“You’re here.”
I was sitting by the swimming pool, running the chlorinated water along my legs, when I heard Kaiser’s icy voice, followed by his familiar figure approaching.
Three days had passed since the one-night-stand incident with Carson Gao, and I wasn’t able to catch hold of Kaiser at all. He had ditched me in the luxurious hotel where I was all alone, but that was not what I was most concerned about.
Firstly, there was the question of whether he was married. Kaiser never spoke about his personal affairs with me, and if he was indeed married, I knew this would be hard for me to accept. It was not the first time for me to encounter such a problem, because, in the past, Syl was married, rather unhappily, when we got together. But Kaiser…
Kaiser was a different situation altogether. He was that light of hope I had to get my revenge, and without realising, I fell for him entirely. He negated my pain even with his coldness. I didn’t even see that coming.
“We need to talk, Kaiser.”
He took my hand and supported me to get up, relieving the anguish in my heart. Still, I wanted to hear it directly from him. That Carson was lying and he and Erica Gao were never married… That everything was a lie.
Or was I lying to myself?
Then he scooped me into his arms, still dripping wet, and made his way towards the elevator. In a few blinks, we arrived at our floor, as it was two floors up from the swimming pool level. He swiped the keycard on the door handle with his free hand and pushed open the door. By then, most of the water on my body had dried from the heat of his body.
“Let’s talk.” He sat me down on the sofa and took my chin in his right hand. Under the brightness of the room, I scrutinised his handsome face. He reeked of alcohol, and he seemed to be a little tired.
Probably from partying. I had no idea where he was to be smelling like that. Kaiser never struck me as the type who liked public attention, so he must have gone to a private function. Otherwise, why would he have left me all alone in the house after promising to give me a better life?
I hesitated, contemplating my value in his heart. Was I just a lover who was dispensable to him at any time? Or was Erica that person who he was legally and emotionally bound, and was I just an extra to him?
“I’ve done what you instructed. Seduced him and got him into bed…”
I stopped when halfway into the sentence, biting back the urge to sob. I had never felt so emotional as I was right now. In the past, I slept with customers to survive. But now…
Was I just a pawn for his bigger plans?
I mustered the strength in me and continued. “I believe I have his interest, and in no time, I’ll gain his trust.”
He stared at me emotionlessly and clapped his hands. “Very good, Piper. You should sleep with him again. Give him what he desires.”
Kaiser was about to move away to get a glass of wine when I stopped him with my words.
“Wait.”
“What is it?” He looked at me. “I’m getting some glasses for us to celebrate.”
“Go ahead. I just wanted to ask you something.”
He returned with the glasses and a full bottle of champagne, opening it with a nearby bottle-opener. The bottle made a little sound as he opened it, and he filled both glasses to the rim.
I didn’t have the mood, but I drank to entertain him. This man never got enough of drinking.
“I thought you had something to ask, Piper.” He stroked my hair, making me tingle with little spurts of electricity.
“What is it that you want from Carson Gao? I’m sure that it’s more than just me distracting and seducing him. And also…. He did mention…”
I paused. I didn’t know how I could get through the sentences in my mind right now, without breaking down. It was just too much.
‘Piper, you can do it. Think about the bigger picture. All you want is revenge. Remember that.’
I heard the Milanda in my mind tell me again, and I closed my eyes to focus on getting out what bugged me in my heart.
“What did that idiot say?”
My instincts told me that Carson was true. The two did know each other.
“He said you are his brother-in-law and that you have many different identities.”
Kaiser’s facial expression was unchanged. “Anything else?”
“Nothing other than that he seems to know you.” I kept mum about how Carson mentioned taking action against the women who were with Kaiser.
“Continue to seduce him. I can’t allow him to meddle in my affairs.”
“Is it true?”
I looked up at him hopefully, wishing that he would deny Carson’s allegations. Carson was an easy target to fool, but he had no reason to lie about Kaiser being his brother-in-law.
“True and not true. Erica is just a puppet. I have no interest in her whatsoever. Plus, she’s wheelchair-bound.”
But, it did still mean he was married to her. I felt my heart sink. And what was I to him? His spare tyre or sex doll to use as he wished? Was I even important to him as a lover?
I listened to that urge in me and expressed it.
“Will we… ever get married? Or am I just your secret woman?”
Kaiser came closer and suddenly, stared at me so intensely. But his words were like little spears that he just impaled right through my heart.
“When I gave you my offer to be my woman, it was to give you protection. But no, Piper, I can’t marry you. Not especially during this time. When there is still much for you to do.”
I felt suffocated. He meant for me to be a pawn in his schemes. There was more for me to do for him. He didn’t care about me, that I was sleeping with Carson. Was this the reason why he brought me here? Had he planned this from the time he decided to bring me here or had he just taken me along to protect me from his deranged cousin and my ex?
But he had cared for me in the past, had he not? What was this about being possessive with me?
I couldn’t manage to say anything. He must have realised my eyes were brimming with tears because he lifted his hand to caress my cheek.
“Piper, be patient. You do want revenge, do you not? I’m aware you’ve seen Lenard Lee at the party, right? Tell me, do you want revenge?”
The mention of the word revenge just made my heart burn wildly with my darkest desire. I nodded strongly.
“Then listen to me. Trust me. I promised you revenge, but in return, you have to help me.”
I nodded again. He held my shoulders firmly, then lay me down.
“Dim.”
The sensors in the room obeyed his instructions. I suddenly realised the presence of several pink electronic candles grouped in a corner near the sofa. When had he set these up?
“Piper, I am yours tonight.”
He took out his phone from his pocket and switched it off. I relaxed my shoulders and looked into his eyes. That’s it; I had to trust him. He slipped off my bikini slowly and ran his fingers over my exposed torso, making me shiver.
“Kaiser…”
“Trust me.”
I wasn’t in the mood for sex, but the ambience changed my mind. He took off his clothes and slipped his fingers between my legs to part them. When Kaiser wanted sex, I knew I had to give it to him. I willingly allowed him to enter my cavity with his fingers, playing with them until I was damp inside.
It was different. Carson had used his mouth on me, but Kaiser just wanted to have sex straight away once I was a little wet. I sensed a bit of friction as he was going inside me without doing much foreplay.
“Ah, Piper. You still feel so good, so warm.” He pushed deeper inside me, without waiting for my answer. Then his lips locked onto mine, claiming me so hard and passionately that I couldn’t think of anything other than his possessiveness of me.
Right. He was my master. I obeyed and submitted to him, and let him have his way with me. Because if not, I probably wouldn’t have existed at all. Even if he asked me to sleep with an entire gang, I had to listen to him.
Minutes later, he increased his thrusts and rode me aggressively, as if he was sexually deprived. I didn’t know what was going on and where he had been for the past few days, but he was wild. And to be honest, I enjoyed every part of it. Just that in my heart, I suddenly thought of Carson, but quickly brushed those thoughts away.
‘Kaiser is mine’, I told myself repeatedly in my mind. No matter how many men I slept with outside, I would have to get home to be with Kaiser. And I had to live with it, for the sake of everything. For revenge, and…
And maybe, for love as well. All of a sudden, I felt that I couldn’t be away from Kaiser. Both mattered to me.
But after having my revenge, I promised that I would have a happy ever after ending with Kaiser. Just the two of us, forever.
I would not rest until I had that happy ever after I deserved.