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I wiped my tears hastily as the sound of the door opening reached me, I glanced up to see Marissa entering in rather than him, smiling vibrantly with a tray in her hands, I confusedly stared at her making her way to the bed, I kept the blanket firm around me.

"Are you alright sweetheart?" She asked gently placing the tray in my lap and caressing my cheek, I felt overwhelmed by her gentleness, my heart swelling in despair and I started crying all over again.

"I—" I couldn't get the words out of my mouth, hiccuping when she trudged closer to me worriedly, placing the tray aside and enveloping me in a tight hug.

"Oh poor child, Shh...it's going to be alright, it's just a little fever, nothing else." She continued comforting me in her arms while I cried my heart out, her shoulder soaked from my tears but she didn't mind, keeping me close to her, her sweet scent enclosing me in the consolation, so this was the lie he told this time, just a little fever.

I clutched her clothes tightly in my grasp, not wanting to lose the solace she was giving me, she was close to the motherly love I had felt in months, I just couldn't believe how her son could be this horrible when she was the sweetest person ever.

I didn't know how long I cried but when I finally calmed down, she gently separated from me, smiling and placing the tray on my lap yet again.

"Good thing, I had covered it," she plucked the lid away, revealing chicken soup inside, I sniffled before thanking her and tasting it, just as I tasted it I realised how hungry I was.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Her voice pulled my attention to her, I stared at her, masking my surprised face at how easily she caught up, slowly shaking my head in defiance to her question.

I don't want to break her heart and seriously I'm exhausted from being threatened might as well save myself from it.

"You know you can tell me anything right?" She asked smiling and I nodded again, sipping on my soup to avoid answering her, I could feel her inquisitive gaze drilling holes in my head. I sighed before dropping the spoon into the bowl and turning to her.

"I know," gratefully giving a small smile to her in gesture, she nodded, swiftly taking my medicines from the nightstand and looking over them.

Her dark black hairs falling on her forehead, her golden-brown eyes focused on the description of medicines, they were so similar to Xavier and yet I didn't felt the urge to look away, she was beautiful.

"People find others beautiful only when they look at them with affection," she replied making my eyes widen a little, I said it out loud?

"Yeah, now finish your soup fast so that you can take your medicines," she stated and I nodded at her demanding voice, so 'mom' of her.

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Next day.

Marissa stayed up with me yesterday, taking care of me even when I told her that I was alright, she scolded me saying I was throwing tantrums and she needs to take good care of her daughter-in-law, Xavier never came back yesterday, not that I minded, I was never so gratified as I was with his absence, spending time with Marissa, she told me all about how she met Robert, married him, had Xavier everything. We had a lot of time in our hands.

It was silent in the whole penthouse, pin-drop silence, with only me inside, for a second I made up the theory that he locked me in alone, but Luke came back with his message which was weird considering we were literally living in the 21st century.

I was lazily eating my breakfast when my phone buzzed with incoming call, glancing at the phone to only find Diya calling, I received it while slowly drinking my orange juice, ready for her outburst by smoothly gulping down the juice before I choke on it.

"What are you doing?!" Her voice boomed through the phone making the maid on the opposite side of the kitchen island flinch reflexively, I sighed before trying to reply sarcastically. Keyword 'tried.'

"Hello to you too," she caught up on my tone pretty quickly, her voice dropping levels of volume and becoming all serious all of a sudden.

"What did he do?"

"Nothing," I replied, placing the last bite of my omelette in my mouth.

"Don't lie Shana."

I huffed leisurely before standing up from my chair, ascending stairs and walking to my room, closing and locking the door. It became a habit.

"I went on a date with Stephano, kissed him and then I almost got hypothermia because I dreamed about Xavier raping me." I babbled out as soon as my body touched my bed, the line went dead for a while before her uncertain voice came through.

"I thought you stopped having nightmares?"

"No, they increased since I came here," I answered, trying to keep the flashes from passing infront of my eyes, focusing on her breathing on phone.

I tried, I really did. To forget it, to not let myself be affected by his presence but I just couldn't hold it back anymore when these dreams come thousands of times horrific.

"You remember the meeting I told you to arrange for me, do it tomorrow." She said, making me visibly confused, why the heck she suddenly changed the topic to meeting?

"It might not be possible for tomorrow Diya, he hasn't come back since yesterday," I whispered, passing my fingers through my hair. And I don't think I was ready to talk to him.

"Listen to me okay? This meeting is important, like volcano erupting important, so try to arrange it for tomorrow. Please for me." She literally begged making me sigh inwardly, I bit my lower lip in deep thoughts, considering her request, she rarely asks for anything and I always fulfil it whenever she does.

"Alright, I'll try,"

"Thank you, take care," her voice was smooth, nothing like her loud self.

"Bye Diya," I replied depressingly before hanging the call. Plopping down on the bed with my eyes closed, when I opened them, they instantly met with the closet door.

How long since I trained?

Looks like some workout is in row.

Huffing I got off the bed, changing into my sports bra and shorts, taking the switchblades I was going to use for training I marched out of my room, looking for Luke to ask him about the directions to the gym, I found him near the front door, typing away something on his phone.

He glanced my way upon hearing my footsteps, his gaze stuck to blades in my hands, not minding to resolve his curiosity I asked politely.

"Where is the gym, Luke?" He elucidated the directions for me, smiling politely and thanking him I was about to go in his informed way when his deep voice stopped me.

"Take two of them with you, just in case," he gestured two of his juniors while glancing at my blades again, I sighed involuntarily at yet another sexist man. I wasn't in the mood to argue about anything.

Nodding my head at luke I agreed to take the two youngsters with me, they followed me behind to the gym, taking their posts at either side of the glass doors, not disturbing me in my business.

I started warming up, push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, lunges and squats to loosen my body first, and then getting ready for the four hours of workout, wrapping my hands with hand wraps and wrist wraps.

Ready to let go of all my frustration, fear and everything in between today.

Moving on to punching bag for boxing and kickboxing, just soon as my first punch settled on the bag I felt the adrenaline rush through me, I find satisfaction in violence, I was not proud of it but I sure was content.

I inhaled deeply before starting to go on with the rhythm, forgetting that two boys were in the room, abandoning reality for a while and leaving myself alone, punching the bag until I was sure I got a real good tempo to go with.

Ten minutes in, the punching bag crushed from rearward, swinging into the air from the force exerting on it continuously, I felt trails of sweat seeping through my sports bra and trickling down my back with my hands constantly thrashing the bag around mercilessly, concentrating my frustration, anger and betrayal on it.

I stopped abruptly when the bag dropped from the chains, puffing I placed it aside before grabbing another one from the corner and hanging it up again, might as well take advantage of the stack of punching bags in billionaire's gym, continuing going on until I was exhausted enough to drop down myself.

Settling roundhouse kicks simultaneously between jabs, trying to extricate my standpoint and body movements, not opening my wrists to prevent the blood flow from increasing on my knuckles, my body sleekly covered in sweat, moving smoothly around the punching bag.

I was engrossed in my own meditation, trying to calm down my isolated impulses when I heard Luke's faded distant voice calling out for me but I was so concentrated on accomplishing the target I myself didn't know I set.

"Ms king will be furious to see you overexerting yourself Ms Rajput, you should rest," it was barely grasped by my brain, his voice sounded echoed. It's always about him.

He wants me to do this!

He wants me to do that!

The f*ck?!

I ignored his pleading voice, proceeding with my punches, I didn't notice him slowly making his way towards me, my body was here but my mind was somewhere else, I was trying to do what I didn't able to do in my dream, fighting back, hard. Even when I knew no one could harm me at this moment.

"Ms Ra—" just as his hand settled on my shoulder, I whirled around snapping his sentence in his throat, gripping his wrist firmly and using my other elbow to hit his elbow in opposite direction, hearing a very satisfying cracking voice in return followed by his snarl of protest, he reflexively tried to punch me with his non-dominant hand resulting in me to swiftly dodge it and landing a hard uppercut on his face, he landed on the floor unconscious with me standing over him panting in fury, my lip twitching in irritation just by thinking how easy he was taking me for.

I stepped away smoothly when one of his juniors kick whooshed past me, I grabbed his leg, moving mine over him and twisting his leg such as to give him a straight sprain from his ankle straight to his thigh, leaving his bone as a token of pity.

The second one rushed out, calling others as I got off from the ring, why can't they stop being his b*tches for one second?! I came down only to meet with ten of his skimpy bodyguards looming over me, trying to stop me.

I was getting high on inflicting pain and violence and I was sure it was the best feeling I received in a very long time. I cracked my knuckles knowing full well they were going to lunge. One of them rushed to me, extending his hand in hope of clutching my shoulder, I did the opposite, I turned at the last moment, his hand swooshing from up my shoulders only to be clutched by me and used as leverage to take advantage of his body momentum, landing him on the ground with a thud, I turned to see Luke up and limping out of the gym from another door.

I diverted my gaze from Luke and settled a perfect roundhouse kick on the other man's face who lunged at me, knocking him out on the floor out cold, his companions who were already in their way halted abruptly, glancing at me hesitantly.

"Two options, get the f*ck out or shut the f*ck down," my face void of any expression when I pointed to the huge glass doors before pointing down at their homie, knocked out. They didn't think twice before carrying their partners and running out of the gym, closing the door behind them, leaving me alone, finally some peace.

I huffed out before changing my hand wraps to new ones, these were stained with blood, these will be a pain in the ass to hide, when I was again ready I grabbed my blades to start practising again.

Hope I made myself clear when I said to leave me alone.

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It was almost three hours in when I heard Xavier's dominant footsteps pacing closer to the gym, I can recognise him anywhere, anytime and anyhow. I threw my blades into the direction of mark, getting a bullseye easily, my mind focused on his advancing footsteps.

The door opened followed by me to throw the blade into the direction of the door, it whooshed past his head from mere millimetres causing him to stop dead in his tracks, the blade stabbed the wall behind him, He turned around exhaling his breath in relief to see the blade before settling his golden-brown gaze on me.

I felt my f*cking blood boil inside my veins just by looking at him.

"Anything you want Mr king?" I smirked outrageously, keeping my furious anger inside and moving to the punching bag yet again. Punching it with all my might and exerting all my anger on it, imagining it to be him.

"Why are you overexerting yourself when you should be resting," he stated with just as confidence, his voice not wavering from my very good aim and it only added to my anger.

"Do this. Do that. Tell me Mr king how would you threaten me now to stop me from training?" I settled a hard front thrust kick, at last, trembling the punching bag to the ground, it was the fifth in a row. I panted to gasp air while placing it aside and fastening a different one.

"You should be resting." He reiterated, this time more sternly making me scowl at his words, my lips twitching in irritation and my kicks only getting harder.

"Don't you have anything else to do, go f*ck your whore or something, just leave me alone." I retorted, finally stopping the pulsing bag from swinging with my hands and slowly turning to look at him, his white button-up had two of its buttons open, showing off his chest while his hair was a mess, I got off of the ring gradually. This gym was huge.

"I would never cheat on you,"

I continued my way to him, "I don't want you to be loyal to me, you can go f*ck yourself for all I care, hell I would allow you to have a foursome if that means you'll keep your ugly ass yourself away from me, so I'll say this once, get the f*ck out, like your b*thches did or I'll make you," I said grimly, stepping closer until I was at a hand's distance from him.

"I own you for that purpose, do I not?" It didn't even take me a second to understand his meaning, Just as his words reached me I lunged at him, predatorily, his stance changed into a defensive one, I send a left jab his way which was dodged by him skillfully.

He was only in the defensive zone, blocking and dodging my attacks, most of them were missed by him, causing bruises to form on his body, and it would have been a shame to me if he did dodge most of them.

I continued punching him until his patience snapped and he attacked, his bulky body lunging towards me, I took advantage of his momentum, squatting down and kicking him in his shins, sending him flying to the ground face flat.

He cursed, repeatedly before snarling at me, "F*cking Hell Shana!"

I hissed back out in fury, "Don't. Fucking. Use. My. Name."

Walking near to him to stand beside him but he instead pulled my leg out underneath me, making me land on the ground with a thud on my back, I hissed when he sat on me, clutching my hands on my head.

I panted in irritation on being caught off-guard, he leaned down closer, his face mere centimetres away from me. "You are—" I cut him off by landing a hard headbutt on his face, he cursed stumbling away from me, clutching his nose in his hands as blood flowed through it.

He stood up from me, standing in pure pain and disbelief, looking at me for a while like making a decision and then going for a perfect roundhouse kick, I ducked before it could hit me and kicked his shin, whacking his stable foot out of him causing him to squat down.

He succeeded in doing a 360 and taking my footings away somehow, of course, I was giving away some loops due to my mind diverting anger, it was obvious to me that he was getting advantage of my anger but I was deliberately letting go, trying to concentrate my frustrating fury on him.

I stumbled down on my back yet again with him fighting down one of my hands and placing himself between my legs, I smirked at his analogous incursion which visibly brought a confused expression on his face.

He's an idiot.

Wrapping my legs around his torso I pushed up and right while placing a chokehold on his neck with my free hand and changed our positions with him under and me on top of him. It didn't last long when he had the advantage of strength over me, but I was much more sleek and faster.

He discarded his jacket which was torn by now, he probably noticed my gaze over his suit jacket when he said.

"That was a fifty grand Armani jacket,"

I smiled mockingly, "Good for you." Before lunging at him, he tried to aim for my collarbone with an axe kick but I ducked under and went behind him, jumping on him and entangling my leg with one of his and adjusting a perfect chokehold on him this time.

We both fell on the floor with him in my grip, him gasping for air and me tightening my grip with passing seconds, when his face was purplish from lack of air then only I let him go, letting him have a taste of near-death, it took all of my courage to let him go when he was the cause of all my sufferings.

He gasped for air while I tried to stand up from the ground for the thousandth time, I was about to walk away when he clasped my waist with both his hands, pulling me down in his lap, with my back attached to his chest, I cursed him and pushed myself down to have him properly under me, his hands still intertwined on my stomach, while his hot breath flowed on my neck.

"Stop hurting yourself!" He yelled at me furiously but I ignored him, inhaling deeply to think of an escape when my gaze falls on the blade beside us, resting leisurely, I know what I'm going to do.

I interweaved my thumbs to his wrists to break his hold, pushing down as hard as I can, it will only give me a second before he will fasten his clutch again so I needed to be fast.

Just as his hands separated, I twirled around to have myself in a sitting position on him, I yanked the blade up before shoving it down on his chest with all my might, his hand clutched it before it could actually shove deep down but it still did up to half a centimetre.