The first sound she heard when she felt conscious again was a shrill, loud sound that seemed to come from inside her head rather than around her.The second thing she felt before hearing Tina's panicked voice was a splitting headache that felt like a large ax had been driven into her head. She began to cry out as the pain intensified."She's awake!" Someone cried beside her and touched her face with shaky hands. "Oh, Santa Maria! She's awake!""Step away from her," Another voice, more profound and firmer, came. She suddenly felt a different presence beside her. One she couldn't recognize but was unable to wrap her head around. And what was that familiar fragrance? Musk? Wood?Balia was slowly lifted from the floor into solid and firm hands. She couldn't tell what was happening, and whatever she tried to say came out in muffled sounds. She couldn't make up coherent words.She felt the body move, heard the creak of a door and the echoes of boots thudding against the ground, and soon, sh
Balia's POVWell, it was none of my business. I felt Trey's presence behind me, and somehow, it was comforting.Trey cleared his throat, and Senna turned towards us, including the lady. Her laughter died in her throat. She leaned against the column right beside Senna and took a sip from her glass before turning to him. "Is she the new maid you were talking about?" "No," Senna replied, his eyes still trained on me. "She's not." And that was it? He didn't care explaining to this lady that I was the one he had locked up so he could have access to me whenever. That I had overdosed unknowingly on painkillers and have been rushed to the hospital? I snapped out of my brief moment of delusion, reminding myself that I didn't care either. Turning towards Trey, I ran my hand down his arm and blessed him with a sweet smile. "Thank you really. For bringing the clothes and for driving me home. For the painkiller, too. For something that nearly killed me, yours saved me." We shared
Balia was finally dressed up. She wasn't wearing something too formal. She just threw a pair of maroon cotton shorts and a white crop top that stopped above her navel. Once she was done, she brushed her hair and applied a bit of gloss to give her lips a bright look before she slipped her feet into a pair of leather slippers and went downstairs.As she approached the base of the steps, she heard voices coming from the dining room and paused to listen.Senna's voice came first. He was talking in his usual casual tone. The next voice that came also sounded familiar. It belonged to a woman. The woman who had referred to her as a maid. She heaved a deep sigh and closed her eyes.Was that why he wanted her downstairs? To humiliate her? To remind her that she was nothing but a piece of crap by making her sit before a woman who had condescendingly spoken about her?Well, she wasn't going to let some woman talk down on her. She continued her way down and pushed the door to the dining room ope
Senna left her alone as Balia had asked. She hadn't seen him for over four days. She felt really relieved.She never met him in the dining room, and she didn't bother to ask Tina. She didn't care if he got killed or something. In fact, she wanted that to happen so she could finally escape and find something to do.For the next three days, she felt better than ever. The headaches had stopped, and she spent more time with Tina, who took her around the house and showed her places around the mansion. It was more peaceful now than ever. This was what it felt like to be alone. Balia wanted this forever.And as for Senna, he immersed himself in work and was rarely home to even spare her a glance. Most of his nights were spent at his suite in one of his hotels around the country. He closed business deals, handled shipments, and made sure everything went smoothly. There were a few glitches in the way, but he was able to take care of it all. And whenever he returned home, it was usually really
Balia's POVThe following day, I woke up feeling better than yesterday. It had been over three days since I last saw him, and I wasn't bothered. He probably had business to attend to. Plus, the guilt I had seen in his eyes a few nights ago must have driven him away from me.But I knew Senna. If he could drive his fist several times into Smith's face because he touched me, then he was capable of worse. He was unfeeling.I threw back my bed covers and climbed out of bed. I went to the bathroom to wash my face and mouth. I looked less messier than the previous days, and it was a perfect thing.I heard the sound of my door opening as I stepped out of the room. Tina was gently placing a dress on the Chippendale chair. I didn't recognize this dress as mine."Good morning, Tina," I said as I slipped out of my clogs and walked over to her. "Uhm, whose dress is that?""Yours.""This isn't my dress," I frowned, walking over to pick it up. A pale blue sundress with thin straps for arms. It was g
Balia didn't reply to the text he sent to her. Senna didn't bother checking if she had replied to it or not. He had more important things to do. The only reason he forced himself to do this was because of the guilt eating away at his heart. All he had to do was make it up to her and make her see him in a different light.Senna slipped into the chair behind his desk and picked up a file. Rocco had printed it out at the meeting. It recorded shipping and logistics from other mafia groups from different countries and states. It had been printed to track Diablo's movements as they had gotten intel on the company that worked with him.But there was no trace of him. He had no idea if bothering about it was a hassle. Diablo was a snake and could strike at any time.He tossed the paper to the side and took out his phone to check on Trey, as it had already been over two hours since they left.Trey picked two rings later. "Boss.""How are things going?""Quite interesting. She's taking a ride o
Balia's POVWell, today ended on a good note. Trey drove us to the Italian restaurant and booked us a table. He had offered me a seat, asking me to order whatever I wanted so he could leave the card with the cashier and wait in the car.Well, I disagreed. I couldn't sit here alone. Not when it had a lot of people sitting around and dining at the same time. Now that I thought about it correctly, I had a little social anxiety. Why couldn't I sit without tapping my feet on the floors or playing with my fingers?I decided that I couldn't sit alone, so I pushed back my seat and walked over to where Trey stood before the counter and tapped him."Hey, got any problem?" He asked as he placed a black card on the table. He slid it over to the lady behind the counter, and I didn't miss that she had been baring her teeth before him like a predator.I scratched the back of my neck. "Uhm, I'd love you to be at the table with you."He shot a perfectly carved brow up. "You think?"I nodded. "Yeah. I
Senna's POVI felt her before I saw her, and the urge to smell her rushed through me. I couldn't control myself. Immediately, I saw her wearing that dress and looking sumptuous. All I wanted to do was touch her and inhale her heady scent. But she was confusing me. Or was it me?These past few days of avoiding her had been shitty. Nothing seemed to please me. Not even the beautiful strippers at the club. I never really fancied any of them. All I did was watch them move their attractive bodies. It was enough to make a man's night.But none of that had happened since she vented. I had immersed myself in work, hoping I would forget about her in a day or so. But it was impossible. At every waking moment, all I thought about was her: the look of pain on her face as she spoke, the tears streamed down her cheeks as she broke down. I'd been left speechless, unable to act. I couldn't even comfort her or see her later to know what was wrong. Heck, I didn't have that in me. I was the least empa