This was a beautiful morning for Selena. Not only did the coffee given by Delle not make her suffer from adverse effects, she also heard from Delle that Benjamin was staying in the dorms.This was perfect, she thought.“I wanted to give Rebecca to Edward, but seeing how useless the father and son were, I changed my mind. Right now, what I need the most is someone who can stay in the house and shamelessly interrupt the relationship those two got going. And there’s no one better than ‘that’ guy for such a job. I slapped him and sent him away after he touched Veronica inappropriately, but I’m sure he’ll happily return if I give him a call. Shamelessness runs in their blood, after all.”Without hesitating, she dialed a number.Meanwhile, having slept uninterrupted the whole previous night, Veronica was up for one shock after another after she woke up late and opened her room’s door, wearing basically a bikini among bikinis.“The men were all fired?” she was shocked as Kathy kept giving th
The hitman grabbed his hidden knife and swiveled fast, but a dagger had pierced his heart before he could do anything. He felt utterly helpless as he looked at his killer.The one holding the dagger had his face covered with a black cloth from the top of the head to the bottom of the nose, and it didn’t look like a see-through cloth, either. He then twisted his wrist a bit before pulling the dagger out.“Who in the world… are you…” the hitman fell and lost his life, with his eyes open.Shadow wiped the blood with a cloth before sheathing his dagger. He stared at the villa. “You told me to leave, but I have orders to keep you safe, Lord.”He took the binoculars and looked at the pool. Amber was still swimming. “What the-” He put the binoculars down. “Why is she swimming naked? What sort of a woman does that?”At that moment, Anous’ wife came to the villa and began asking for her husband, but the gate guard told her he left the villa last night itself. She wanted to talk to Elizabeth, b
Selena regretted not bringing the bodyguards out to the beach with her. She had wanted to trouble Benjamin with the task of keeping fans away from her, but she never thought he would pick her daughter and run away.She dialed for her bodyguards before resuming the hunt for Benjamin who had kidnapped her daughter.Not just Selena but the whole Sterling family madly roamed on the beach, looking for Rebecca and Benjamin everywhere. They found many pairs, but none of them were the people they were looking for.There were some topless women bathing in the sun, and Roshan kept staring at them until he received a solid smack on the back of his head from his mother.“Where are they?” Veronica’s neck hurt from looking everywhere.“Just where the hell did he take her?” Selena’s face was an ugly mixture of rage and resentment. “She isn’t fully healed yet. If something bad happens to her, I’ll kill him myself!”All of them kept looking for the youngest couple on the shore, but it hadn’t yet cros
A few hours back.Benjamin was driving the motorhome, and they were yet to arrive at the beach. Selena started reading a book after talking for an hour or so with her daughters. Veronica just watched videos on her mobile, but Rebecca took a peek at the book her mother was intently reading.She read a song ‘The Sweetest Lover’ sung by a character called Stussy Junksman.“SweetestIsHeWhoTakes your heatBut still looks neatAnd gives you treatsBetter than the sweetsAnd never mistreats or cheatsFor he owns a well of loveThat never depletes.”“That’s pretty deep, Mom. Which book is it from? Let me see the cover,” Rebecca said.“It’s from a fantasy novel,” replied her mother, refusing to fold the book while she was still reading.Coming back to the present.As Benjamin closed his eyes and waited for her to kiss him, she remembered the song, and her heart swelled, for she thought it fit Benjamin perfectly. Though he wasn’t really friendly with her family, he always treated her like a
Selena came riding a beach camel and poured foul water on the flames of love burning between the young couple with her vengeful words.They could have ignored her and kissed. They were both indeed desperate, but they didn’t want their first most intimate moment when they were both sane and sober to be spoiled with Selena’s words playing in the background.Afterward, Selena made sure to stick pretty close to Rebecca, so close it even bothered her daughter.“I wanted to wear a bikini and spend some time under the evening sun, but your worthless husband spoiled everything,” Selena didn’t look like she would stop badmouthing Benjamin anytime soon. “This is the worst beach trip I’ve ever had. Period.”“Bikini?” Benjamin’s expression turned unpleasant. “Why don’t people dress their age?”“Shut up, Trashmin!” Selena barked. “There are still millions of men who would die to see me in a bikini.”Benjamin felt like vomiting, further enraging her. “Millions of morons, you mean. Look at Rebecca,
The next morning.Selena woke up to hear the bad news that Rebecca was also sleeping in the men’s dorms. This was a shock to her.“Just what did he do for her to become like this?” her gut twisted. She felt like she was losing his daughter. “Killing some parrots clearly wasn’t enough for him. I wish he had a family. Then I would have been able to toy with him.”When she walked out to the balcony with a cup of cream coffee, a camel was eating the grass on the lawn.“What the fuck?” her eyes sprang out of her sockets. Just then, the camel pooped on the grass, making her vomit out whatever that was in her mouth.At the same time, Rebecca was standing at the entrance of the dorms, with her eyes shut by Benjamin. He was standing behind her.“What did you want to show me that you closed my eyes like this?” she curiously asked.“You will see soon,” he said, “so keep walking.”He made her walk until she was close enough to the camel, and then he moved his hands, revealing the tall, impressive
Rebecca was so worried she didn’t even enter the villa and stayed at the dorms. The change in her was obvious enough to easily see.“Who is this George?” Benjamin asked her, even though he thought it wasn’t a good idea to remind her of the past. He wanted to hear from her own mouth.“He’s Elizabeth’s younger brother,” Rebecca said with a frown. “He smokes, drinks, gambles, and visits strip clubs. There’s nothing good about anything he does. He’s utter filth. He and his sister together tried to marry either me or Veronica off to him, but we both refused. However, if Brother Shawn and Dad had no issues, I might have been forced to marry him, though I don’t know what I would have done if things had gone that far. Luckily, Dad was completely against the idea of marrying me or Veronica to someone as useless as him. Mom also objected to it.“Still, he kept trying, and one day, he dared to touch Veronica inappropriately. She slapped him, and he lost his cool that day and slapped her back. Af
Breakfasts in the Sterling family generally included a plant and egg-based diet. Today was no different either.Kathy had prepared the usual toast, oatmeal, coffee, and pancakes. All were simple things that even the middle class people could afford.Jacob’s expression softened after seeing the breakfast. He was a simple man with simple tastes, and this menu reminded him of his old times. He glanced at Terry and said in a positive tone, “Why don’t we have some breakfast first?”Terry didn’t say anything, but his eyes were still very much red.Jacob put his hand on Terry. “You haven’t slept or eaten anything in 2 days. Your daughter wouldn’t want this for you, I’m sure.”Terry frowned and said, “Where’s your son-in-law? Benjamin?” he looked at George. “Is it him?”“No.” Jacob’s gaze turned sharp as he looked at George who couldn’t look back at Jacob. He then glanced at Benjamin who was still standing by the kitchen door. “That guy over there is Benjamin.” He had no idea why Terry was so
“How are things with your family, brother?” Fiona asked.Selena raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a family that deals with real-estate, so you should already know how we’re doing.”“Haha, I do, but outside information can only be trusted so much,” Fiona responded. “Recently, we’ve worked hard on getting a marriage deal for Fiona. Her fiance owns a reputed sports agency that deals with covering all the popular international sports. He earns hundreds of millions every year, but his father is a tycoon in the alcohol industry. Their net worth is in tens of billions.”“Good for you and your daughter,” Jacob smiled.“By the way, Brother,” Fiona glanced at Veronica and Akash. “What does Veronica’s husband do?”Jacob’s expression slightly changed.Veronica frowned and looked at her mother who was looking back at her with a rather poker face.“He is staying at home for now,” Veronica said openly.“Pfft, he’s jobless?” Riley snorted. “Your taste is so bad, Veronica, not just in terms of finding a pa
Benjamin went to the first floor and waited in the hall until Rebecca left her room.Then he went to her room. The door was locked, but he solidified his energy in the keyhole and opened the door.He entered the room quietly and saw the water bottle on the table next to her desk. It was half-full.Benjamin took out the vial and poured a drop of water into the bottle while saying ‘I love you, Rebecca.’He entered the bathroom and poured a couple of drops in the bathtub while once more uttering the three words ‘I love you, Rebecca.”He was about to come out of the room, but then he stopped and then ended up leaking another drop of water on the pillow, and another on the blanket. “I love you, Rebecca.”“Hopefully, this will help,” he thought.Benjamin then hurriedly left the room and then went to the rooftop. He mixed a few more drops in each of the four water tanks, while saying the words out, “I love you, Rebecca.”He looked at the vial.Three fourths of it was finished.He put the via
Despite Uzza, Rye, and Benjamin living in separate rooms, there were many guest rooms still available in the mighty Sterling villa, the best property on Rachel Hill.So, the families of Jacob’s siblings stayed in those rooms without any issue.But the problem was with the cousins, who were trying to show off. They acted arrogant and haughty with Veronica and even mocked Rebecca for the little hair she had on her head, not even bothering to wonder why exactly her hair was like that.Rebecca didn’t even bother talking to them, or sparing a word with them because she knew how selfish and self-centered these people were.Jacob and Shawn might have forgiven these people, but Rebecca couldn’t just act like nothing ever happened.She didn’t treat them badly, either. She just ignored them and minded her business.However, her cousin sisters got their eyes on Benyamin who was quite good-looking. Her cousin brothers were also unable to avert their eyes from Rye.Rye looked more like an exotic f
So many people started visiting Sterling villa ever since Selena herself had leaked the news of her buying a lot of land and buildings in Aurora Hills.Selena was sitting on the balcony, with Veronica next to her.“Why has the traffic increased so much?” Veronica said, “I’m seeing so many cars come and go recently.”Selena somewhat smiled and sipped on cream coffee. “I wasn’t born rich, Veronica. My relatives didn’t even let my parents into their homes or invite us to their functions because we were poor as church mice.”“Stop joking, Mom,” Veronica smirked with amusement. “You look like a million dollars. I’m sure our relatives’ sons back then would have wanted to marry you.”“You’re not entirely wrong, but they didn’t want to marry me as much as they wanted to mess with me,” Selena said. “I still remember one guy telling me, ‘I may look ugly as hell, but I can show you heaven in bed.’”Veronica went silent in shock. She didn’t think her mother’s beauty would have brought such terrib
Delle was bringing food, three varieties, on a big plate.Rye intercepted and took the plate from her. She brought it to Benjamin and sat by him under the tree.The grass was cool, even though the breeze was warm.“You think I haven’t noticed that you weren’t eating anything since you made that 40-day promise?” Rye said. “You were just acting like you’re eating.”She broke the bread mixed with fruit and brought it closer to his mouth.He didn’t open his mouth.“Do you want me to stop eating just like you are doing?” Rye said.Benjamin, who was staring into the distance, glanced at her. “Is it possible to love and hate at the same time?”Rye pursed her lips together, not quite understanding why he asked such a question. “I was angry with the things you did. I am still angry, but I don’t hate you. So, if you really love someone, I don’t think you can hate them.”“If there is no hatred in his heart, then how is Neel able to do this to me?” Benjamin asked, a hint of pain laced through his
Rebecca and Benyamin had breakfast together.This nearly made Selena’s eyes bleed. She didn’t think she’d live a day like this.Watching them eating happily was like injecting poison into her body.While she loved seeing her daughter happy, she couldn’t spare any mercy on the man who tricked her daughter into marrying him.Even now, she was thinking in her heart, devising plans on how to separate her daughter and her husband.Having lost the mood to eat breakfast, she came to the backyard.Amber was preparing the background setting needed for the interview.“Where’s Kathy?” Selena asked.“S-She’s with Samuel Sehla, ma’am,” Amber hesitantly said.Selena’s gaze turned a little icy, but then she smiled. “I knew Kathy had it in her, but I didn’t think she’d be able to grab the attention of someone like Samuel Sehla.” She looked at Amber. “What about you?”“I-I don’t plan on grabbing anybody’s attention,” Amber quickly replied.“Tsk, tsk,” Selena shook her head. “Try to grab Benyamin’s att
The next morning.Rebecca came out of her room fast and reached the dorms just to check on Benyamin. She found him brushing his teeth with his finger. And he was using salt.“Don’t you have a brush and toothpaste?” Rebecca quickly asked. “You should have asked me then.”“No, I’m fine with this,” Benyamin replied. “The smell of the chemicals in the toothpaste just makes me feel nauseous, so I’m fine with just this sea salt.”“But… will salt be enough?”“It’s enough,” Benyamin gave a thumbs-up. “In fact, I’m worried about you because you’re using that chemical-ridden toothpaste which dullens your brain.”“If they dullen the brain, then why would they promote toothpastes so much on television?”“They will promote everything that will make them money while keeping the people sick, so that they will not be able to think clearly and would rather depend on the government to think for themselves,” Benyamin smiled.“That’s not funny,” Rebecca hissed. “I have to go and brush my teeth. And I’m f
Later that night.Benjamin was out in the garden, sitting under a tree, doing nothing as hours went by.“He’s been like that since dinner,” Rye was watching him from the first floor’s window. “It’s not good.”“What can I say?” Uzza was feeling heavy-hearted. “It feels like the story of Abel and Cain altogether, though in a different way. The brothers that represent the duality of current man. The devil sure knows how to mock us and make us angry. I’m certain now. It’s his plan. He put the sworn brothers against each other.”“But how did he get Shadow?” Rye frowned. “I don’t sense any demonic energy in him.”“Considering Shadow’s abilities, it’s easy for him to hide the demonic energy,” Uzza opined. “He’s a perfect place for demons to hide, though I don’t know how they got hold of him. He must have been caught by surprise. I just hope that this won’t lead to something disastrous.” She was looking at Benjamin. “The longer this goes, the more likely that someone among those is going to b
Veronica brought Akash with her to dinner. Almost everybody was present at the dinner table after a very long time.New tables were arranged because there were more people now.Veronica could see that Akash was not taking his eyes off Benyamin. “Why are you staring at him nonstop?” she asked in a low voice.“He’s tall, handsome, and so fair. Even his hands are so shiny. How’s that possible for a man?” Akash sounded quite envious. “Men are not supposed to look so good-looking, right?”“Mm…” Veronica looked at Benyamin and felt the same. “He does look like a million bucks, but he doesn’t seem to have much muscle on his body. What’s the point of being tall when you don’t have enough muscle? You only look like you have inadequate genes.”“Not every man can be built heavy like the men in your family.”“Haha, you’re right,” Veronica was proud of her brothers and dad because they were tall and big and good-looking. Their jaws alone would melt the gazes of many women, after all.Rye and Benjam