Chapter 46

The Christmas holiday was close, and some of the girls who worked there already received their letter of approval for the holiday break. She did not know if Alexander allowed them to leave for Christmas break, or if Ela was in charge of things like this. Although, she did hear Ela talking to Alexander last night over the call. She did not mean to eavesdrop, it was unintentional.

They were standing in the kitchen, talking to each other. They were happy to finally be able to leave for their home after a very long time. For a moment, she thought of her previous Christian holidays with Caroline. Emma's face lit up with a bright smile thinking she would be seeing her very soon. She could not wait! Christmas without family is displeasing, this is the day families spend time together without any fights or disagreement and she wished to spend all her Christmas with Caroline.

"Oh my god! I cannot wait to go back to my parents!" Squealed Yuna. She was the first to get her letter of approval. Emma did not understand this bizarre rule of Alexander's house. They all had to write a letter to him to get his permission. This happened when he was out of the house. Alexa was also approved to go for the holiday. The girls were happy and could not wait to go. Emma also wrote but she did not get her response yet. She was a little fret a little, but then Alexa told her that Isabelle also did not get it yet, and everyone got at least a few days of vacation during Christmas. She calmed down a little hearing that from Alexa.

All of a sudden, her phone's notification sound caught her attention. She took it out from her dress pocket and observed there was a message from Vanessa. She smiled and read her message.

"Pre-Merry Christmas, Emma! I miss you so much! How are you?" She thought to call her directly instead of replying to her back with a text, hoping she would be free at that moment.

She departed from the kitchen and dialed her number and waited for her to receive. Thankfully, she received it.

"Hey, hon! I didn't expect you to call me at this hour. Are you alone?"

"No but it's fine, the maids are talking about their holidays." She responded.

"Oh yeah. We also got permission from Mrs. King and she gave us a week of leave!" Emma was happy for her friend. How she wished they also got a week to spend time with their family. But, knowing how Alexander was, she was happy to know she would be going home anyway.

The two friends talked for another ten minutes and Vanessa told her about everything that has happened in her workplace. Emma found out that Mr. King and his son Lucas had a massive argument a few days back and since then they both did not even sit at the same dining table, let alone talk to each other.

"Emma!"

She flinched at the sudden screech from behind her. She turned around and saw Ela standing in all her glory with her seethed eyes piercing into her skin. Emma immediately cut the call and put the phone inside her pocket. She knew she was in trouble for chatting with her friend during work time and was sure that Ela would seize her phone.

"How many times did I tell you that I don't like interruption during work time! You never seem to listen to me, young lady." Emma instantly shook her head and opened her mouth to defend herself but she was abruptly stopped by another voice.

"Hey Ela!"

Emma felt nervous when she saw Ethan coming toward them. She did not forget what happened last night.

The kiss.

It was so sudden and surprising, that she could hardly react to his kiss. She just remembered pushing him off and running for her room.

Emma could tell that Ethan was feeling the same uneasiness around her. However, she did not dare to look at him. Her eyes were only fixated on her feet.

"Oh hello, Ethan! How are you?" She asked him politely.

"I'm good, thank you. I wanted to tell you that I'll be leaving for home today. I've checked everything here, all the bills and payments, everything is in order. So, I'm done with my work." Ela nodded her head. They bid each other goodbye and Ethan did not say a word to Emma. Perhaps, he knew how uncomfortable he made her feel, he did not want to ruin things between them anymore.

"Oh, and Alexander told me this morning, that he will be coming home soon."

Hearing this, Emma felt her whole world shattering down. She didn't want to see him. She was getting distressed anticipating the worst from just the news of his arrival. Her gut was not disagreeing with her.

What will happen this time?

***********

"Boss, where do I keep him?" The guard questioned the young man standing by the window, a cigarette between his index and middle finger. His lips touched the filter of the cigarette, blowing on the poisonous paper stick, his eyes were closed and he inhaled a distinct amount of unhealthy black and exhaled the rest of the smoke. The whole room smelled of ash and tarnished air.

He pressed the burning paper of the cigarette on the ashtray, destroying the little stick of poison, and ceased the smoke coming out of it. Turning around, he confronted the man he was looking for for a long time. The two well-built guards were holding the already damaged body of his prey. He smirked. That vicious smirk could bring anyone down on their knees and beg him to have mercy on them. But, he was not merciful, was he? Did anyone think they could steal from the devil and get away?

He took long strides towards the man and stopped just inches away from him. The man was badly beaten, his eyes were swollen and hard to open to see his predator, his white-collar shirt was stained with blood all over, and when the devil looked over this prey's hands, he was satisfied seeing the man missing two of his fingers.

Just like he wanted. Just like he commanded the guards to do.

"Do you feel the pain of missing your fingers, Leo?" The injured man only groaned in pain and nodded his head, because his predator did not get any response from him. He will be killed immediately with no mercy. But, what was the point of living anyway? He was not less than dead.

Alexander reached out for Leo's hand and stabbed it with the pen he took out from his pocket. He cried out in pain. The pain was too much to tolerate.

"You stole what's MINE from this hand. I should've just ordered to have your hand cut off, or just kill you. You're lucky that I let you live." He gritted out.

The only mistake Leo committed was stealing a big amount of cash from Alexander when he trusted Leo with that money. It was supposed to be sent to his house, but Leo made it up that it got stolen. Was he an ignoramus? How could he think his boss would not find out about the truth. Not only he stole from Alexander but also lied to him. The two things he hated most.

But, Alexander did not consider Leo's side. He belonged to a poor family and he needed that money for his son's school fees. Alexander did not care. He never cared for anyone besides him.

He backed away and stood there without saying anything for a few minutes.

"Take him to the basement. Keep him there for a few more hours and then let him go." The guards nodded their heads and pulled the man out of the room.

Alexander's ruthlessness was not a surprise to anyone. He took after his foster father, Xander. He was the carbon copy of Xander. His heart was filled with nothing but darkness. He was nothing but a Devil.

*******

Thirteen hours, till he gets back to his house. It was already informed to everyone in the house by Ethan that he'd be arriving soon. As much as he hated Ethan from the bottom of his heart, he wanted to control his anger. He could not lash out at him over the call, he wanted to go there and teach both of them a lesson.

He took a deep breath and stared outside the window. Nothing could be seen but the pearly white clouds and the sparkling blue sky. He just got into his private jet, it would still take him some time, if not thirteen, to get to his destiny. His other employees and assistant were sitting behind him. He called for his assistant.

"Yes, sir."

"Did you call Adrian before getting into the jet?" He asked blankly, not removing his eyes from the white clouds.

"Yes, sir. I did. He said he had already sent workers there and in two days, the whole penthouse will be cleaned." Alexander nodded his head and dismissed his assistant.

He could not stop thinking about how bizarre those moments were for him. How his life, emotions, and personality changes so much in just a few months? He questioned his emotions many times, he was not sure what he wanted with her. Alexander was not used to hearing "no" from anyone, Emma never uttered this word, but the denial was written all over face and body. Her scared eyes always had a fire in them, even though she never realized it, but she was a fighter. She fought him many times without even knowing. Did he hate it? No. He liked it. He liked his feisty cat trying to fight her way out of his grip. But, his grip was getting tighter day by day, neither she nor he could loosen it. It was too late to lose the knot.

Because his string was attached to her.

*********

The piercing sound of the shattering piece of vase woke him up from his unconscious mind, he looked over his hand and saw blood oozing out of his fresh-cut skin. When did that happen? He could not tell, he was too lost in his world of darkness.

The nightmares. They never stop, they never abandon his mind. Why? He did not have an answer to his question. He had these nightmares since he was a little child, they never stopped. It was not so horrendous when he was little, but as he grew up, his nightmares began to inimical his mind. It filled his heart with nothing but darkness. The nightmares from his past clogged his life with dusk and darkness.

His clothes were drenched with sweat, but the humidity was not the reason. He took off his shirt and threw it on the bed, beads of sweat glided down his hard muscles and his forehead, making his rock-hard body glisten. Sitting under the air conditioner did not help me either, he decided to take a cold shower. Grabbing his towel, he dashed to the bathroom and immediately stood under the cold shower. He closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the cold water drops on his body, he pushed back the hair that was coming in front of his face.

Thirteen years have passed. Thirteen years since he had those nightmares. Thirteen years since he had left his past life behind. Thirteen years of his life as Alexander.

Now, he was eighteen years old. An adult, an independent adult, will no more be dependent on his foster father. He had grown up enough to cease the rules of Xander. It was in the will when Alexander will turn eighteen, all the ownership of their company will be under his name. He will dominate it. He was waiting for this day very patiently. Now, that he finally had it, he was going to utilize it. He was going to show everyone who Alexander King was. All that time, it was hidden, no one knew the vicious things he had done, he concealed it from everyone. But, did he have to do it now?

He disagreed. He was the king now, and he wanted to make sure he will always be.

Because the Devil has realized his worth.