WORLD OF TWISTS: The Billionaire's Slave

UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIP

VERONICA'S POV:

Even though Glazer had rescued me from the gang members, to the extent of shooting them dead, I was still afraid of her. She had an aura of mystery around her. There was something about her which made me very uncomfortable. Why did she do that because of me? Just why? And the dead gang members, how did they know I was going to leave Harrison's house that evening?

All of these questions puzzled me so greatly I lost my physical composure. I trembled as though it was winter, and when we arrived at Glazer's house, a humble but beautiful bungalow, I spent a longer time staring at the house. It was almost midnight.

Glazer noticed this. "You have every right to be afraid," she said. "But you have no reason to be. Don't throw my compassion to my face."

"I'm very sorry. Please do not mind me." A glance at her showed she was a bit hurt, but her face didn't express any emotions.

She didn't say anything else as we ascended the small veranda stairs. The door was locked by a high security device. It needed a password.

"Look the other way," she said.

I turned away immediately, letting my eyes take in the area, as she punched in her password. The house was tucked in a countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of USA. There were little to no house surrounding hers. I wondered if she lived here alone or with the gang members she just killed. The saliva dried from my throat and tongue. Glazer was an easy murderer.

We entered the house. It was furnished sparsely, but there was a lot of drawers and secret doors.

She caught me staring. "You can only stare but not touch. Is that okay?"

Her voice was commanding, as though to remind me I had no choice but to strictly obey her. I was so tempted at that moment to ask, "Or else what?" But I didn't, of course. She saved my life and I still owed it to her.

"Okay, Glazer," I said, and wondered if I should have called her "madam" instead.

When she showed me my room, she said, "And just to remind you, Veronica, I am more or less your captor still. You must obey me at all costs. I had to do away with my group just to save your ass, because what Raza had in mind for you was dangerous."

She paused to let that sink in.

"That should give you a tip of whom you're dealing with," she added and waved her hands over the surrounding. "And all of these you see are heavily designed against trespassers. If you don't follow my rules, the house might think you're an enemy and kill you."

I raised my eyebrows, and had to ask, "A house, kill me?"

She stared at me, and for the first time, what looked like a smile appeared on her lips. "Come, let me show you something."

I waved my hands frantically. "No. Please. I believe you." Who knows what she is about to show me? I thought, my eyes growing larger in fear.

"I thought so," she said. "I live here alone. Make yourself as comfortable as you dare to. Are you hungry?"

At the thought of food, my stomach made a loud, shameless growl. Both of us had to wait for it to stop. Without meaning to, I giggled. I looked up to meet her stern face.

"Come to the kitchen," she said. "There's chicken in the fridge and a bunch of veggies. See what you make out of it, for us."

I followed her to the kitchen, and started preparing a chicken soup. She buzzed in and out at intervals, asking if I needed anything.

I wanted to ask her a lot of questions, but I didn't let my curiosity get the best of me.

Over the meal, I waited for her to commend my cooking. But she didn't. She didn't also say it was bad, either. Only scooped, chewed and swallowed. When she caught me staring, she dropped her cutleries and asked, "Is there something that should have happened to me as I eat?"

My heart skipped a beat. Did she just talk about me poisoning her food? "No, no," I blurted. "I'm just surprised."

She didn't ask why I was surprised, so I had to press on. "I still can't wrap my head around why you saved me. Can you please tell me?"

"I gave you an answer already," she said, sipping juice.

"The pregnancy?" I whispered, "how did you know about it?" I thought about Smitty, and how only he knew I was pregnant. Even the pharmacist was distracted when I snuck the pregnancy test tube away. So, how did Glazer and her cohorts, from a mile away, know about it? In just a space of hours?

"I won't answer that yet," Glazer said. She dropped her fork; she was done eating. I was barely three forks into my meal. "Only thing I'll say is, I'll keep you safe from Harrison and his men. Because, they're over the city searching for you as we speak."

I swallowed hard and tried to imagine what it'd feel like if Harrison caught up with me. If he took me back. I shuddered at the scenario.

Glazer went on. "If you do not want to go back to him and face whatever he has in store for you—"

"That is exactly what I want to know," I blurted out and then muttered, "I'm sorry."

"Go on," she said, surprising me.

"Please, Glazer, I am really, really grateful that you saved me back there, I don't even know how to explain it. But I seriously want to know what Harrison wants my baby for. Why did he choose to —"

I cut myself off, deciding I had spilled too much for a stranger.

But it was late. Her furrowed eyebrows were a warning for me to complete what I had started.

I stared at my plate and, in a few words, told her my story. How I got to be glued to Harrison for life.

"He chose to forget about his sister, just because he was told you're fertile?" she asked, great surprise etched on her face. Apart from anger, this was her most expressed emotion. She was genuinely interested.

I nodded in answer. "Yes, just like that. I've not been able to understand just why he needs a baby so badly. So, when Smitty, one of his bodyguards, told me to leave the house, I ran away without any question. I felt very much in danger."

I stopped and let out a breath as the terrible happenings of that night played out in my mind. I glanced at Glazer, at the smoothness of her face in the light of the bulbs above. "And here you are, saying you saved me because I'm pregnant for him. I am very disturbed, Ma."

Glazer sighed and shook her head. And I saw a different light in her eyes. A light of friendship, of genuine care. She then said:

"You'll get to know the truth, but not now. Trust me when I tell you this. All that matters is that you're safe with me. You need rest. Tomorrow, we'll talk about every other thing."

She stood up and dabbed her lips with a napkin. Carrying her plate into the kitchen, she called out, "And the meal... it was expertly prepared."

"Thank you," I croaked.

As she walked away, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Who was this lady shrouded in so much mystery it was impossible to break through? What was her story? And what did she want with me?