Novels by Ronnie Devan

I feel groggy. I open my eyes slowly to the blinding lights. He is by my side, and the last time he had held me by force flashes back to me."Not again," I whisper."You are awake," he says smiling."Where am I?" I ask as he helps me sit up. "You are in the hospital," he looks at my side where I was hurt.The wound is properly stitched and bandaged.I remember him drugging me. I trail my fingers to the back of my neck, not sure if it had really happened.The soreness confirms it for me.Just as I am about to question him about it, the door slides open."You are up. How are you feeling?"Amelia asks coming in. "Ready to get out of here," she looks at her file unsure."We still don't know why you passed out," I look at Avan who is staring at me innocently."He drugged me," I say. Amelia looks between us at the revelation. "He what?" She looks confused on how to proceed."I had to get her to the hospital," he says like it is something normal."Well if that's it, then you are free to go,"s

“Starr,” he calls me like it is just another day. I can’t do this. I run past him before he can say anything else. I don’t know where I am running to, all I know is I need to get away from him.“Hey, hey, hey,” Kerrick stops me at the door. “What is the rush?” Kerrick asks. I look behind me. He is not following me, I relax.“We need to leave,” I grab his arm, and start walking. He pulls me back. My back comes in contact with his chest. “Wait,” his fingers trail along my arm to my hand. He takes my mask which I had forgotten all about.He puts it on for me. He makes me turn around so I can look at him. He wants to say something but I start before he gets a chance, “you were right, this place is dangerous.”He nods, but looks at where I came from. “Okay, let’s leave,” he says, and we walk out.Throughout the drive home, I stay silent. I feel him looking at me, but I assume him. There is nothing I can say to him that will make any of this make sense.He stops in front of my apartment. I

We are in the third row in the auction hall. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the auction,” even with the mask on I can tell it is Jaden.He steps down the podium, and a lady dressed in blue takes over. Her voice is charming as it echoes in every corner of the hall.She begins the auction, and everyone goes silent. All the pieces are exquisite but, I have my eyes set on a specific one.The auction is competitive, and brutal. “This is going for fifty thousand dollars,” she says, pointing at the art that had stolen my attention.It is cheaper compared to the other pieces. I don’t hesitate, I raise my pedal. I can feel someone watching me. I resist the urge to look back.“A hundred,” I know who the voice belongs to, the guy in the devil mask.I have never touched the trust fund left by my parents. I have the money, but I am sure if I raise the number, he will raise his and we will keep doing that until I get frustrated or he gets bored.I still hate the fact that the art is

As I take one last look at myself, I can't help but feel excited. It has been very long since I have felt this way. Kerrick is in my living room waiting patiently for me. As I walk in the living room, he gets up from the couch. His eyes wander from my face down to my body, where they linger. Most of the time he is very hard to read, but not now. He doesn't even have to say it, but he does anyway. "Wow...just wow," I smile at his poorly worded compliment. "Are you ready?" I ask, admiring his new look. I have never seen him looking so official and elegant. "Yes, unless there is someting you would like to add," at his offer, I take a step closer to him. His tie is a bit crooked. I straighten it. I raise my eyes to his face and find that he is already looking at me. "You are ready now," I try not to stutter. He nods. I should step back. I really should, but I don't. I feel his hands come up to my back, his eyes never leaving mine. He leans in, and I don't move away. If I am being ho

I have dresses to go to parties, I do. But this feels like it requires something else. Something that only Jade can help me look for. That is why I am having a second glass of wine as I wait for her. I want to say she is never late, but that would be a lie.She pulls over in front of the wine bar. I watch as she gets out of the car and puts on her sunglasses. She parts her hair effortlessly using her hand. I can't stop staring at her, amazed by her presence. Believe me everyone here is looking at her. She is simply magnetic. "Sorry for keeping you waiting hon," she says, drinking the rest of my wine. "Where were you?" she looks around. "The other side of town. I have been trying my best to avoid spending any time at home," she explains. "Why? I thought with Rackel out of the house, you would like it," she takes her sunglasses off revealing bloodshot eyes. "Well, so did I," she looks exhausted. "Turns out my dad is really hard to live with, especially when he is alone. His attenti

I have thought of all the places she might be hiding, only to realize I don't know much about her. Other than the fact that she worked as John's secretary before she got married to him. Kerrick is insuferable when he is feeling frustrated. After the call with Jade ended with no better lead, he took me to work with him. We have been going through everything, and at this point I am almost sure I can recite what is in this damn files. "I need a break," he tears his eyes from what he is reading. He nods at my request before returning his attention the paperwork. "What are hoping to find?" I hadn't thought patnering up with him will be us cooped up in this office going over the same paperwork over and over again. "Something, anything," he closes the file he has been reading and takes another one. I can't be here any longer. It is almost twelve and it is the perfect time for me to head to the my office. I get up. He is too focused on what he is reading to even notice. I am worried he

Dalia's p.o.vI have been driving for one hour, trying to lose the trail. I noticed I was being followed when I was still near the mansion.I had made plans to meet Rowan, but she is a bit of an outlaw. I am sure she will not appreciate Jaden knowing about her hacking into his network.She is the only person who knows of my connection to Delilah, and why I am married to Jaden. I would like to say that we are friends, but she is just someone I met by chance.She happens to be good at hacking even the most secure and complex networks. That is what I needed, and she figured out my intentions soon after.I make another turn and after confirming that I won’t be able to lose the tail, I stop in front of the massage parlor.“There she is,” one of the women sitting at the reception says as soon as I get in. “Jaden’s new piece?” another asks shamelessly.They are clearly not worried if I overhear. “You can clearly tell someone who is born high class and someone who sleeps her way to the top.

“Get me a towel,” I say to nobody in particular. “Here ma’am,” it is the woman who had woken me this morning.I take the towel and start drying the boy. He is still staring at me with his big eyes and a smile on his face.I look up to find Jaden glaring at the boy. He looks frozen. I lift the boy so we are all face to face. “Who is he?” he obviously knows him.He is not even listening to me. The boy’s arms are linked around my neck and his cheek is brushing against mine.“Hey, Sir,” I try calling him, but nothing.“MARLA!” He shouts suddenly scaring the boy who starts crying. “There, there,” I pat him on his back and he lays his head on my shoulder.“What is wrong with you?” I ask Jaden. He turns to me and gives me a cold look that makes me take a step back.Just then another employee comes running in.“Yes boss?” her eyes land on the boy and I see terror in her eyes. What is it about this boy I am holding that makes people go white with fear?“I am so sorry,” I am not sure what she i

My whole body is sore. I turn to the other side of the bed and see that it is already morning. I am curious of what usually goes on around here. "Ma'am," comes a female voice from the other side of the door. "Yes," being called ma'am is weird. "Your breakfast is ready," she says, as I get out of bed. I open the door to find a middle aged woman waiting patiently, like that is what she is made for. "Thank you, I will be down in a minute," I tell her, hoping she would go away. "It's okay, I can wait. Take your time," she says it with a smile. I want to argue, but decide against it. I take a quick hot shower, feeling the water ease my entire body. I know she said she could wait, and I don't doubt it. I am just not used to people waiting on me. After the shower, I put on the clothes closest to me. "You know I could find my way to the dining room," I still feel uncomfortable with the whole arrangement. She leads me to the elevator. One floor down and we enter a dining room with a go

Dalia's P.O.VHe grabs me and gets me off the bed. "What are you doing?" I am still in my wedding dress. "Stand there," he points to the mirror. I am afraid to see where he is going with this, but I am even more terrified of defying him. I stand in front of the mirror staring at the terror in my eyes. He walks behind me. I close my eyes when I feel him touching the back of my neck. His hands are cold and I get goosebumps. He slides his fingers slowly down my back, up to where the zip begins. He slowly unzips the dress. He reaches underneath the undone dress and wraps his hand around my waist. He pulls me back against his bare chest. He burries his face in my neck, and the dress slowly falls to the floor. "How could you be looking at another man on our wedding day?" he whispers in my ear. I open my eyes and try moving away from him. He tightens his grip on me. I look at the mirror. His face is still burried in my neck and all I can see is his black hair. "I-I was not," I mutter, b

Dalia's p.ov. I can't look away, and the more I stare at him the quicker my pulse gets. Jaden coughs to capture my attention, but it is still not enough to tear my eyes away from him. He holds my face by the chin and turns me towards him. Does he know how sorry I feel right now standing up here with him. Jaden looks like he is going to explode with anger. He obviously noticed who I was looking at. But I couldn't help myself."Repeat after me," the officiant says, eager to get his part over with. "I Dalia Shaw take you Jaden Baker to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in richness, to adore and revere you till death do us part," I repeat after him. "You may exchange the wedding rings," I slide his ring down his middle finger. He starts with the engagement ring I never got and finishes with the wedding ring. I hate how perfectly they fit me. Like they were made just for me. "You may now kiss the bride," the officiant says. Jaden doesn't wait to be told twice

Dalia's p.o.vI have not seen Jaden since that night in the hotel. He has been sending me expensive gifts almost everyday. It is his way of making sure I don't back out before I sign the contract. I really shouldn't go ahead with my plan. But what if Delilah is not dead? What if she is somewhere waiting for me to save her and I cowardly back out? No matter how much I think of it, I keep going back and forth unsure of what to do. I guess I'll just have to wait for the wedding day and do what I feel that day. ****************I have been waiting for this day and dreading it at the same time. I couldn't even sleep last night. I am on my way to get some more coffee when the bell rings. It's Jaden. "Hey, morning," I say stepping back. "Morning," he walks in and darts his eyes quickly across the room. "It's not even six yet," I complain, walking to the couch. "Today is going to be very busy. I thought we should get this out of the way," he gets the contract and hands it over to me."Do