Chapter 1 Sleep Talking

• On a wide street of Angeles city, a man was laying on the ground with bloody clothes, blood was coming out of his mouth, as he struggled to talk, he looked like he was shot a couple of times, judging by the bullet holes in his shirt.
• Sitting next to him was a male teenager. with blond hair, brown hazel eyes.
• The teenager had a worried expression on his face, as he was attending to the old man's wounds.
• "Arthur stop, I told you to go! you need to get as far away from here as you can!" The man said to the teenager, pushing him away from him. "Go!" The man urged.
• Shaking his head in denial, the teenager looked the old man in the eyes. "No! I need to get you to the hospital dad!" Arthur replied, apprehensively looking at his cellphone. He had called 911 almost 15 minutes ago.
• "It's too late for me son, if you don't move from here they'll kill!"
• "No they won't, I've called 911, and I've phoned Jared he'll be here…. Dad! Dad…. stay with me!" Arthur yelled in fear, seeing life escape his dad's eyes.
• The old man put his hand on Arthur's hand and looked him in the eyes. "Arthur just listen to me..listen to me, if something happens to you, who do you think is going to run the consortium? You're the only…" The teenager cut his dad's sentence.
• "And if something happens to you, I don't want anything to do with your consortium, so you better live, old man." The teenager demanded, applying pressure to his dad's wound so the blood won't keep coming out.
• ***
• "Dad Dad no! Don't die on me God dammit!" Arthur yelled, as he jumped out of his sleep, he opened his eyes to see a beautiful brunette, his wife sitting next to him with a worried expression on her face.
• "Arthur, what's wrong?" Stacey asked, with a look of concern in her green eyes.
• Arthur sat up, and rubbed his eyes to awaken himself, his heart beating violently on his chest, he looked at his wife who was looking at him with her green eyes wide, it was clear that she was worried, "I was talking in my sleep again, was I?" Arthur asked his wife in a sad voice, his heart beating faster than usual. He hated that dream he just had.
• Silently sighing, Stacey glared at her husband as she lifted a pillow in her arm, "Next time, you wake me up like this, I'll suffocate you Arthur," Stacey warned as she got back to her bed while carrying the pillow.
• She couldn't believe her 'useless live-in-husband woke her up again.
• "Suffocate me?…. She's lying." Arthur Amusedly mumbled, sitting back on the couch where he slept," She cares about me…she came to check up on me." A
• "Excuse me?" Stacey's expression turned dark with anger, as she glared at her annoying husband.
• Realizing he should not have said that out loud, Arthur glanced at his wife nervously, "Huh?…nothing, I was just talking to my ….I'll shut up now." Arthur nervously said, stealing a glance at her expressionless face. Not believing how cruel and cold her eyes can look and at the same time, they're very alluring.
• Stacey broke off her gaze from Arthur, blushing at his words. But she'd never show him that though. "Go back to sleep." Her voice was devoid of any emotions.
• "Yeah sure." Arthur replied nonchalantly. Stacey was still glaring at him, it was clear she was annoyed at him.
• Breaking off her glare, Stacey furrowed her brows. "Jerk," Stacey uttered, getting back to sleep.
• Letting out a huge sigh, Stacey closed her eyes, but she still couldn't sleep since the lights were on, and she wasn't used to sleeping with the lights on.
• She rolled her eyes in irritation, and turned her head to the couch, where Arthur slept, "Arthur Turn the lights off." She asked in an almost commanding tone.
• It was all Arthur's fault that she turned the lights on after all. She was so worried about him that the first thing she did when she heard him shout in his sleep was turn the lights on.
• 'What does he always dream about anyways? I just hope it's nothing to worry about,' Stacey thought to herself, briefly glancing at him. 'And I thought he told me his parents were dead…why does he keep on saying 'dad, mom? Maybe I should know more about him?' Stacey thought, but she quickly buried that thought.
• Why would she want to know someone so useless as him? It won't be long before they get divorced.
• After waiting for some time and Arthur wasn't turning off the lights Stacey got irritated , is he getting stubborn now?
• "Arthur! I won't say it again, turn the damn lights off!" Stacey warned.
• Still no answer?
• Stacey took a deep breath, and glared at Arthur, "I'm going to throw water on you if you don't wake up." She threatened, grabbing a glass of water from her bedside table, as she said: "One…two…"
• Taking a deep breath Arthur got up to turn the lights off. "Fine, I'm up," Arthur said as he walked to switch off the lights knowing she wasn't joking, she would have really thrown the water on him without a second thought.
• After switching the lights off, Arthur timidly walked towards Stacey's bed, "Okay the lights are off my Lady…what else do you want me to do?" Arthur asked in a playful tone. He had been yearning to hold her, it's something he had never done ever since they got married.
• Letting out a sigh Arthur asked nervously and hesitantly, "The couch is not that comfortable….think I can share the bed with you?"
• In response, Stacey rolled her eyes and turned her head to him giving him a disdainful look, wondering what made Arthur think like that? Does he think they're on the same level now?
• "I promise, I won't touch you, without your permission." Arthur said nervously, looking at Stacey.
• "Arthur, Dont be dumb, you think I would sleep next to you? Get back to sleep dummy!" Stacey yelled.
• 'Dummy.' That was her nickname, for Arthur, but he never seemed to mind that, she could call him anything she wanted. Anyways even if he wanted her to stop calling him names, that wouldn't help, it would only motivate her to call him even more names.
• Arthur took a seat on the couch and let out a sigh, he was not planning on falling asleep anymore, lately, whenever he fell asleep he would have the same dream over and over again. "I hate that, I really, really hate that dream!" Arthur angrily mumbled to himself. Wondering why he kept on having the same dream.
• Lately, whenever he went to sleep, he kept on having a memory dream?….or something like that.
• Maybe he felt guilty for not being able to protect his parents. If he was just a little tougher, then, would his parents still be alive?
• "Great, now I'm afraid to close my eyes," Arthur said, sounding disappointed.
• "Keep talking to yourself, and I'll make sure you don't leave the house for a week, Arthur," Stacey warned, in a stern voice.
• Sighing audibly, Arthur rolled his eyes. He didn't dare make noise for some time, but not because he was afraid of being forced to stay at home. He was grounded the day they got married, she never allowed him to hang out with his friends or go outside of the Villa on his own will. In fact, the only times he was allowed to go out was when he would drive his in-laws' children to school and he immediately had to come home after that.
• "I still can't believe you blackmailed me to marry you, all because we had a one-night stand….and up to this day you're still blackmailing me, into staying on this marriage," Arthur said, his voice sad, turning his eyes to her bed, hoping she'll at least talk about it. She rarely talked to him. The only times Stacey talked to him was when she yelled at him, or something like that, she acted more like his boss, than his wife.
• "I'd like a divorce, I want out…" Arthur stopped his sentence midway, as Stacey ínterrupted him.
• "Arthur, don't make me shut you up right now, stop talking!" Stacey said in a low but threatening voice. One of the things she hated was hearing about the divorce.