CHAPTER 5
Asher.
The only difference between people who believed Mr. Richard Zane was an angel and the people in the mental asylum was the fact that the first were roaming freely.
Bunch of idiots.
No matter how hard the universe screamed at them to turn the other way and fucking run for their life, they insisted on falling for the same propaganda.
Did I blame them? Yes and no.
Who wouldn't want to be involved with him?
He was everything people thought they wanted: the richest CEO in the country, with houses you can't count on your ten fingers, and the looks of a model. He had everything he wanted and nothing he needed.
Like a brain.
I dragged my gaze to the lady who beamed at his every word, nodding at his commands, and supporting his useless words.
My dearest newest stepmother.
For a forty-seven-year-old woman, wasn't she too old to think of love or marriage?
I shifted my gaze to her, the bane of this situation.
She huddled up in the chair, her face etched with a horrific look with every baseless rule Richard Kane vomited.
After ten minutes of spitting out his rules and successfully draining her face of every color, she looked more like a statue.
She sat there, frozen, shocked, and overwhelmed by other emotions I couldn't figure out. Her expression slowly drifted from shock to fear. Something in those blue eye crystals flickered.
It was like they had finally unraveled the mysteries behind this castle of lies; the fear in her eyes proved I was right.
She didn't talk; she couldn't. It was more like she was waiting for him to say he was joking.
Her finger curled around the cutlery tight enough to whiten her knuckles.
"Welcome to hell." She pulled her gaze to me. I didn't stare at her; my gaze remained on whatever I was served.
Probably one of Richard's family dishes.
"Dearest sister," I completed and scooped at the steak instead.
Her throat flexed.
"I… I am not hungry." She stood.
Looks like she did have an ounce of courage inside that fragile body of hers.
"No one leaves the table before they are done." Willow stopped in her tracks.
She wanted to protest, to stand up for herself, to storm out.
She won't. She couldn't.
She sat back and dug into her plate of food.
Weak!
I sprang from my chair, staring him dead in the eye before turning to leave.
"That applies to you too, Asher."
"It doesn't." I left, sparing no one a glance.
I dashed through the halls, making my way towards the door.
If I stayed another second, I might lose it.
Fuck! I gritted. Anger surged through my veins.
How badly I wanted to whip out the smug he had. To smack him back to reality. He wasn't a king, nor did his fucked up rules make sense.
The memory of Willow's expression flashed through my mind.
She looked like she was a minute away from passing out. I wouldn't blame her. Luckily, she didn't.
People like her didn't belong here. She was too weak, too fragile, too innocent to live among devils, to wander carelessly in a lion's den.
Only if I could tell her this, not like it changes shit.
I dug my fingers through my hair, letting the moist air embrace me.
She was walking amongst beasts, one who lurked at every corner, awaiting her slip up, and she did that yesterday.
Walking down the dark halls? Was she serious?! There were a hundred and one things that could have gone horribly wrong.
She could have stumbled upon something she shouldn't, like me.
The moment she slammed into my arms, and her scent slipped into my nostrils, I knew it was her. She looked small and felt even less, with her dainty hands and pale skin that seemed to glow under the darkness, and her dreaming eyes. She stared. She drooled, and for a second I let her, testing how innocent she was.
Wondering if I leaned in more, would she do the same?
If I brought her lips close, would she claim mine?
How easy it would be for me to pin her to that wall and ruin her pretty, innocent self.
Heat scorched through my spine, and my cock stirred in attention.
Fucking bastard!
I shoved the thought away, and it came back.
Fuck!
No matter how fucking inviting she was, she was still untouchable, the only exception to my flirtatious grasp. And that applied to that dearest father of mine.
If she was my stepsister, then she was his stepdaughter.
One he should protect and not ruin, but when had anyone who came close to Richard Kane left in one piece?
He ruined everything he touched, burned everything he laid his eyes on.
My teeth clashed against the other.
I would be damned to let him do the same to Willow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I stared at the moon which peeked from a cloud. Its rays splashed over the castle. Sitting on the stairs, I soaked in the chilly comfort it gave.
Others found peace at home. I found mine outside, in the courtyard, where ghosts of our secrets danced freely, when skeletons weren't afraid to step out.
The door cracked open. I snapped my gaze to the door, and the scent of sweet apple gushed through my nostrils before her pale skin stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight.
She froze, her eyes widened at the sight of me.
Wasn't she meant to be locked up in her room, awaiting that bastard's command?
"I wasn't running away…" she began, trying to convince me. I raised my hands, signaling her to stop.
"I don't care; you can fucking run if you want." My words stung her. Hey, the truth was harsh.
"I…okay. I will leave."
"You can stay." No! If inside was a den, then outside was a walking trap—the fastest way to die.
She shouldn't stay!
"I am not chasing you away," I continued, greedy to soak in her presence.
"Thank you."
"Stop saying that." Agitation edged my voice. "It's annoying."
"I …"
"Don't!"
Quietly, she sat on the stairs, a proper distance away, but that didn't stop my mind from cooking up thoughts, probability, possibility that would end up with her being bent and broken in ways she never thought she could.
Fuck!
"I am sorry about yesterday." My eyebrow perked up. "I didn't know you were my stepbrother. I…I mean brother. I didn't mean to bump into you."
"Okay."
She waited for a few seconds, then spoke again. "I was thinking we…."
"Stop talking." She stilled. "I said you can stay; I never said we will talk."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to get to know each other since we are step-siblings."
"Skip the introduction to forever," I hissed. "Listen, dearest sister. I don't care. Plus, your voice is a nuisance." She slammed her lips shut. Hurt flashed through her eyes.
"I'm sorry." She stood, her shoulders slumped. "I will leave you. Sorry again."
I'm a fucking idiot!
"You don't need to." I straightened up to a towering 6'2. I headed in, not sparing her a glance. If I stayed any longer, I might do something even more stupid like kiss her and trace my tongue over her body. Plus, I had no urge to play babysitter.
If she was hurt by my mere words, then she should leave with her mother.
I strode past her,
and into the house.
Then again, I couldn't leave her out there.
I cursed beneath my breath, turned to return to her when the voice halted my steps.
"Going somewhere."