The following day, Violet stormed her little brother’s apartment.
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
“Open the door, Florent!”
She waited for three seconds before she continued with another incessant knock and yelled, “Wake your lazy arse and open the fucking door or I’ll kick it open myself!”
A rustling sound was heard from inside.
Soon, the door opened, and a bed-haired, tattooed young man stood before her. He only wore pants hanging lowly by his hips. A sleepy expression on his face. “Vi, what are you doing here so early?”
“It’s ten already. Wake the fuck up.”
Florent sighed and rubbed his face to get the sleepiness away. “What happened that you have to bother me this early in the morning?”
Instead of answering, Violet breezed past him and sat herself on the leather couch before the window. From there, she could see the view of Paris and its iconic
A group of girls hunched around a wooden picnic table in the university’s park, eating their lunches before their afternoon class started.“Have you heard?”“I can’t believe that it’s true, though.”“I heard he’s a talented fine arts student here. So maybe they want to keep him here for the good records?”“So, they will let his exhibition go on next week despite that video?”“Seriously, how can they let it happened?”“Who let what happened?”The hushed conversation was cut short when a tall, blond young man in a stylish shirt and khakis walked by. His tattooed arm slung around an auburn-haired girl. Unlike any other students around him, he had no bag, merely holding several notebooks and a pen in his pocket.He was oblivious to their conversation. Being talked about and gossipped was nothing new to a model like him. Besides, he was t
A tattooed blond model and talented art student glared at each of his classmates, but the university's dean approached him then. "Florent Crowne," the mightiest and prettiest woman in the room said, "Meet me in my office. Now." However, right then, his phone rang as a notification appeared on his screen. Henry's assistant. A new photoshoot, maybe? Florent took the call. 'Mr. Bloeu wants to see you. He said he'll fire you if you don't come to the office in thirty minutes. Ah, fuck. What do they want now? Glancing once at the pretty woman holding the dean position at this university, Florent decided it wasn't the time to deal with her. He brushed her off, stormed out of the class, and strode into the parking lot. He had to get to his agency office now. While he had to deal with what was posted on the university's web, his work was in the way. If Henry wasn't his boss, he'd disregard him, too. But now, his work was more important than the pretty dean's order. Besides, things didn't
A sly grin on Ryan’s face, pulling wide on his lips. His eyes were unlike their usual warm brown but cold with darkness forbidding inside.Florent didn’t know how to react, far too shocked at the unexpected turn of events. “How… ho-how did, how- why are you here?”Oh, Ryan enjoyed this.He never saw Florent stammering like a kid with a mouthful of rotten vegetables. With a face as pale as a sheet of paper, as if he saw a ghost, bloody with missing limbs and two heads floating before him.Right, maybe he did. Not as that exact appearance, of course. Ryan appeared out of nowhere – like a fucking ghost.“I close the door behind me,” Florent said, a hint of accusation and anger in his tone, “I close the door behind me, so how can you get here?”Ryan shrugged his shoulders, acting nonchalant, “I opened it, how else did I get inside? Teleportation?”“Don’t
“Are you happy now?”Violet asked that, something he dreamed to hear coming from her mouth. TEETS made this happen, and Ryan couldn’t thank the System enough for it.“Why are you doing this to my family?” Violet said again after Ryan didn’t respond to her the first time.Not that he didn’t want to, but he had a mouthful of beef steak, and he remembered Violet didn’t like it when people talked while eating. It gave her goosebumps, or so she said when they were children.“This isn’t funny, Ryan. Don’t you dare laugh at me.”Ryan looked at her and swallowed. He grinned, “Of course, it is. You told me not to talk while eating, but now you wants me to do that.”Hearing that bit, Violet narrowed her piercing blue eyes and furiously cut her own steak. “I never told you that.”Ryan took her to a dinner in a famous restaurant. He forgot its name, bu
"What is the meaning of this?"In a locked room with windows and blinds shut, a tall, blond man cornered a girl. His tattooed arms caged on either side of her head, making it harder for the girl to escape.They shared a breath; there was nothing romantic about that. She was scared, apparent from how her lungs constricted against her ribcage as cold sweats rolled down her skin."Tell me now, why are you doing this, Trisha?"The girl sniffled, not meeting his eyes. The same question repeated in her head, haunting her. Why did she do this again?Bam!He punched the wall beside her, only an inch away from her head. "Answer me, you bitch!"She trembled, breath shaking as her lungs desperately tried to get air and her heart beat faster. “…Florent… please don’t hurt me…”The tattooed blond shouted right in her face. "You're making me crazy, you know that?!""I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so&nd
Ryan took a sip of his Macallan, humming happily as the amber liquid did its work. He was far more relaxed than when he first came to this place a few hours ago. If he had spoken to his past self from a few months ago, he’d never have guessed that a private BDSM club was a place he had ever visited.But now, Ryan chuckled while lounging on a leather couch with voluptuous girls in skimpy clothes on either side of him.“Something funny, sir?” One of the girls looked at him, showing her pretty face – the work of a plastic surgeon.He asked for a glass of water. The whiskey was good, but he’d prefer to get his head straight. It was nearing three in the morning, so he needed to be sober soon. “I wonder what Florent will looks like after the four hours stunt with the highest rated dominatrix here.”The other girls chuckled too, knowing full well that Florent Crowne was a regular at this club and known for his harsh beha
The anonymous video confessions about Florent trended in Paris and even on French news sites.Stomping his way to the dean’s office, Florent didn’t bother to knock. “What’s the meaning of this?”A paper was in his hand. The letters there said he was no longer a student at this university.A pretty woman in a grey suit rose to her feet. She met Florent’s eyes and stated in a stern voice, “You have studied here for the last three years. The least you can learn is how to read.”“I know how to fucking read, you bitch!”“Careful with your mouth, Crowne. The walls in this office are thin.”“Yeah, of course I know that. You’re the one who said that whenever I came here, remember?”The dean’s face darkened, “I said watch your mouth.”“Or what, you’ll kiss me? Just like how you did it last week?” Florent taunted.
“Come on, pretty boy. After what you did to all those girls, you can only take one punch?” Blinded by rage, Florent charged again. “Gaaargh!” This time, Florent aimed to grab Mark’s shoulder strap, pulling him closer to connect his balled fist against his smug face. It landed with a crunch, and he cackled at that. “Stand up, bastard. You want me to fight you? Then, I’ll give you one. Let’s see if I can break your teeth in the next minute.” Fortunately – or unfortunately for Florent – securities came and parted them. Mark laughed, holding his face in his hand as he shied away from the guard. On the other side, Florent was not that lucky. Two security guards grabbed his hands and pulled them behind his back. He was forced to stay still, or they’d pull his hands, making him unable to escape them. “Let me go,” he growled to them. “Let me fucking go or I’ll punch you!” “Did you hear that?” Mark said, still chuckling at him, “He said he’ll punch you. Maybe you should call the police
Ryan struggled to stay awake as he stared blankly at one of the bare white walls around him.The hum of the bright fluorescent lights above him flickered occasionally, breaking him in and out of his trance. There were no windows except for the small one at the door, which barely showed into the hallway.He had long lost count of the hours he had been held inside this room since he arrived. He felt tired and broken in more ways than one, but he was managing, and that is all he could do right now.He just needed to hold out a little longer.Just a little longer.Shifting his gaze at the paper before him, it did not take long to realize that no one here was ever on his side to begin with. Telling the truth did not matter. Everyone believed he was a murderer. He was guilty the moment he was arrested, and they made that very clear after trying to repeatedly beat him into signing the confession, making sure to avoid his face. Anything that his prison uniform did cover, they beat until they
The interrogation room was well air-conditioned, it was supposed to be cold. Yet, Ryan couldn’t feel anything but stifling heat from deep within his chest. He felt rage, more than fear or puzzlement at this point.There was only one person who could and would frame him, but getting everyone to believe was hard. Almost impossible, even.Leaning back in his chair, Detective Pierce continued, "Let me tell you the short version of what I think happened. You murdered Jorge and left Edric for dead. You left straight from the party to the airport, trying to flee the scene of the crime.""That's ridiculous.""Why else would you leave Seattle in such a hurry? Were you planning to leave the country next?"Glaring, Ryan griped out a resounding, "No, I simply went home. If I wanted to run, I'd go anywhere but there, wouldn't you think?""It's not far-fetched for you to gather your things and prepare to disappear for good. You wanted revenge for your father's death and you wanted to take down the
Still in shock, Ryan asked the police officer who told him to step forward. "Can I make a phone call?""You're not allowed.""What about an attorney?""The police will contact one on your behalf once you've been transferred.""Transferred?"The officer sighed, pushing him to move forward after a moment. "To Seattle's police jurisdiction. Now stop talking and walk."Following the orders to move, Ryan was taken to a small check-in station where an officer forcefully dipped each of his fingers in black ink, printing each digit on a white paper document.Once they were finished, he was escorted into another area, which was equipped with a digital camera and a large backdrop against the wall that was marked with varying heights. He inwardly sighed as he was given a small blackboard with his name to hold up.An officer instructed him to stand up straight and look towards the camera. He flinched as the flash sounded and wa
Opening the door, Ryan was alarmed at finding a couple of police officers standing on the other side. Glancing at the police car in the driveway, his face drained at wondering what the hell was going on."Are you Ryan Wilder?" one of the officers asked."…Yes."One of the men immediately took his hand and placed a handcuff around his wrist, pulling his other arm behind his back before adding another cuff.Another officer said, "Ryan Wilder, you are hereby under arrest on suspicion of murder."His mouth fell open in complete disbelief. "What?""You have the right to remain silent," the officer continued. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"His knees felt weak. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. If this really was a dream after
Everything was a blur as Ryan rushed down the hall and burst through the door where they had last left Violet and Edric.What he had found on the other side was his worst nightmare realized.Kneeling down as he pulled Violet limply into his arms, he shakily touched the side of her draining face and gently shook her, finding no response. Choking out her name through cracked whispers over and over, he couldn't stop the sudden tears blurring his vision.Never in his life had Ryan ever felt so hurt and broken as he did now."G-God, no…" he whimpered. "Violet, please… please wake up."Every silent second that passed felt like eternity as his chest began to heave with broken sobs. His throat burned and his eyes clenched in anguish.Weakly picking himself up to see her face, he brushed back her bangs and froze when her blue eyes slowly fluttered open. Everything around him grew still like he was viewing a dream
Violet was ready to fight him. She had trained in several martial arts and mastered them for self-defense against harmful men like him. Rendering Edric useless was an easy task. She had almost done that months ago, when he was still playing with his old dog. Come to think of it, where was that old dog of his again? Violet’s blue eyes were focused as she shifted into a defensive stance, her lithe frame ready for action. On the other hand, Edric appeared remarkably nonchalant, sitting at a table with a book and a wide grin on his face as if he knew something Violet didn’t. The first move came from the infamous actress. Her movements were swift and precise, as she had aimed a roundhouse kick at Edric’s head. The red dress with high open slit at her tight created a beautiful motion picture, if one were to enjoy it. Sadly, the circumstance was not fit for such approval. However, just as Violet’s foot was about to connect with Edric’s head, a stack of books toppled over, and he stumble
"Pick it up," Edric haughtily repeated. Violet couldn't believe what she had done - even if he did deserve it. Her reputation was already in the mud lately, so it wasn’t her concern. She just didn’t believe that she punched Edric because of Ryan, the fucking scum. To hell with people still watching her nude scenes. She had made that choice in her younger days, so she didn’t want to regret it right now. However, to insult and humiliate Ryan for having such wife, crossed her line. Oh, how her world had turned upside down because of him. Not responding fast enough for his liking, as she stood frozen in place, he roughly grabbed her arm and nearly pushed her towards the floor before Ryan had cut in between them. "Don't you ever touch her again," Ryan furiously spat. "You'll fucking regret it." Before Edric could retort, the Head Butler of the Ashford family, Jorge, wedged between them, gently pushing them back by the shou
Right after breakfast, Thomas knocked on the penthouse door and asked if they were ready. Once they were, they left with Thomas, who had been waiting in the living room. He had been instructed to chauffeur them around Seattle today to find appropriate attire for the company's black tie fundraiser tonight.Although they were being forced to attend, Ryan surprised himself by enjoying their time together shopping for the event. Maybe it was because he got to see Violet try on dresses, or maybe it was just nice to do something normal. Before they return to the penthouse, Violet wants him to buy her a car. She would never ask him for such a thing, because even with all the wealth he had acquired, Violet could afford a car herself. Besides, she was too proud to ask for one. So, when she did ask him, Ryan easily agreed, and they bought one. Too bad, Violet didn’t let him see what the car she bought either, saying it was a surprise for him. Once they returned back to his penthouse after t
Street lamps flickered on one by one as Thomas drove him about an hour south from the Ashford Gorup's building headquarters to the city's international airport.As the car rolled to a stop, Thomas turned back from the driver's seat and said, "I'll go wait for Ms. Crowne and escort her here, Mr. Wilder."Already unbuckling his seat belt, Ryan lifted a hand up for him to remain in place. Opening the door, he said, "Not necessary. Just stay here and wait for us.""But-"Slamming the door shut, he reached into the inside of his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. He felt like an idiot wearing them, but they had helped with shielding his eyes from any sudden camera flashes. He doubted it would somehow cover his identity, but it served as a kind of protection from meeting someone's eyes directly.Familiar with where to go, Ryan placed his hands in his pockets and walked towards the terminal she would be arriving from.Once he heard Vi