had been nervous, expecting a few questions, but she was barely noticed. His cold gaze acknowledged her entrance, and that was it. He didn't notice when she dropped her fork or when she left the table.Returning to her room, which, by the way, was nearly the size of her studio apartment, she couldn't sleep. She lay in bed staring at the swirling curls of the ceiling.Unsure when she would start working, but assuming it would be tomorrow, she tried to get to bed early. But sleep was far from her.Her stomach grumbled. She sighed in resignation and stood up from the comfy bed. Pulling her room door open a smidge she peeped through the crack, the hall was empty and dark. Her room was on the second floor while the kitchen was on the first. She stepped out and g
Esther snapped out of her reverie when the girl, Phoebe, hissed in pain; her glare switched to a pained look. She raised big, teary eyes to look up at Mr. Narok. Esther looked between them in understanding.Mr. Narok's expression turned savage for a second. He glowered down at Phoebe. The girl gasped like a frightened rabbit and stood up. Her messy look made her ooze seduction, but before Esther could analyze any further, the door shut with a bang.The hall was once again quiet. The silence was palpable, and Esther shuffled from one foot to another while trying to ignore the furious girl behind her."Why are you here?" Phoebe hissed.Esther turned to face her, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "I... nothing."Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Don't even think about it."Esther blinked in confusion. "Think... about what?"Phoebe grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall towards her room. When they reached her door, Phoebe flung her hand away."Many sneaky little things like you have come i
It took over ten hours for Sullivan to arrive on the hidden island, which housed one of the Underground's many quarters. To get to the island, Sullivan was brought through several detours to ensure the island's location remained a secret. Sullivan wouldn't tell them it was of no use since he already knew.The island was called Crimson Island, named after its owner, Crimson. Crimson was, of course, not his real name, but no matter how deep Sullivan dug, no information could be found about his background or past. Stepping down from the helicopter, Sullivan surveyed the array of guards with narrowed eyes. Dressed head to toe in dark shades of red, they made quite the intimidating sight. But Sullivan was no ordinary man.He scoffed at the garish display and sauntered into the castle. That's right, Crimson's headquarters was a literal castle. Sullivan found it extremely tacky, but Crimson had a fondness for medieval times. The castle had everything it needed to be called one: high walls th
Crimson, leaning onto his fist, sighed, "Leaving so soon? Oh, I'll miss you."Sullivan could no longer hold back. "Don't disgust me," he spat.Crimson burst out laughing. The maids serving the food froze, staring wide-eyed at their master. The laughter lasted for a full minute. When it finally subsided, Crimson dismissed the maids with a wave.Before the maids could exit, the doors were pushed open again. This time, a beautiful woman entered. She had bright red hair, which unlike Crimson's, looked natural. Her hair was styled intricately, and tiny white flowers scattered across her braids gave her an otherworldly look.She was dressed in a long white gown. Her big brown eyes widened when she caught sight of Sullivan."Sulli..." She called out. Her voice was small and sweet. The excitement that brightened her features made her look even more like a delicate angel. However, she seemed hesitant, even fearful towards Sullivan.Sullivan's cold aura in front of Crimson didn't change with he
When Bloom woke up from her siesta, she noticed the room was empty. She rubbed her groggy eyes and got down from the bed. When did Esther leave? Bloom walked towards a big teddy bear in the corner of the room. She tapped its red nose, and the teddy's eyes glowed before a projection was sent to a small white screen across it. Using her remote, she fast forwarded the security footage.Her eyes widened a little in happiness when she saw her father walk in. Her glee barely lasted five seconds when she saw him kick Esther out. She frowned in annoyance. This man will be the death of her! At this rate, even if she stretched the painting period to a year, he would still end up single.Slowly pushing them together and allowing their feelings to naturally blossom was a stupid plan! The best way to make two people fall in love is to trick them into it, and the best person to start with is her old man.She turned off the teddy bear projector and entered the bathroom. After washing up, she met wit