Entangled Sin

She halted in her steps once she was in front of the door leading to his room. She wondered if entering his room was inappropriate or not. Before she could easily barge in without a care in the world with a wide smile on her face. Those were the times but now things were different. She couldn't just open his door and wander about inside his room. She shaked her head to ward off the past. The past was buried in the past alone.

On a normal day she wouldn't even dream of nearing his room but this time she had no choice. She wanted answers from him about what happened to Azazel. Her heart did prick her for two possibilities. One was that he wasn't responsible for what happened to Azazel and the other possibility.... She didn't want to believe he would stoop that low.

She pushed her legs forward and knocked on his door twice. Her knock was met with silence and no response. She knocked again for the third time but still no response. She decided to open the door herself and she held the door knob before she pushed the door slowly which made a creaking sound clashing against the silence.

She peeked her head into his room first and saw no one before her ears picked up the sound of a shower. She knew he must be in the bathroom taking a shower. She wondered to herself why he was being calm after the commotion of Azazel's arrest. The more she thought of it, the more she was heading towards the second possibility. Her heart did a thump and now thought it was a bad idea to walk into his room.

She turned around and planned to walk out of his room before he would spot her but then she heard a beep alert behind her. She turned around swiftly to see his phone on the bedside table of the gigantic bed centered in the middle end of the room. The thought of her finding any clues on his phone passed her brain. Her blue eyes first darted towards the glass doors of the bathroom which were tightly closed with the sound of water droplets hitting the bathroom floor repeatedly.

She believed he would take long under the shower and quickly checked his phone. Her heart was racing fast because she could be wrong and if it was the case then she knew she would never forgive herself and neither will the guilt leave her for the rest of her life. With a deep breath, she turned on his phone but there was a password. She cursed under her breath and tried many attempts but failed. Only one last attempt and if she typed in the wrong password, his phone would lock up. She had to think fast and her name came to mind. Going with her guess, she typed in her name and the phone unlocked immediately.

To say she was surprised wasn't it. She quickly searched through his phone and saw the text message which entered his phone a while ago. The message read 'The Job is Done sir. Your brother can't get out of this one so easily' Her body went numb and she went into shock for a few seconds. She couldn't believe that it was all Stephano's plan. He planned everything and got his brother framed and arrested. She couldn't believe what she had just read and just then the bathroom doors slided open.

Fear gripped her and the phone loosened around her hand before it fell on the floor. She could literally sense his presence behind her. His looming shadow was slowly enveloping her. "What are you doing in my room babygirl? Don't tell me you came to see me?" She gasped once he grabbed a hold of her arm from behind and spun her around. She found herself clashing against his wet bare chest, his scent engulfing her nostrils and her senses. Her still shocked eyes clashed with his amused grey eyes.

Tears started to fill her eyes and flow down her face as she continued to look him straight in the eyes. "How could you Stephano? H-how could...you?" She hiccuped on her tears. She didn't want to believe it but the bitter truth was right there and staring right at her in the face. A sigh escaped his lips before a small smile appeared on his lips which shocked her.

"So you know the entire truth now babygirl. I told you I would resort to extreme measures if you didn't listen to me. This is happening right now because of you babygirl." Stephano rubbed his arms on her shoulders and inhaled her scent. He acted like he hadn't done something terribly wrong and horrible. Rose gritted her teeth and threw both his arms away. She looked at him with anger and couldn't even recognize him. "I don't recognize you anymore Stephano. You've gone mad! Azazel is your brother!..."

Stephano pulled her towards him again and looked deep into her eyes. "Azazel is my brother babygirl but that is into the garbage ever since he took what was mine. I didn't want to do this Rose but you forced me to go down this route. Divorce him. Divorce him! And come to me and I promise to free him from all charges." His grey eyes lingered in hope that she would eventually agree to his terms and wishes after he literally sent his very own brother to jail. But he was in for a surprise. The Rose Foyer who once loved him immensely and would run to his side at his beck and call had vanished the moment he broke her heart and trust.

"Stephano De Luan wins tender worth thirty million dollars despite the stakes being so high up." Rose smiled as she read the news headlines to herself in her office. A proud smile glistened on her face as she saw a picture of him under the bold news headlines. He was adorning a black crisp suit that hugged his body so perfectly. He looked beyond dashing and everyday he got more and more handsome in her blue doe eyes.

Rose and Stephano had been friends since that very day. To be precise, Stephano was her only friend years ago. No one wanted to associate with the deaf girl but Stephano didn't look at her disability but instead saw past that and found the gentle and innocent little girl who only wanted to be loved and accepted by her own peers. He was the only one who spoke to her and even learnt sign language back then just to communicate with her. Now things were different because now, she had hearing aids to make communication much better.

"You've been staring at that newspaper for quite a while now miss." Alana who was the personal secretary to Rose and a woman in her mid fifties wheeled herself into her office. Rose smiled and tossed the newspaper on her desk before she huffed out. "Nooo I was just checking the details of the tender and not particularly at his grey eyes and perfectly shaped pointy nose and his..." Rose paused with a blink and sighed loudly with her eyes closed. She didn't want to give herself away but ended up blurting out the entire thing.

Alana gave Rose a mischievous smile and asked, "Staring at him all day long and just meeting with him a few times. Don't you think it's time you changed that?" Rose looked a bit confused and asked, "What are you referring to Alana?"

"I mean isn't it time to tell Stephano about your true feelings? You've practically hidden your feelings for him for more than a decade now. And besides I don't like seeing you drool all over him only in a newspaper or in the tabloids. I think it's time for the next step." Alana explained.

"Since when did you become an expert in the love department? As far as I know, you're not in any relationships." Rose asked intrigued. "Call it my experience my dear Rose." Alana replied. Rose hummed at Alana's words. She also wanted to tell Stephano about how she truly felt about him. From the very day they met each other for the first time after he saved her from falling due to a prank from Angelique, Rose's eyes had twinkled only for him. Their friendship was strange to people as everyone wondered the odd chemistry between a sharp and intelligent handsome guy having a deaf boring blonde girl as a best friend.

But the fact was that Stephano didn't care about what others thought of their friendship. Even sometimes Rose also wondered why someone like Stephano was interested in becoming her friend. From the moment she could think and sense everything around her, Rose had known that everyone always kept her at arm's length. No one wanted to be near her much less be friends with her. Bullying was the hardest turmoil she had to face as a child and hence her father took her out from school and she was home schooled instead.

But her luck and perception of life had changed ever since she met Stephano. They became very close and mostly shared everything with each other except for Rose who hid the part of her falling in love with him. She often wondered if coming out with the truth would strain their friendship and make things awkward. The last thing she ever didn't want was to loose her one and only true friendship with Stephano. That was her excuse for prolonging the day she would eventually tell him about her feelings.

"I don't know Alana. It might make things awkward for the both of us if he knew. Maybe it's best I don't." Rose suggested. Her heart wasn't sure anymore. She didn't mind admiring and loving him from afar but what her heart and soul couldn't bear was to see Stephano look at her in a different light once she had decided to confess her feelings.

"And if you don't tell him, how would you know if he's also in love with you secretly?" Alana raised a brow. "What do you mean?" Rose asked. "What I mean is surprise surprise! What if just like you in secret are in love with Stephano, what if Stephano is also secretly in love with you as well? Have you thought of that yet?"

Rose blinked. Alana's words did stirr up something within her but she could tell that she wasn't getting any crush or romantic feelings from Stephano for her. "You don't know him like I do Alana. I practically know Stephano inside and out. If he was in love with me then I would have known long time ago." Rose said. "And how are you so sure that it isn't the case? He might be an expert at hiding his true feelings for you, just like you." Alana stated. "He's a man Alana. We all know that men are dumb and clueless when it comes to knowing when a girl likes likes them. Women on the other hand have sixth sense in knowing when a guy likes us." Rose replied proudly. Stephano might be a genius at everything but even Rose knew that Stephano was absolutely clueless when it came to the topic of love.

"Actually his birthday is coming up in a couple of days. I wanted to..." Rose zoned out with a little pang of nervousness inside her chest. Could Stephano actually see her differently after she confessed her feelings? She wondered if their friendship would bloom into love someday. "That's perfect Miss. His birthday is the perfect occasion to tell him how you feel." Alana smiled and wheeled herself closer to Rose before grabbing hold of her hands.

"I want you to always be happy and smile all the time. Ever since I could remember, you've never smiled genuinely. Though you smile in front of everyone but I always knew you were only doing that to hide your pain deep inside. It was also partly not to make Mr Foyer worry so much about you. Afterall I wasn't just your homeschooled teacher all those years ago but also your closest friend back then and I got to know that it was because of Stephano that you actually got to smile so genuinely." Rose's eyes welled up with tears hearing Alana's words. She too only wanted nothing but to always be by Stephano's side. To always be there to support him from the sidelines, to act submissive when he wanted to be dominant. In short she only wanted him to do with her as he pleased as long as she was always beside him.

Rose inhaled deeply before she smiled. "You're right in a way Alana. What if he actually does like like me and wants me to be comfortable and not feel all weird about it. I'll...tell him on the day of his birthday." Rose said and Alana squealed like a girl before Rose hugged her tightly. Alana was more like her mother than her close girl friend as well but she never said it out loud as she always felt like saying it out loud would mean she was forgetting her late biological mother.

Though feeling a bit determined, Rose also felt extremely nervous. This revelation of hers to Stephano could bring about only two results. Her love could be rejected first-hand or be accepted in a beautiful way.

.......

Rose's driver, Mr Gordon drove into the De Luan mansion swiftly. Rose looked out the window of the backseat and smiled staring at the all too familiar huge fountain and the vast garden which was like a maze. A vivid memory of her playing in the gardens when she was a little girl once crossed her mind. The De Luan mansion was her second home and truth be told, she preferred living here far more than her own home back then.

One time she spent the entire summer with Sierra and Mason along with Stephano, Azazel and little Bronya. Her father had to travel out of the country for his work and Rose didn't want to leave home at that time. Sierra volunteered Rose stay with them all through the summer and Mr Foyer couldn't say no to that. Both the De Luans and the Foyers had become more like a family than business partners over the years.

Gordon parked the car in front of the mansion and Rose stepped out from the car while taking in the surrounding fresh air. She closed her eyes and a smile graced her lips. It had been a week since she last came here due to pressure at her workplace. Her company known as Navia had been under a lot of pressure in perfecting their latest and upcoming fragrance collection ROSE AND BEAUTY which was to be unveiled next week. Though her father helped her in starting up her company, Rose was responsible for Navia becoming one of the best perfume branded companies in not just the US but parts of the world. Navia was in fact on par with other famous perfume branded companies like Hermès, Montblanc and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Rose made her way into the house and was welcomed by Karen, one of the new hires who came to take Rose's cream coloured coat from her. "Where is everyone Karen?" Rose had a look around the living area and found it to be quite tidy and secondly there wasn't any noise or destruction going on in some parts of the house. "Madame took the kids out to the park. They'll be back in a while." Karen replied and asked, "Can I get you anything Miss?"

"A glass of water would be fine Karen, thank you." Rose smiled and before Karen could disappear from her sight, she asked. "Is Stephano back?"

"No Miss." Karen replied before Rose sent her away and Rose looked upstairs. She thought of going into his room to surprise him and got herself up from the sofa. Though the house was gigantic and huge, Rose knew her way around since she was a child and walked up the long trail of stairs upwards. She was headed straight to his room when her feet slipped and she let out a startled scream when she lost her balance and fell hard on her butt. She hissed and looked down to find the floor greased with something slippery. Karen rushed up the stairs and panting asked. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay Miss Rose?!"

Just then a deep burst of laughter echoed in the silent hallways. That all too familiar laughter which fairly reached her ears because he was close by. Rose scrunted her brows and a frown appeared on her lips. She detested that laugh and knew only one person could be responsible for pulling off this dumb prank especially towards her.

"Azazel!" She muttered under her breath in anger.

Harvey could barely keep his eyes open. His entire body was heaving and his clothes were completely soaked with his own blood. His skin was scarred and burnt marks and scars graced his fair skin turning it darkish purple. His eyes were heavy and close to giving up as he was made to only stare at the floor which was stained with his sweat and blood combined.

He grunted in more pain when another elbow punched his stomach. He spat out more blood because of the impact and he didn't know how much he could longer he could keep up without passing out or even dying immediately. He wondered who were these goons that surrounded him. He was just an ordinary guy in his early twenties pushing about with his daily life. He hadn't done anyone any harm. He was met with a hard blow on his right cheek. He bet he wouldn't recognize his face if shown through a mirror.

"Take it easy there Frank, we don't want to kill him just yet. The boss wants to meet him first." One of the goons said to a taller and bulky man whose fists were stained with Harvey's blood. The goon known to be Frank lowered his height and grabbed Harvey by his red hair and spat on his face in anger. Harvey's hands were tied up at both sides while he knelt down with a lowered head all battered and beaten up.

Harvey stared at the goon in horror. Any more shock and he would loose control of his bladder and pee himself. "Do you have any idea why you're even here? Am sure you're wondering but don't worry asshole. You'll soon find out the reason."

Just then, the seemingly dark warehouse had a bright light pierced through when the doors opened and a tall figure walked in. Three muscular and beastly built men walked behind that tall figure. He wasn't as mightly built as the other goons but his presence screamed far more dark and dangerous aura than any of the big goons in the warehouse.

The warehouse grew dark once more after the entrance was sealed shut and made way for only a peek of light which shone from a distanced window.

"Is he the one?" A dark, chilling deep voice echoed as the sound of his footsteps continued to put the eerie silence inside the warehouse to shame. Harvey hissed as he blinked his half closed swollen eyes. He looked up at that towering figure who had that chilling deep voice just now. All of these made him wonder who these murderers were and why they were after a poor guy like him.

"He's the exact same one boss. He's the bastard who's been sending those threatening messages to Madam." One of the goons responded coldly as they all made way for their boss to walk further. His pointy black shiny shoes came into the light firstly before the light slowly and magnificently revealed the rest of him. To say he was handsome was an understatement. Even a guy like Harvey who was straight couldn't help but awe at the handsome man before him.

From his black perfectly gelled hair to his deep grey eyes down to his perfect shaped nose to his luscious bow shaped lips. His entire face was sculptured to perfection. It looked like God took his time in creating him or some would say the Devil perfected him. Not just his face but his body was also built to perfection like that of a stallion - Not the bulky kind but the yummy kind.

Harvey could recognize him easily even through his half opened eyes. "M-mr D-De Luan..." He coughed and spilled more of his blood onto the floor.

Stephano turned to the man standing beside him with just one look. The goon understood what his boss wanted and rushed out. In less than three minutes, that same man was back with a chair for his boss to sit down. Stephano sat down with his right leg hanging over his left leg. His posture of seating was like that of a king in his reign. Stephano eyed Harvey with disgust upon seeing how messed up he looked. "Great job boys. You all deserve some big fat asses tonight. I see you've created a wonderful art of him." Stephano's lower lip curved upward to the side to show a devilish smirk.

"...P-please...why am I-I tied...up li..like this Mr De...Luan?" Harvey asked barely audible as he fought to keep his eyes from shutting forever. "Does the name Angelique Queens ring a bell?" Harvey's once half closed eyes immediately widened like large saucers once that name reached his eardrums. Stephano didn't miss to spot the shock on Harvey's face. It only meant one thing. He was the bastard after Angelique's sanity. His Angelique.

Stephano rose to his feet in a flash which sent the chair to fall down to the floor before he raised his left feet and pressed it on Harvey's head. Stephano's neck became dark pink and his veins popped up. He knew very well that Harvey won't leave through that door but instead his soul would leave to unite with the devil. He made the biggest mistake of his sorry excuse of a life when he dared to mess with his angel. Angelique was his angel and he wouldn't mind tearing the whole world apart if anyone dared to hurt Angelique.

Harvey worked in a small hardware store downtown. A total nerd with big glasses and always kept to himself. No one knew that he was a genius in front of a computer screen and also a scoundrel when it came to hacking into famous celebrities's personal information and details that could ruin their image. Angelique was a famous model and was always on the front covers of famous magazines like Vogue, GQ, Elle and Vanity Fair. Harvey had been threatening many famous people of leaking private information about them to the media which could ruin their public image for many months now in exchange for bundles of money. In the case of female celebrities, he would ask for a cam session with them fully naked. His schemes had been working for so long and he had gotten away not until he decided to target Angelique Queens as his next victim which was a big mistake on his part. He would never have guessed that targeting Angelique would mean his last time at ever seeing the dawn of another day.

Stephano made sure to press his shoe against Harvey's head almost cracking his skull. He then proceeded to placing his other leg on Harvey's neck which immediately cut short Harvey's breathing. His face turned blue overtime from lack of air. His hands were shaking and his eyes were almost bulged out from their sockets. No emotions were visible on Stephano's face as he looked down at Harvey with an expressionless face. Even his goons knew that they weren't to mess with their boss's woman or they would pay by having their heads separated from their bodies.

"You dared to mess with her! You SCUM! NO one dares to mess with my angel and gets away with it. ABSOLUTELY NO ONE!" Stephano roared pushing all of his weight on Harvey's head and neck who was only seconds away from giving in to the grim reaper. He wanted to give him the most deadly punishments which was worse than a quick death but his goons had already done a number on him. He was to die anyways.

Stephano stretched forth his hand out and one of his goons came forward and placed a gun in his hand. "You've ruined my shoes with your dirty blood. Fuckin Bastard!" With that said, he pointed the gun at Harvey's back and pulled the trigger multiple times until he was out of bullets. Harvey's back was filled with bullets holes all over and Stephano couldn't help but draw out another smirk. Seeing the holes on Harvey's back along with splatters of his very own blood looked like a beautiful art piece. He thought of sending a picture of Harvey's lifeless body filled with bullet holes to Angelique but decided against it. The last thing he wanted was for his angel to have a nightmare for a whole week or more.

"Fuck, my shoes are all dirty and my suit is all stained now. I can't go back home looking like this." Stephano sighed looking down at his clothes which had stains of Harvey's blood. "Verner get me my other clothes from the car. I'll have a change of clothes before heading back home." He told his right hand before he received a message alert beep from his phone which was in his trousers. He fished out his phone and saw it was from his agent. The penthouse which he had been eyeing for a long time was finally ready to live in. He could finally move in fully and that made him happy. He could finally have his very own space and privacy and not having his little rascal sisters barge into his room every now and then nor always carrying an extra pair of clothes to change into in case his clothes got stained with blood like today.

"Tapo, Frank and Marcus. Take a photo of this bastard and circulate it around the media. Let everyone know what kind of scum he was and then blow up the entire warehouse and leave no loose ends." Stephano ordered and after sparing one last glare at Harvey's lifeless body, he turned around tucking both hands into his trouser's pockets and walked out of the warehouse. He took in the different vibrant air out in the open before he looked at the huge city from a distance. It was clear they were far from the city.

Verner took out his new pair of ironed clothes from the car and brought it for his boss. Stephano smiled seeing his clothes. They weren't wrinkled in the slightest and were all ironed and folded to perfection. Only one person could have done this. His very own Rose. Only she could have ironed his clothes to be this crisp. Many times he had told her not to bother but the girl never listened and always did what she wanted with his wardrobe. He smiled as he began taking off his clothes and changing into the new one. He veiled his eyes with his black shade and walked back to his car before driving off.