Love’n’Lust

“Brie!” Belle couldn’t take it anymore.”Can you please stop? Please, just stop all of these accusations, okay? You are saying it’s his fault, blaming him for all of this, do you know who saved me? Huh? It was him, he found me and he got me out of there.”Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

“That’s because he probably knew where to find you all along,” Brie felt so sure.

“Okay, now you are just saying this because you have an issue with him.” Belle shook her head.

“No, I know what I’m saying…”

“It’s not his fault Brie, it’s not. The fact that he gifted me a house and I was kidnapped around there doesn’t make it his fault. Can we please just go inside and be happy that I’m safe instead of accusing him?” Brie looked away after all her sister just said, she still believed her intuitions were right.

“Please, Brie?” Belle held her arm, making Brie look at her for a while.

“Okay,” She shrugged with her arms folded against her chest.”Is he coming in too?” She whispered to Belle.

“Yes.”

“Oh. We are still gonna talk about this right?”

“Yeah, we will. Later, that is.”

“Okay then,” Brie said and lead the way inside after she gave Ben a brief glare. Ben just sighed, he’s eyes met Belle’s as she came to where he stood.

“I’m sorry about Brie.”

“It’s fine,” He smiled, soothing Belle’s mind even though she still worried that Brie might make up another scene inside the apartment.

****

“I’m sorry about my sister earlier,” Belle apologized again when they were both in the car and about to drive out from where the car was parked.

“Yeah, I’d suspect me too if this happened to my sister,” he tried to justify Brie’s actions.”She cares about you a whole lot… like it’s her job to do so,” Ben chortled after he added.

“Well, she’s always kinda had that responsibility of taking care of me. She used to come over to babysit me sometimes when we were younger. This one time, I made her so angry when I ran off with a friend, she had to spend the whole afternoon looking for me; she swore she would never babysit me again after she found me but my grandma had a way of bribing her,” Belle laughed shortly as she remembered. She turned to Ben and saw a smile on his lips.

“You never talk about your childhood,” she started but got no reply from him as she expected.”Tell me about your childhood days, funny things you did, anything?” She smiled while she requested, she wanted to know more about him but he barely talked about himself.

He took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at her, he saw how excited she seemed to want to know about his childhood. Not saying anything but just looking back at the road as he drove on, he wished he could tell her but his childhood wasn’t very fun, he hated it.

Everything surrounding his childhood wasn’t worth anyone’s ears, he thought. He hated the whole situation surrounding his childhood, from his birth till when he ran away from the mansion for some months after he turned eighteen.

He sighed and glanced at her again, trying to think of something happy in his childhood.

“Once, I was beaten up like a thief when I tried to defend my birth mother, I was five. I don’t remember what conversation she was having with these men but I saw them try to abuse her, so I picked up a short plank and hit one of them with it, then they beat the crap out of me,” he laughed at the last part he just mentioned but when he turned to Belle, she wasn’t laughing as he expected.

“Was that…” He wanted to ask if his story was inappropriate but Belle stopped his words with her own questions.

“Your birth mother? Do you know who your birth mother is? I thought you grew up in an orphanage before you… you know, got adopted.”

‘Shit,’ Ben cursed inwardly, he shouldn’t have told that story. At least, he didn’t mention the part where he later found those men and made them pay horribly, that would have scared her out of his comfort.

“Forget about that,” he just said; an attempt to put her off it, but she had other questions.

“Is she alive? You just said you were five when this happened, and you got adopted at age six, what happened to her?” Ben stopped the car at a red light, sighed Loudoun, and then turned to her.

“Am I asking too many questions?” She asked rhetorically because she knew the answer to that question.

“We are going to the doctor now, I was going to have him come over but since we are already on the road, might as well visit the hospital.” He diverted the topic. “I have to meet with someone after that, so I’ll drop you off at your place.”

“What? Where? The house?”

“Yes, your house.”

“I don’t wanna go there, Ben.”

“You’ll be fine,” he told her but she started to shake her head slowly.

“No, I’m not going there.”

“Tiger’s in prison, you have nothing to worry abou…”

“He wasn’t alone till a day before you came for me, there was another guy, uhm, Crow! Yes! That’s what he was called, what if he comes back?”

“He won’t, I assure you that.”

“How can you be so sure? These people are dangerous. You know, that Crow actually tried to…” She paused.”… And Tiger too, told me that I would have to satisfy him before he could let me go.” Tears formed in her eyes as she spoke, she didn’t notice Ben contract his fist when she explained what Tiger and his mate did to her.

“I’ll have Randy and some others stay at the house with you. Is that okay?” He asked her, caressing her cheeks and wiping the drop of tear that had escaped her left eye.

“I guess so.” She rubbed her eyes as she nodded.”The light’s turned green,” she noticed and informed him.

“Come here,” he drew her closer and placed a kiss on her forehead before he resumed driving.