by Anna Kendra
Julian was quiet for a while and Sia got worried that she’d ruined their relationship even before it had even begun, but then Julian sighed and ran a hand through his midnight locks.
“Vanessa has been working for us ever since she graduated high school,” he told Sia. “She’s like a little sister to me. And besides, she has a humongous crush on my brother.”
“I didn’t know you had a brother.” Sia offered a change of subject.
“Christian and I aren’t blood-related. I was adopted by our parents, but we grew up together as all other normal siblings do,” Julian told her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were adopted,” Sia said, feeling guilty all over again for bringing up his past.
“No, don’t be. Being adopted was the best thing that happened to me.” There was something in his eyes, in his voice, that unsettled Sia.
She realized that apart from his job, Sia had no clue who Julian was. She didn’t know his parents, or the fact that he had an older brother. Neither had she known that he was adopted. And she wanted to know him too, the real Julian Turner. And besides, he knew everything about her life, which should’ve made her feel vulnerable, but she found that it didn’t. She trusted Julian; she knew he won’t stab her in the back. She trusted him more than she had ever trusted another person after what her parents did to her.
She straightened from her position against the counter and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head on his strong chest. His heartbeat was steady against her ear, but Julian didn’t return her embrace.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked with her face still buried in his chest.
“You’ll be disgusted with me if you knew.” His voice was harsh, but Sia recognized the underlying pain in it. She tightened her arms around him.
“You’ve been a mystery to me for so long. I wanted to know all about you, but I had to hold back. But I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to know the real Julian, not the person whom people call Lucifer.” She looked dead serious in his eyes. “You’ve seen me at my worst and brought me back from the edge. Nothing you say can ever disgust me.”
Julian smiled slightly and then took her hand in his and led her to the dining table. He pulled out a seat for her, waiting for her to get settled before he took a seat himself. Taking her hand in his, he began his story.
“I was born to a prostitute for a mother.” He got straight to the point. “She never wanted me. Reminded me everyday how I’d ruined her life and how much she hated me. But surprisingly she never hit me or abused me. Instead . . . she took me to the whore house with her . . . regularly. It was worse than being hit. I was forced to watch her.” Sia’s hand tightened around his.
“I wasn’t even allowed to go to school. I didn’t know how to read or write for a long time. But then I began to grow up . . . and people—customers—started to notice me.”
Sia held her breath, as she looked at his face. He was looking ahead, a faraway look on his face. She could almost see that lost, little boy in him now, and it broke her heart to think that Julian had been through so much, and she hadn’t been able to help him.
“My mother sold me when I was four.” Julian looked down at their entwined hands and rubbed his thumb across Sia’s fingers. “I was found soon after, though. There was a police raid, and they found me broken and bleeding, then they took me to the hospital owned by my foster parents. They took me in legally. My birth mother was sent to prison. Never heard from her again. But then my adoptive parents died in a car accident a few years back. Christian and I have been taking care of business and each other ever since.”
He turned to her expecting to see pity, but there was only understanding in her clear green eyes. He leaned forward and was met halfway by her in a slow, sweet kiss. An acceptance of who they were, of what they have been through.
“I met Christian when I moved here. He likes to stay isolated. He doesn’t want people to see his face, afraid of their reaction,” he said when they broke away. “He was a soldier before he decided to retire and take over our parents’ hospital. He got blown up during a war in Afghanistan about ten years ago. There were cuts and tears all over his body. Doctors said his survival was a miracle. Just don’t stare at him once you see him, okay?”
“Promise.” Sia gave a small smile and placed her head on his shoulders. “It feels nice here . . . with you. I wish we never had to face the world again.”
“But we have to,” Julian said after some time. His voice had gone serious. “The police said that Arthur was probably living in the old Stone Manor. They have found traces of activity. We have to be on high alert. With the police on alert, he won’t have many places to hide. And if he strikes after your fashion show, it’ll be soon.”
With that, Sia felt her happy bubble burst.
Chapter 28
Sia started in panic.
“Leo! Julian! Leo, my son, he . . . Oh God!” She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Last night with Julian felt like it had only been a dream from a long time ago and reality had finally set in and thrown her roughly down from her cloud nine. What kind of a mother was she to not think of her son’s safety first?
Julian engulfed her in his arms, trying to calm her down. “Sia, calm down! Leo’s fine. One of my colleagues, Abhay, is staying at your house. He’ll keep Leo safe. You have to calm down, panicking won’t help.”
Finally, after listening to Julian and taking a few deep breaths, Sia felt herself calm down.
“Is she okay?”
A new voice sounded from the doorway.
Sia turned to look at the man in the doorway and tried her best to suppress a gasp of horror. The man smiled at her knowingly. This has to be Christian, Sia thought. The man, Christian, was damaged, for lack of a better word. Julian had told her that Christian had been in a blast, but he must have taken a bad hit for his face to have scarred permanently.
She could tell that he was badly scarred from what his suit and high collar shirt allowed her to see. His face though, was a whole different story.
There was a deep jagged scar running down the left side of his face. It started from an inch above his eyebrows and ended just short of his chin. Whether it was a stitch mark or a cut, she could not tell, but it looked gruesome, and Sia could only assume just how painful that scar might have been. But scars aside, Sia could tell that he was a very handsome man, or he would have been if the scars didn’t attract all the attention towards it.
It was only when Christian raised an eyebrow at her that she realized that she had been staring at him with her mouth agape. Quickly regaining her composure, Sia straightened her back and walked up to a surprised-looking Christian and held out her hand to him. “Hello, I’m Sia Milton. You must be Julian’s older brother, Christian.” Sia smiled at his surprised look.
Christian stared at Sia’s outstretched hand for a while, probably too shocked to comprehend that someone was actually trying to be nice to him out of their own free will.
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said finally, taking her hand. Instead of shaking it, he lifted it to his lips and placed a small kiss on the back of her palm, making Sia blush. The Turner men sure knew how to charm the pants off any women.
Sia turned, expecting to find a jealous-looking Julian ready to throw a manly tantrum, but instead, he gave her a look of gratitude. His respect for her was apparent in his eyes, vibrant in their blue depths. She felt elated that such a small gesture of kindness from her could make him this proud.
Julian wrapped an arm around her waist as soon as she reached his side and smiled at his brother. “Hey Chris! Come join us for lunch. Vanessa just made a home delivery and knowing her, I think we have enough for four,” he joked, but his words did prove to be true.
***
Sia learned a lot about both brothers at the dining table. Small details like how Christian appeared cold and distant to everyone apart from his loved ones, how the charming and total bad boy player Julian used to
be a crybaby when he was young, and how Chris and Julian would play pranks on the watchman of the hospital which their parents owned. They would get a good scolding from their mother for being naughty, but then take the sulking boys out for ice cream and everything would be good in the world again.
Sia also learned that the James Bay Medical Center belonged to the Turner family and was currently under Christian’s guidance. And she also learned how Julian will take over Turner Security in the near future. He only needed fifty successful cases to be promoted and Sia’s was his second to the last case.Just one more to go before he was CEO of Turner Security.
These little things gave Sia an insight into the man who she had given her heart to, the man who had the courage to move past the traumas of his childhood and made a difference in the world. It made her fall for Julian even more. Sia didn’t regret letting Julian know how she felt about him, and she could never regret the beauty of what they had shared the previous night. But Julian hadn’t given her an answer. It made her uneasy and weary. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was scared that Julian might not feel the same. That thisthingbetween them had meant nothing to him.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Julian whispered to her during lunch, finding her hand under the table so he could entwine their fingers together. “Don’t worry about Leo. Abhay’s there with him.”
Sia smiled and nodded her head. If he only knew what was going on in her head and heart. But she kept quiet and enjoyed the rest of the meal.
Vanessa was a great cook, and she had gotten all of the men’s favorites. There was rice, orange chicken, and some kind of a mixed vegetable curry that Sia couldn’t quite name but had to go back to for nth helping. Vanessa had even made some light chicken stew for Sia and some noodles to go with them. Sia loved Martha’s cooking, but she had to admit that Vanessa was a very talented woman. Aside from cooking great meals, she also helped Christian in taking care of the hospital.
After lunch, they moved to the living area, just to hang out and talk for some time before Christian had to leave for the hospital again. He was here on his lunch break to see if Sia was all right and to offer medical assistance if she needed any. Thankfully, Sia felt a lot better today and the only thing she wanted was to return home to her son and spend more time with Julian.
Julian was already making plans to increase security and make arrangements for Abhay to stay in Sia’s house as well. After last night’s incident, everyone was on high alert. After going over all the security details and agreeing to Julian’s plans, Christian went to leave when Julian’s phone began to ring.
“Abhay?” Julian asked, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
Sia felt her breath hitch. Something was definitelynot right. Christian, who had been sitting beside her, gave her an encouraging pat on the back, but Julian’s next words shattered the hope that had begun to rise.
“Arthur,” Julian gritted out.
Chapter 29
“Arthur.”
“Why, hello, bodyguard of my wife. Put the phone on speaker,” came his hoarse reply. Julian gritted his teeth, but did as he said.
“Sia, my love!”
Oh, how Julian badly wished he could kill him. If only he hadn’t let him escape last night. Extremely embarrassed, he couldn’t look at Sia right now.
“A-Arthur?” Sia asked hesitantly.
“Sia. Why did you have to run away from me? Now look what you made me do . . .” He trailed off gruffly before chuckling. Everything seemed funny to him. Julian had made a mistake in thinking that Arthur would lay low like usual and wait to get back to his full strength before he struck again. Either Arthur had gotten desperate or his back was up against a wall. Arthur was now in Sia’s house with Sia’s family, and something must have gone immensely wrong if Abhay hadn’t called in yet.
Dread settled in Julian’s chest. “What did you do, Arthur? Where’s Leo? I swear if you hurt him—”
“Relax, pup. I won’t hurt my own son. But if you don’t bring Sia to me within the half hour, then there is no guarantee what I’ll do.” Arthur’s voice held some amount of satisfaction as he chuckled once again. He had already done something, of that Julian was sure.
“What . . . have . . . you . . . done?” Julian gritted out. “Where is Abhay?”
“Oh! You mean that half Asian friend of yours? Well, he’s kind of busy...drowning in his own blood.”
Julian saw red. Somewhere in the room, he heard Sia gasp, but all he could think about was Abhay...dead. No. He can’t be dead! Abhay had been his best friend since forever—his only companion, his partner-in-crime, his brother. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—lose hope just yet. They’ve been through hell and back together and they always have survived. Abhay was stronger than this.
“Get Sia here as quickly as possible, or I’ll just get bored and kill the maid.”
A scream sounded from behind Arthur, followed by Sia’s horrific scream. “Martha!”
Then the line went dead.
Julian didn’t know how long he just sat there, shocked. His thoughts filled with images of Abhay may be dead. But Sia’s gentle touch brought him back to life, from the cold grip of fear that had taken a hold of his heart. When he looked up at her, he found that her eyes were already bloodshot. Tear marks were evident on her face, but her voice when she spoke was strong and firm.
“We have to go Julian, or he’ll kill Martha and possibly Leo. Arthur may say he won’t hurt Leo, but I can’t let him anywhere near him; heaven knows what he’s going to do to my son. I need your help, Julian. I can’t do this without you.”
Suddenly, the blinding rage he felt towards Arthur and his friendship towards Abhay brought him to his feet. He took Sia’s hand and lifted her from the couch and entwined his hands with hers. “Chris, call backup. This ends today.”
“On it,” Christian replied.
It was Julian needed to hear before he pulled Sia out of the house and went to his car.
***
Starting the car in a hurry, Julian drove at full speed to the Milton estate. Neither of them uttered a single word. While Julian thought of a strategy, Sia counted the moments ‘till her life was back to the hell that she had once escaped.
Sia was jolted out of her thoughts when the car came to a sudden halt. Looking ahead, she saw that they stood just outside the wrought iron gates to her past estate. Fear gripped her heart in an iron grip but it lessened a little as soon as she felt Julian’s hand on hers.
“Sia, I promise you. I won’t let that bastard win. I’ll make sure that all of you are safe, if it’s the last thing I do,” Julian said truthfully. Sia could see the fire in his eyes. He will find a way out of this. Sia believed in Julian even though his words left her breathless and cold. She knew he wouldn’t die. They will all make it out alive.
Sia leaned forward in her seat and Julian met her halfway in a kiss that held as much passion as desperation. It held an urgency like never before and Sia knew that even Julian, the same person who had been her rock through her most difficult time, was nervous and scared at what was to come.
“I love you,” she said once more as she rested her forehead to his. “Please come back safely.”
Julian’s grip tightened on her for just an instant before he let go. “Let’s do this,” he said and the iron gates in front of them, the one that had felt like home to Sia for the past eleven years, parted, welcoming her to a new hell.
The house looked the same from the outside, nothing out of the ordinary, but both of them could feel it in their bones. Something wasn’tright.
“Let’s go,” Julian said after he parked the car in front of her front door. Sia came and stood by his side as he got out.
The house seemed quiet. Too quiet. Julian looked around for any signs of a trap but found none. Everything seemed in place . . . wait. There! By the garage!
“Arthur!” Julian roared. “Come out of the house, you coward! I have Sia with me.”
Sia gripped his hand tightly in her own.
She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to let go of Julian, and by Julian’s tightening grip on her hand, she knew he didn’t want to let go either. But she hoped that he had already something planned to get them out of this situation.
But that hope was shattered when suddenly, out of nowhere, someone came out and hit Julian on the back of his head with a wooden pole.
Sia felt like everything happened in slow motion as the sickening sound of wood hitting bone echoed in her ears. Julian’s grip loosened on her hand. He raised his other hand to his head and touched it, bringing it in front of his face to look at it. The blood on his hands finally made Sia scream bloody murder, then Julian blacked out, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, and fell to the ground.
Sia screamed out his name once and turned around to look at the man in all black holding a wooden pole. She knelt on the ground beside Julian and took a protective stance over him, so nobody could harm him again. But the man made no move to harm her.
“Fear not, my love,” came a very satisfied, raspy voice from the front door to her house. “No one here is going to hurt you. That right belongs only to me.”
Sia tried to hold on to her brave front, but with Julian unconscious, she was failing miserably. She could only watch helplessly as Arthur strode down the steps of her front porch and approached her, a ghastly smile plastered on his face.
The dread and terror finally set in, and Sia wanted nothing more than to die right there and then. But all she could do was watch, frozen to the spot, as Satan himself stood before her.
Chapter 30
“What’s the matter, love? Why are you crying? I’m right here, aren’t I? Come to me, love. Come to me, and I’ll forget everything that happened in the past. I’ll forgive you for everything you’ve ever done,” Arthur spoke to Sia in a tone so loving that it almost made her gag.
