“Why, of course.” This is my revenge. I didn’t throw myself away and have sex just to spite him, but Cole thinks that.
That’s the only part that matters.
My phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number. Aiden starts to look at it, but I snatch it away.
I don’t want him, of all people, to know about that part of my life. We might be allies, but I don’t trust Aiden, not even a little. If he thinks disclosing this would benefit him in any way, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
One peek at the text causes my skin to prickle.
Unknown Number:I love the new watch.
I’ve been receiving these types of texts for the past few weeks. At first, I liked how someone praised my piano playing and said I have the best dresses.
It’s when they started to describe my daily routines and the clothes I wore outside that I recognised I might have a stalker.
The only reason I’ve ignored it is because they’ve just been harmless texts. Besides, Papa is preparing for an important internal campaign. I won’t, under any circumstances, divide his attention.
Mum is also in that campaign, and if she knows about this, she’ll raise hell and take it to social media. That’s the last thing I want.
So for now, I’ve decided to keep it to myself. If it gets more persistent or creepy, I’ll tell Papa or maybe Frederic. He’s PR-savvy so he’ll know how to deal with it.
We arrive at my house first. “Derek, please drive Aiden home.”
“I’ll keep Nash on the edge.” Aiden winks. “This is going to be so fun.”
No. It’s not fun. I might want to get back at Cole and I won’t allow him to throw me the short end of the stick, but I don’t enjoy this.
It’s just a necessity.
Aiden, however, is finding the most joy in it.
I’m about to step out when Papa peeks in from the passenger window. “Aiden, perfect. Come join us.”
An automatic smile lifts my face the moment I see him. I barge out of the car and squeeze him in a hug. “Papa! What are you doing home this early?”
He strokes my hair back — it’s a habit he started from when I had a fever ever since I was young, and it usually puts me back to sleep. Even now that I’ve grown up, he still does it.
I’ve always loved it when I’m sick. It’s the only time my parents nurse me all night without fighting.
Papa is a tall man with a darker shade of blond hair than mine. His eyes are a light brown that turn to mesmerising hazel under the sun.
He’s wearing his three-piece Italian cut suit and he still has his leather shoes on, which means he recently got home. He usually changes into a cardigan sweater as soon as he leaves the office. Unless he has company.
His next words confirm my suspicions. “Jonathan and I have something important to discuss with you and Aiden.”
“Is this about a fundraiser?” I ask.
“Let’s talk in the house.” Papa nods at his driver. “Thank you, Derek. That will be all.”
Aiden follows us inside as I keep hanging on to Papa by the waist. I feel like I haven’t seen him in an eternity. Not only has he been busy lately, but Mum has been dropping in unannounced, demanding I spend time with her and complaining that I never do anymore.
The guilt trip frequently works and I end up in her flat before I know it.
We go into Papa’s office. It’s as big as a conference hall with photos in black frames of previous leaders of the Conservative Party who Papa looks up to.
The wood and the chandeliers give a hint about Papa’s ancient roots and how much he believes in classical with a modern twist. Everything in his office has a time and place. You never find papers stacked on top of each other or in disorder.
He’s all about law and order to the point he uses it as the slogan of his campaign.
There’s a conference table in the middle with a presentation board and everything.
We head to the adjacent lounge area that has brown leather sofas and chairs. Uncle Jonathan is already sitting there, sipping from a glass of scotch and scrolling through his tablet on what looks like the FTSE 100 Index.
Aiden is a replica of his father appearance-wise. They share the same black hair and dark grey eyes. Uncle Jonathan, however, has a sharper edge and he’s frightening with his enemies. He’s crushed countless companies and rivals until they either disappeared off the face of the earth or agreed to his conditions. All he cares about is profit and going forward.
I’m glad Papa is his friend, not his enemy. Upon seeing us, he places his glass and tablet on the table. “Wonderful, both of you are here. Saves us time speaking to you separately.”
“Sit down.” Papa motions at the sofa as he settles in beside Uncle Jonathan.
“What’s going on?” I ask after Aiden and I sit next to each other.
“Jonathan and I were talking,” Papa starts. “And we think it would be a marvellous idea to join our families through marriage. That is, only if both of you agree.”
If I were drinking something, I would’ve spat it all out right about now. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Papa and Uncle Jonathan would want to join forces, but I never thought it would be this soon or in this way.
“Aiden has no reason to disagree.” Jonathan raises his brows at his son. “Isn’t that right?”
“I’m fine with it,” Aiden says.
My eyes snap in his direction, asking him without words, what the hell he’s doing.
“Remember what I told you about becoming allies?” he whispers.
“But we’re only fifteen,” I tell Papa.
“There will be no marriage until at least after university, Princess. This is just putting the rocks in place.”
“Or rather, the chess pieces.” Jonathan sips from his drink.
I know the whole meaning behind this. Papa is a secretary of state who can help Uncle Jonathan, and in return, he’ll push him in the next elections towards Papa’s most coveted dream — becoming the prime minister.
He’s already gathering votes to become the leader of the Conservative Party, and by the next general elections, Papa will be the strongest leader of the country.
I want to help him with everything in me. I really do. But…something in my chest aches at the thought of being engaged to Aiden when —
No.
I won’t let my brain finish that thought.
My phone dings, and I apologise, pulling it out to shut it off. The name on the text notification stops me in my tracks.
Cole.
It’s almost like a sign. He messages me now to stop me before it’s too late.
My heart thumps so loud as I open the text.
Cole:You and Aiden deserve each other. You’re a bitch and he’s a psycho. One day, you’ll fall, Butterfly, and I’ll stand there and watch as you burn.
Something breaks inside my chest.
I hear it, feel it, I just can’t see it.
My eyes burn with tears, but I inhale deeply, disallowing them from spilling.
I’m a lady.
Ladies don’t cry in public.
“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, Princess.” Papa smiles at me with so much warmth, I want to hug him all over again. “You know I’ll never force you to do anything.”
“I want to do it.” I manage a smile. “I’ll be engaged to Aiden.”
I’ll help Papa.
And most importantly, I’ll get over the cancer that’s been eating at me for years.
The cancer without a cure. Cole.
Doll Master
I’ve watched for long enough.
Waited for long enough.
The time has come to take the next step.
My beautiful doll has been growing up into a woman every day in front of my very eyes. She’s been becoming this next upgrade I cannot wait to touch, to run my fingers over.
To taste.
The problem with my pretty little doll is that she spends a lot of time with non-important people like her bitch mother whose only good quality is that she gave birth to her.
Or those friends who make her look stupid when she’s anything but.
My doll will keep growing up, and the more I see her, the surer I become about how she deserves to be number one in my collection.
The others aren’t like her. They never will be.
I used to be fine watching from the sidelines, being proud of my creation and of how she was turning out.
I liked the fact I knew about her and she didn’t know about me.
Isn’t invisibility a wonderful thing?
I’d played it before when I hid from my father. All I had to do was look at my doll and pretend he wasn’t there.
Other days, I’d go to the closet.
Hiding in the dark isn’t hard. At first, you see nothing. Then you might get scared. Then you feel things pulling you by the limbs, and soon enough, you become friends with those things.
The monster under the bed understood me when no one else did. He listened to me when no one else would, and for that reason, he’s my friend. All my demons are my friends. They sit with me when I plan and they’re there when I watch my pretty little doll.
But my demons and I don’t like being ignored. We’ve been on the sidelines for years now, watching quietly without making a sound.
A few weeks ago, I decided my pretty little doll should start getting acquainted with her master.
I chose an untraceable method, of course. So even if she freaked out and told her daddy about me, they wouldn’t be able to find me.
She didn’t.
My little doll can be an attention whore, which is understandable with the bitchy mother she has. My first text to her was, ‘You played the piano perfectly today.’
She read it with a furrowed brow and then she smiled. She lost that day and no one tells those who came second that they played perfectly. All they say is better luck next time.
However, Silver didn’t need luck. She needed encouragement and I gave her that.
Ever since then, I send her texts to compliment her, but also to tell her without being specific that I’m close. Maybe not enough to smell her — her scent is of cherry and Chanel most days — but I’m there.
I watch her.
I listen to her.
And one day, I’ll own her.
Cole
That night, I don’t sleep.
I can’t.
Not that I usually have a good sleeping cycle. I’m the type who stays up all night, then sleeps one or two hours before I have to wake up.
I’ve always thought sleep is a waste of time. Why sleep when you can read?
But the reason I can’t sleep isn’t because of reading. In fact, I haven’t been able to touch a book since I got home.
I barely had dinner with Mum, and since then, I’ve been staring at my phone — the text Aiden sent right after Silver messaged me.
Aiden:Hey, how do I remove virginal blood from my dick? Should I just wash it?
I called him immediately, but he didn’t pick up.
It’s only a trick. A fucking game of Aiden’s.
Silver wouldn’t let him fuck her, she sure as hell wouldn’t give him her virginity. Silver might act high and mighty, but she believes in all that lady bollocks. She wouldn’t lose her virginity in the back of a car and with someone she’s not even dating.
She wouldn’t.
Unless if she wanted revenge.
I’ll make you regret it.