16Renai lowered her gaze. Tears flooded down in gallons. How could he do this in front of her? It was slicing her heart. Their momentary moaning and groaning burned her ears like an acid. She squeezed her eyes and willed her mind to turn into a mush, but it hyperventilated when she heard a plop sound. Opening her eyes and glancing at them through her eyelashes, she saw his finger popping out of her mouth. Renai gulped and sighed heavily, waiting for his next purgatory. Abruptly, He bent and grabbed Thea from her arm only to yank her across Renai’s feet. Thea yelped as her head smacked against Renai’s knee. Renai’s breath hitched. She looked toward Zebian who morphed into a bull. He was fuming with a clenched jaw, his muscles twitching momentarily. Renai’s eyes again fell on Thea who was already looking at her with glossy eyes, those pair of crystals indirectly pleading with her. “Look at her, and look carefully,” Zebian seethed, his voice low but deep enough to cause a shiver down
17Her face turned blanched. Renai cocked her head over her shoulder, feeling Zebian’s lips contacting her cheeks by the movement's impact. She gulped and side-glanced at his attached lips through her eyelashes. The couple’s noisy kiss heated her nape that slinked to her cheeks. A shudder snaked down her spine. Why were the couple doing this and most notably why were they watching them?And as if Zebian had heard her thoughts, he softly chuckled against her cheek and placed a peck on it, permeating pinkish dust on the surface. “Eyes on them, rose. They are here for you,” He whispered in her ear with closed eyes and shoved his nose in her cheek to turn her face back toward them. His fingers drew circles on her clothed dip of the waist. Renai nervously frowned and shuddered over his words, forcing air down her chest as it congested, She raised her gaze and saw that man was sucking her lips like a greedy hunter and she quietly sate his need. Embarrassment clawed her throat, she flipped
18Renai groggily parted her eyes, blinking recurrently. She squeezed her eyes before opening them wide. Her blurry vision immediately caught the warm hues of the breaking of the dawn. Her eyebrows quickly carved into a furrow. She looked down and ran her eyes on her body for any bruises or something. She was still in the same red silk robe, luckily unharmed. Her eyes blinked again to fetch consciousness from the back of her mind and just as it hit to her central system, she perched up on the bed and raked her heavy-lidded eyes through the room, wondering when and how she fell asleep. Instantly, her brain jogged a memory of blacking out in Zebian’s embrace when he began nibbling onto her skin after hissing a threat that he would hurt her the same way that man did to the woman. Her back straightened as fear crept on her face and oceans of tears welled up her eyes without any word of warning. She let out a stifled sigh and squeezed her eyes to cry her heart out. This was not the Zebi
“I…I…” Renai cluelessly roamed her eyes before tears got the best of her. She lowered her head and wept silently. The lady frowned and patted the boy’s back, clueing him to get inside. He looked up at her and blinked, walking away as per the order. The lady crouched on her level and put her hand on her shoulder. “Who are you?” This time, her voice was low and filled with concern. Renai sniffed and ascended her head. The lady’s eyebrows arched in distress when she studied her puffy eyes. “Pl..please, help me,” Renai pleaded.The lady squeezed her shoulder and pushed Renai to her chest. Renai, who was deprived of affection, fell into her embrace like a plague. The lady tightened her arms and warmed her cold body. Renai squeezed her eyes and sobbed in the crook of her neck. “You are freezing, let’s get you inside,” The lady said before pushing her up on her feet and leading her inside. Renai freely let her take in. Once she settled her on a sofa, she strode back to the door and locke
19 Zebian A smirk never left Zebian's face as he reminisced about her expression when he whispered in her ear that he would do the spanking act with her. Her panic-stricken appearance was priceless. His most precious possession. He wondered how she would look when he would actually spank her. When her soft features would be twisted in pain and agony he would cause. When she would beg him to stop but he would only spank her harder, only to hear her laced-in-pain moan. Just what sight would that be? He didn’t realise he was biting his lip until clicks of backing footsteps of his servants crossed his ears. He released his lip and cleared his throat, schooling his expression as he zoned back and stared himself through the mirror. Once he gave himself a full eye, he stepped down from the soapbox and walked out. He was headed to the common chamber to collect Arlet. Though, a concubine’s actual place was in a chamber beside the king's but that solely belonged to his mistress. The one w
They went into the living hall and had cups of tea. Zebian was sipping on his tea when Meriall spoke. “I have been informed the king has elected a mistress,” Her eyes raised to hold him intact. Zebian remained unbothered. He knew this topic would be raised one day. “Is it true, your majesty?” She asked before sipping. “Yes, it is,” He nodded.“And she is new to this kingdom?” She threw a rhetorical question. He nodded calmly. “I hope you do understand the danger it brings upon the safety of this kingdom and above all yours. She can be anything, an assassin, a counterspy,” Meriall frowned with general concern. Her son had never looked at a woman before, let alone why would he choose a woman without letting her know. “I’m aware, mother. But let’s not neglect that I’m a king and no woman wants to die out of my hands,” He mumbled casually before gulping the last sip. “I am glad you learnt it but please stay away from her, I don’t want you to indulge with her,” He said and was about to
20Renai couldn’t bring herself to feel at ease. She was tapping her feet, her hands secreted cold sweat and heart raced like she had run a marathon. It had been ten hours since her escape. She glanced at the windowpane and wondered if the king had gotten wind of her stunt. How would have he reacted? She was sure he would be searching high and low for her and the fact she could be caught any second made her more anxious. She bit her lip and looked at the boy who was running in circles with a ball in his hand. Her eyes then darted to the plates that were resting on the mini table. To allay her anxiety, she picked them up and took to the sink to wash the dishes. The woman—Mary—was out on her duty. She was a sweeper in the Queen’s chamber. She said she would come home in the evening which meant she would be coming back anytime as it was almost dusk. After doing the dishes, Renai dried her wet hands with her robe while walking toward the bathroom. She had hardly taken a step inside when
Her hands started to tremble as she glanced up and tried to climb the ceiling. She tried to jump and reach the spot but couldn’t. She tried again and again but failed each time. “Mary, push me, I can’t reach up,” Mary averted her eyes at her and hummed heedlessly. She grabbed her legs and pushed them upward. Renai clutched the edge of the cement and pushed her body up. She was applying every ounce of her energy but the ceiling was too high for her reach. Out of the blue, she felt a hand on her hand. She immediately jerked away her hand and panted. “M..Mary, there’s something up,” Renai stuttered while gaping at the dark area. And just then, a hand came out of the ceiling, scaring her till her body turned white. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” She closed her eyes and rattled out like a broken record. “Don’t fret, she is not a ghost. Grab her hand and climb, he can be here any minute,” Mary ground through her teeth as she hoisted her legs with more force. Renai was indecisive. Sh