Chapter 29

**Rosella…. **

For the last two days, I haven't stepped a foot out of this room. Actually it's more like I didn't have to.

Food gets delivered to me by my Master's brother, whom I've come to know as Albert. But he prefers being called Bert. If I need the bathroom, it's already inside the room. I haven't been able to venture the extent of my freedom before I got stuck here. So, I don't know if I'm allowed to go out for a walk or not.

All because of how Adrian treated me that morning, two days ago.

I still can't wrap my head around how cold he'd been with me, after all that we've been through. I thought something had changed between us and we were somehow around the same ground. But I guess, I was just being naive.

Sighing out loud, I focus on brushing my teeth. Bert will be here in a few moments. I want to be out there when he arrives. Another childish hope, I guess. Because I'm hoping for him to have a sudden change of heart so that he can talk to me.

I finish up my business and step out of the bathroom, only to find Bert already sitting on the bed, seemingly waiting for me. The food tray is on the nightstand. Crap! Am I late or he's early? I clear my throat then walk down to sit on the other side of the bed, trying to feign indifference.

“What took you so long?” He asks, taking me aback. Is he talking to me?? Why?

He shifts to lean his back against the bedpost, sitting diagonally to me and faces me with an unreadable expression. I try to scrutinize his overall attitude, but he gives nothing away. Just like his brother.

Has my childish hope come true? Seems like it.

I give up on trying to find a reason behind why he's feeling like talking to me all of a sudden and fiddle with the belt of my robe, blushing as I prepare myself to tell him about his brother's late night craziness. “I woke up late today. Your brother has made a habit of keeping me up at night till I pass out from exhaustion.”

“What do you mean?” His face twists into puzzlement. I knew he didn't know.

“Your brother visits me every night, entering through the balcony. He thinks that I'm not aware about his actions. But I think that he needs to be more smooth and stealthy if he wants to trick me into believing that I'm dreaming about him.” My voice holds a hint of indignation as I maintain eye contact with Bert.

“Why are you telling me this? Aren't you worried I'll rat you out?” He replies with suspicion while trying hard to suppress his smirk.

I'm not feeling amused by this whole situation so I don't have to suppress any smile as I speak in a plain voice. “It's simple. I want you to tell him.”

“Oh yeah?” His eyebrows shoot up in skepticism.

“Yes. I want you to tell him that I know. Maybe then he'll man up and talk to me directly if he wants. Instead of sneaking into my room at midnight and trying to fuck with my head.”

Bert tries to make a poker face. But it only gets harder for him to control himself. He bursts out laughing. I smile smugly.

It's possible that because of being trapped inside this room with nothing but my thoughts has made me go loca in these two days. But if this crazy feeling will give me the courage to stand up to that mindfucker then I'm okay with it. As long as I'm here, if his plan is to drive me crazy then I'll go crazy for him…. But he'll not be spared. I'll make him go crazy with me.

By now, I've understood this much that he yearns to touch me. But the hungry and menacing way he gazes at me sometimes, it appears more like he wants to torture me. But his hands are tied down by his promise. He can't even think about touching me.

I thought all this through last night, after he had crept inside my room again and resumed his place near the window. I hadn't realized that I have the upper hand, if I think of it as a game. But now that I've figured it out, I'm feeling unusually confident in taking a step forward and demanding for my release.

“God, woman. You're all in, aren't you?” Bert asks, still grinning widely.

“Hell, yes. I am.” I respond with a firm nod.

“A piece of advice.” He says, reigning in his amusement. “Don't try to provoke him or tease him with anything remotely sexual. He isn't in his right head nowadays. If you'll not keep your distance, he'll push you to the breaking point. But you don't look like the one to break so easily. So, I guess he'll just pull you back in. You want to return to your home with your heart and feelings attached? Then don't even think about playing his game, okay? I can't stop him, not until the pills are here. But I can warn you. Later, don't come whining in my arms that I didn't warn you before he ruined you.”

I stare at Bert with stark shock and surprise. I don't know what to say to that. I don't even know if I should believe that. So, I just thank him as a formality and watch him make his way towards the door. He pauses near the threshold and glances at me over his shoulder, a pensive look on his face. His translucent eyes glitter with regret.

“I'm sorry for how I treated you after you saved my brother's life. But I would like you to know that I love my brother more than myself. He's my only family. By saving his life, you've made me indebted to you for a lifetime. I misjudged you and I'm not going to make any excuses. Just please, if you're not going to always be there for him, then don't try to dig deeper into his soul. You're not naive, but my brother believes that you are. He's just not used to girls like you. Hell, even I don't know what to make of you. All I wanted to say was that, I'm sorry. Please don't make my brother pay for my mistake.”

With that, he exits the room, closing the door silently behind him. I stand there, stunned by his words and stare after him for what it feels like forever.

Why does he think that I'm anywhere near capable of hurting Adrian? He overpowers me in every way. And if he was talking about making emotional attachments then I don't think he should be worried. Adrian never lets down his guard around me, not long enough for me to attack. Not that I ever think about attacking him. I don't know why but the thought to harm Adrian in any way, never crossed my head.

I wonder why…. Why don't I want him to go through any kind of suffering?

By the time I break out of my muses and walk around the bed to finish my food, the morning has already slipped into the afternoon.

~~~~

**Adrian…. **

“Do you really think it'll work?” Bert asks me for the seventh time since after returning from my esclave's room.

I let out a deep sigh and turn around to face him. My hands do a quick job on the buttons of my white shirt before I roll up my sleeves and take a seat next to him.

I shouldn't have involved him in this affair. I've already started regretting my decision. He's seeing all of this from the wrong perspective but I don't have time to set him straight now.

“It'll work out, Bert. Just keep this in my mind, we aren't doing anything illegal. I don't mean her any harm. But I need information about her past. Every small detail matters and only she can give it to me. Okay?” I try to explain as best as I can, without revealing too much. The less he knows, the better.

“Okay, fine. Do whatever you want to do. It's not like I ever have a say in anything.” He crosses his arms over his chest, twisting away from me.

“Don't start now, Bert.” I say as a warning.

He scowls at me in return. “Why are you taking such a big risk? Why are you putting everything on the stack? What if she turns out to be our enemy? We hardly know anything about her but still you sent me in her room to reveal things about our personal life and relationships. Is your sickness making you go out of your mind? I strongly believe that this is a big mistake. That girl sitting up there in your room, she's not a good news. She doesn't talk like a teenager, she has got no sass. Her attitude gave me the chills, brother. Are you getting what I'm trying to say?”

I pause to give him a dark look. “Bert, what I did was necessary to do in order to put another crack in her armour. I know that the circumstances in which you met her were not pretty, but that doesn't mean you should judge her on that basis.”

“Bullshit! You know that I wasn't talking about that. I'll forever be grateful to her for saving you. Even if she dragged you away from the car on your face.” He snickers before continuing. “But I still don't trust her. She doesn't act like a victim. She hasn't even tried to run away. Not once! What should I make out of this? Either she was born this way or you fucked her up without realizing.”

When Bert puts it that way, it's actually very strange to consider that she hasn't tried to escape. Or harm me. I no longer know what she thinks of me. Does she still consider me her enemy or does she have more feelings for me?

I guess, it's time to get my answers. But before I can make any excuse to excuse myself out of the room, Bert starts again. Jesus! This guy's mind never rests.

“I don't understand what all of this has to do with the information you want from her. Why don't you just force the answers out of her? Or better, just forget about all of this and send her to rehab. Tornado will take care of her and when he's sure she's safe, he'll send her back to where she came from. It's so simple but you're making it complicated. And in the process, you're pushing me away.”

“That's not true.” I frown at him before getting up from the bed.

I know what he's trying to do here. He'll keep up bombarding me with the same questions that anger me till I lose my temper and start a fight, which I'll definitely lose.

But I don't have time for all that. So, I try to reason with him one last time. “You have to understand this, Bert. I can't send her away, anywhere. Not yet. Balthazar's drug is still running in her veins. I'd asked Dr. Singh to take some samples of her blood and send it in the lab for comparison. I got a call from one of Scientists this morning and they said that the new sample of drug doesn't match with the one we had collected from one of Balthazar's goons. The new drug appears to be the modified version of the old one that's still running in those goon's veins. We haven't found the anti-drug yet, though they are working day and night.”

“We are dealing with something entirely new here and I'm afraid that it's dangerous. I can't risk anyone's life by sending her away without removing the drug from her system. I've been keeping tabs on her through the hidden cameras that align my room. She hasn't tried to escape in the past two days. I've watched her pace the room, take three or four showers a day and eat the food obediently that you carry into her room. And all of that has led to the conclusion that the drug is not in effect, yet. But it can activate anytime and I want to be there when it happens. I would like to see how this one will turn out to be, how she'll react and function. So you see, she's invaluable for me. Why else do you think I gave up a billion pounds for her?”

“You want to fuck her.” He states like it's a matter of fact. I choke on my bouts of amusement before composing myself and walking to the door.

“You know me too well, Bert.” I give him a shake of my head. “I'm going to get some answers now. But I would like you to take some rest. I have something important to discuss with you. We'll tackle it tomorrow.”

“You're the boss, Rain. And I would like to add something. You're already wrapped around her little finger. I won't be surprised if tonight, she gets under your skin as well. Or better, inside your pants.” He throws me a wicked wink over his shoulders before strolling inside his bathroom.

I chuckle as I shut the door of his room behind me. “Let's see who gets inside whose pants.”

Taking the stairs up to the fourth floor, I make my way to the door of my room that my esclave has occupied without her knowledge.

I don't know what I'm trying to do anymore. I broke my most significant rule on the first day we met. Instead of sending her to rehab and meeting her there as her dark stranger, I took her with me to my hotel. The events of that night upturned my entire plan. I can't even go through with my backup plan now.

Now, manipulation is my last option. If I want to solve the mystery that is my esclave, then I will have to cast my spell on her before it's time for me to set her free, according to my promise.

From the next term, I swear I'll never make any promises.

Physical seduction would have made my work so quick and efficient. But I had to go ahead and throw out the promise and then stumble on it. I'm rapidly losing my focus. I can barely feel anything but seething lust. I'm slipping back into that dark abyss and I need to get out of there before I lose it completely.

I take a deep breath and grab the knob, my heart hammers inside my chest. Maybe I should have just sneaked in through the balcony. But then I recall what Bert had told me. She wants me to man up and talk to her directly, huh?

Well, let's give her what she wants then, for once.

I open the door and step inside the dimly lit room before closing the door behind me. My eyebrows quirk up in suspicion and my body tenses up. She never switches off the overhead lights. But right now, only the laps are turned on, filling the room in soft white light.

Venturing further inside the space, I'm not really surprised to find her waiting for me. But I am a little irked by the fact that she has occupied my place, near the window. The sliding glass doors are wide open and I can see the glowing moon pinned high up the dark sky. There are no stars tonight.

“Glad to see you decided to man up and talk to me like adults. Your sneaky little game was getting on my nerves, honestly.” She whispers from her spot, her words sending a shiver down my spine. She talks with the kind of attitude that makes my blood boil.

But instead, I'm dumbfounded. Because when I walk around the bed to stand in front of her, she no longer looks like the girl who I'd degraded in my kitchen.

Sitting over there, in the armchair, dressed in my silk black evening shirt, she's a girl who knows what she's doing. And fuck me if it isn't turning me on.

Through the open window, the moon shines right above the arch of her head, casting the front of her body in a soft shadow, giving the illusion like the white light is bursting out from her only.

She's awash in a silver glow and she looks like a goddess, the goddess of the night…. A Nyx.

My Nyx…. My lips curl into a sensual but soft smile as my eyes travel up from her naked crossed legs to her perfect body draped in my huge shirt and land on her beautiful face to gaze into two dark chocolate orbs. She stares right back at me, her body language screaming confidence and defiance in my face.

She didn't take Bert's advice. She's going to play my game. And my rock hard cock is the evidence that she's going to win.

But we can't have it, can we now?

“Greetings, Miss. Danforth.” I draw out the words as I take two steps back and sit down on the edge of the bed. Completely relaxed and ready to strip her down to the core of existence. “Oops! I think I wasn't supposed to know that, Miss. Frost, was I? You'll have to forgive me. My tongue slipped.”

I chuckle darkly as I watch her uncross her feet and sit up straighter. All the colour drains down her face. Her confidence and defiance melt into fear and submission in front of my eyes when her demeanour shifts and her wide eyes wildly search my face for something.

“I know.” She goes deadly still.

I might not know everything about her. But I know that Rose Danforth And Ella Frost are the very same person. My esclave has been living two different lives and the most tragic thing is that, neither one of her lives are reality. Her existence is still a mystery as she is herself an enigma.

But tonight, I have every intention of discovering her; upside down, inside out…. I'm ready to wage the war and turn the tables to win her over and make her mine.

She'll be mine, at any cost.

I don't care about my promise anymore, because I've made up my mind. By the time I'm done with playing my cards, she'll be begging for me to touch her and fuck her till the kingdom comes.