ADRIANA'S POV:
IT TOOK the sound of the horn from the bus to get me out of my thoughts as I got out and made my way into the Estate.I had lived there for quite a while yet the security at the gate never failed to fix me with a sly gaze anytime I approached them. My guess was that they were not used to seeing someone from the estate taking the tube or better still coming back at that hour of the night looking so depressing and disordered.As a matter of fact I had come to care less about the way they looked at me as I made my way past them and headed for my house.I was about crossing the road when an expensive car drove crazily past me, almost running me over.I knew certainly well it was driven by rich drunk teenagers who didn't seem fit to offer an apology as they continued driving despite cussing at the top of my voice.My efforts brought no apologies rather teenage voices from the far end of the street drifted to my ears, irritating me the most.A feminine trill of a laugh, filled the emptiness in my chest, and a voice I’d vaguely recognized as I continued walking to my home not without muttering bitches.I walked past the low gate, past the garage that had few cars and across the freshly mowed lawn that had the scent of fresh grass.I took out my card key and wiped open the front door as I walked into the apartment that looked expensive.The house seemed empty and quiet but for a Katty Perry song playing from my step sister's room.I stared around again before making my way up the stairs taking two steps at a time till I almost bumped into my step father."Watch where you go." He said, sounding disoriented and smelling heavily of liquor.I twitched my noise at the bad odor, I should be used to it after working at the club but he reminded me of those men and the fact it was happening here in my home literally, had a different effect.I apologized for almost bumping into him but as I made to walk past him he blocked my way again."Now what?" I thought to myself.The way the house was empty I knew what was coming next, I had always suspected him and my step sister of practising incest or rather I had suspected him of touching her in inappropriate places but up to last month when he started doing the same with me I had merely thought it was my mind or I had been judging him wrongly.It was partly—wholly—the reason I was always hiding in my room, though I would never admit it to my mother when she was strong enough to ask.“You are too beautiful to look at me with that face,” he tried holding me again."Just give me one taste of you." My step father said, as he tried to touch me again with the cacophony of Amy singing along with the song following his words.I shifted under the weight of the word he just said. For obvious reasons, I found it hard to believe he would actually make passes at his own daughters even if I suspected he was practicing incest with Amy already.I had made myself so tough skinned, especially when I realized I was the girl adored for all the wrong reasons: I wasn’t hard to look at, I was beautiful and all but when those advances were coming from my own half drunk father it was usually hard to believe.He tried touching me again and this time he was able to get me into an embrace as he drew me closer to himself and groped my ass, squeezing it as he pressed me against his erection.I wriggled myself away and just then he slipped and fell right through the stairs.The music was loud enough to drown the sound of his fall and my shriek. By then, I could have sworn I heard his neck breaking as I raced down, placing two fingers on his neck and breathing in relief when I felt a pulse.I Walked back up still a bit unrattled at the fact I had almost murdered someone.Mother was sleeping when I walked in or perhaps her eyes were just closed because she opened them as soon as I stood close to her sick bed.Her health was failing and I couldn't help but imagine how she got herself Into finding herself entangled with a man like Elrod.She coughed while she spoke. "Thought I heard you come in a while ago." She said and struggled to sit up embracing me.She had a queer scent of drugs but I had become so used to it."Yeah, I stopped at my room first.""So how was sales today?" She asked.It was funny having to lie to her. I worked as a sales representative but it was all I could do to hide the true nature of my job."Well quite an interest today and got a huge bonus but we are still far away from the medical bills." I said looking all gloomy.She held my hands in hers. "I have told you not to worry about these things, just forget about me."I withdrew my hands from her like she was on fire. “I can't there is no way I could do that, I am prepared to fight and do anything to get the Money.``"It is sad your step dad, Elrod can't be of help." She said, shaking her head and soon started coughing.I checked for her drug at the side of the table and saw it had the last dose in it."Guess I would have to get some more of this tonight." I took a glance at my watch after giving her the last pills.She was about to say something as I kissed her goodnight.I walked out of the door to my room emptying the content of my bag on the bed, nothing much other than.The day's pay. Lips gloss. Pepper spray and the Credit card.Took the pepper spray and a few cash as I stepped out of my door stepping past my stepfather still at the end of the stairs unconscious.Shouldn't I be worried?ADRIANA'S POVWHICH beat more lightly, the drizzling rain or my fickle heart?To a much greater relief I would pick my heart. It felt so much better coming back and finding the end if the stairway empty meant at least that I was not a murderer just yet as I walked to my room dropping the drugs I had just gotten from the pharmacy on the table. I watched as the rain beat lightly against my window as I padded my way to the bathroom leaving my trail of clothing on the ground.Soon the only sound that filled the room was the one faucet as warm water matted my hair to my shoulders.I walked out soon enough and for a minute I took my time to look around again in room, it felt different from how I had left it and I couldn't quite place the reason why, I shrugged to myself before putting on a thick cardigan and pulling out my laptop with my headset buzzing away to cool music while I went through my Expert first level hacking program.It was the other thing I spent my time on, downloadin
MASSIMO'S POVThe phone in my dresser won't stop beeping despite my pleas for it to stop…just stop.I opened my eyes and could still feel the bang in my head from the hangover of the previous night.It had been two crazy nights in a row and not even after I had misplaced my credit card had it bothered me a bit.To speak, it was not really a bother as I had enough money and what I meant was good cash to run the city on gas for years.Most times I tried to tell myself I was not calling bluff but the fact remains that I was a Billionaire.Massimo Empire had been a name that ran through two generations and when it was handed over to me as its sole heir I had followed right in the footsteps of my predecessors.I soon reached the phone that still won't stop beeping and was surprised to see who the goddamn caller was."My account officer?" I was puzzled as to why she was calling so early past ten am."Good morning, sorry to disturb you." Her voice sounded from the other side of the phone.
ADRIANA'S POVI LOOKED like I just won a million dollars in the lottery as I basked all day.I had that exact amount in the account and the thought that alone made me over zealous.For one, all the debts I had were cleared and I had been getting ready to get the preparation for my mother's hospital bills in NYC.There was a saying that money makes the world go round, I had thought it to be a mere figure of speech till this moment, I could literally feel the world spinning while I stood fixed still not knowing what to do with the rest of the money in my account."Carolina, if you had a million dollars what would you do?"Calolina was a stripper as well who danced with me on Wednesdays, the thing about her was she spent her money on drugs but when she was sober and not on anything she made a lot of sense talking.We closed for the day and as I made my way home I could still hear her voice at the back of my head telling me what she would do if she had that amount right now in her account
ADRIANA’S POVIT WAS becoming so tension filled, as the time ticked. I could hear everything, every single one of it as though it was in the same phase as my heart– Heavy and slow.The sound of vodka being poured over ice making a sizzling noise. The heavy Cigar smoke that washung in the air making breathing difficult and with it came tension, a lot of it.I could see the burning gaze emanating from Massimo from behind where he was sitting– He didn't look like a happy man sitting behind that desk. As a matter of fact he looked far from it, regardless of the frown and all I still had to admit he looked quite handsome.I occupied a chair in front of him, looking not so good with the imprint of his hand on my left chin, leaning back on the chair I could see the displeasing look he gave me.He had asked earlier on if I was the only one involved in this swindle even threatened to find out if someone else was involved, probably a boyfriend but I had convinced him I had none.I looked uninte
MASSIMO'S POVLEANING back on the soft sofa with my legs crossed, my attention was divided between the thick mist of smoke floating into the air and her pretty face that was quite remarkable.Looking at her from a far off she looked incapable of this theft, but when you look at the dark side of the business she was involved in, you'd know better.Strippers were never really to be trusted no matter how gentle they seemed; it was just in their nature to do dubious things.I could feel every bit of anger trickling down my nerves, despite how subtle I might seem at that moment, but it was strong enough that I had to keep choking it down with a cup of whiskey.Despite all that, It burned in my throat, as I could feel every bit of it expanding on my chest, like a virus willing to rip my soul apart.My eyes skimmed the expanse of space as I searched across the room for Marcus, my one and only reliable guard; wiping my hand with a napkin. I was agitated at the fact that he was yet to be bac
CHAPTER 8ADRIANA'S POVI DIDN'T know what to feel about everything that was happening right now, it was all so unexplainable.Be it nervousness, anxiety or any other emotions, everything happened so fast I couldn't keep track of it.My feelings were a mixture of all the negative emotions you could think of, and in its trail, it left me feeling jittery. I didn't know how to react to the fact that I was going to live with this absolute stranger, and to be used for whatever he intended to do with me.I tried to study him for a while, his face, his looks. He did look rich– Obviously, but that wasn't the only thing that got my attention.It was this dark looming expression he had that was hard to explain, it was as though he kept it secret for a purpose.We drove in a different car from the rest, with my face glued to the glass as I watched life speed past me. A soft music played from the radio and its peaceful tune made my mind drift away with diverse thoughts plaguing it.I couldn't
Adriana’s POVThe cold water from the shower overhead trickled down my face and skin, leaving a numb chillness in its wake and despite the fact that I was bathing with clean water and I could perceive the sweet scenting soap on my skin, I still felt really dirty and stinky, like filth.“No matter what you do Adriana, you’re filth and filth you’ll remain for as long as you live!” Amy’s harsh words rang in my ears like music from a broken tape, and for the first time in my life, I welcomed it. I welcomed her insults and her down talking; and I welcomed every other negative feeling that came with being the unwanted child… the black sheep.I distinctly remembered how I used to desperately clamor for her attention and then after mother remarried, I began to clamor for a sense of belonging, for love, for care until I realized that all I had been doing for the most of my childhood was clamoring for things that I couldn’t get… things I could never have.Tears leaked out of my eyes as I thoug
Adriana's POVTHE music suddenly stopped and so did I. I knew it was unprofessional for me to stop dancing as the music stopped but I had been looking for that opportunity ever since I begun dancing.I could feel his razor-sharp focus running across my skin like trickling water and raking through every fibre of my being, it made me so nervous that when I finally got to the pole, I looked at it as if I did never danced on one before.I couldn’t even bring myself to touch it, let alone hold it due to the amount of anxiety that his eyes were making me feel. It was the kind that an entire club had not been able to me feel as I was able to do this almost every night, but with him it was different. His steely gaze was making me jittery, and this thing quite impossible.As expected, it didn't take long for him to snap and then he began to yell at me asking me if I was going to dance eventually or wait till it was finally Dawn.With trembling lips I responded that I was going to dance and the