FIFTY - SEVEN

FIFTY - SEVEN
CELESTIA

Action speaks louder than words. I understood the phrase the moment my mother snatched me away from there, and all Raffaele did was stand.
They sent me back to my home.
Home. The word didn’t resonate within me. There was no conjecture of happiness or a sanctuary anymore. It was nothing but bleak and foreign. Throughout the ride, I kept wondering about Raffaele, both in fondness and anger. How could he toss me away like an unwanted piece of furniture?
Even though I was exhausted beyond measure, sleep did not agree with me. I stared outside the window, overlooking the Vegas strip at a faraway distance and gazed into the inky blackness of the night. The darkness swirled around with the tendrils of bleakness. The deafening silence echoed in my ears like a constant white noise that absolutely refused to shut up.
I remained where I was when the first light of dusk appeared, and slowly the entire sky lit up with blinding light from the sun. A new day, a new beginning, and yet I was still stuck in a timeline of the past.
Kyla insisted that I join her for breakfast, and seeing she would not budge, I gave in and strode into the kitchen island. The table was already presented with food as I pulled out a chair.
“You should eat more,” Kyla said, breaking the invisible halo of silence.
Without bothering to look up from the bowl of soup I chose for breakfast, I replied, “I am not hungry.”
“It’s not surprising to lose your appetite given the trauma you have been through. But you are home now, and you have nothing to worry about.”
I paused and put down the spoon to look at her. “Mother, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Regarding what?”
“My future,” I stated decisively. It came to me on a spur of the moment, but I did not want to back out anymore. “My existence is not a secret as it used to be. So I have decided that I want to pursue a business degree from a reputed university.”
The startled look on her face slowly gave away to annoyance because Kyla Donovan was never spoken to in this manner. “You have decided? Where is this coming from, Celestia?”
“I can’t stay hidden away from the world forever. I am tired, mother. I am tired of this life now.”
Kyla put down her toast and elegantly dabbed her painted lips with the napkin. “You have your 21st birthday coming in a week, and I was planning for a small celebration. You and me, something we have never done before. Why don’t we talk about your future after that?”
My birthday was not precisely an event I have ever celebrated. But I could wait one more week if it meant I could finally pursue the kind of education I wanted to.
I slowly gave the nod and acquiesced.
“I know the kind of pain you have been through, Celestia and I will never be able to forgive myself for putting you through it,” she said in a voice that was surprisingly soft and slightly misplaced. Kyla seemed…different. Or maybe it’s just me.
“It’s not what you think. No one put me through any kind of hardship or torture, in case you are wondering,” I told her.
With a smile, she reached out and touched my hand. “Sometimes, invisible scars take more time to heal than visible ones.” It was quite unusual for Kyla to behave this way…like a mother.
A different feeling churned inside my stomach. So I quickly changed the topic. “Where is Oscar? I have not seen him around.”
Kyla promptly withdrew her hand and settled into clinical behaviour. “He is working at the office for me. You don’t need to worry about Oscar because I have already decided on a replacement for him.”
“Replacement? Why?”
“He is incompetent to protect you,” she declared coldly and called out. “Alec, please come in.” A man in the late thirties approached the room and stood a little away from where I was seating. Tall, cropped hair and enormously muscular - the kind of scary bouncers you would see in clubs.
“Celestia, this is Alec Renshaw. He will be in charge of your security from now on.”
My nose flared in distaste. “Mother, is this really necessary? And if you have to keep someone with me, I am more comfortable with Oscar.”
“I am not taking a chance with your security after all that has happened. This is non-negotiable.”


RAFFAELE

I sat in the room, the very Celestia vandalized in her anger. Although the entire place was promptly redecorated within a couple of days, I have never been here. I slept in her room and woke up with her in my arms, almost as if we were born for it. With time, her presence in my life became so vibrant and predominant that it physically ached to be without her.
And it was not just me alone.
I could feel her absence within the bricks of this house, calling out her name in forlorn hope. My head swarmed in the fire, burning me inside out. The only smouldering embers of time remained like ashes of memory.
How could I be so spineless and let go of something which was mine to take?
The small sound of opening the door invaded into my thoughts as I slowly turned my head. Lila stood at the doorway with a tray in her hand. The sullen look on her face told me that she was grieving for Celestia as much as I was.
It was customary for the staff member of this household to send the dinner to our room in case my brother or I did not go downstairs, but today, neither one of us was hungry.
Shaking my head, I dismissed Lila. “Take that away. I am not in a mood to eat anything.”
She stiffened but braved to stroll into the room and placed it down on the coffee table. “It’s not dinner,” she said quietly. “It’s the cake.”
“I said I am not in a mood—”
“Celestia baked it for you,” she cut me in as I sprang up on the bed. “She was going to surprise you but…”
Lila trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Spinning on her heels, she left as quickly as she arrived as I kept staring at the tray of dessert.
Bambi, I miss you.


CELESTIA

Two days later.
Reality hit me and drenched me like a bucket of ice-cold water on a winter morning. I was completely and utterly alone, in my mind, body, and soul, and most of all, entirely alone in the world.
I did not owe anything to anyone. If Raffaele could abandon me like a discarded toy, I have every right to own myself back. Even though he probably ruined me for every man out there, setting a standard no one would ever be able to compete or even come closer, I still have to try.
I have to try and see whether someone else’s dominance worked for me or not.
Lucky for me, Vegas was the legitimate place on earth designated for sinful desires. It was the only place where you can unapologetically explore the most deep-seated attraction without feeling sorry for yourself. Besides, what have I got to lose?
I quickly looked for a BDSM club near me, something Club Eclipse, and grabbed the ID I had last used at Raffaele’s club. It was time I put him behind me exactly the way he had done it.
Putting on the jeans and crop top, I strode towards the exit.
“Miss? Is there something you need?” The new bodyguard, Alec’s voice made me turn. Shit. I almost forgot that I have to get rid of his omnipresence. There was no way I’d let Kyla get a whiff of this.
“I am suffocating inside the room,” I announced. “I need to take a walk.”
He attempted to pull out his phone. “Let me have a talk with Mrs. Donovan before…”
“Alec, is it?” I interrupted before he could act on it. His gaze met mine and locked as he slowly nodded. “In case you don’t know, I was kidnapped for more than three weeks. And now that I am back home, it doesn’t feel very different when you and my mother are constantly hovering over my space. You don’t need to call my mother for every little thing.” I stood against the door, crossing my arms in front and not giving in.
A long moment stretched between us, and he finally tucked the phone inside his jacket. “If that is what you insist, Miss Celestia. But I still can’t let you go alone.”
“Please have the car ready outside then,” I ordered.
A frown pulled his bushy eyebrows together. “I am sorry, did not say walk?”
“I know of a place in Vegas, which is quiet and ideal for a long walk. We are going there.” I knew the nightlife of Vegas was wild enough to manage a slip, and then I could smoothly go to my chosen place. Until then, I would have to keep up the facade.
Alec stiffly nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
He walked past me and scurried out as I took in a deep breath and tried to settle down my rabbitting heart. I chanted again and again in my head that I was free—free to do anything I wanted to and that no one could ever stop me.
It was only my heart who disagreed.


Some good news! I have almost finished writing the book, so hopefully, you will get all back-to-back updates for the next couple of days. Thank you so much for giving my book a chance.