21

Elsa

Ten days pass.

Day after day, Aiden only tells me mundane things from his ‘story’ and never jumps to what I want to know.

Day after day, I expect him to tell me the grand finale.

I should’ve known better.

He’s still pissed off that I put a limit on sex.

Not only is he pissed off, but he also manipulates his way into touching me every chance he gets.

The other day, he said, “Those two friends had a bet.”

One sentence. That’s it.

Then he fucked me against the wall in the locker room.

When I tried to argue, he said that my condition was ‘If you tell me a tidbit, you get to fuck me.’ I never specified how long the tidbit needs to be.

Dickhead.

Even when I thought I have any resemblance of control over the situation, he throws it out of the window. He smashes any hope I have and crushes it to bloody pieces.

But even with his mind games and tactics, I still got my say in this. If it were up to him, we’d go back to how we were before; I stay in the dark and he knows everything.

It won’t be that way anymore. Even if I have to compromise with sex.

Since that night at the Meet Up, Aiden has been fucking me rough and hard as if he’s teaching me a lesson.

I come every time.

Hell, sometimes, he tortures me like that night and exhausts my body until I can barely breathe anymore.

Is it a punishment if I crave it?

It’s fruitless to fight him in the physical department. However, I’m not going to sit there and wait for him to feed me crumbs about hypothetical friends. He didn’t even tell me their names, and while I suspect they have something to do with the mystery, I’m still not sure what is it all about.

So this time, I’m taking things into my own hands. After all, it’s not a game if he’s the only one who plays.

I’m in front of the King mansion’s grand gate.

Clutching my umbrella tight, I stand there as the rain silently soaks the pavements.

Elites have practice and the horsemen won’t be here for at least another hour. Kim has to babysit Kir so she’s not coming to watch the game tonight.

Aiden told me to be at his practice and then we’ll go together, but I refused, telling him I’ll meet him here. That made him narrow his eyes.

He still doesn’t like that I refuse to attend his games or watch him practice, but screw him.

He’s refusing to give me what I want, why should I give him what he wants?

Anyway, I never told Aiden when I’ll meet him at his place. I just ‘happened’ to come an hour earlier.

I have to investigate Aiden’s ‘story’. He’s not the type of person who goes out of his way to learn about other people. Since he knows so much about those ‘friends’, then one of them has to do with him.

He mentioned the friends turned into rivals and their games crossed the line. He mentioned that their bet shouldn’t have happened.

Aiden isn’t the type who uses words like limit and line. He doesn’t shackle himself with boundaries. In fact, he considers them a challenge and makes it his mission to destroy them.

The fact that he used those words means that the story happened when he was younger.

Before he became a monster without limits, Aiden was a kid with limits.

This is only a theory, but I think one of the friends is Jonathan. First of all, he’s a tycoon who stops at nothing to get what he wants. He didn’t build King Enterprises by being a nice person. On the contrary, he took the throne by crushing everyone in his path.

Sort of like Aiden.

It makes sense that he has some fucked up rivalry with one of his friends.

The best way to check Aiden’s story and my theory is to find something in the King mansion.

I never snooped before, but that’s because Aiden has always been there. Even when I wake up in the middle of the night, he’ll be watching me with dark, haunting eyes.

In the beginning, I thought that was because he’s just Aiden. But then again, I never saw him look at anyone the way he looks at me.

Sometimes, it’s filled with care. Other times, it’s pure terrifying hate.

Now that I know he has insomnia, I can’t begin to imagine how he spends his nights all alone in this huge place.

You can do this, Elsa.

I ring the bell and glance at the screen. The butler’s face comes into view and he gives me a polite smile. “Miss Quinn, we weren’t expecting you until six.”

Well, shit. Of course, Aiden’s butler would be expecting me. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

I offer my widest smile. “Aiden is caught up at practice, so he told me to wait for him here. If it’s possible, of course.”

He’s silent for a second, and I expect him to tell me no since Aiden didn’t call him. However, the front gate buzzes open.

“Welcome, Miss Quinn.”

Phew.

I give him one last smile as I clutch my backpack’s strap and slip inside.

An eerie feeling creeps along my skin the more I walk through the silent garden. The rain soaks the trees, the grass, and the imposing building. Rivulets of the rain fall on the angel statue’s cheeks and it appears as if he’s crying.

That’s not creepy at all.

I came here numerous times before, but that was before I heard Jonathan tell Silver ever so eloquently that Aiden approached me for revenge.

That was before I learnt that Aiden has been using me.

That part still bugs the hell out of me.

If he hates me, if he only approached me for revenge, then why does he fuck me like he’ll die if he doesn’t? Why does he soothe me after my nightmares like he doesn’t like to see me hurt?

If this is all an act, then he deserves an Oscar.

Margo waits for me at the entrance of the front door. Her hands rest above each other on her stomach as she smiles.

“Hey, Margo.”

“Hey, Elsa.” She steps aside to give me walking room. “Come inside. It’s cold, let me prepare you something to drink.”

She takes my sweater, scarf, and umbrella. I try to help her, but she shoos me away.

Margo always makes me feel warm in this frigid, cold mansion.

It’s like she’s the only one who breathes life in here.

Aiden and his father surely don’t. I doubt Levi did either when he was living here.

I follow Margo to the kitchen and she launches into a string of questions about my health and if I’m eating properly as she prepares me a hot chocolate.

I try to answer as much as I can.

In no time, I’m sitting at the kitchen counter with the steaming drink in front of me and the scent of hot chocolate wafting in the air.

Margo stands behind the counter, fussing with potatoes.

“Is that for chips?” I ask.

“Those boys will start a riot if they don’t have their chips.” She shakes her head. “Especially Ronan.”

I smile at that. He’s certainly fanatic and possessive about his chips. You can have his car, but you can’t ask for his chips.

“They’re lucky to have you,” I tell her.

The slight wrinkles ease at the corner of her eyes. “I’m lucky to have them, especially my Aiden.”