Meera - 2 Years Ago
I can feel the blood running down the side of my jaw as I lay there on the side of the pavement, not knowing if I will even survive the next few hours.The cold air bites into my skin as I try my best to gather my remaining clothes around my body tight enough to at least keep myself warm, but even so, nothing seems to be working. My eyes feel heavy as I blink with a lot of effort and because of that, I know that there is not much time left before either the cold or the blood loss takes my life away. My ears are still blaring with the sounds of my tormentors' voices and all I can see are their sick smiles that came from watching me in pain."You are never going to be his, dear Meera. And this child that is festering in your womb is going to die along with you tonight!" Her voice is still very shrill and cold in my head and right now, as I lay in the corner of the street, shivering with blood matting my hair and more of it layering my skin, I place my shaking and broken hand on my abdomen and close my eyes in acceptance of the fact that no one is coming to save me.Ace...A bitter smile overtakes my lips as I think of his enchanting ivy eyes, always glimmering with mirth whenever he would look at me, and always shining with love every time he made love to me. My fingers curl over my abdomen and I realize in that moment that there is a massive chance that my child has not survived and nothing hurts me more than that because having this child was my dream, it was the only thing that I wanted and I knew that once the child was born, then Ace would give up all this...he had promised me one time that he would give up this world of cruelty and hatred the moment I was with child. The sound of an ambulance siren can be heard from far away as I force my eyes to open and I instinctively scrunch my eyes shut again at the influx of light from the headlights of the approaching vehicle. I don't know how much time passes before I feel hands prodding at my shoulders and my legs as my body is being lifted off of the ground and someone is placing me onto a soft mattress-like object before I feel myself being carried away. Voices are screaming instructions at each other but I cannot focus on the words as my head lolls to the side and my eyelids close shut, hoping that if my child is gone then I will go along with it.There is no point in surviving if I am doing it alone.-------------Ace looks shell-shocked as I finish telling him the story, "turns out an ambulance was driving past from where I was and they saw me and immediately came to my rescue. I was a patient at the city hospital for two months before I was discharged and then I came here. The child didn't make it, Mr. Harrington." Even saying those words pinches my heart harshly as I discreetly wipe away the tears from underneath my eyes and look away towards the landscape window that is built into the wall adjacent to where I am standing and I can see the sun shining upon the entire skyline of New York city visible from here. "And you never tried reaching out to me to tell me what had happened?" He growls, storming up towards where I am standing as he cages me between his own body and the table behind me. My breathing hitches in my throat when I smell his intoxicating cologne in such close proximity to him as I barely manage to keep my thoughts running straight. "You have no idea of the things that Serena did to me, Ace. You were the one who caged me in your home and then you were gone for a month. In that one month, every single day, Serena came there to hurt me, to torture me, and she would click pictures of whatever she was doing to me. She got some sick sense of satisfaction seeing me in pain. And by the time I managed to escape, I was left bloodied and broken, and it was Sandro who managed to get me out of the premises. He was not my lover, Ace, he was a brother to me. A brother I never had. And you always believed Serena whenever she told you lies about my character. You never believed me when I told you that I was not lying to you." I gulped at the clogging emotions choking my throat as I tried my best to keep my shoulders from caving in. Ace was watching me like a hawk, not a single emotion was betrayed by his face, and as he leaned his face closer to me, my heart shuddered in my chest and warmth pooled in my core....what is he up to?And then, in the most dangerous voice, he spoke, "do you think that you will stand in front of me and feed me lies about Serena, the only woman who has ever cared about me, and I will accept them to be true?"Tears filled up my eyes as I realised that no matter what I say to him, Serena will always hold a place above me and she will always be more trusted by Ace. "Ace...please listen to me..." but he ignores me like he did two years ago when I tried telling him that I had nothing to do with his father's death. "No, you listen to me, Meera Harrington," he warns, his fingers coming towards my face to take my jaw in his hand firmly, "you are still my wife and you have just accepted the fact that you could not keep my child alive. And for that, along with your previous sins, I have just the appropriate punishment for you..."I take in shaky breaths as tears escape my eyes while I wait for him to respond-"You will become my shadow. My housekeeper outside this office and my personal assistant here. You will follow me around, you will do whatever I say and you will bear all the punishments that I bestow upon you with your head down and your lips sealed shut. And if you try to run this time," my body shivers when his grip loosens on my jaw and his fingers trace my cheekbone, "I will hunt you down again and show you many fates that are much, much worse than death."I meet his gaze and I know right then, Alejandro means every single word that he has just spoken and even if I did not have the looming threat of the videotape that has just been recorded in this room, I know that he would stop at nothing to hurt me. And so, with tears in my eyes, I nod my head, "I understand, Mr. Harrignton." I croak out.I have signed a death sentence for myself right at this moment and there is nothing that I can do about it.MeeraHushed whispers reached my ears as I walked down the lobby of my office building, trying my best to keep my tears at bay as I realised that everyone here found out about the immaculate demotion that I had just received. I bit the inside of my cheeks as I tried to gather my emotions, knowing well enough that when I come back here tomorrow, I wouldn't be a paralegal, but instead, Alejandro Harrington's personal secretary. And I know that I cannot run, I cannot let him fire me, because a lot many important things depend on me keeping this job. I cannot allow Alejandro to take away the mere semblance of happiness that I have conjured up for myself. The moment I step out of the building, my hair curtains my face from both sides as I step into the pouring rain, seeming as if even the skies are weeping at the turn my fate has taken. I don't have an umbrella to protect myself from the biting cold showers pouring down from above, but instead of the cold, I focus on rushing out of th
Meera"Wallowing in self pity at what your life has turned into?" Ace's voice breaks through the silence in his car as we enter the parking space underneath the building where he lives at the top floor penthouse. I look at the sleek and admirable collection of his cars in the private parking space that is reserved for just the owner of the building where the other tenants are not allowed to enter and I am reminded of how easy money always came to my husband. He was born in one of the richest mafia families of Europe and with all the blood money they have, they can make the heavens look cheap. "No, Mr. Harrington, I am simply waiting for whatever devious plans you have for me." I chide with an indifferent expression as I continue to stare outside the window until the car comes to a stop right in front of the elevator. Four fully armed guards are standing in front of the elevator as they approach our vehicle. Two of them stand in their place while two come to a stop at both sides of
AceThe clicking of Serena's heels agitates my senses as I sit in my office located within the underground club that I own in this city as she saunters inside the room and walking around to where I am sitting, she leans back until she is perched on top of my table, facing me with that sultry look on her face."You look particularly disheveled today, Mr. Harrington." She whispers, placing her hand on my chest and I have to clench my hands into fists because they are currently itching to reach for my gun holstered against my thigh. "Mind if I help you with something?" She asks suggestively as her hand starts to travel down my chest, following the length of my torso before finally stopping just above the waist band of my tailored dress pants. I immediately reach down and wrap my hand around her wrist, stopping her right at that moment as I take her hand in a vice grip. It doesn't seem to bother her one bit. If anything, she is more excited and enticed by the idea of me being forceful.
AceThe elevator dings open, catching my attention away from my phone as I straighten up, taking in a deep breath just as the doors part and my ears catch onto a frenzy of noises coming from inside my penthouse. CLANG!The sound of utensils falling to the floor catches my attention as my eyes widen and my feet are making their way to the expansive kitchen of my penthouse. I still in my tracks the moment my eyes take in what's in front of me and my veins flood with simmering rage.Jo, the brute that Serena has hired to keep an eye on me is standing near the kitchen counter with his hands around my Meera's neck, squeezing the life out of her body as she claws at his hands trying to get him to stop. "Stop it." The words come out in a ragged hiss as I glare at Jo, making it a mental promise to myself that I will give him the worst possible death once I have defeated the Van Dykes. Jo stops in his assault of my wife as I catch the sight of a tear glimmering down Meera's cheek that sen
MeeraSerena's taunting laughter echoes through the cold room where she has me trapped as she steps back after beating me endlessly once again. My entire body aches and bleeds in places I didn't think was possible while Serena's white pointed toe heels make her appear taller as she stands over me with her foot pressed against the back of my neck. "You are filth, Florence." She spits, her heel digging into the side of my neck as more tears escape my eyes. "You are good for nothing. Your entire family has been killed by the way, and soon enough, you will die too." My heart cracks in my chest as the faces of my loving family flash through my mind. The same family I hadn't seen in two years since getting married to Alejandro. The same family who had stood by my side as I had accepted the marriage proposal made by my father's biggest rivals, thinking that Alejandro would make a good husband. Tears streak down the bridge of my nose as I keep lying there on the cold ground, limp and hope
Meera’s POV The morning comes with a flurry of clanging utensils, screaming cooks, and scared and nimble waitstaff making their way in and out of the grand kitchen of Alejandro’s penthouse as the charity gala— for lord knows what— commences in full swing out on the expansive terrace and pool area attached to the living space of this outrageously luxurious home. “Girl! One of the waitresses twisted her ankle and spilled champagne on one of the guests! Go clean up after her!” Marta— the head chef of Alejandro’s kitchen pushes a wiping rag in my hands— the sheer quality of the cloth making me wince. Nodding my head, I take the cloth from her and the wiper that Jo, one of the cleaners hands me, and make my way outside. If Alejandro wants me to be his maid, his secretary, his cleaning lady, then that is what he will get. And for now, I just have to hold on until I can manage to escape again. Even though I know just how unlikely that is. I keep my head down as I enter the swarm of wel
Ace's POV My heart ached watching my wife being disrespected and mishandled by Serena but what shocked me the most was what she said about Cairn. Oh, the utter horror I saw in Meera's eyes and the way they had widened with nothing but pure, liquid fear, was something that made my blood boil in my veins. Cairn and Serena ought to have done something extremely wrong to Meera while I had left her in that hellhole, and I am going to find out what it was before I make her pay. I will do that by hook or by crook. And then that bitch had made the mistake of pushing my wife onto the ground— another thing added to her list of offences. Serena Van Dyke will die in the most brutal and dangerous manner possible and I will make it a spectacle for the world to watch. Meera left after cleaning the floor a while ago and I found myself making small talk with one of the guests who had come all the way from Korea for this gala. To the world, this gala was being held by my company to celebrat
Meera's POV I hurtle into the nearest powder room that I can find, bursting through the door I allow the contents of my tray to go crashing down onto the floor before slamming the door shut as my tears start streaming down my face as I rush towards the toilet, attempting to hurl up anything that might be in my stomach. Nothing comes out. That figures since the last meal I had was two days ago. I slide down to the ground, resting my head against the wall as I try to swallow the taste of sheer disgust and horrifying disdain that I can still feel from the phantom sensation of Ace's hands grabbing at my body right in front of that...that monster...that demon who was looking at me with such hungry eyes since the moment I stepped into that damn room. I cannot believe the level of utter disrespect and cruelty that Ace has stooped to and I wonder where I went so wrong in the three years that I was married to him. I mean...even in those initial days when he didn't know me well enough, he