CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Ives enjoyed a hot shower with Isolde in the aftermath of their sexual encounter. Their hands rubbed their bodies, smearing soap and latter as they washed the grime from their tryst off their bodies.
Their movements affectionate and subtle seemed almost like a delicate dance done by the naked bodies of passionate lovers.
Ives prepared himself in front of the mirror with a clean comb and neat shave.
"Good enough." He complemented his work, he waited for a little bit studying the image of the man he had become. If his past self saw the present him, there is no doubt that there wouldn't be a semblance of familiarity between them.
From a blossoming underdog to the refined model like figure he had achieved, the transformation was miraculous but this new life took as much as it gave. All the past him had to worry about was surviving another day of abuse now the current him had to navigate his involvement with a dangerous cult, ensure that his finances didn't fall below acceptable levels, investigate the events that led to the destruction of his family and bear the weight of a secret that ended the lives of countless variations of the world itself, trillions dead and no one knew.
He was a walking mass of secrets and distortions like Aldire said he was a man made out of masks.
'Let's finish this.' He braced himself for the Black gala, a celebration which seemed mandatory for every member of the cabal. Having recently attended Valkyren annual gala which led him to Selene, he expected that this particular one would be in no way similar to a normal gala.
Ives left the bathroom and met Isolde dressed in a white sweater and jogging trousers with her hair made neatly into a bun, she held an air tight package in her arms.
"Master Ives. This is for you." She handed it over to him.
Ives received it with a nod, inside was another expensive get up. A silk tuxedo black as night along with a long robe of matching colour and a featureless masks sitting beside the two. A note on the side said, WEAR THE MASK AFTER WE LEAVE THE BUILDING.
Ives wore the garment and handed Isolde the tie, he bent forward giving her access to his neck.
Isolde threw the tie over his neck, wrapped it neatly and slowly moulded it into shape till it reached perfection.
Isolde straightened it with gentle tudges.
"I'm embarrassed to say that I have no idea how to knot a tie." Ives confessed.
"It isn't an important skill to learn, I only know how to do this because I always helped my father make his before any important appointment." Isolde soothed his worries.
Finally ready to leave, Isolde leaned forward and pressed her lips against his forehead, she poured out all her love and support as an invisible protection onto him with this one gesture.
"You're mine and I'm yours." Ives felt like he was being branded, he wondered who was the real boss between them at this point.
"What a possessive Puppy." Ives lamented as they held hands and entered the living room where Zeke waited with Eva, March and Kaleb.
Ives left Isolde's side with the Black robe in a neat bundle on his right arm, the world he was now part of wasn't one she was allowed to see.
As they crammed into the elevator, Ives gave her a thumbs up while Zeke winked with a devilish grin.
The second she was alone, Isolde rolled her eye. Just as Ives had a side of himself she couldn't see, she too had another side of herself Ives hadn't known yet.
The side that Zeke revealed.
....
Isolde ate breakfast alone that morning, once again wondering if her presence within Ives' home was even welcome.
The chasm growing between them wasn't what she hated, it was the fact she couldn't see over it to know if she was still a valid option in Ives' story.
That ate her alive but for the love of her she couldn't seem to find the avenue to express it.
The memory of being surrounded by shadowy figures with tears dripping from her eyes while her previous master said angrily, "She whines too much, do something about it."
That was the day, her capacity to feel and express emotions such as distress, fear, anxiety and happiness was burnt from her neural map just so she could be the perfect sex slave for the pleasure and satisfaction of her master and his countless disgusting antics which he soon programmed her to like.
Every interaction she had with everyone other than those she loved before that incident felt hollow like there was a wall stopping her from even considering them as valid living beings. She had the memory of care and operated out of a learned pattern of interaction when dealing with loved ones like Sabine, her mother, Krueger and a select few others.
For Ives it was a different case, somehow during their first interaction she suddenly recalled almost a lifetime of shared experiences from some other version of the world that existed once before but now was nowhere to be seen.
In that world, she met Ives as from her father's assistant - Celeste Fleck. He was apparently her son who came to visit the lab every once in a while, he was a charming nerdy and carefree young man who always had a headphone on as he charted another crucial path in their research. He was brilliant, brilliant enough to even acquire an internship position in their lab.
Isolde herself was the reclusive princess of her father who was now an established scientist and respected figure in the medical field for his discovery in anti-aging.
Her life mostly consisted of studying, spending time with her mother and honing her musical skills. They drew close to one another, Ives stayed over for dinner then they had a small walk through their building before he heard her new piece. They became online friends, then close physical ones but Love came when their return from the office brought tragedy, the car was hijacked. Sabine was shot dead for trying to defend Isolde and Ives was taken as an additional captive.
The kidnapper's intentions were clear, they wanted the most recent iteration of the anti-aging research which had gone through a massive breakthrough in restoring dead cells and telomer lengthening from both her father and his assistant, Celeste.
The stakeholders refused any attempt to reveal the research they had invested in, threatening lawsuits and even death but Love won in the end and her father and Celeste came to a secluded location with the drive containing everything they needed.
The exchange was supposed to go soundly but the kidnappers wanted to silence the only mind capable of recreating that research and they did.
Isolde watched her father fall lifeless on the ground losing the warmth of life and so did Celeste.
The Kidnappers got to keep the both of them after sending out the research, they toyed, violated and tortured them before ending their lives as the dirt hit their face in the shallow grave. She held the hands of the boy who stood with her through it all.
Then she found herself with him again in this distorted parody of that world.
...…
"Dogs don't wear clothes." Zeke enjoyed her degrading actions. She did this as a method of gratitude for initating the lunch date between her and Ives.
She genuinely appreciated his actions in caring for Ives after the actions of Krueger put him in mortal peril and even making subtle movements to heal and restore the warmth that existed between them.
Neither of them fully trusted the other but they were united in alliance to ensure they all succeed through Ives.
Isolde's affair with Zeke was simply a way of reaffirming that alliance.
Isolde slid out of her clothing allowing Zeke to enjoy the sight of her naked form once more.
"What an exquisite breed?" He complemented Isolde.
He ran his hand across Isolde's body, tickling her underarms, massaging her breasts and opening up her butt with his fingers.
"Roll over." He instructed and Isolde went on her back and did so.
"Sit." She did.
"Fetch." He threw a pillow and Isolde returned with it in her mouth.
Zeke patted her head, before his eyes saw a long string of fluids fall to the floor.
Isolde was being aroused by this foreplay.
"Turn around." Isolde showed Zeke, her ass which was wet as her love juices appeared over her pussy.
Zeke slapped her butt with his hand causing the wet folds of flesh to bubble up and down, he repeated the soft hits more and more till Isolde released a heavy stream of fluids onto the vacuumed floor, the fluids hitting the floor caused a sizzling noise.
The end result was a perverse smelling puddle in the room.
"What an bad thing to do. You need to be punished." Zeke said then ordered, "...Lick it clean."
Isolde crawled on all fours around the puddle before reaching down her head allowing her tongue to meet the wet spot and slurp it up.
She opened her mouth showing to Zeke that she had completed the task, she held her face and snuggled against her cheeks.
"Lina.." He muttered with deep emotion.
"Lina?" Isolde asked.
"My dog when I was a kid. I don't know whether she's alive but thankfully you're an even better one."
Zeke played with her pussy afterwards, she on all fours faced away from him while he plunged his two ring fingers into her vagina.
Entering in and out with a steady rhythm, he enjoyed the wet squishes this generated and her gentle quivers in response to it. He studied and played with her body with fascination, savoring every single one of the reactions that came from it.
Every time she came, he made her slurp it up.
Every time she made an embarrassing noise, he scolded her for it.
She was reduced into a trembling puppy in heat, then came his most devious command yet.
"Relieve yourself."
Isolde who was licking his shoe, executed the command. A gentle yellow stream flowed out of her pussy, its pulse long lasting and fragrant than all her previous ones. She did this while still licking his shoes with her tongue, she was finished within a minute.
Zeke smiled with satisfaction before flicking his fingers and suddenly the massive puddle was non-existent.
Zeke took Isolde in his arms and kissed her necks, some even more captivated by her now.
"Ives will be here soon." Isolde told him and he immediately left to meet him downstairs leaving Isolde to prepare for the lunch date.
...…..
In the present, Isolde received a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Honey, It's me. Please pick up some pizza on your way home." She couldn't mistake this voice for anyone else.
"Dad?!".