SAMUEL LACHAT

KING

As soon as Fire heard about Gabriel's arrival, she forgot about me, the moment we just shared, my touch, presence and...

She jumped to her feet and bolted out of the room to meet Gabriel. Something hurt inside my chest, but I ignored it and followed her out. The helicopter left after Gabriel stepped down along with my two more men.

I watched as Fire ran towards him crazily without any care in the world and a smile broke on his face seeing her safe.

I could only stand there clenching my fists, glaring at her back. But before she could reach Gabriel, a van with tinted windows came out of nowhere and stopped in front of her. She came to a sudden halt.

Before anyone of us could understand the situation, four men stepped out, and more vehicles rushed in. The firing began, and I missed a bullet by mere inches before I found a shelter.

"Bria.... run!" Cameron screamed, and the thing inside my chest began beating faster than ever.

I began retaliating against the gunfire. She tried to run in our way, but two men grabbed her while the other two covered for them with their guns.

And when I saw them pushing her into the van, I lost it. I heard Cameron and Paulo's warnings, but nothing made sense to me other than Fire's screams. She called my name, I knew it though her voice came muffled.

The door got closed, and the van sped off. I didn't care about the gunshots around me as I ran behind the van. But it was too late.

And that was when I heard it... the sound that I last heard when I killed my mother. The wild beatings of my heart!

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BRIA

I woke up with a heavy head in an unknown room, yet it felt quite familiar to me. I got out of bed and surveyed it carefully to see white artwork on a navy blue wall. a girl under a tree with her hand stretched skywards on it. I took a moment longer to observe the artwork as it felt very familiar. But I couldn't pinpoint where I saw it before.

I got startled when the door of the room opened, and a lady in her late forties with pearl-white teeth and impeccable dressing stepped in with a smile.

"Oh, finally you are awake, my dear"

"Who are you? Where am I? Who kidnapped me?" I threw the questions at her, confident enough to show her that I was not some damsel in distress.

She smiled again at me, lifting her hands in surrender "It's ok, Bria. Calm down. You are safe here."

"No. Stop right there" I shouted as she stepped towards me. "Tell me everything or I swear I will fucking burn down this whole place after strangling you to death."

I glared heatedly at her.

"Hey, easy there tiger" A man appeared beside the woman, and my heart leapt with joy.

I ran without thinking and hugged the old man as tears of joy didn't stop in my eyes.

"Benji... oh my god... you are here. I can't believe it. You are fucking here in real" I sobbed, tightening my hold on him.

"Bad word, Darling" He mocked and scolded me but hugged me nonetheless.

My heart swelled with bliss when the familiar warmth comforted me after three months. My eyes stung with the hot tears drenching Benji's shirt. He cooed sweet things in my ear to calm me. But I could sense the thickness in his voice.

"Bria, let him breathe. He is not young like before... you may break his neck" the woman giggled, touching my shoulder.

I swat her hand away, not trusting her a bit. "Benji... why and how did you get here? Where are we? You don't have any idea what happened to us. Wait... Paulo, Gabriel, Cameron and-"

"Hey... hey... hey. Calm down. Come sit here. And we'll talk." Benji made me sit on the bed as I refused to let go of him.

He wiped my tears as I wiped his and rested my head on his shoulder "I missed you, Benji. I really missed you so much. I was so scared at first. I was worried about you and kids. Where are they?" I looked at his face as he smiled down at me.

"They are safe and you will meet them soon. I missed you too, my princess. I will tell you everything but first, let Caroline help you to get ready. Take a shower and come down for breakfast. We will talk then." Benji smiled warmly at me.

I was impatient to know everything but had to agree with him.

About an hour later, I stepped out all cleaned and freshened up in a sleeveless baby pink dress that reached just above my knees. I felt quite awkward wearing a dress as all I was used to was sweatpants and baggy t-shirts at the devil's place.

God! I missed him more than I should!

Caroline was waiting for me, and when she saw me, she nodded her head in satisfaction. She took me down, and as we descended the stairs, Benji approached me with his bright smile.

"Here comes my beautiful princess. You look pretty, darling!"

I smiled at him as I felt flattered after hearing compliments after a long time. "Thank you. You don't look bad for yourself old man" I gave him a once over as he was dressed very differently than he usually did. He was wearing grey formal pants with a white shirt. His hair was also styled differently than normal.

"Bria, here is the person who was waiting to meet you for long" Caroline gestured towards the other man as he stood on his spot rooted.

He was taller than me but short by an inch or two than the devil. His golden-brown hair was styled with gel with not a single hair out of line. He had a clean-shaven look. His face had sharp cuts high cheekbones and amber-coloured eyes that were zoomed in on only me. I felt intimidated by his intense stare but remained composed.

When caroline shook him to pull him out of his thoughts, he stepped towards me, offering me his hand. "Hello, Bria. I am Samuel... Samuel Lachat."

I accepted his hand as goosebumps formed on my skin under his intense gaze. "H-hi. Nice to meet- Wait! Lachat?" My eyebrows kneaded in confusion.

I snapped my head to Benjamin.

The three of them shared a look, and the threshold of patience broke within me.

"Enough of you doing that telepathy thing. Why everyone likes to use it around me and keep me in the dark? I want answers... all of it. Right now!" I demanded.

Benji sighed as he made me sit in the chair, and all three of them took their seats around me.

"Ok. Bria... I am sorry that I never told you about my last name but it was not an important matter. But now I want to share another secret that I kept from you. Caroline... she is my wife and Samuel is my son."

Benji's revelation came as a hydrogen bomb to me. Benji... my Benji, who had no one in the world besides me, and the kids. Benji.. for whom I spent my whole life in guilt that because of me he couldn't get a chance to have a family was introducing me to his wife and son after twenty-fucking-years. His son looked older than me... that meant...

"What the-" I looked at them dumbfounded, letting the words sink into my mind. "All this time... you had a family of your own?! You had a wife and son when you were living with me, telling me every day that I and the kids are the only family you had. This is why you spoiled my every try of hooking you up with someone!"

"Bria, listen to me, please." Benji pleaded. Caroline looked worried. I avoided looking at Samuel as his eyes never left my face, even for a second.

"Enough!" I raised my hand, making him stop. I was too hurt and angry to talk anymore. "Keep your lies with you. I don't want to hear anything. I hate you... I hate you! I don't want to live here anymore. I want to go back to my FAMILY!" I screamed at their faces and ran upstairs to the room while wiping the tears with the back of my hand.

I spent the next couple of hours crying my heart out and cursing at my stupid and naive self for not seeing the truth all these years.

The devil was right!

I was indeed a fool!

I was watching around, standing on the balcony after emptying all my tear ducts when Samuel came to stand beside me. He began cautiously, and in no time, we were strolling around the house side by side.

I needed some distraction anyway, or my brain would have exploded. Besides, he was a good and charming man. He made sure to make me feel comfortable before bringing up the painful topic.

But you should at least give my father a chance to explain. I think he deserves at least that because he loves you so much... even more than me and my mother."

Then I realised something. "You must be hating me right? Because of me, you had to live away from your father. And your mother... she must blame me for all this. I am so sorry to lash out at you guys like that. It was very selfish and inconsiderate of me." I apologised, smacking myself mentally for behaving like that before.

He stopped walking and faced me with an affectionate face. "Stop blaming yourself, Bria. It was not your fault. It was our mutual decision to keep things like this. And I can never hate you at any cost!" He said the last words with such sincerity that it shook me from the core. His amber-coloured eyes were piercing through my defences, trying to read my soul.

I pulled my gaze away from him. "But I still don't understand why your mother agreed to Benji's stupid plan? Staying away from husband for more than twenty years is not an easy task."

"Yes. It isn't. But she gladly agreed with my father's plan because... she is your aunt, Bria. Your mother's cousin!"

I was stunned to hear that, and Samuel understood it. He held my hand and said, "Come with me" he held my hand and dragged me again into the house. We ascended the stairs and passed a hallway when he stopped in front of a door. He glanced at me and then opened the door of the room.

I got taken aback when a large portrait appeared in front of me, as soon as my eyes landed on the large wall in front of me. I glanced around the room to find many pictures of the same girl that was in the portrait. Those were her photos from her childhood to the recent ones. She was smiling, dancing, angry, naughty and even sleeping in those photos.

And that girl was... me!

"Dad sent all of them."

Of Course!

My head was a mess when Samuel patted the space beside him on the bed after taking a diary out of the nearby shelf.

I sat there, trying to wrap up my head around everything that was happening around me, Only Samuel could help me get the answers and thus I was willing to cooperate with him.

"Bria, I will tell you everything but you have to promise me that you will not react impulsively. You will listen to everything and try to understand our parents. Can you promise me that?"

I nodded my head, not trusting my voice.

Samuel inhaled deeply, and began."Your parents... Uncle Alfred Maxwell and aunt Mary..."

"Alfred and Mary" I whispered my parents' names as tears accumulated in my eyes.

"They were one lovely couple... madly in love with each other. They were ecstatic when you came in their life... princess Bria. That was what uncle Alfred used to call you. Your birth strengthened their bond even more. They had big plans for the future but... destiny had something else hidden in her sleeves."

I could feel the pain in his voice that assured me that he was telling the truth.

"They died in an accident. It was very unexpected. My father was not only the husband of your aunt but he was also a close friend of your father. Your father died on the spot but your mother was in critical condition when she was admitted to the hospital. She couldn't take the news of your father's death and she also..." he sucked a deep breath to control his emotions.

But I didn't miss the underlying anger in his voice. I didn't point it out as I wanted to hear the full story.

"Before your mom died, she made my parents promise her that they will take care of you like their own daughter and will always keep you safe."

"But that doesn't explain why Benji had to live away from his family. We all could have lived together" I argued.

"It was not that easy at that time Bria. Your father had already bought that property and house for you. And both of your parents wanted you to spend your life there. He also left some money for you. We had to respect their wish. And... father needed someone to take care of business here. So my parents had to make a hard decision about staying away from each other. Please try to understand that what they did was for your good. They only wanted to protect you, princess." He tried to reach for my face, but I backed away subtly.

"Protect me from what?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Bria..."

"Protect me from what Samuel?" I demanded in a stern voice.

"Your father... he had some enemies. My parents were scared that they might hurt you." I observed Samuel's face suspiciously.

Before he could tell me more, Benji and Caroline came into the room. Benji looked furious, while Caroline looked quite worried.

"We were looking for you in the garden but the maid told us that you guys are here in Samuel's room." Caroline smiled but the smile that didn't reach her eyes.

This was Samuel's room?

My heart skipped a beat at the thought. I cast a glance at him from the corner of my eyes only to find his gaze already on me.

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