"So, what are you going to do now?" Laura was asked if she had witnessed Gavin getting dressed. It was finally time for him to take Claudia to Miami.
"What do you mean by that, honey?" he asked, adjusting his clothes as Laura assisted him with his travel bag. Claudia has not let them rest since he acceded to her request, and she has not stopped reminding them of it.
"I mean, why are you carrying clothes? Our daughter is going to Miami and staying there for school, not you."
"Laura, you don't expect me to drop Claudia off at school and travel back immediately. You know, there are other things Claudia would do that a guardian might be asked for. So I will stay there for a day or two." He mumbled, staring into the large mirror on the wall.
"You can't just go with your daughter and leave me here alone, Gavin."
Gavin held his tongue for a moment before letting out a deep breath. Laura has not gone out in a few months, possibly for work, and when he did go out, she did not always accompany him.
"Sure, honey, you can begin preparing your belongings," he replied briefly. Laura forced a fake smile before grabbing her tiny suitcase and packing it full of various outfits, accessories, jewelry, and shoes.
"Take a shower, honey; the pilot in charge of our private jet is waiting."
Yes, his stepfather owns the private jet, which was supposed to be given to Aaron, but before killing Aaron, he asked to borrow it from him, and Aaron, being a cheerful giver, had no choice but to lend it to him.
"All right," she shot back, making her way to the bathroom door.
After half an hour, everything was ready. That was Claudia's happiest moment; her dream was finally coming true. Laura was not happy, but she pretended to be happy with a smile on her face to avoid answering any suspicious questions from Gavin.
"Car's ready, boss. I have stored your belongings in the trunk. His chauffeur pointed this out. Grasping Laura's hand, Gavin proceeded towards the entrance, observing Claudia already inside the vehicle.
They were able to enter after the door was opened for them, and once the engine was running, they quickly took off for the airport where their plane was waiting.
….
"Ahhh! I am sorry, master; I didn't." She stopped the water while glancing down at her uniform to see how wet it appeared from her chest. He was wearing a chilly expression on his handsome face when she turned to look at him.
"Didn't I tell you I want a cold bath? Why are you drinking water from my bathroom, huh?" She remained silent for some time, gently tapping her stomach to stop the growling sound.
"But master, you only told me I would not be given food, but you didn't specify on the water part," she conveyed, wearing a pout. She was defending herself in a way that baffled Axel. He watched her with an intriguing smirk on his face that gave the impression that he could see right through it. [He observed her trembling as she attempted to maintain her balance while standing.]
"So, what are you trying to prove?" he inquired, balancing himself on the doorpost. She remained silent, trying to find the right words to say without aggravating him or forcing him to punish her further. She winced as she tried to hide the sharp pain in her stomach from him.
Axel noticed it and stepped in, getting closer to her. Watching his footsteps made her body tense. Rather, he strolled by her and headed for the bathtub. To Lana's surprise, he removed his shirt without shame. She quickly fled the bathroom and closed the door.
"Why does he have to act like this?" she whispered, clutching her chest in an attempt to regain her little strength. She stood in the room and realized how big it was. Even her bedroom was not as large as his bathroom; his bedroom was far more spacious and elegantly sumptuous.
Her gaze fell to the desk and comfortable chair where he sat while sketching. She noticed the papers on the table and was tempted to go over and see what he was doing. She moved to the desk, allowing her curiosity to take over, listening intently to the bathroom door for any sign of his footsteps.
"Lana, what you are doing is extremely dangerous; what if he catches you?" Her inner voice scolded her. At first, she was taken aback by what he drew—a woman's back with a tattoo around her waist. She thought it strange and looked at the tattoo; it looked pretty familiar.
She wanted to move on to the next page, but when she heard footsteps, she quickly placed them where she had found them and left, standing beside the door. The door opened, revealing Axel, dressed in a black bathrobe. His hair was damp, with some of it covering part of his face, which heightens his dark aura and gives him a dangerous bad boy vibe.
"Go stand outside the door unless you want to watch me dress up." She blushed as she heard this. Without hesitation, she dashed out of his room, gently closing the door and standing outside it like a guard.
Lana stood there like a stray puppy until she heard him tell her to come inside. He sat on one of the couches, which faced the large window. With his back to her and his face turned toward the window, she saw that the lights had been turned down.
According to Lana, the sky view was visible. Because of his large window, it looked magnificent from where she stood. Only the sound of her stomach and the air could be heard in the eerily quiet room. She remained sheepish, tapping her stomach to keep it shut.
The hunger was hitting her harder, and she could feel her chest burning. Since her birth, she has never been this hungry. Axel pretended not to notice the noises emanating from her stomach while he sat there with his two hands resting beneath his head. After a while, he sighed deeply and spoke.
"Why don't you shut that monster of yours? I am trying to have a relaxing night here." Lana scowled, realizing that her hunger was unavoidable and that she was powerless over the sound her stomach made until she had consumed food.
He took a cigarette out of his pocket, struck up a match, and held it to his lips. Lana wondered what was so appealing about inhaling smoke to relax.
"Why did you touch my sketchbook?" he asked, blowing smoke out of his mouth. Her mouth patted open in astonishment, trying to fathom what he just said.
'How did he know?' She questioned herself, and Axel, who knew what was on her mind, responded. "Why won't i know? You are so bad at trying to fix things in the wrong way," he said, still not looking at her. Lana could not help but wonder if this man was a supernatural being or a human.
"M-Master, how did...?" She was trying to think of the right words to say, and even without seeing his face, she knew she would be wearing a wicked smile on his face.
"You know, Lana, I hate it when someone touches my things without my permission. And you have no single epitome of fear in you to come near my things. Now I want you to explain what you saw in it." He demanded, and his tone threw her off balance. It was so frightening that she began to wonder if he would kill her or punish her worse than she is now.
"Your time begins now."
Lana began to struggle with getting her words out. She attempted to picture what she had seen in the sketchbook. A lady's back view, a tattoo.
"I saw a lady's back view, with a tattoo beneath her back." She stuttered, looking petrified. She felt her hand sweating and her heart racing as if it wanted to rip out of her chest.
"Was that the only thing you saw?"
"Yes, m-master," she replied, her mind returning to the tattoo. It appeared strikingly similar to the one she owned, but that could not be true. She had never met him before, and he had only ever seen her at the club when she was wearing clothing that showed off her back, but he was not looking at it.
'Shut up, Lana; someone can have the same tattoo you do.' her inner voice said. But her tattoo was strange; she did not ask for it to be drawn on her waist, and she used to believe she was born with it. That means no one in his or her right mind could tattoo a baby.
The smoke from his cigarette filled the air and caused her to cough. Although she tried to cough quietly, Axel was not helping; even if he was not bothered by the smoke, she was.
"To add to your punishment, you will be standing in my room all night for two weeks straight, and do not try to miss a day or it will be extended," he said, causing her to frown slightly. She wanted to cry, knowing that this was the least he could do to punish her.
"Next time, you will think twice before putting your foolish self in trouble."
She felt her head spin and her stomach hurt. She clenched her necklace, biting her lips to relieve the pain. Lana watched Axel, who was relaxing in his chair and not looking at her. It had already been an hour, and she could hear his breath slowing, assuming he was already asleep. The room was a little dark, and she felt sleep creep in. After fighting it for thirty minutes, she eventually gave in and sat on the floor, resting her head on the edge of the bed.
Instead of sleeping, as Lana had assumed, Axel was deep in thought. He was irritated when he discovered that his book had been placed in the incorrect position compared to how he had stored it. He knew she had checked it, and he continued to wonder why she enjoyed pushing herself into trouble until it reached its peak.
If other maids had done this, he would have tortured them in the dungeon and left them there until they bled to death, but he could not bring himself to do that with Lana. Despite the fact that she had done numerous things that would have made him want to shoot her in the head, he could not bring himself to do so.
"Who is she?" he wondered; she reminded him of a girl he had seen a few months before. The girl was on a regular, busy street, with people walking to and fro. She wore a crop top with denim shorts. She had this tattoo on her back that, from the outside, appeared to be nothing more than a tattoo, but it was more.
Holding a pack of cookies, one of them fell, and she picked it up, exposing her lower back. He was watching her from inside his car when she turned around, but she did not look back.
She stood out from the other people he had seen with similar-colored eyes because of those exquisite gray eyes. Despite his overwhelming attraction to her, he refrained from acting on it to preserve his image as a man who detested women. He asked his chaffeur to drive off, knowing that might be the last day he saw her.
He started sketching her after that, showing her eyes and the part of her back that he had clearly seen in his sketch book. However, he barely noticed her entire face.
"Is she her?" he asked himself, staring up at the starry sky. The only way for him to find out was to see if she had the tattoo, but he could not just do that.
He turned around, not hearing a sound from her, and discovered her sleeping with her head on the edge of his large, king-sized bed while sitting on the floor. Her dark brown hair, scattered across his bed, obscured her face.
"Ah, this girl," he mumbled. She was supposed to watch him fall asleep, but she fell asleep instead. He stood up from the couch and walked over to her, carrying her from the floor and placing her on his bed. He laughed to himself about how light she felt in his arms.
"This is going to be a long night," he said, helping her to the near end of the bed while he slept at the other end.
..'Hmm, this feels really soft. She mumbled as she awoke from sleep, "Gosh, I do not want to get out of this bed." She had slept on other beds, but none were as soft and comfy as this one. She awoke hoping to find herself in her room, but instead of Gwen telling her it was a dream, she saw the black and gold-like ceiling, indicating that she was still in his room, lying on the bed.
She sat up with a bejeweled expression on her face. She discovered that she was the only person in the space. Had Axel disappeared?
He muttered, standing by his doorpost with a blank expression on his attractive but icy face, "You failed to complete your punishment, my stray kitten."