Manhunt

Cruel reality

Theia walked down the corridor after a busy day at the office. She was beyond exhausted her legs barely carrying her toward the penthouse she and Valentianus shared.

It was two stories high luxurious home but Theia felt trapped in there. It was cold, without personality, and she couldn't wait to get out.

Halting at the elevator, she pressed the button, failing to notice someone came to stand next to her.

“Busy day, eh?”

Theia let out a small yelp before jumping aside when she heard a gruff voice addressing her suddenly.

“Bernand! You scared the life out of me!” Theia scolded placing a hand over her heart.

“My apologies Mrs Tharron, I thought you had noticed me.” Bernand glanced at her apologetically with a small bow. Theia merely glared at him, wondering how long he had been watching her this time.

“Going to report my movements to Valentianus?” she asked snarkily making Bernand lift his brows.

“Why would you think…?”

“I saw you earlier. You really need to improve your skills as a spy.” Theia huffed as the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. Bernand chuckled embarrassed but stepped inside the elevator pocketing his hands. He didn´t say anything but if he didn´t want Theia to know he was tailing her, she wouldn´t have noticed his presence at any point.

Bernand wanted to make his boss pleased about his work, but he hated the idea of tailing Valentianus´s wife every single day and tell the boss her every movement. The little freedom Theia had left Valentianus wanted to take that away from her, caging her like a canary, for people to look at and listen to for their pleasure but unable to go where she wanted and do what she wanted.

He had watched from the sidelines how Valentianus treated her, and over time Bernand’s resentment only grew. Bernand wanted to help her, and if he had to bend the rules a bit, he would gladly do it.

“You knew the couple?” Bernand merely asked while staring at the steel doors.

Theia froze on the spot when she heard the question. But of course, he would ask her that. Now she needed to convince him she knew them, that they were old friends and bumped into each other after a long time.

“Yes. I know them. She is my old friend I haven't seen a long time. We were catching up.”

“And the man?”

“He is her significant other,” Theia answered as calmly as she could and Bernand nodded, content with her answer.

“Are you going to see them again in near future?”

Annoyance filled Theia’s mind as she looked at him. She wanted to snap at him and slap him but she gritted her teeth, exhaling slowly to calm herself.

“I don´t know, they have plans of their own, but we shall see if we bump into each other again.”

When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Bernand stepped between them, turning to look at Theia with a serious look on his face.

“Make sure Valentianus don´t get suspicious. He already has you on the leash and every sidestep you take is going to shorten that leash.”

Theia tilted her head with a frown, pursing her lips.

“Why do you care? You are his hunting dog who does his bidding whenever he barks his orders. Why would you care what he does to me?”

“I just do.” was all that Bernand said melancholically before stepping out and before Theia could say anything to that the doors closed but she saw the sorrowful look on his face.

“Weird,” Theia muttered, leaning on cold steel wall behind her as the elevator continued going up. She was too tired to wonder about Bernand’s sudden kindness, only wanting to go to bed and forget her tough day.

Finally reaching her floor Theia shuffled out of the elevator walking toward the front door at the end of the corridor and taking the keycard out of her purse Theia couldn't wait to snuggle under the warm blanket. Reaching the door, she groaned when the keycard refused to work and she battled with it a few times before the lock finally read the code on the card and open the door.

“These bloody smart locks….” she cursed closing the door once she was in the hallway and kicked her high heels off dropping her purse on the chest of drawers. Walking further in she made the beeline into the kitchen taking out a wine glass and pondered which bottle she should open this time.

“Blogdaquem Clairet….sounds perfect.” Theia hummed, pulling out the bottle, and took the bottle opener. After some effort, she pulled out the cork and deep aromatic scent filled her nose. With a content smile on her face, she poured the dark purple liquid into the glass.

Lifting the glass, she gave it a twirl before tasting it.

“Oh God Cian, this is heavenly.” she hummed, eyes closed.

A rich, fruity flavour filled her mouth as she savoured it as long as possible before swallowing.

“The only thing I love about Valentianus is his great taste of wines.” Theia chuckled bitterly while taking the bottle and glass with her as she walked into the living room placing them onto the glass table.

Heading into the master bedroom, Theia wanted to change to more comfortable clothes. Opening the double doors, she entered the room and walked right up to another door on her right. Opening it the view of her clothes greeted her. While others had a closet for clothes, she had a room hidden inside the bedroom for her clothes and shoes alone.

On the left wall hang all of her shirts, dressers, skirts, jackets, trousers and under them all the shoes matching the outfits. On the right wall had a long row of drawers containing all her jewellery, accessories, sunglasses and other things Valentianus thought she should be using.

Walking at the very end of the long row of drawers and clothes Theia chose a silky blue, long sleeve shirt, colourful scarf and white pants and walked out tossing the clothes on the bed deciding to take a bath while she was at it.

~~~

Valentianus sat behind his desk going through the documents he needed to sign when a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Enter.” He barked and lifted his gaze from the papers to see who was disturbing his evening.

Bernand appeared through the opened door making Valentianus smile pleased as he leaned back on his chair forgetting the papers in front of him.

“Bernand, I was wondering when you would come to report.”

The older man bowed his head lightly while closing the door behind him and walked closer to the desk. He was nervous under Valentianus´s studying gaze and for a moment he thought about not telling the boss anything. But Valentianus had ways to learn untold things eventually, and Bernand would pay the price for not being honest and loyal.

“I made sure that your wife made her way to your penthouse before coming here,” Bernand explained halting two meters from the desk hearing Valentianus humming in return.

“Good. What she has been up to today?”

Valentianus's deep voice made Bernand uneasy and clearing his throat Bernand met Valentianus´s gaze.

“She went to her usual meeting with her friends at the Tearoom. They spent a couple of hours there but before they left, she noticed the same man sitting a little further away from her table.”

At that, Valentianus narrowed his eyes while gritting his teeth. Bernand watched how the vein in his neck started pulsing as he was getting angrier.

“But the man had a companion, a young-looking woman, and they seemed to know each other well. I confronted it with Mrs Tharron later and she explained the woman was her old friend she hasn't seen in years. Theia wasn't expecting to see her in Carran. The man was the woman's boyfriend.” Bernand hastily corrected to calm Valentianus, and for now, it seemed to do the trick.

Did Valentianus believed the explanation was another matter, but for the moment his anger was diminishing.

“I see,” Valentianus grunted crossing his hands averting his gaze from Bernand´s face to somewhere else.

“And then?” Valentianus asked after a few minutes of tense silence.

“She went to her yoga class with her friends, and from there she headed to work where she stayed rest of the day.”

Valentianus nodded and leaned forward, looking at the papers when he suddenly snapped his sharp gaze on Bernand´s face startling the man.

“I need you to find out who the couple is and invite them here for the dinner party I´m hosting in three weeks. I really want to meet this couple who seem to be friends with my wife. I´m always eager to meet new people.” Valentianus stated with a one-sided smirk which was unnerving to Bernand and swallowing hard he nodded not daring to refuse.

“Of course, sir. I'll get right to it.” Bernand bowed and turned around walking toward the door as fast as his legs could carry before the big boss would think of something else for him.

“Oh, and Bernand…?”

Curse Valentianus and his devil brain. Bernand halted only inches away from the doorknob when Valentianus´s voice reached his ears. Slowly Bernand turned sideways and glanced at Valentianus who concentrated on the papers again not bothering looking up while speaking.

“Father Silverius wants to see you tomorrow morning. Something about the prisoner you were supposed to deal with.”

Cold sweat formed on Bernand´s forehead, and his hands became sweaty at the mention of Father Silverius. Had Father heard that the woman had escaped and was now on the loose in the streets of Carran? Had he somehow found out that Bernand was planning on finding the rogue assassin and make a deal with him? Surely not. How would he, since Bernand hadn´t told that to anybody?

“I'll go see him first thing in the morning, sir,” Bernand replied. Seeing Valentianus merely waving his hand Bernand took that as a cue and turned to open the door and slipped through it.

When Valentianus heard the door closing, he lifted his gaze from the papers and heaved a tired sigh. It was nearly midnight and he couldn't focus on the text anymore. Pushing the chair back he stood up grabbing his jacket hanging on the backrest and headed home.

If any luck he could talk to Theia about the invitations, she was the perfect candidate for sending them for everyone who he wanted to invite.

After a long relaxing bath, Theia sat down on the luxurious big couch that dominated the living room and turned on the tv. Sipping her wine, she settled to watch some drama series when she heard someone at the door. Holding her breath Theia listened as the person unlocked the door stepping in and closing it right behind them.

“f**k….why he couldn't spend the night at the office as he usually does?” Theia cursed under her breath, grimacing at the thought of having to spend the night with her husband. Emptying the glass in one go Theia reached for the bottle to fill it again when from the corner of her eye she saw Valentianus entering into the living room.

He looked breathtaking, his long blond hair loose and those steel-grey eyes scanning the room like a predator searching for prey. Valentianus was wearing his trademark business suit, black slacks, black shirt underneath the dark red vest, and black-tie completing the outfit with black shoes. He held his dark red jacket on his arm as his gaze settled on Theia.

He looked divine, but unfortunately, his personality didn´t match that divinity. In Theia´s mind, Valentianus was a devil wearing Prada.

“Is it a good idea to be drinking this late?” Valentianus asked coolly, looking at Theia lounging on the couch a wineglass in hand.

“I don’t f*****g care if it's late. This is the few pleasures I have left Valentianus, don´t you dare take that away from me too.” Theia snarled, taking a sip from the glass while watching her husband's brows knitted together.

“I won't have my wife going to work in the morning with a hangover. There is a reputation to maintain in my company.” Valentianus objected, tossing the jacket onto the armchair as he strolled closer to the couch with a glare. 

“Like I care about your company's reputation. It has nothing to do with me.” Theia snapped her eyes flashing in anger. She was a little tipsy and the alcohol made her moody. She craved for a fight and she as sure as hell was going to get one.

“It has everything to do with you! You are my wife and the face of this company! I expect you to behave like one, everybody does!” Valentianus raised his voice anger burning in his veins again.

“Everyone can go f**k themselves! I am not some princess to put on a pedestal and expect to take a knee every time someone wants to act all high and mighty! I never asked for this! I didn´t want any of this!” Theia screeched suddenly jumping up from the couch and threw the wineglass over Valentianus´s head hitting at the wall behind him. The glass shattered into pieces, wine staining the wall and the carpet on the floor.

Valentianus's nostrils flared his pupils dilating as rage took hold of him. His chest was heaving and suddenly he surged forward grabbing Theia´s upper arms pinning her on the spot she was standing as a frightened scream escaped from her.

“Do you think I wanted a brat like yourself as my wife?! I sure as hell didn´t but you are wearing my ring and carrying my family name! Do I really need to remind you what is going to happen if you don´t hold your end of the bargain?” Valentianus bellowed in her face gripping her arms so tightly Theia was sure it would leave a bruise. She winced at the raw power he was demonstrating causing her to shrink. But the alcohol in her system made her feel braver than usual.

“That is not my bargain! That was yours and my father's bargain. You two merely smacked me into the middle of it! No one asked if I agreed to it!”

“You are more cold-hearted than I thought you would be. You don´t care what happens to your father if you cannot pay his dept in the given time?” Valentianus's tone was gentle. But the storm in his eyes betrayed the calmness in his voice.

Theia smirked at that remark.

“My father and I never were in the best of terms. You who know everything that happens in this city, I'm surprised that little detail escaped from you.”

“No, I noticed that, but did you think I would settle merely to take his house and send him into the streets? Have you forgotten what happens to the people who steal from me?” Valentianus smirked in return, enjoying immensely when he saw a glimpse of horror in her eyes as Theia´s face fell.

“I am the kind of guy who doesn´t leave loose ends. I send a message to anyone who even thinks to rob from me. That includes your precious father, or should I even use that word since you are not in…what did you call it?.... Best of terms.”

“No, you wouldn´t. You wouldn´t dare.” Theia hissed, trying to wiggle her way out of Valentianus´s iron tight grip but failed.

“I thought you wouldn´t care.” Valentianus leaned forward whispering to her ear sending chills through her spine. She froze, staring blankly ahead as Valentianus finally let her go and stepped back looking smugly at her expression.

“Now, I suggest you remember your place from now on. I will not repeat myself anymore. Next time you disobey me, your father is going to pay the price.”

Tears formed in her eyes as she shifted her gaze on Valentianus. Her throat was tight and she struggled to form any words.

“I expect you to write the invitations, I am holding a dinner party in three weeks. You can ask for the list of invited people from my secretary.” Valentianus walked past her while loosening his tie not caring to wait for her reply.

“Oh, and I want to meet your old friend you saw this morning and her spouse. I'll invite them to the dinner party too.”

At that, Theia spun around, her teary eyes wide open. This wasn´t happening! She watched as Valentianus disappeared around the corner into the bathroom. But then she frowned before relaxing her rigid body. Maybe it was a good idea after all.

If  Ciroc and Riona were to help her get rid of Valentianus, it might be wise for them to meet the devil itself. And besides, she was sure Riss was going to tend to the party as well. Ciroc would have his chance to talk to the baby brother.

A dark smirk formed on Theia´s face as she turned to make her way into the bedroom, hopefully, able to get some sleep.

If everything would go well, she would be one step closer to her freedom and she couldn't wait to toss the ring at Valentianus's face and walk out of his life for good.