Chapter 18 BLACKOUT
\[CAIUS’ HOUSE\]
Caius sat on the sofa reading from the newspaper about the Hell Devils’ new attack and the death of the Viren’s. Lorraine was staring at something on her phone. Bonnie barged in and stood in front of her father. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Dad, who’s Ixora Castellan?” Bonnie asked.
Caius sighed and dropped the newspaper, but he ignored her.
“I’m talking to you, Dad,” she snapped.
“Show some respect, Bonnie, I’m still your father,” Caius cautioned.
“Yeah, whatever, just tell me who the hell is Ixora Castellan?” she asked again.
“You’ve never cared about anyone but yourself and Drexton. What changed? Caius asked.
“I don’t give a damn about her. I just want to know how close she is to Drexton, and why he stared at her when I went to visit him in his office,” Bonnie frowned as the incident resurfaced in her head.
Lorraine looked up from her phone when she heard Bonnie’s last statement.
“If Drexton truly stared at her, I think you should direct your question to Drexton instead,” Caius said and stood.
“And I think that by now, everyone already knows that Ixora Castellan is the daughter of Smith Castellan and Georgia Castellan.” Caius’ eyes darkened as soon as the names left his mouth.
“And what does that have to do with Drexton?” Bonnie asked, noticing the indifference in his eyes.
Caius stared at her, and without bothering to reply, he left for his room.
“Fuck you, Dad! Fuck you!” Bonnie shouted after her father.
She shifted her eyes to her mother, who sighed.
“I have no idea if they are close,” she said, stood, and walked over to Bonnie. She placed her hand on her shoulder, just like any mother would.
“I suggest you forget about Drexton. It’ll be for your good.”
Bonnie stared at her disgustingly and slowly removed her hand from her shoulder.
“I know you are also obsessed with Drex, so don’t try to advise me, mum,” Bonnie said, dragging the last part. She glared at her before leaving for her room, too.
Lorraine’s eyes grew cold the moment Bonnie left. She glanced at her phone again, and it was a picture of Drexton.
“I need to find out the relationship between my Drexton and that Ixora girl.”
She made a phone call, and the person answered on the first call.
“Find out everything about the Castellan family and their relationship with Drexton,” she said, heading for her room.
“On it,” the person replied.
Lorraine hung up as she walked to her ward rope. She opened the door, shifted her clothes as a tiny button appeared.
She pushed the button, and the door slowly creaked open.
A silver metal made in the form of a human was inside and shut down. She smiled before pressing the one button at the back of its neck, and it booted to life, its glowing eyes locking onto hers.
The metal wasn’t any human...but Drexton. It was a robot built in Drexton’s version.
“Drex,” Lorraine called.
“I belong to you and only you, Lorraine,” the robot said.
Lorraine smiled.
\[IXORA’S HOUSE\]
Ixora paced around in the sitting room, impatiently waiting for the cup she ordered to be delivered. The doorbell rang and she rushed to open it.
“Thank you,” she said and hurriedly signed the paper before closing the door.
She unpacked the package and frowned when she saw what was inside. This wasn’t close to the cup she broke. She darted her eyes to the wall clock and sighed when she saw the time.
He had only given her until eight to get the same cup. She tried looking for it, but couldn’t find it. Time wasn’t on her side any longer to ask the cup makers to make a new one, as it seemed the original was a customized version.
She repacked it when she saw she had only twenty minutes left. The location had been sent to her, and it was the same place she had found out about their secret identity.
She was able to replace her broken phone early in the morning. She checked herself. She was wearing a navy green spaghetti-strap body con dress. She thought about changing it since the weather looked like it was going to rain, but on checking the time again, she carried the package and rushed out of the house.
She had promised herself that she would quit her job after this. She can’t continue to bear his hatred.
\[HELL DEVILS’ HIDEOUT\]
The drive to their hideout was brief. She stepped out of her car and, as if the heavens were against her, a heavy downpour started.
“Shit,” she cursed, holding the package tightly as she rushed into the building.
The door was wide open for her...just for her.
She came in. Her hair was stuck to her face, and her dress wasn’t helping matters as it had stuck to her body, showing her curves.
Her steps became slow as she gulped hard while walking towards him.
He wasn’t alone. Maddox and Jaxon were with him. The three of them stared at her...not her...the package in her hands.
She got to them and placed it on the table with trembling hands.
“Y...your coffee cup,” she stuttered.
“Open it,” Drexton said, each word cut with precision and dark intent.
She picked it, her heart pounding heavily and hands shaking terribly as she unpacked it.
Jaxon’s eyes shone in pleasure when he saw it wasn’t the cup.
They knew she wouldn’t be able to get it right no matter how hard she tried.
“I...I couldn’t find the exact cup, so I...”
“Should I just smash it in her face?” Maddox asked, like he’d done it before and wanted to do it again, but darker. Expectation.
Ixora flinched at his deep voice.
Drexton took a sip from the small bottle he was holding before speaking up.
“Go ahead,” he said.
Ixora’s eyes widened, but they widened more when she saw he was even standing up from his seat.
She looked around, ready to run away, but she knew they were three and no ordinary men. Even if she tried to run, they would get her before she reached halfway through the door.
Her eyes went to Maddox, and she saw he hadn’t even started walking to her despite being on his feet.
She glanced at Drexton and saw the look he was giving her.
Cold.
Dominant.
Disdainful.
He was belittling her with his eyes, and no one, not even the devil, had the right to do it. Somehow, it took out all the fright in her as her gaze turned into a hard glare.
She picked up the cup and threw it at Drexton’s face.
He tilted his head to the left. The cup crashed into the wall and shattered into pieces.
His mind spiraled—Georgia had done the same thing to his mother.
“Voilà,” Maddox said and sat down.
Jaxon had a smug look on his face while Drexton remained deadpan.
“Who do you three even think you are? What do you take me for, your puppet whom you can order anytime you want and make me do as you please? My name is Ixora Castellan, not little thief or play pet. You want your broken cup of coffee without replacing my mini-keytar. Drexton Blackthorn, go and rot in hell!” She gave him her middle finger.
His eyes turned dark, and in the next second, he was in front of her. His big palm grabbed her arm roughly.
“Let go,” she hit his chest, but it felt like throwing a paper on a wall.
“Hell... is deep. The fire burns, but you,” he smirked darkly, increasing his grip on her.
“Let’s play.” He ripped off the upper part of her dress.
Her eyes went wide in shock, confusion and anger.
She struggled to break free from his hold, but his hold was firm.
“Let me go, you madman!”
Her eyes widened when she heard a sound from her dress.
Did her dress just tear from the back?
“Leave me,” she struggled further, but the more she struggled, the torn sound only increased.
“No one is dying to see you naked, pet,” Jaxon said from behind, his voice devoid of interest...like she wasn’t worth the ridicule.
She stood still to prevent the cloth from tearing further. Even the fabric seemed to be siding with this monster. Her eyes locked with Drexton’s emotionless own.
Maddox threw him a knife, which he caught without even looking at it.
“You like to play with fire,” he placed the sharp edge above her breast.
“But I...” he held the gaze further.
She was his to destroy, and he would make sure of it. The knife hovered above her breast. The sharp edge sent goosebumps all over Ixora’s body at the fear of him slicing her neck with it.
His eyes twitched. “I like to play with blood.”
She winced when she felt a sting.
She traced her gaze down her chest to see that he had given her a cut.
Her blood had smeared on the knife.
He lifted the knife to his lips and slowly licked the blood off.
His eyes clung to her like he’d bound them with something cruel.
Emotionless. He looked into her soul like a demon, studying her.
He threw the knife back to Maddox, who caught it exactly by the blade. He smirked darkly when he saw his blood trailing down the knife.
That was all Ixora could see before...
Blackout.