Her Empire, His Dominion

Chapter Seventeen

There had always been an unusual stab in her back anytime Sapphire tried to sleep peacefully. Since the day she boarded a flight to Russia, she hadn’t known what a good night’s sleep felt like again. It was the only recurring problem of being in the Trevoga mansion.

Perhaps it was her father’s sins preventing her from a peaceful night of rest, or maybe she simply needed to change her mattress. But Sapphire had had enough of sleepless nights and heavy make-up to hide her dark circles. It was becoming far too unbearable. Groaning, Sapphire rolled on her side and grabbed her phone. It had been the third time since she went to bed that she was waking up.

The time read 3:23 a.m. It was like a cycle, and she was already used to it. The good thing was that she managed to improve over time, as she usually fell asleep again far quicker than when she had just arrived. The bad thing was the bugging anticipation of waking up one more time before her alarm actually went off in the morning.

A sigh escaped her lips as she rested the phone back on the nightstand, rolling on her other side to go back to sleep. Her eyes were closed, but fatigue would not come. Still, she kept hoping that soon enough, she would fall asleep again without realizing it.

But just as she dozed off, Sapphire heard a quiet creak from the other side of the door, jolting her back awake. She cursed under her breath when she thought that it might just be someone getting a late-night cup of water, and thus, she tried to fall asleep again. Then there was the sound again, and she rolled on her right-side to glance at the bedroom door through the darkness. The hall lights shone beneath the door crack, and she noticed a shadow standing directly behind it.

She got alert. Memories of her clocks being changed in the middle of the night resurfaced as she watched the person. She decided that she had two options. She could either wait until they broke in again or confront them straight up.
She grew even more concerned as it all sank in. Sapphire chewed on her lip, very much awake, as the knob on her door rattled a bit. She wasn’t scared—foolishly so—only a bit curious. If the person on the other side of the door managed to break in and see her awake, then they’d leave after probably making up an excuse. But Sapphire thought that if she caught them red-handed in the act, she could get them out of the mansion once and for all.
So, Sapphire pulled her covers over her shoulders, laid on her side and closed her eyes. Her sense of hearing almost seemed heightened as her entire being trembled in anticipation. The quiet squeak of her door told her that it was opening, meaning that the intruder managed to pick her lock and get through.

The footsteps were light, yet they sounded heavy to her ears. They sounded as if they belonged to a man. A woman’s feet would’ve been almost impossible to hear if she was trying hard enough. Sapphire stiffened as she felt the bed dip with her, but she kept her breathing levelled to give the impression that she was asleep. Cold, calloused fingers brushed her hair away from her ear, and it took everything in her not to shiver at the touch.

“You were always such a beauty,” a male’s voice whispered, and Sapphire’s eyes snapped open when she recognized who it was.

Luka.

Luckily, her back was turned to him, so he didn’t see. Sapphire didn’t feel surprised, but she was confused. She knew Luka hated her, and she wasn’t surprised that he would do something maniacal, like break into her room in the middle of the night. But something that Elisa said on the morning of the clock incident became fresh. Elisa had told Sapphire that she and Luka had no motive to do something as childish as mess with her clocks, and at the time, she seemed right. But then again, does someone need to have a motive to ruin another one’s day? Probably not.

“No wonder you have Valentin so wrapped around your finger,” he added, much softer. His fingers left her ear and roamed the length of her arm.
Sapphire bit on her lip until she tasted blood, only because she didn’t want to move.