AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Oh, son. You're already back." He acted sheepish and paranoid. Nothing new for an overlord who feared those seeking his seat. It’s also why he stayed here to have Draven’s men protect him too.
"And you're already running away," I quipped. Draven chased his father out of our lives, sending him with enough money to live out his days in peace, away from us. My father kept reminding me that family should be the priority in this life. The same line had been fed to me my whole life, but he never practiced it.
"Don't be like that. I have business to handle just like you had yours to deal with." His eyes flicked down to Emilia, curiously wondering who she might be. "Who is she?"
"Just business we have to deal with." Lifting one shoulder, I strutted away from my father and headed inside. He didn't care for my dismissive tone, but he couldn't argue my words from just using them to justify his actions. He'd be gone until I left, hiding at his next location, so I needed time to calm down. Plus, Emilia would need him gone to settle in easier. He'd never give her that, trying to get down her pants like he did every other female staff member. I'd kill him if he tried. My grip tightened on the woman in my arms. She'd never suffer the way women in this world normally did. She'd be loved like she dreamed of.
thirty-three
Millie
Grumbling, I reached for my blanket to shield my face from the morning sun. Usually, my apartment didn't get this much sunlight because my window faced the sunset, and my sheets never felt this soft. Even though I enjoyed the pleasure of silk against my body, my mind began to spin. It needed me to be smarter and think through the haze. Unlocking the memories of when I fell asleep, I finally recalled being drugged and kidnapped.
Sitting up, the movement happened too fast as the room began to spin around me. I took notice of the enchanting beauty all around me as I let my eyes stray to the lavish tapestries and mahogany woods the furnishings were made out of. Coming from a box spring and mattress on the floor, this place made me feel like Cinderella in a castle. Hell, even if I didn't live in poverty, this place was a castle. My eyes skirted to the giant windows that reached higher than I could crane my neck right now.
Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. How could I be in a place like this? If someone wanted to harm me, wouldn't I be shackled to the bed? Lifting my hands, nothing sat around them as I removed the blanket to see what else might be hurt. My thighs instantly clenched, checking if someone had raped me during my false rest. When nothing hurt, my mind improved just a little with my racing heart.
Still, where the hell was I to have giant paintings on my wall of falling angels? They looked too real to be prints, but even if they were prints, they'd be expensive. Gathering my bearings, I stood from the bed and began to move toward the image across from me. It sat over a large desk with the wood worked into swirls, handcrafted. My fingers skimmed the edges of the wood before moving up to touch the brush strokes of the painting. Sure enough, it was real.
Swallowing hard, I didn't know if my mind tried to force me into a delusion to survive what was really happening to me, or if I was actually in a castle. Before I could ponder it more, the door to my room opened as a woman in a white button up strolled in. Her hands held a tray that had a glass of water on it and a small bowl of soup, but she dropped it the moment she saw me up from the bed.
Cursing in a language I didn't know, she retreated and closed the door, calling for someone. The greeting had been odd. Why did she act like I’d been the threat in this place? I hadn't kidnapped her. It only took another minute for my door to open again. This time, I recognized the face that came in.
Draven beamed his beautiful smile at me. For a moment, I nearly forgot about the abduction of myself because he rendered me a little stupid. Shaking my head, I took note of his black slacks and black button down that were vastly different and more expensive than his prison attire.
"Welcome to my home, Sunshine." His arms spread like I had arrived for a luxury vacation and planned to stay in a quaint villa. We weren't in a Hallmark movie, so I knew better than to let my guard drop.
"You were the one who had me kidnapped?" My disbelief present.
"Yes." He tucked his hands into his pockets, staying near the door to give me space. "My connection to the United States has been severed, and I cannot go back without being a fugitive."
"And? Why did you kidnap me?"
"Because you are the one thing I could not part with during my exit, Millie." His eyes never broke contact with mine.
"I had a life there, a job!" That's when it hit. I didn't show up for work. Trembling, I tried to shake out my hands as the nervous breakdown hit. "Oh god, my job..."
"Is still there when or if you want to return. We've notified them of a family emergency that you needed to take a leave of absence for. They replied to take as long as you need."
"You're giving me the choice to go back?" I had to make sure I heard the hidden choice.
"I'd like you to stay, but I'll never lock you in a cage, Sunshine. You're too good to ruin."
"Then how come you didn't ask me to come with you?" I huffed, knowing this could've been avoided.
"I did ask, but I asked in a way without telling you I had an escape plan. If I had told you I'd be running, what would you have done? And be honest."
Looking to the floor, everything felt clouded still. My mind raced with thoughts of letting him go, but I knew deep down, I couldn't allow it. My integrity would've been on the line, and my moral compass would've demanded I do the right thing. In that moment, I also realized he had asked me if I'd want to be whisked away and kidnapped by a man who wanted me. When I lifted my gaze, I didn't know how to say it, but he raised his hand to halt me.
"I admire your goodness, Sunshine. I have nothing but respect for how you live your life. I just couldn't live mine without you. Your goodness kept calling to me, and I needed it, yearned for it. Leaving you would've been leaving everything I find dear in this world too."
"But I have a life. My dad! He's probably worried sick! I can only imagine what Tim has been proclaiming after I was taken!"
"Your dad is a phone call away, and Tim is no threat to our plan. Once Kasey woke up and understood what we had done, she made the right phone calls to settle the nerves of your loved ones. Though, you should probably call your father yourself because our jet lag excuse is starting to get a little repetitive."
"You'd let me call my dad?"
"Always, Sunshine."
