Chapter Four: "How long are you going to resent her?"

Gracia assisted Noane until they reached the west wing of the mansion. Noane’s room was in the west wing, while Zeus's was in the east wing. From her room, she could see his room from the balcony, but she never went there because she avoided showing herself to him.

"So, what were you going to tell me, Nang?" Noane asked while getting her bruises treated.

"Butler Hanz called me and said your brother decided not to work for a while—"

"What? Why?" She cut her off. "The word 'day off' isn't in his vocabulary. This isn't right, Nang!" She added in a panic, thinking about what she was going to do for the next days.

Gracia sighed, knowing why she reacted that way. "Miss Noane, whatever it is you’re doing at night, you should stop for now," she pleaded, which made her pout. "I'm worried about what might happen if Master Zeus finds out what you’re doing." She took her hand and squeezed it gently, her eyes pleading for her to listen.

"Argh! Why do I always have to be the one to adjust? It’s always me!" she complained before throwing herself onto the bed. "He’s such a jerk!"

Gracia just shook her head. "Change your clothes and just help me prepare dinner. You should also eat the snacks I prepared that were supposed to be for you and Mr. Albertz."

"Wait, Nang, where’s Ashley? I was going to borrow her phone. Hehehe." Aside from not being allowed to leave the house, Noane was also forbidden from having her own cellphone. She only borrowed from Ashley or sometimes from Gracia secretly.

"I sent that girl to the market, but she should be on her way back," she replied. "You go ahead downstairs, and I'll go check on your brother in his room first."

Noane immediately sat up at what she heard. "Nang, don’t, you might get hurt. Look at what he did to me." She showed her bandaged arm and wrist.

"Don’t worry. Nothing bad will happen to me," she said with a laugh. "I’ll leave you now. Just wait for me downstairs."

Meanwhile, when Zeus returned to his room, he lay down on his bed without changing his clothes. He didn’t even take off his shoes. He had closed his eyes to rest when the image of Noane suddenly crossed his mind. Every detail of her appearance was so vivid, which he had quickly studied during their short encounter earlier. He didn't understand it, but she had a different effect on him—a strange heat was stirring in his body that he hadn't felt with the women he’d slept with.

"Master Zeus." Gracia suddenly called out from outside the room after knocking three times.

"F*ck!" he muttered under his breath, as he had intended to calm the bulge and hardness in his trousers. He grabbed the blanket and covered half of his body. "Come in," he commanded with authority.

The door opened, and Gracia entered with a dark aura all over her. "Zeus." She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Do you know that you almost broke your sister’s bones?"

"Tss. She's not my sister, and yeah, I'm aware of that." He replied coldly. "If you only came here to give me a motherly lecture, I don’t want to hear any of it."

"How long are you going to resent her?" she asked out of nowhere as she couldn't stand what he did.

Zeus suddenly froze at what he heard. His jaw tightened, and he looked straight at Gracia. "You're dismissed if you have nothing to say important." He said, trying to avoid the topic.

Gracia sighed in surrender. No matter what she said, he wouldn't listen to her anymore. He only listened when he wanted to. "I'll just have Ashley send your dinner up later—"

"Nah, I'm going to eat in the dining area," he interrupted, his eyes were already closed.

This time, it was Gracia who froze. She felt as if she had misheard, but she couldn't help but smile shortly after. "Then I must cook your favorite. I'll leave you now."

Zeus opened his eyes when he heard the door close. Once again, he returned to thinking about her. Even now, the bulge inside his trousers was still hard. He grabbed his phone and searched for his butler's number. He called him, and within a few rings, the person on the other end answered.

"Master Zeus," his butler began.

"Send some sub women here," he commanded with authority.

"How many do you need, Master Zeus?"

"Just f*cking three and make sure none of them are virgin," he answered, "I need them before midnight."

"As you wish, Master Zeus."

"By the way, are they dead? I didn't receive any proof they're dead," he asked, remembering Mr. Aquino and Mr. Baylor whom he had left behind.

"They are dead, Master Zeus, but we have a small problem," the butler said, sounding slightly hesitant because he knew Zeus might change his mind about his decision to take a break from work.

Zeus furrowed his brows. To him, 'small' was a huge problem. "How small is it?"

"The vehicle of our men who were supposed to dispose of the bodies was ambushed. But don't worry, we are already investigating who is behind it."

Zeus wasn’t surprised anymore as it already happened many times. "Send me the evidence you have and all the names of underground organizations along with their history," he ordered before hanging up. "Damn it, their audacity to test my patience." he muttered, almost crushing the phone in his hand due to his tight grip.