for tea with her friends, as she always does on Saturdays.”
I almost let out a humorless laugh. Of course, my mother went out with her friends. It has been long four years since I had seen my mother. She couldn’t even skip one tea party to be home when I arrived here.
We stopped in front of a closed door, which I assumed would be my room. “And Duncan?” I asked cautiously.
“Mr. King, your step-father, is out for a business meeting. He’ll be home around dinner time.”
I scoffed. Step-father. Ugh.
George opened the door and my eyes widened as I stepped inside. The room looked like a replica of what my old room was – the one I left behind almost five years.
“A room fit for a princess,” my father would say, with a loving smile.
“How?” I breathed in shock.
“Mr. King wanted you to feel comfortable and at home,” George responded without missing a word.
Everything was the same, down to the purple comforter and the Snow White and The Seven Dwarves poster on the wall, next to the dresser. “That’s nice of him.”
“Your mother approved also.”
This room was the younger version of me. I was seventeen now, two weeks away from being eighteen, an adult. This room wasn’t me anymore, but it was still nostalgic. Emotional, to say the least. It reminded me of my past, of my father… and all the good memories.
But it was also a bitter reminder of what I had lost…
“I can serve you lunch in your room, if you’d prefer that. Dinner time is at seven, both your mother and Mr. King would be home by then.”
George was gone before I could blink and he left me alone in the room, filled with the memories of my past. I sat down on the bed, bouncing a little on the soft mattress.
I must have fallen asleep without realizing. Because the next time I opened my eyes, I was curled up in the middle of the bed, drifting between the world of awake and unconsciousness. I slowly stretched, my muscles protesting. It was a good nap though. I felt so much better now.
Rolling over in bed, I faced the window only to gasp. My heart hammered in my chest as I scrambled to sit up, holding the purple comforter to my chest – as if it’d keep me safe.
The drapes were down and heavy, keeping the sunlight out and plunging the room into darkness. With only a bit of light coming from the slit of the curtains. Enough for me to see the shadow of a man.
“Who–”
The shadow moved away from the window, taking one step closer to my bed.
Chapter Two
Snow
“Who are you? And why are you in my room?” I snapped.
“Hello, Snow,” the shadow said, absolutely unconcerned by my outburst. His voice had a rough timbre, as if it was unused. It sounded harsh to my own ears.
My lungs expanded and crashed against my rib-cage. Fear slithered down my spine and I slowly scooted backward. “GEORGE!”
The man shook his head. “He can’t hear you. The room is soundproof.”
“I–”
WHAT?
Frantically, I looked around the room, trying to find a weapon. Was he an intruder? Someone who worked here? If so, this was not okay!
“Get out,” I hissed.
He chuckled. “This is my home, Snow.”
“If you think you can hu–” I paused, his words finally registering into my slow brain. “Wait, what?”
He pulled one of the drapes away, bringing light into the room. The shadow was no longer a shadow. The man came into view, his body first… and then his face.
The first thing I noticed was that… he was huge. He had to be twice my height, size and weight. His shoulders were broad, the black jeans he wore was tight over his thick thighs and the material of his black shirt stretching over his muscles like a second skin.
I have had no contact with any men since I started the all-girl boarding school. Men, overall, were still a mystery to me. And this one? He was not at all what I imagined a man to be like.
My gaze snapped up, to his face. Heat bloomed across my neck and up to my cheeks. His face was… sculptured. That was the only way I could described it. He had a small beard, which made him look older.
There was something familiar about this intruder.
And when realization finally dawned to me, a little too late… I was filled with indignation.
“Duncan?” My step-father?
An unreadable expression flitted across his face, gone as quickly as it