Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 109 How To Make More Money
A few days passed and Soren had regained his strength. While I was pleased with his healing process, more and more, I found I couldn’t be as carefree around him as before.
More and more, I had to remind myself to plaster a smile across my lips.
Things were different now- I felt different.
I felt as if the emotions I was going through were almost robotic, and even though I wanted to believe Soren with all my heart, I just couldn’t.
Ethan lied to me… but so did Soren.
I questioned myself over and over. Had everything up until that point just been part of Soren’s game?
Seraphine stopped by and slid the cup of tea towards me. “You seemed a bit preoccupied. Drink this, it will help to calm your nerves.”
I thanked her and took a sip. The hot liquid washed down my throat, slightly easing the tension in my mind.
“Do you know if Soren will be back for dinner tonight?” I asked.
My question brought a grin to Seraphine’s face.
“I find it sweet that you are so concerned about him. He doesn’t know how to quit working,” she replied with a grin, “but I believe he will be back this afternoon.”
“In that case, I should have enough time to clean up the house,” I nodded. I felt it would be best to keep myself busy.
“Miss Ro, you can just leave the house to me.” I turned around and saw Lola, who now spent most of the time on Papeno helping out her master. There wasn’t much she needed to do back in Soren’s place in Avondale.
Seraphine agreed with her, “Why don’t you find something fun to do?”
I thought for a moment and decided to do something to cheer myself up. It felt like it had been a while since I last went into the nursery. Yes, just thinking about spending time in my baby’s space brought a smile to my face.
In addition, it might not be a bad idea to start planning what I would take with me if and when I decided to part ways with Soren.
“Seraphine, I’ll check a few things in the baby’s room,” I replied. “I’ll call if I need any help.”
Seraphine and Lola looked at each other, and they could tell that I wanted to be alone at the moment.
“Of course, dear,” Seraphine replied.
As soon as I entered the nursery, I was in a better mood.
Seraphine’s tea might have helped a little to soothe my tense nerves, but being in the nursery helped a lot more.
However, something on the ground drew my attention.
It was a letter addressed to me.
Confusion laced my mind. There were only very few who knew about my whereabouts… who would have written to me, and how did it get in here?
I went to pick it up, and as I was about to break the wax seal, Lola appeared at the door. I was so distracted that I didn’t notice until she called out my name.
“Miss Ro, anything in particular you want for dinner?”
Then she noticed the letter in my hand and frowned. “I didn’t remember getting any mail lately?” That was my thought exactly.
In the past, I would have shared my concerns about the mysterious letter with her, because I didn’t feel I had anything to hide. However, now…
Especially, since I planned to leave Soren sooner or later, I needed to be able to handle things on my own.
“Soren left me a sweet note,” I quickly made up a reasonable explanation.
I didn’t know how convincing it was, but my response made her smile.
I then answered her dinner question, “For dinner, something light, maybe some fish with a salad?”
“Absolutely!” she answered cheerfully and left the room with a grin on her face.
However, I knew that it wasn’t from Soren. He was the kind of man who would rather tell me in person than to send me a letter.
My stomach tightened with apprehension.
This time, I gently closed the door.
I broke the wax seal and unfolded the letter.
It wasn’t long.
“Rosalie,
Have you missed me? It has been far too long.
What a surprise! The w*ho*re I once knew has men eating out of the palm of her hand now.
Sorry that I didn’t say hello earlier in Avondale, thanks to those b’stard guards.
You made me lose a hand, and you destroyed my life, b*tch!
I can’t wait for you to beg for my forgiveness, but it will cost you.
Give me the money, and you won’t hear from me again. Do not tell anyone, otherwise, there will be no peace for you or your child for as long as I live.”
I stood there frozen. My hands trembling in fear, and my heart was pounding due to terror.
Derek!
He found me! As much as I wished that it wasn’t true, he was here on Papeno!
My eyes scanned over the letter multiple times, trying to make sense of it all. My thoughts drifted back to the day in the market when I thought I saw him.
I knew it was him. I was just hoping that he didn’t see me.
After I moved to Papeno, I thought I was safe. I thought I escaped from him!
But he was out there, right now, probably watching me, seeing me tremble in fear. I could almost see his sinister smirk- the face that I saw in my nightmares from the past.
What should I do…?
If Derek could get a letter to me here, if he was able to sneak the letter in my baby’s room with all the guards around …then what choice did I really have?
I used the wall to steady myself and finally managed to sit down in my chair.
I needed to stay calm. I needed to think through the situation….
Seeking help from Soren wasn’t an option. The guards couldn’t prevent Derek from approaching the nursery, and I couldn’t burden Soren more, especially since he was injured.
What’s more, if Derek knew he was being hunted down by Soren’s men, would he do something in desperation to hurt me… or worse, my child?
No matter how unlikely it was for Derek to break through Soren’s security team, I just couldn’t take the risk.
I tried to reason with myself… if all he needed was money… Perhaps, there was enough saved up that I could give him.
I blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. It wasn’t the time to get emotional. First things first, I needed everyone to believe that it was me and Soren exchanging notes.
I carefully shedded the letter into the smallest pieces I could manage and put them back in my pocket. Then, I wrote a note and dropped it on Soren’s bedside table in his room. Since he was able to move around, he insisted that I take my bedroom back while he moved to the guest room.
Afterwards, I walked over to the living room and started pulling out a stack of paper. Seraphine and Lola looked at me curiously, but they didn’t pry.
“I wanted to make something fun for the baby,” I announced.
Seraphine arched an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Origami!”
She smiled and seemed happy to see me energetic enough to do something.
I cleared up some space on the dining room table and started my small project.
My hands were busy, but my mind drifted away back to Derek’s threat.
He lost his hand. What happened to him after my escape that turned him into a street beggar? Was Isis also with him ?
But those details were not important. All I knew was that he was threatening not just my life, but my unborn child’s life.
The thought of him approaching the nursery in the dark….
I shook my head hard to wave away my fear. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could feel panic settling in as the unpleasant memories of Derek returned to my mind.
I stopped and looked at the origami papers. Not happy with what I had done, I shredded them to pieces-so that I could mix in Derek’s shredded letter. I pulled out a few more new pieces of paper, and started from scratch, with my mind continuing to wonder….
…Hopefully, if I gave him the money, he would disappear just like he promised. At least that was the hope. If not….
I was planning to leave the islands sooner or later anyway. I would run as far away as I could from Ethan, from Soren, from everyone.
I’d done it once; I could do it again.
“Miss Ro, you okay?” Lola walked by and saw the mess I had made on the table.
“Yes, I just couldn’t remember how I made them in the past!” I complained.
She commented, “When was the last time you did it? Any skill takes practice.”
“I guess so! It’s been a while for sure.”
I shredded more paper and let it take over the better half of a six-person dining table.
Lola shook her head and smiled, “Well, at least you seemed to have lots of fun.”
I nodded, agreeing with her. “I don’t know why, but I was just in the mood. Sorry for the mess!”
She giggled. “Don’t worry about it at all. Whatever that makes you happy, Miss Ro.”
As she walked away, I let out a sigh.
I really didn’t know whether I was making the right decision to keep Derek’s blackmail as a secret.
Once again, I pulled out more paper. This time, I managed to make a couple samurai hats, a few cranes, and a howling wolf, which earned me compliments from Seraphine.
Finally seeming to be satisfied with my project, I cleaned up the table, and dumped all the shredded paper from my failed origami trials and from Derek’s letter into the garbage can. Neither Lola nor Seraphine noticed that I sneaked in more shredded pieces than what was from my failed origamis.
Afterwards, I slid the paper wolf into the note for Soren, and then returned to my room.
I pulled out all of my cash.
I had some savings, but I just didn’t know how much would satisfy Derek.
“Ro?” Seraphine’s voice made me jump, and it was too late for me to put away the cash. “Sorry that I scared you.” She walked in with a laundry basket in her arms. “I brought the laundry in. Let me put it away for you.”
“No, no Seraphine. I can do it myself!” I was a bit anxious, trying to hide the money.
“Oh, dear, don’t worry about it, and the basket is heavy. You shouldn’t be carrying weight.”
Then she glanced over and saw the cash.
“Oh… I’m so sorry,” Seraphine apologized, and put down the basket. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
I sighed again. At this point, the more I tried to cover it, the more it would make it seem suspicious. Therefore, I let out a sigh to draw Seraphine’s attention.
She sat down next to me. “Dear, are you okay? You’ve been acting… a little out of sorts.”
Seraphine was observant. I knew I hadn’t been acting quite normal the whole day. I needed to provide some logical explanation.
“Alright… you caught me.”
“Oh, dear. Do you mind sharing what’s bothering you?”
“Seraphine,” I looked at her and tried to make myself look embarra*s*sed. “I was wondering how I could make more money.”
She obviously didn’t expect that.
“I’m getting closer to my due date, and I’ve just started to get anxious.”
Guilt filled me knowing I had to make up the lies. “I just wanted to be able to provide for my child…”
“Oh, dear, you are going to be alright” Seraphine comforted me softly. “You have a good job, you have a place to stay …you have us.”
“That sounds great, but I don’t know why… I was just a bit unsettled.”
“That’s not uncommon,” she smiled. “You know, with the whole pregnancy thing.”
“You sure?” I asked.
“Of course, Ro. Don’t think too much about it.”
“I guess you’re right,” I said as a yawn came over me. “I can’t believe how easily I get tired.” “Get some rest, dear, and I bet you will feel all better when you wake up. It’s hard, both physically and emotionally.”
I thought about her advice and decided a nap would be a good idea.
After all, I needed to get some energy and get myself mentally prepared to face Derek. Alone.