THE GOVERNOR'S KEPT WOMAN (ENGLISH)

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

"Governor Andreras!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs, pounding my fists against the iron gate just to get the attention of the people inside.

"Miss, enough already. You're causing a disturbance. You keep coming back here even though you're getting nowhere. Go home. The governor isn't going to see you," one of the guards snapped.

I shook my head.

Today, I was determined to face the Governor.

He was the Governor. Surely there had to be something he could do to help get my father out of jail.

It was no longer just about begging him to stay out of my father's case.

Now...

I was pleading for his help.

"Please, call the Governor out! Just for a moment. Please... I only need a few minutes to speak with him." My voice cracked as I shouted toward the mansion. "Governor! Governor! Please, talk to me. Help us. I beg you to have mercy on my father, Governor!"

"You're becoming a nuisance, Miss. If you don't leave, I'll have the police remove you."

His threat frightened me.

But not nearly as much as my father's situation.

He was the only family I had left.

I couldn't bear to lose him either.

"Please... just a moment."

"The Governor isn't here. Go home."

"No." I stubbornly shook my head. "I'll wait here."

Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

If Attorney Gaille hadn't insisted that Governor Colton Andreras was the only person who could help us, I never would have humbled myself like this.

If hiring ten more lawyers could save my father, I would have done it without hesitation.

But Attorney Gaille believed the Governor was the key to winning the case.

So...

I was willing to throw away every ounce of my pride.

"You're one stubborn woman, aren't you?" the guard muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"The Governor really isn't here. He went home." His voice dropped to a whisper. "He'll be back... around six this evening."

My eyes widened.

"I'll come back."

"Fine. Just be careful. Now go."

I motioned for Top to leave with me.

I deliberately kept quiet about coming back at six.

I knew he would make good on his promise and never allow me to return if he found out.

That was just who Top was.

Even if I was his employer, he would stop me the moment he believed I was pushing myself too far.

After returning home, I forced myself to eat before resting for a while.

My eyes never left the clock.

"I'm going to take a nap, Miss Lucinda," Top said. "If you need to go somewhere, just ask one of the maids to wake me."

"All right. Get some rest. I'll stay here and wait for Attorney Gaille's call."

He nodded before heading upstairs.

Left alone, I turned on some music.

I couldn't allow my mother's voice to invade my thoughts again.

Right now...

Every ounce of my attention had to remain focused on my father.

At exactly five-thirty, I slipped out of the house.

Yes...

Yes... I snuck out.

I took nothing but my wallet and my phone.

I hailed a taxi and simply gave the driver the address.

By six o'clock sharp, I was standing in front of the Governor's gate once again.

Perfect timing.

A black luxury SUV was pulling into the driveway.

The gates slowly opened.

Unlike the earlier vehicles, this one headed straight inside.

"Governor!"

I hurried toward it, knocking urgently on the tinted window.

"Governor!"

I knocked again.

The rear door opened.

As soon as Governor Colton Andreras stepped out, the SUV continued deeper into the estate while several bodyguards immediately surrounded him.

From the way they looked at me...

You'd think I was about to attack him.

"You're here again?" he asked coldly. “Do you ever give up?

"I'm close to giving up, Governor," I admitted, my voice trembling. "But I can't just stand by and do nothing. Please help us. You're the Governor... maybe there's something you can do in my father's case. He can't survive much longer in jail. Earlier today, he collapsed and lost consciousness. He's not doing well there, Governor."

"I'm not the judge who'll decide his fate," he replied flatly. "Take your plea to the court, not to me."

"I know you can find a way—"

"So, you want me to interfere?" His expression darkened. "That's wrong. I won't interfere with the case. The only thing I'll do is help and support the Abwerbos family."

"My father needs help." I stepped closer, desperation overwhelming me. "Please... just listen to me. Help my father."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I'll do anything, Governor. Please..."

I dropped to my knees before him.

He laughed.

"Pathetic."

The word dripped with disgust.

"Don't you think the victim's family deserves justice for the death of their father?"

"I do!"

My answer came without hesitation.

"But you're blaming the wrong man! My father didn't kill Dominador Abwerbos!"

"And who told you that?" he asked mockingly. "Your father? Of course, he'd deny it. Murderers always do."

He looked at me without the slightest trace of sympathy.

"But your father is a murderer."

"Leave."

He kept dismissing me as though I were nothing more than an inconvenience.

"I'll do anything if it means freeing my father, Governor Colton Andreras."

I fell to my knees again.

"I'm begging you... please help us."

My trembling hands reached for his.

The moment I caught it, I clung to it desperately.

"I'm begging you..."

My shoulders shook violently as uncontrollable sobs tore through my body.

Everyone was staring at me.

I didn't know whether they pitied me...

Or were simply enjoying the spectacle.

"So... you want your father to be released?" Governor Andreras asked quietly. "Are you willing to give me what I want in return?"

The world seemed to fall silent.

But it wasn't the kind of silence I feared.

The only thing I could hear was Governor Andreras's voice.

Calm.

Steady.

Not the suffocating silence that always filled me with dread.

"W—What do you want from me... in exchange for my father's freedom?"

He wasn't the one who would deliver the final verdict.

But I knew he had the power to influence what happened to my father.

What I was asking for wasn't lawful.

Yet for my father...

I couldn't bear the thought of him dying in that prison.

"Your body, Lucinda."

He answered without the slightest hesitation.

His words exploded inside my head like a bomb.

I instantly let go of his hand. Still kneeling, I nearly lost my balance.

I didn't know whether anyone else had heard him.

He had spoken so softly that it felt like the words were meant for my ears alone.

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"I want your body, Miss."

He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice once more.

It was a dangerous whisper.

One that left me unable to respond.

"Not just once," he murmured. "You'll have to surrender yourself to me. You'll belong to me, Miss."

A devil.

That was all I could see standing before me.

He knew I was desperate.

That was the only reason he dared to make such a filthy proposal.

What did he think of me?

That I'd actually accept something so degrading?

No.

I wasn't that kind of woman.

I would never give my body to a man like him.

I rose to my feet.

Before turning away, I swung my hand across his face with all the strength I had.

The sharp slap echoed through the air.

His bodyguards immediately rushed forward, ready to seize me.

But Governor Andreras merely raised one hand.

They stopped at once.

"Leave now, Miss."

His voice was as composed as ever.

At that moment, a car pulled up.

My car.

Top stepped out and hurried straight toward me.

"I knew it," he said. "You're really here."

He took hold of my arm.

"Come on."

I didn't resist as he guided me into the car.

He climbed into the driver's seat and pulled away without another word.

"You're unbelievably stubborn, Miss Lucinda," he muttered. "Far too stubborn."

"My father..." I sobbed. "What am I supposed to do, Top? Tell me... what am I supposed to do?"

"Leave everything to the attorney," he said gently. "And trust the judge. Your father is innocent. The truth will come out."

He glanced at me.

"You're not coming back here again. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

Never again.

That Governor was disgusting.

Repulsive.

"Pull yourself together," Top continued. "Attorney Gaille called. He managed to arrange a visit. We can stop by the detention center so you can see your father.

"Can we visit him?"

He nodded.

"He spoke to someone there and got us permission."

"Then take me to him, Top."

But the moment we arrived at the detention center...

My world nearly collapsed.

My father's forehead was wrapped in thick bandages that circled his head.

Dark stains of dried blood had already soaked through the white bandages.

He looked completely worn out.

Yet the instant he saw me...

Even then, he forced a smile for me.

"Dad!"

I threw my arms around him.

"Oh... you're crying?" he asked softly. "I'm fine, sweetheart. I just lost my balance and fell. That's all. I'm fine."

But everything I saw told me otherwise.

He wasn't fine.

He could barely hold a conversation.

Before long, he was urging us to leave.

I wanted to stay.

To take care of him.

To keep him company.

But he refused.

It wasn't allowed, he said.

Then...

Just as Top and I were about to leave...

Blood suddenly streamed from his nose.

My heart stopped.

He insisted he was all right.

But the blood pouring from his nose told a different story.

Terror wrapped itself around me.

By the time Top and I stepped outside the detention center...

I had already made my decision.

"Take me back to the Governor's house, Top."

"Miss Lucinda!"

His frustration was obvious.

He was furious with my recklessness.

But what choice did I have?

If I waited until tomorrow...

My father's condition might become even worse.

I didn't even know what illness was destroying his body.

"Take me where I told you, Top."

I met his eyes.

"I'm your employer. Do as I say."

"Unbelievable."

He started the engine in exasperation.

Moments later, we were driving toward Governor Andreras's estate.

As if the heavens themselves shared my despair...

A heavy downpour began.

Top tried to stop me from getting out.

I refused.

"Stay here," I ordered firmly. "Don't get out of the car. That's an order."

Without waiting for his response, I stepped into the rain.

Within seconds, I was completely drenched.

Top obeyed.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road so it wouldn't block traffic, but he remained inside.

I pressed the doorbell over and over again.

The guard sighed the moment he recognized me.

"You're back again?"

"Please call the Governor," I pleaded. "It's an emergency."

He clearly didn't believe me.

Still, he went inside.

For what felt like ten endless minutes, I stood outside the gate, soaked to the bone, waiting.

Then...

I saw him.

Governor Andreras walked toward me carrying an umbrella.

Judging by his clothes, he'd only just climbed out of bed.

He was dressed in dark silk pajamas.

"Lucinda."

He spoke my name heavily.

As soon as he reached me, he stepped outside the gate and held the umbrella over my head.

By then, I was shivering uncontrollably.

But I couldn't have cared less.

I dropped to my knees.

"Help my father, Governor."

My voice broke.

"I'll agree to your terms."

Even through the pounding rain...

I heard his sharp intake of breath.

When I looked up...

Shock was written plainly across his face.

"I'll give you my body," I whispered.

"As long as my father is released... and gets the treatment he needs."

"Are you certain?"

I answered with a silent nod.

"Stand up."

His voice had grown noticeably quieter.

"Come with me."

He started to hand me his umbrella.

I shook my head.

If I took it, he'd be the one standing in the rain.

Without another word, he turned and walked back through the gates.

I followed him.

Somewhere behind me, I heard Top calling my name.

I pretended not to hear.

The moment we entered the Governor's mansion, two housemaids hurried over.

One immediately draped a large towel around my shoulders.

The Governor, whose clothes were damp from the rain, accepted another towel and casually dried his hair.

I clutched the towel wrapped around me.

My entire body trembled from the cold.

I ignored it.

"Are you certain about this decision?" he asked.

"Yes."

The Governor waved the maids away, leaving the two of us alone.

"Sit down, Lucinda."

I obeyed without hesitation, even though my clothes were still dripping onto the furniture.

He didn't seem to mind.

"You understand that there's no turning back once we do this?"

"I understand."

"And you understand that if you break our agreement..." His gaze hardened. "If you break our agreement, I'll make sure your father suffers the consequences.

My fists clenched.

Even so...

I nodded.

"I understand."

"Good."

His expression remained unreadable.

"We'll draw up a written contract."

"We'll both sign it."

"Is that really necessary?" I asked quietly.

He lifted an eyebrow.

"You don't want one?"

"I-I do."

My voice trembled.

"For my father."