Benjamin was sitting in the library that he, more often than not, called home. Sitting at a large table, with his nose buried inside one of the many tomes that were left by his ancestors. All of them were written with only one topic in mind, ''The Rifts.'' Something that gets boring from time to time, but he loved to be in here. He loved the smell of the leather and the aging paper. He loved the silence, and the way that he was able to think clearly. A cup of hot Lavender tea was standing next to the tome, prepared by his recent acquired study partner, Emma. She was sitting across from him, bowed over a tome, reading every word and every page. Which Kiara never did, Kiara always attempted to look like she was reading. Not that it mattered, because their father would pull her out of the library as soon as he discovered that she was in there. Which he didn''t do with Emma, he tried to do that but failed. Benjamin is sleeping with Emma for the last couple of weeks, and although his father has tried to push more women into his bedroom, in various stages of undress. But he shoved them back out faster than they were able to blink. And at the same time, his father tried to push Emma into the role of a house slave, just like he has done with Kiara. But he those not do that when Benjamin is around. Which was another reason why Benjamin is keeping Emma so close to him, he doesn''t want Emma to be the next Kiara. She is his wife, in all but name, and he is going to protect and respect her to the best of his abilities. Emma looked up at him, probably she has noticed him staring at her. Her green eyes shimmered slightly, something that happened more often nowadays. It might have something to do with the amount of sex they have lately. He sighed and turned his gaze back to the tome he was reading. Although, his thoughts were not with the words written on the page. It has being weeks since the last rift has opened up, and there was still no sign of a new one opening. He didn''t feel the pulling weight of the world landing on his shoulder. It was strange, normally it didn''t take this long for a new rift to form. He briefly wondered what Kiara thought of this.


    "I feel so sorry for Kiara," Emma said out loud with an audible sigh. He looked up, wanted to ask why that was. But she was already holding up the tome she was reading. It was his grandfather''s journal. He himself has read it many times, after his grandfather died. It might sound strange, but every time he read it, he had the feeling that his grandfather was standing right behind him. His words, on the yellowing pages, were a guideline. "I knew that Kiara had a hard life, we all did. But to see it spelled out how bad it was, makes me somewhat sick." he nodded slowly in agreement. Knowing that he was part of the abuse, which made him sick. "And then to think that she was the first ever


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.