The heavy door of the car clicked shut, sealing out the pouring rain and the furious glares of the McGuire estate guards.
The vehicle moved smoothly down the gravel driveway, leaving the white stone mansion behind.
Inside, the silence returned, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
The explosive adrenaline that had carried Harry through the foyer was quickly fading, leaving him utterly exhausted.
He slumped back into the leather seat, a sharp gasp escaping his lips as his cracked ribs throbbed with a vengeance.
He pulled off his sunglasses with a shaking hand, revealing the deep, dark bruise blooming around his eye.
Lolleta was still sitting securely in Andrew’s arms.
Instead of crying or showing fear toward the cold King of St.
Jude’s, the little girl looked completely at ease.
She reached up with a small hand and curiously touched the polished silver button on Andrew’s uniform coat.
Andrew didn’t push her away.
He didn’t look annoyed either.
He simply supported her weight with a strange, quiet care that completely threw Harry off.
“Give her to me,” Harry muttered, his voice weak and strained as he extended his arms.
“Sit back down, Harry,” Andrew said smoothly, not handing the girl over.
“You can barely keep your eyes open, let alone hold a child. If you drop her because your ribs give out, I will be thoroughly displeased.”
Harry let out a bitter breath but didn’t have the strength to argue.
He dropped his arms back to his sides, watching his daughter closely.
“She usually hates strangers. Why isn’t she crying?”
Andrew looked down at Lolleta, a faint, amused smirk playing on his lips.
“That’s because I’m her father duh, she can feel it too. And besides children can sense power, Harry. They know who can protect them and who can’t. Right now, she knows I am the safest entity in her world.” His smirk broadened as he placed a soft peck on Lolleta’s head.
“What?, are you scared that she’ll grow to favour me more than you huh?”
Harry’s jaw tightened.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mayfair. You’re only using her to keep me on a leash.”
“Of course I am,” Andrew replied without a hint of shame.
“But let’s talk about your little performance back there. *’I will burn this entire house to the ground.’* You really meant that, didn’t you?”
“Every word,” Harry growled, staring out the rain-streaked window.
“If Lloyd touches Noelle again, or if they try to come after Lolleta, I’ll light the match myself and burn the house with them inside.”
“I like the fire in you, Harry. I truly do… It turns me on.” Andrew murmured, his voice dropping into that chilling, quiet register and Harry rolled his eyes no longer surprised by his unhinged codependency.
“But remember this, a fire requires fuel. And your fuel comes entirely from my pocket now. You told the Bishop you’d come back for your sister. But you can’t even step past their gates without my armored car and my security clearance. If you want the power to back up your threats, you have to belong to me. Completely.”
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, the bitter truth settling deep into his chest.
He didn’t answer for the rest of the ride.
By the time the car pulled into the underground garage of St.
Jude’s Academy, the sky had turned into a dark, gloomy gray.
Harry managed to drag himself out of the car, carrying his phone and sunglasses, while Bob handled the two heavy bags.
Andrew walked slightly ahead, still carrying a sleeping Lolleta wrapped in his coat.
The elevator ride up to the high-tier midline sector was completely silent.
When the doors to Suite 402 slid open, Lucas Sevillé was sitting at the kitchen island, typing neatly on his laptop.
He looked up, expecting to see Harry looking miserable, but his eyes widened in absolute shock when he saw Andrew walk in with a toddler.
“What on earth…” Lucas stood up immediately, adjusting his glasses.
“Andrew? You guys actually managed to bring the child back?”
“Yes..”
“And say hi, this is Lolleta. Our beautiful daughter,” Andrew announced casually, walking straight toward the closest bedroom.
“She will be residing with us for the night, the family housing will be arranged for her first thing tomorrow morning.” Andrew hummed fiddling Lolleta’s fingers inside his mouth.
“By ‘us’ for the night, you’re also sleeping over here?…in this small place with only two rooms?” Lucas asked, begging for an understanding.
“Yes, I’ll sleep where my daughter is for the night. Remember, it is also my first time having her close to me like this ever since she was born, so I’d like to spend more time with her and sleep with her. I beg for your understanding, this lonely man has been through a lot without his daughter in his sight since birth.”
Lucas and Harry just scowl watching Andrew throw a dramatic tantrum.
“If that’s the case then you should have gone to your royal dorm instead, where there is a plenty of space for you and your family.”
“Do you think Harry would allow that?…try convincing him first and then come back to me.”
Lucas sighed with a shrug and then he walked back to the kitchen.
He stared at Harry, who looked like a walking corpse—pale, bleeding slightly from a reopened cut on his lip, and holding his side. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
“So you actually brought her here? Into the academy dorms without trouble from your family?”
“I didn’t have a choice and neither did they,” Harry raspy-voiced, collapsing onto the living room couch just like he had in the morning.
He let out a long, ragged sigh.
“It wasn’t safe there.”
Andrew emerged from the bedroom, having laid the sleeping girl on the bed.
He walked over to the kitchen island, poured himself a glass of water, and looked down at Harry.
“The suite and the whole campus is no longer just a place for you to nurse your wounds, Harry,” Andrew said, his tone turning strict and businesslike.
“This is a sanctuary, but it comes with a strict set of rules. Your daughter stays in campus and the family building starting tomorrow, where my personal guards can see her twenty-four hours a day. She does not leave this mountain without my explicit permission.”
Harry looked up from the couch, his silver eyes narrowing.
“She isn’t your prisoner, Andrew.”
“But she is my investment,” Andrew corrected coolly.
“As long as she is here, she is safe from your brother Lloyd. But that means you have to play your part perfectly my love. You belong to me and the Mayfair name now. You will attend every meeting I call you to, and you will follow every instruction I give you, and act as my perfect vice president. You break a single rule, you show an attitude I don’t like, and I will personally cancel her security clearance and send her right back to Lloyd.”
Lucas looked between the two, realizing the massive shift in gravity that had just occurred in their living space.
He cleared his throat, looking at Harry.
“I can go buy some basic necessities for her at the family store before it closes. Milk, clothes, things like that.”
Harry looked at Lucas, a genuine flash of gratitude in his eyes.
“Thanks, Lucas. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t thank him yet,” Andrew smiled darkly, walking back towards the bedroom he left Lolleta.
“Come and let’s get some rest, Harry. Tomorrow, your new life begins. And remember… the match is in your hand, but I own the fire.”
The door to Andrew’s room closed with a sharp click, leaving Harry alone in the quiet living room, staring at the ceiling, trapped completely inside the King’s cage.
“I’d rather sleep at the couch for the night than share a bed with Andrew…”
‘But Lolleta–….
Is it safe to leave her alone with him?…he is technically a stranger and she might cry when waking up with him on her side instead of me.
Urgh!, Lucas should have kicked him out!’