AVA'S POV

          "When are you going back to Astor?" I ask when I notice Rina has been packing.

          "I'm not sure when. Why? Do you want me to go back to Astor that badly?" She asks me again. I shake my head no.

          "No! Heaven's no. I'm sure Nicole agrees with me, right?"

          Nicole is shoving food in her mouth when she nods at us.

          "Seriously, What are you doing? Don't eat too fast. You'll choke." Rina goes to her side and wipes her mouth with a clean napkin.

          I can't help but to think about my sister at this moment. I have no idea how to help her. Every step I've taken to look for the person responsible for her accident comes to nothing. It always ends up as a dead end.

          "Ava, you seem tense. Are you thinking about Vero?"

          I nod. I look up to Rina and Nicole who are looking at me with their worried look. "Is it really okay for Fiona to take care of her tonight? I don't want my sister to die if Fiona decides to do something to her." I am about to take my car keys when Rina slams my hand on the table and looks at me with a smile on her face.

          "Don't be silly okay. She wouldn't dare. She promised she will take care of Vero tonight, and we shall take that offer. If you want to feel satisfied, we can call for Kelly or one of the butlers to check on her. You need some rest." She nods her head at Nicole. "Nicole will take care of your needs tonight. I have something to do. I'll be back before midnight."

          She takes my keys and walks out of our room.

          Nicole walks and stands behind me before placing her hands on my shoulders massaging me.

          "I'm really sorry. I ruined your honeymoon."

          "Can everybody just stop being sorry for me? I think I can afford to go anywhere now that both you and Rina like to spoil me rotten. London is nothing. We can go next time, all three of us."

          That makes me smile. Only this woman can do such a thing.

          "Do you know where Rina's going?" I ask.

          I'm beginning to feel curious about that though.

          "No idea. But she did call for several maids to go with her earlier. The destination, no idea."

          Several maids? Where are they going? If she needs the help of the maids, that's probably a serious matter.

          "Did you two hit it off?" I ask. For some reason, she seems ... glowing and the way Rina talks to her, they seem closer than usual.

          "Hmm.. that's a good question. Maybe we did."  She says the last part as low as possible.

          Oh wow! They did have sex.

          I smile. "So, Rina finally managed to break into that thick brick wall around you, huh? Even I haven't penetrated that deep before. The last time we did, you were not conscious."

          She blushes.

          I mean who passes out while having sex?! Only she does. She was not even drunk that night!

          "Ava, can I ask for a favour? I know it's not a perfect time for it but ..."

          I raise my hand. "What is it? You can ask for anything ... well if I can give it to you that is." I smile.

          She removes her hands from my shoulders and suddenly sits on my thigh. It is weird since she never did this before. "Umm. I was wondering if ... I can ... Umm... ask for your permission to go on a trip with my friends. My whole class and our lecturers will be there."

          Seriously?

          "Did you ask Rina? What did she say?"

"

          She said to ask for your permission since you're the man of this household." She covers her mouth immediately after she realises what she had said.

          I'm the man huh? That's a first.

          "Where? When? For how long?"

          She starts to play with my hair. Is this her way of asking for permission? This is cute.

          "Bali, Indonesia. It's for our assignment. I promise. Umm.. in two weeks time. For about ... hmmm... 1-2 weeks."

          1-2 weeks?! That long? And to Bali? That's too far.

          "So, can I go?" She asks with that look in her eyes.

          I really want to say no, but she deserves to travel the world as much as the other people.

          I nod my answer but she seems curious about something.

          "If you don't want to agreed to it, just say so. I'm not going to be upset. I know now is a dire situation. If you need me, I'll stay."

          But, I don't want to be selfish.

          "No ... I want you to go. It's fun. Travelling overseas with your friends, that's one of the wonders of youth. Do it. You'll enjoy yourself. If you want, you and your classmates can use one of the planes we own as well. Tell me how many are in your class, and I'll make the necessary calls."

          She shakes her head. "Where's the fun in that? Let me travel by a commercial plane, please?"

          I chuckle before I take something out from my desk drawer. "Here. I prepared this for you. Rina has hers. I am the 'man' after all. Your expenses are my responsibility. It's unlimited, so you can use it to your desire." I smile. There's no harm in telling her to shop till she drops right? It is a credit card after all.

          "Well, I do need a new phone."

          I smiled again before I take out a box from my other drawer. "Rina bought this for you since she destroyed your phone. She's sorry for what she did. She just realised there's a silent feature on a phone."

          She laughs and takes the box from me. She looks inside and gasps. "This is different than the one you bought for me."

          I smile. "She bought the latest model for both of us. See, we match." I show her my new phone as well.

          I remember something.

          "So, will you be needing anything for your trip? I can prepare it for you."

          She shakes her head. "I don't need anything. I just need my laptop and other materials for my assignment."

          If it's like that, maybe I should let Jackson follow her. She needs someone to take care of her meals and all.

***

          "Rina, are you done?" I ask when she walks in through the front entrance while on the phone with someone.

          She asks me to wait while she talks to this person. When she hangs up, she gives me a peck on my lips before sighing hard.

"Why ... does everything crumble down when you just want to do some good in the world?"

          Huh? What does she mean by that?

          "I'm sorry for leaving you two. I had to deal with some matters that only force can do. Anyway, where's Nicole?"

          I point up. "Sleeping I guess. We had a little fun while you were gone. We were bored waiting, so she gave me a blowjob."

          She pouts. "You two had sex without me?!"

          Is a blowjob considered as sex? I don't think so. Right?

          "Come on. Let's go to our room. We can continue it if you wish."

          She chuckles before she slides her arm around my waist, and we both walk up the stairs.

          We are just walking passed an empty room when we hear chattering inside.

We decide to eavesdrop because we both know no one should be inside this room.

          "Do you think our employers will ever catch us like this?" Asks a voice.

          Well, we just did.

          "Nah. They're too busy with lady Veronica's well-being and their new wife's needs. Lady Nicole is hard to please."

          Thats true. She's truly hard to please.

          "But, Lady Nicole is a good boss. She never yells at us. Unlike lady Ava, she will yell even though it's her fault that things aren't going like the way she wants."

          Damn these maids.

          Rina chuckles.

          "Do you think Jackson will do it? I mean if he did his status as a butler will go."

          They laugh.

          Huh? Jackson will do what? I need to know.

          "We should stop. It's bad enough we eavesdropped. Let them use this empty room."

          I agree before we walk towards our room.

          When I open the door, I notice Nicole's not on the bed.

          "Did you order something?" Rina asks me when she notices a tray of late night snacks and a tea pot.

          "No. I don't think so. Maybe Nicole herself."

          Rina opens the lid of the pot and smells the content. She looks up at me with a concerned look. "This tea smells funky." She lets me sniff it, and she's right. Something seems off with this tea.

          "Never mind that. Come here, and give me a kiss." I smile as I wrap my arms around her and give her a kiss.

          We are just having such a good time together when our attention is redirected to the door towards the balcony.

          Suddenly, we both hear people chattering outside. When we check it out, Nicole is out there, with JACKSON!

          Is this the 'thing' that those maids mentioned earlier? Why is he here, in OUR room, talking to OUR wife.

          "They seem awfully close. Are they having an affair behind our back? I never thought Nicole's the type of person to have an affair. I mean she's not you ... who had an affair with that bitch Fiona." Rina mocks.

          Seriously? She's talking about that now?

          "I said I was sorry! Please don't talk about that anymore. I know my mistake. Just move on."

          Rina scoffs before we eavesdrop on their conversation again. It is when I slide the door open that I hear them clearly.

          "Are you happy now, miss? You get to marry one of the most powerful women in the world. Duchess Katharina is one lucky woman huh." He's praising Rina?

          "One of the most powerful woman in the world? For real? I thought she's only a Duchess and that's it."

          "The king of Astor, Lady Aaliyah's brother, bestowed that title on her when she showed her worthiness by owning half of Astor. By owning I mean she ran that part of town. The king saw something in her that one day and gave his full attention whenever she wanted to make Astor great again."

          By now, I can see Rina's nose getting bigger every time people praise her.

          "Thus automatically, you're a Duchess because of the right, and so is Lady Ava." Jackson adds.

          "There are so many things I don't know about them. They seem to have a lot of secrets that I should know, but they don't want me to know."

          That's true. There's something that we think that no one should know except for us both. This world is a harsh place to live.

          "I've been working for them since I graduated from Audra. I've seen some things I shouldn't have seen, and I've gone through everything a man shouldn't have gone through. Working for them has been hell and heaven."

          He's talking too much now.

          "What do you mean? They worked in the office 24/7 before I came along."

          Jackson suddenly laughs at Nicole's remark. "Oh yeah. Like that's totally what they did before you came along. No honey, they have far more worst responsibilities to deal with. Only we, the servants know how dangerous that is. Haven't you realised that all of the maids working for those Duchesses of Astor are skilled assassins?"

          Thats too much now! She doesn't need to know about that! Rina grabs my hand when she notices I am about to walk in on them. She places a finger on her lips telling me to stay put and to stay quiet.

          "And, I bet, Lady Veronica being the way she is now is because of Lady Ava's mistake."

          "You don't talk shit about my wife like that."

          I was surprised by that. Nicole actually backed me up!

          Rina chuckles.

          "I'm sorry, Milady." Jackson apologises.

          Anyway, why is he here of all places?

          "What's taking Ava and Rina So long to get here? Are you sure they said me this tea?"

          Both Rina and I look at each other.

          "I'm sorry. I lied."

          That takes Nicole aback. "You lied? Wait, I can't be alone with you like this. I'm married." Nicole wants to stay away, but Jackson takes a step forward.

          "Milady, I'm sorry, but, I can't bottle it up anymore. I'm in love with you."

          Well, that escalated to a different level just like that!

          "What? No! Get off of me! ... get .... off.."

          is it just me, or does Nicole seem to get weaker and weaker?

          Jackson grabs her body and gently places it on the ground. I watch him unbuckle his belt, and before I can do anything, Rina walks out towards the balcony and aims the gun I hid under my bed.

          "I have more guns in that room alone if you're curious about it. Don't make me pull the trigger." Rina is venomous!

          I walk out as well and face him before looking down at Nicole who's out cold on the ground.

          So he spiked the tea? That's why it smelt odd.

          "You have such a nerve to do what you were about to do in our home, Jackson Smith. I have to say, you have the balls to do so. But, you've worked for us for so long. I think you know what will happen to you now."

          He nods. He faces Rina with his hands up. "I am not guilty of what I have done. It's Astor custom to have a polygamous relationship."

          The nerve of this boy.

          Rina gives him a smile before shooting both of his thighs and both of his shoulders. She takes a deep breath while Jackson on the floor wails in pain. "Ava, take this boy away from me. His blood's staining my expensive dress. I'll take care of Nicole for tonight. You know what to do."

          The maids are rushing over when they hear the gunshot. They gasp when they see Jackson's state.

          "I owned you, boy. Don't make me regret saving you from the gutter." Rina says with venom before asking the maids to help carrying Nicole to the bedroom.

          I sigh. This is going to get so ..... problematic.

***

          I can't believe I have to handle this on my own ... again. I sigh after I'm done removing the bullets from his thighs and shoulders. After making sure it's all bandage up, I proceed to clean my hands of his blood.

          "I know you're awake." I say while washing my hands.

          "I never knew that I would be here again." He says while getting up from the steel bed.

          "Well, you have had your fair share of injuries. But, I do remember the first time you were brought up to this same steel bed. You were so skinny that we had to feed you food. And, that was after your graduation from Audra." I chuckle.

          "Oh, it was because of my bad behaviour that I was place in a solitary confinement."

          I turn around and face him. "You're lucky that the Duchess didn't aim at your vital organs. And, she's the type of person who would  never miss any vital organs since she's very ... knowledgable about the human anatomy." I walk towards him.

          "Oh I know, Lady Ava. I was there when she did all those things to that woman."

          So he remembered about Fiona.

          "Good that you remembered. Now, what should I do to you? I'm sure the casket outside is waiting for you, but I am not the Duchess who always lets her feelings do all the acting."

          He gulps down his saliva.

          "But, I am furious about what you have done to Nicole. You should know that. You were trying to rape her outside our room. That's not a wise action, even for you." I grab the clean wet cloth and wipe his face off. He needs to be clean after all. He flinches each time. "I wonder ... if you're up for another session of confinement. But then again ..." I lean into his ear. "That man who I pushed into that very room, should be dead by now." I whisper.

          He leans back while looking at me with fear on his face.

          "So Jackson, want to try staying a night or two inside a room with a freshly dead body?" I smirk while nodding his head.

"We consider you as a veteran among the others, but ... you just had to act like a dick to us. You've seen everything that we have done in your past missions. Why do you just have to provoke us? Is it because we look so normal while we're being the duchesses of Astor? Or is it because you just want to be kill by us?"

          He doesn't respond.

          "Tell me Jackson. Why do you have to provoke us like that?" I ask again. "She deserves someone who can truly make her happy.

Nicole doesn't need to live in fear of you two someday lashing it all on her. We, the servants, know what you both did. You have too many mistresses who will someday have the courage to say it all. By now, you use your money and power to shut them all up."

          Mistresses?

          I smile. "Those mistresses you mentioned worship us, little boy. You really think they will betray us after they receive a few millions every month? I don't think so since all of them are gold diggers to begin with. Listen, we eventually will have to tell Nicole about our dark side but not now. Not before we find the culprit who did this crappy shit to Veronica." I'm finally done cleaning his face. "You know. You should just keep burying those feelings for Nicole deep in your heart. If you cross the line again, Jackson, I will never hesitate to nail you inside the casket." I snap my fingers. "For now, you will be sent to Volin. I'm sure these representatives will make sure you arrive to Volin safely." I smile as I watch these girls forcefully carry him away from my sight.

          "Why do you have to force yourself like that? You know you want to kill him that badly." I hear a familiar voice talking behind me.

          "Kelly? So, you heard everything?"

          She nods. "So, you consider me, your personal assistant, also known as one of your mistresses who worship you like a God and a gold digger?" She seems tick off.

          "What? You're not? It seems like you and the others are working for Rina and me."

          She scoffs. "What are you planning now that Nicole doesn't have her own butler?"

          That's a good question.

          "We have more capable servants who can take care of her other needs. But, I do want to meet the maids inside the empty room on the second floor. They were using that room as their sanctuary."

          Kelly is weirded out. "Which room? The gold room? Or the Parisian room?"

          "Parisian's. I want to meet them now."

          Kelly nods and goes to check the CCTV.

          After she makes sure of who was inside that very room, she goes to call them.

          I smile at one of the young maids who prepares my refreshment as I wait for the others to arrive.

          "The maids you 'ordered' have arrived." Kelly chuckles. She goes to my side and  watches them like I do.

          The maids are looking down at their feet. They perfectly know that I know what's going on behind my back.

          "So does anyone wish to tell me what's going on? Or should I just guess what's inside your mind right now?" I ask.