Enthralled and Entangled

Chapter 5

I was appalled and finally caved in. “I remember it now, Mr. Braydan! I remember it now! It was indeed me that night!” I shouted at him.

Braydan stopped and looked up at me. His eyes crinkled in a smile.

Was he going to let me go? Braydan had a very unpredictable temper. I could not afford to piss him off again.

I immediately softened my tone and begged for mercy, “I suddenly remembered it now. We indeed slept with each other once in the past. It was hazy in my mind because I had one glass too many that night. Mr. Braydan, we’re both adults here. One-night stands are meant to be forgettable.”

Braydan removed his hand from my panties and pulled down my upturned skirt. He lifted his deep and dangerous eyes and looked at me. “Miss Riannon, you may have forgotten about it, but it’s been on my mind for four whole years.”

“Four whole years?!” I looked at him in confusion. “Mr. Chairman, I don’t think that’s something important to be remembered for that long.”

He released my wrists and pulled away from me. “It’s important. Of course it is important. Miss Riannon, you’re my personal assistant now. Don’t even think about leaving my side without my permission.”

His words reminded me of the fact that being his personal assistant meant I would have to follow him around every day. At this rate, he was going to find out about Sofia sooner or later.

I quickly sat up, then hurriedly buttoned up my blouse and put on my high heels again before decisively refusing his order. “Mr. Braydan, I’m afraid that I’m not a suitable candidate to be your personal assistant! I…”

“There’s no one more suitable for this job than you, Riannon,” Braydan’s serious voice interrupted me. He was standing not far from me as stared at me with his deep gaze.

The serious look in his eyes made me draw a sharp breath. I bet this was the reason no one dared to defy him.

He smoothed out his slightly disheveled clothes and said, “Arthur will show you the ropes around here.”

I clutched the edge of the table behind me as I tried to think of a way to quit this job.

Braydan suddenly grabbed my chin. He leaned over and pecked me on the lips. “Of course, I’d be delighted to personally teach you should you prefer it.”

The sudden sensation of his lips on mine startled me. I snapped my head up and looked at him, but he had already let go of my chin and was walking to the exit of the conference room.

“Miss Riannon, help me prepare the materials I need for my meeting tomorrow.”

I stared after him dumbly. When I finally found my voice to make a retort, Braydan had already stepped out of the conference room.

I watched the door close after him and slumped weakly against the table. His touch lingered on my lips and body. I curled my body into a ball to feel less vulnerable.

He was gone. He was finally gone.

He did not violate me or kill me. All he asked was for me to be his personal assistant. I was not sure if I was fortunate or unfortunate.

Mr. Braydan was indeed an unpredictable man. Everything he did confused me. I could never guess what he was thinking.

I ended up working the whole day away, feeling both confused and frightened. All I could think of was whether I should resign or stay in this job.

After I left the conference room, Braydan did not bother me again. I worked normally by his side, like all his other assistants.

It almost made me feel like I was no longer in danger. I was even starting to discard any thoughts of resigning from this job. After all, the opportunity to become the personal assistant to the chairman of B.D.Corp was a rare one and it paid well.

That night, I had to drag myself home from work. Mrs. Steve was the one who picked Sofia up from the nursery today. She was my neighbor, an old friend of my mom’s who would occasionally come over to lend us a helping hand whenever necessary.

Since I would be busy with work, I offered Mrs. Steve a sum of money and asked that she help me look after Sofia.

She was a very gentle woman and Sofia liked her a lot too. By the time I got home, Sofia was already asleep.

Mrs. Steve was very excited to share with me all the things Sofia did today, but I was not in the mood to really talk about it. I just entertained her for a little bit, then sent her home for the day.

The encounter I had with Braydan during the day might have been too much for me. I did not have a good sleep that night.

While I was drifting in and out of sleep, I had a very strange dream.

In my dream, I was running through the dark woods and the branches scratched my arms.

I was aching all over, but that did not stop me from running. I kept running desperately, like there was a bloodthirsty beast chasing after me from behind.

The cold wind blew against my face. A bright silver moon suddenly rose into the dark sky, illuminating the entire forest with its light.

I raised my head and let the moonlight shine on my face. I kept running forward, as if I would be able to escape the impending danger behind me as long as I could reach the cold moon.

Unfortunately, it was a cliff at the end of the forest.

I stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down into the abyss of darkness. My body trembled as I realized that this was as far as I could run.

The moon shone brightly above my head. I looked up at it in a daze, as I sensed something terrifying drawing closer to me.

Two shadows slowly approached me from behind, cutting off my escape route. Their overwhelming auras suffocated me but it was a very familiar feeling. I clenched my fists tightly as I gathered all my strength to turn around and face them.

Both of them turned out to be giant wolves with gray fur, blue eyes and sharp fangs. They kept their bodies low as they stared at me like I was a prey.

I was stunned by what I saw and shakily retreated toward the cliff behind me.

The giant wolves pounced on me and pinned me down. Their soft fur rubbed against my skin. It was only at this moment, I realized that I was not wearing anything.

Under the white moonlight, my naked body glowed like it was a divine offering.

They licked every inch of my bare skin, their sharp fangs occasionally grazed it. I was not sure if they were devouring me or playing with me.

Either way, I was extremely terrified. I struggled as hard as I could and screamed at the top of my lungs.

I prayed that someone would hear me and come to my rescue, but the two wolves started fighting each other instead.

Their roars echoed throughout the woods. One of them appeared to be stronger.

He bit the other wolf on its neck, then stared right into my eyes. A low demonic whisper came out of its throat. “You belong to only me, Luna…”

“Luna…”

That voice sounded very familiar. I suddenly remembered that I had heard it somewhere before.

It was Braydan’s voice!

I jolted awake from my dream. The moment I opened my eyes, I looked around and realized that I was in my room.

The sky outside the window was still dark. I looked at the time on my phone. It was only five in the morning.

Pulling back my covers, I discovered that my clothes were drenched with my sweat.

I wiped the sweat away from my forehead, then went to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of cold water. I was parched, so the glass was emptied in a gulp.

Luckily it was just a dream. Otherwise, I would be convinced that Braydan was that wolf.

The dream felt too real. Even if I had already woken up from the dream, my fear had yet to dissipate. It was this unsettling feeling that made me decide that I was going to resign after all.

The next day, I went to the office and told Arthur that I was going to quit but he reminded me that I had already signed a one-month contract. Failure to fulfill the obligations stated in the contract would mean that I had to pay a huge sum of money to the corporation as a penalty.

I re-read the contract I signed the day before. Arthur was right. By signing the contract, I was obligated to work here for a month.

As much as I was dismayed, there was nothing I could do. I had no choice but to stay here for a month because I was a single mother who needed money badly.

For the next few days, I kept researching different foreign countries. I wanted to pick out a good place and take Sofia away from here as soon as my contract ended.

When I came home from work, I received a call from Darianna. It was her birthday today and she wanted me to celebrate it with her at a bar.

I hesitated for a long time, but agreed to go in the end.

Sofia came over to me in her cute little pink dress, then pouted adorably. “Mommy, you’re not going to be home tonight?”

She had big eyes and bore some resemblance to Braydan.

Every time I looked at her, I felt a squeeze in my heart. I feared that Braydana would find his way here.

I patted her on the head. “Sorry dear, I’ll be out tonight. It’s Aunt Darianna’s birthday today.”

Darianna had introduced me to a few jobs before. I figured that I should accept her birthday invitation in order to thank her for always trying to help me out.

Sofia nodded understandingly. “Fine, I’ll wait for you to return home, Mommy.”

She cupped my face with her chubby little hands. “Don’t come home too late, Mommy!”

I smiled and nodded. “All right. Be good and don’t cause any trouble for Mrs. Steve.”

Sofia caressed my face, then planted a cheek on my forehead. “Okay, Mommy. Love you.”

“Love you too.” I kissed Sofia on her chubby cheek.

Sofia was a very beautiful child, compared to other children around her age. Apart from her eyes, I could not tell if she looked more like me or Braydan.

Sometimes I even wondered to myself if she was really my child.

She was simply too beautiful. We never had such a beautiful child in our family.

After I got Sofia all settled in for the night, I changed into a long red dress and went to the bar where I would be meeting Darianna.

She was going to celebrate her birthday there, but it was not a party. There would be just the two of us, so she picked a bar where we could enjoy a good drink.

The bar was very lively at night. The glittering neon lights flashed and there was already a crowd dancing.

I spotted Darianna among the crowd. The long black dress she wore accentuated every curve of her body. She looked extra sexy tonight in that flattering dress.

“Ria! Over here!” She waved at me.

I walked faster as I headed in her direction. The smell of alcohol and the flashing lights reminded me of the incident four years ago. This seemed to be the same bar where I met Braydan that night.

When I reached Darianna, I found out that she was not here alone. Eddie was seated right next to her.

Why was my ex-boyfriend here?