Chapter 1

 "Geez!"

 Was there a more disorganized scenario than looking for a moiety of your shoes on a Friday morning? 

 Already sweating profusely, I glanced at the wall clock. "I'm so late," I cursed under my breath.

Dropping to my knees, I searched under the bed, but there was no sign of the shoe.

 Frustrated and fuming, I stood up, hands on my hips, breathing heavily. I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my right palm and stared around my dishevelled room. 

Just as I was about to opt for another pair, I spotted the missing shoe inside my laundry basket. 

With a sigh of relief, I grabbed the shoe, put it on, dusted myself off, grabbed my bag and I was fully dressed.

 She was putting on a blue shirt, with a black knee-length striking pattern skirt. she wore a pair of black shoes and a black bag to match.

 Packed her hair into a ponytail. no make-up, just her lip gloss and she still looked as beautiful as always. I headed for the door. 

In the living room, my father was having breakfast at the dining table. I went over to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Good morning, Dad," I said with a small smile as I squatted to kiss his cheek.

"Hope you had a good night, my darling Alicia," he replied, smiling broadly.

"Yes, I did."

I caught my stepmother glaring at me. My stepmother and stepsister never liked me, but I was used to their hostility.

"Good morning, Mom," I greeted casually as my cheerful smile faded. 

I didn't expect a response, but due to my father's presence, she murmured a barely audible "Good morning."

 Ever since I lost my mother to a ghastly accident, my life hasn't been the same. 

My father tried his best to shower me with love, and I adored him, but I still felt the empty vacuum left by my mother's absence.

 As the only child of my parents, I remember the happy family of three we used to be. We were an average class but content with our lifestyle. 

My father owned an enterprise, which was now indebted to the Lucas's Empire, but we could always afford our necessities.

The tragic event of losing my mother struck two days before I graduated from college, and life hadn't been rosy since. 

Loneliness and self-isolation began creeping into my father's life. I had to persuade him to remarry, believing it would fill the void left by my mother. 

However, my stepmother and stepsister had turned my once-happy life into a toxic one.

"I'm off to work, Dad," I said, leaning to give my father another peck on the cheek before heading out through the main entrance.

 Alexander paced around his room, fuming with rage. "It's high time I get rid of this girl," he said to himself, clenching his fist in fury. 

"I love having a taste of different women, but my dad wants to tie me down to a single girl who isn't even my standard, all in the name of marriage. 

I will do everything within my power to get rid of her and live my life."

It was a Friday morning and the beginning of the weekend, Alexander thought about how to devise a means to disrupt all his dad's plans.

 The only way was to make him hate Alicia so much that he would cancel the marriage, allowing Alexander to live his life.

 Having mastered his plan, he smirked mischievously and went into the bathroom.

After a quick shower, he dressed for work in a pair of black pants and a black tuxedo to match. 

He oiled and combed his black curly hair, giving it a side parting. He put on a pair of black shoes, grabbed his phone from the table, and headed to the car where his driver waited for him.

Inside his Prado heading to work, he made a call to Alicia.

---

~Alicia~

I got to work quite late, as usual.

The security guards at the gate always hailed me because of the signature pancakes I always brought for them every morning.

 Almost all the workers in the firm were fond of me.

I work as a pharmacologist in a renowned drug manufacturing company in the heart of New York. 

"Morning, Miss Alicia.

 You look good today," the two aged security men at the gate greeted me with smiles. 

"Hope you brought our regular," they chorused in unison.

"I wouldn't miss your regular treat for any reason," I said, handing them a mini ziplock bag full of the pancakes I had prepared earlier that morning.

"Thank you, mama," they both shouted with jubilation.

 Just when I was about to put on my lab coat, my phone beeped. It was a call from the most wicked maniac I have ever known. Alexander.

Hesitant to pick up the call at first, my phone kept buzzing. "Hello," I said impatiently.

"Hi, Alicia. My parents are on a business trip this weekend, and I thought to invite you over to spend the weekend with me in the mansion."

"Spend the weekend with you...?" I said in shock.

"Yeah. Just immediately after you're closed for the day. I'll be expecting you," he said and hung up.

"Expecting me?" I thought. "He hates the sight of me," I whispered to myself, still in shock, I called my best friend Cecilia and told her the latest.

"Just be careful, girl. You know how much of a psychopath he is," she warned.

"I will," I replied, blowing her a kiss and ending the call.

---

~Alexander~

 Alexander arrived at work, feeling a mix of anticipation and satisfaction with his plan.

He knew he had to play his cards right to ensure everything fell into place. His mind was set on one goal.

 To make Alicia look bad enough that his father would call off the engagement. 

He walked into his office, already thinking about the next steps.

After a long day at work, Alexander headed home, preparing for the weekend. He was determined to put his plan into action and ensure that by the end of it, Alicia would be out of his life for good.

 Alicia Reynolds woke up to a throbbing headache, feeling weak and tired. 

Gradually, she opened her eyes and allowed them to adjust to the surroundings of the room.

She gently raised herself to a sitting position, reminiscing on the incident of the previous night.

 Tears welled up in her eyes.

she carefully took off the duvet and found herself stark naked.

She remembered how Alexander had taken advantage of her again forcefully, without her certified consent. 

She already knew that whenever he invited her to spend the night, he always took her forcefully. 

And there's nothing she could do about it. The relationship between her and Alexander Lucas was vehemently against her will. 

 But she had to make things work and endure whatever pain and humiliation just for the sake of her father's only means of livelihood. His company, which has been indebted to the "LUCAS'S EMPIRE."

 The only way he could compensate for the debt was through an arranged marriage between her and the heir to the LUCAS'S EMPIRE.

 Alexander Lucas, the first son of the business tycoon Mr Geralt Lucas. 

 She stood up sluggishly, picked her dress on the floor and headed to the bathroom. Just then, Alexander came in. His incredible baritone voice echoed throughout the room and bathroom.

Where are you bitch. He thundered, opening the door to the bathroom without a knock. Hardly had Alicia started bathing when he came in and pulled her hair, looking into her eyes sternly.

" you have 30 minutes to vacate this room and house. We aren't married yet, and you shouldn't spend more than a night in my house. I can't be tied down to you because of some deal our parents made". He said as he left grip of her hair. 

So you know, you're not even my type of woman. I hate you. I'll do everything I can to get you out of my life. He smirked and walked out of the bathroom glaring at her.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned on the shower, got drenched from head to toe and sobbed out her heart. 

They were only a few months old in the relationship and were supposed to be married, but he kept postponing any date picked for their wedding due to reasons best known to him. 

He'd rather keep tormenting her life. And she wondered how marriage with this devil would be. 

Few minutes of shower and tears in between, she stepped out of the bathroom, dressed up and headed downstairs to take her leave. 

Halfway to the main gate of the mansion, where her ride was waiting for her.

Her phone buzzed and it was her friend Cecilia. " Hey, what's u..... 

before she could finish the sentence, she was cut short by Cecilia.

"Alicia, she called in a sober and quick tone.

" you need to visit your handles right now. Someone anonymous tagged you to a sex tape." She said and the call ended immediately.

At this point, Alicia couldn't feel her feet anymore. With shaky hands, she logged into her Instagram account. 

The most trending video with so many views was that of her and Alexander in bed the previous night, revealing just her face, and his face was concealed from the public.

With wobbling legs, she could feel her heartbeat increase ten times faster than normal as she was so speechless that she blacked out and collapsed before getting to her waiting ride.