His Devious Rule

Before she could think more of the past or Alvin, Anya shook her head as if she could forget everything. She left the mobile in the secret locker and grabbed a spy camera. She went to her bedroom. She installed a little spy camera and hid it well on the wall. She didn't want to take a chance if anybody hacked her main security cameras. She wanted something in her defense.

Then she filled her bathtub, poured some bath salt, and lit a lavender candle. It was a candle her mother made for Zane. The latter often gets a bad dream so the faint lavender scent before sleep was to soothe his nerves. She wanted to soothe her nerves as her mind often drifted to what might happen if Alvin knew her son was also his.

Would Alvin try to take Zane away?

Will I have the chance to win against Alvin and Matthews? She was just a middle-class family girl.

What if Zane likes their lifestyle?

What if they kidnap my son?

She was vulnerable to those thoughts. That also made her think of leaving the country and settling far away from Alvin and Matthews. She wasn't scared, she wasn't ready to lose her son. She felt selfish but she couldn't help it.

Anya shook her head again to disperse her thoughts. Zane loves her, he wouldn't leave her.

What if Zane also likes Matthews?

'Argh,' Anya smacked herself. She tried to focus on her bath.

She recalled the white roses that smelled amazing. She grabbed two roses and dropped the petals into the water. She was soaking in water, she thought about what to do to stay awake all night and keep her mind busy instead of thinking of Alvin taking her son away.

A plan darted in her mind that could keep her awake and busy. Developing an application that will notify her of the intrusion into her home network. She started drawing out the plan for the application in her mind, relaxing her body in the hot water.

She felt sleepy so she shifted in the bathtub, brushing the loofah on her body. Slowly, she didn't realize when her conscious mind drifted off. Her body slowly slid inside in the tub and went under the water, knocking all the air out of her lungs.

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Alvin got dressed in the villa Linus had prepared beforehand. He wanted to sit but the villa looked more like a bin. He tried hard to ignore Linus who was rolling on the floor and laughing his ass off as he had witnessed Alvin thrown out, naked.

Alvin wanted to tell Linus about the drug but he was pissed off. He dragged Linus out by the collar and threw him out of the villa, for some peace.

Alvin didn't identify the lady. Although he found her interesting, he was suspicious of her and her behavior.

'Why didn't she ask who I am? Does she know me? If did, why didn't she take advantage of it?'

Growing up as a Matthews, he was almost always encircled with the people who wanted to be with him for the name, fame, and wealth. He knew his look was just an add-on. If he was poor and had the same looks, none would have bothered about him.

So, 'If she doesn't know me, why didn't she ask who I was? Or… Is she colluding with anybody to sell the information of the hard disk?' He strongly believed it was the last as she was desperate to get rid of him quickly.

He gave a call to his team and instructed them to erase the evidence of his presence in that lady's villa and turned the cameras off. Before she gives the hard disk to anybody, he needs to get it. So he quickly proceeded to her house.

He had heard her change passcode so he broke the lock of the guest room window and went inside. He was careful of each step without making any noise. Last time she didn't shoot him to death due to his drugged state so he was sure she would explode his head if he appeared again.

Her notable traits Linus told him: Accurate aiming, trained in self-defense when she joined the job.

He could note that she had cleaned the house while making his way in silence, he didn't admire the pictures anymore.

He heard no noise on the ground floor and no sound reached to ears from upstairs. When he reached the upper floor, his nostrils were flooded with the mild scent of lavender. He took a deep breath, finding it calming.

He noticed a new knitted blanket was already adorning the armchair that faced the window. The house was like a cozy, warm den. Even standing there alone, he didn't feel lonely as in his useless big mansion filled with maids.

Shaking off his thoughts, he first checked the toy room before entering her master bedroom. Everything was spick and span so something caught his attention easily. The bouquet of white roses on the bed. If his memories served right, he had seen them downstairs.

He had checked everywhere and didn't find her. So there was only one bathroom left. But he didn't listen to anything from there.

He reached the half-closed door of the bathroom. He took a peek and noticed the laundry basket. He identified the blouse and skirt. 'Is she in there? Why is there no sound?'

He pushed the door very slowly and the smell got a little stronger. Alvin sensed something else with lavender. He couldn't point out what exactly it was but guessed it could induce one to sleep if inhaled in large amounts.

Pushing the door further, he saw her lying in the bathtub. Her skin was flushed red, her short hair was pulled back and tied up. The strands of hair were damp, sticking to her wet face. The surface of the water had white soap bubbles and froth floating on it.

He felt odd by her expression. Her pink lips trembling, her brows were tight as if she was struggling. She seemed to be asleep and her body was sliding inside the bathtub gradually.

Confused, if she was putting herself to sleep like that, Alvin turned around. His eyes fell on the white roses which were on the bed. He went there and grabbed them. He furrowed as soon as he sniffed it. The flowers were sprayed with some kind of drugs.

He wasn't behind the flowers, so who did that to her? Suddenly it stuck in his mind. He ran inside the bathroom realizing Anya wasn't actually sleeping. His heart had picked the speed and he held his breath witnessing her go under the water and water bubbles floating up the surface.

Alvin reacted quickly when she was knocking on the door of hell. He swiftly dipped his hands, one hand wrapped around her shoulder, and another cupped her head. He pulled her out of the water before she inhaled water and choked.

"Foolish woman." He chided her.

He heard her faint coughs spiting water but had no strength in her body to move or open her eyes. He checked her pulse and breathing with the worry lines on his forehead. He breathed only when he made sure she was fine.

When he realized he was overreacting to an unknown lady. He convinced himself, 'For the hard disk.'

He effortlessly scooped her in his arms and stood up. He paused and quickly shifted his gaze away from her delicate frame in his arms.

What was going on with them today? She caught him naked in her bathtub and he saved her from drowning in her bathtub.

Their encounters are a little too unique.