3

Thelma

"Let go of me!!" I screamed as I was caught by two dark-skinned masculine bodyguards downstairs. They probably mistook me for a thief, holding me firmly as they refused to let me go.

I saw an old man with white full beards, his hair on his head white too, and silver-looking eyes. He walked out and stared at me in confusion at first. He wore a long white garment and spoke to the two bodyguards holding me, "Release the lady."

"Yes, grandmaster," the two bodyguards immediately let me go, and I dusted my arms irritably where the two large men had gripped me.

My thighs still hurt from how intensely the dark, handsome man in the room had pounded hard on me, and I still smelled of his scent.

"Who... are... you?" the old man with extremely white-grey hair asked me, and I greeted him, "Good morning sir."

I assumed he was related to the dark man who had been with me. I said, "I have to be on my way home now, sir."

The old Black man smiled faintly at me and replied, "Alright. Thompson, open the gate for her."

"Okay, Grandmaster," one of the two hefty guards replied, and the man named Thompson spoke to me, "Come with me."

I gulped and followed him out of the living room, as the mansion was extremely big. As we stepped out, he unlocked the gate for me, and I was grateful for not being followed outside.

I immediately ran to the bus stop, saw a cab approaching, and ordered the cab driver, "LX Hotel."

"5k, madam," the cab driver replied. I slid into the back seat.

I shut the door and said, "Drive."

The cab driver started the car engine and drove off. I sat nervously, still feeling the throbbing between my thighs, and watched as the cab driver in the yellow T-shirt drove down to LX Hotel.

I stepped out and paid for my ride, then rushed into the hotel to retrieve my car.

As I entered, my father's adopted son, Steven Sebastian, stared angrily at me as he strode up to me.

"Where did you go last night??" Steven yelled at me, looking a bit older at 36 years old, with dark skin too.

"I went to see someone," I lied.

"See someone with all these red marks on your face and neck? Who??" Steven's eyes glared angrily at me, and I knew he was worried as well. He had always had feelings for me and never fully accepted being my adopted brother. Secretly, he planned to court me.

"Leave me alone, I'm going home," I said, running to my yellow car. I needed a good bath to wash off that icy man's scent.

Steven stood with the stationed guards and watched me get into my yellow car. He waved to the guards behind him, saying, "Let's go."

Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw Steven and the two guards walk back to their cars. I sighed with relief, starting my yellow car and driving away from the hotel parking lot.

I was nervous and scared as I drove back home to face my family. Steven and the guards followed me home in the second car.

I arrived at my family mansion, drove into the garage, parked, and saw my father standing in front of the mansion, his eyes burning with anger.

I stepped down from the car and walked up to face my father on that bright Sartuday morning.

"Where did you go without answering your phone calls, last night and this morning?" Father's cold, angry eyes bore into me as my worried mother stood beside him.

"I went to see a friend, father," I lied.

"Shut your mouth and go in. This is the last time you are leaving this house to celebrate your birthday in a hotel," Father warned with a stern tone. It was my first time celebrating my birthday in a hotel, and I was 24 years old.

Father continued glaring at me as I rushed into the mansion, passing by both Father and Mother as I hurried back upstairs to my bedroom.

Breathing heavily, I remembered the anger on Father's face, locking my room door to avoid the maids disturbing me.

Treated like a princess at home, I had up to five maids attending to me.

I couldn't believe my pain still throbbed from what the cold man had done to me.

Unpaid, he hadn't held back with me at all. "Did he think I was a prostitute?" I asked myself in front of my cream-colored bedroom mirror, gasping in horror at what I saw.

Hickeys and red marks covered my body, my lips red and swollen. Removing my gown, I found more marks on my chest. The ruthless cold man had sucked my breasts so hard the night before, leaving red marks all over.

At some point, I got scared by his intensity, as if he wanted to claim me entirely.

"No wonder Steven stared at me angrily, and Father... did he notice I was no longer a virgin?" I wondered, staring at my room mirror, taking off my bra to see my swollen, marked breasts.

A knock on my room door interrupted my thoughts. "Who's there?" I asked.

"It's me, Elsa," my handmaid replied. "Go away, I don't need your help right now," I told her.

"Madam sent me to dress you up," Elsa said from outside. "Shut up and wait. I'll call you when I need you," I replied, listening as Elsa's footsteps moved away.

Elsa was my favorite handmaid among the five. I sighed, quickly rushing to the bathroom to bathe and remove the lingering scent of that handsome cold man.

His intense gaze and icy demeanor bothered me as I sank into the white bathtub filled with warm water. After my bath, I returned to my bedroom, still feeling the pain from the encounter with the stranger, his scent still lingering around me.

His silver colorless eyes haunted me as I sat on my bed, wrapped in a long white towel. I pulled out my body lotion to moisturise my skin.