Ruin (The Rhodes 1)

“Well, well, well. The fucker is keeping a prized toy.” He walks to me, his gruff voice and the sound of his steps booming all around me. “Let’s ruin you for him, shall we?”

I’m not given time to process what he said when the man stands in front of me. All thoughts evaporate. I dash to the door. When I reach the centre of the room, I’m pulled back by the hair. Excruciating pain explodes in my scalp.

Strong hands lift me from the waist. My feet leave the ground and I cringe at the roughness of his touch. I thrash in his hold, my legs kicking and my nails scratching his hands in urgency. He puts me to my feet, but doesn’t let go.

“Help!” I scream, the sound strangled with the bile restricting my throat. “Help—oomph!”

A gutting punch into my stomach causes air to knock out of my lungs. I fall limp in his hold. No oxygen comes into my system.

A halo forms all around me and all I can hear is a long buzz in my ears.

The next thing I realise is a soft material beneath my back. The carpet. I’m splayed on the ground, the man hovering above me.

A cigar smell envelops me in a nauseating hold when he speaks a few inches away from my face. “The fucker picked a good toy.”

His finger trails from my cheek to my collarbone, leaving burns in their wake. I clench the soft cloth underneath me. The disgusting sensation enough to shake me from my dizziness. I pull my knee and kick it into his groin with all my strength. He clutches the assaulted area, his face reddening. I use the chance to crawl from underneath him.

The door is just a few metres away. A few –

A hand pulls me back by the ankle. I kick with all my might. No use. Two hands encircle my legs in a tight, merciless hold.

“H-help!” A restrained voice similar to my own calls. “Aa...aron! Ka...ne!”

The stranger binges my head against the wooden floor. A metallic taste explodes in my mouth. Hot liquid invades my nose and trails on my face. The excruciating pain in my skull silences my limbs and my voice.

A black veil forms at the back of my mind.

My last thought is gratefulness that unconsciousness pulls me away.

Chapter Fifteen

Aaron

The distinct chatter in the main hall ebbs at the clinking of my champagne’s flute. Women in their pretentious cocktail gowns and men in their tuxedos face me.

I’m actually doing this.

I give a side glare to my right, where Tristan occupies the co-host position. He flashes a smirk, having so much fun with my torment.

He knows all too well that this banquet is the last place I want to be. Let alone host the whole hellish thing. If I had a choice, I would be with my mouse right now. I barely fought the urge to stay in her bathroom earlier, seconds away from proving her how much of a pervert I can be.

The mere image of her flushed ivory skin sends my blood pressure on frenzy.

This obsession with Mae needs to stop. Yet, staying away from her for whole five days proved to be bloody torture.

Now that I’ve been around her addictive citrus scent, I need to go back. Which means finishing the evening without butchering all the guests.

I smile the brightest I can. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the regular banquet. I shall hope the estate’s organisation is to your liking. The Rhodes were, and will always be, a proud member of the Noble Community.” I raise my flute of champagne. “To the community.”

“To the community.” All guests take a toast. Except for one.

He stares me down from the far end of the room, a dumb smirk on his lips.

The mini-orchestra goes back to playing a violin concerto when I turn to Tristan. “Why would you invite Hampton?”

He nods at a passing lady. “He’s a noble, I can’t exclude him.”

Dylan joins us, fetching a flute of champagne on the way. “I advised Tristan against it. Simon somehow knows that we killed his father.”