Melina gets down from the kitchen stool, swallowing a lump in her throat. She takes a look at James and notices he’s dressed in the Givenchy suit she bought for him before they split. That can’t be a good sign.
“James, w-wh-h-a-at are you doing here?”
“I heard you were in town, so I thought I’d stop by and say hi,” James says, walking closer to Melina, his scent drifting through her nose. Melina’s brain immediately recalls how she would smell like him for days, despite doing everything she could to scrub his scent off her body. Tears well up in her eyes, remembering why she even had his scent on her body in the first place.
“Really? That’s so nice of you,” Melina says, blinking away tears. Her nose stings, telling Melina she’s not doing a good job of suppressing her emotions. It’s hard for Melina because she recalls all the times she cried silently, staring at the ceiling as J
Melina wakes up with an excruciating headache and a burn on her left cheek. She looks around and finds herself in a dimly lit room, on a bed she doesn't recall getting on. Melina remembers falling asleep in the van but has no idea how she got here. They must have moved her to this location."Franky," Melina calls, but receives no response. She gets out of the bed and reaches for the room's wall with her hands. Hitting her foot on something hard, she bends down to rub it when the lights in the room suddenly turn on. She closes her eyes as the sudden brightness blinds her. Slowly opening her eyes, Melina tries to adjust to the light."I was starting to worry you were dead. You slept for quite a few hours, Mel," James says, standing near the light switch by the wall."Where is Franky?" Melina looks around the room for Franky, but she is nowhere to be found. Melina wonders where she is."Somewhere safe, and don't worry, she’s not dead yet," James says.
As the first punch is thrown at her belly, Melina doesn't even pretend it doesn't hurt. Screaming at the top of her lungs as his iron-ringed knuckles punch her stomach, Melina hunches forward, forcing her stomach in as her ribs burn; her face snaps backward as James punches her chin."James, please, I am beg…." Melina's words get choked in her throat as James punches her square in the face. A splitting pain shoots through Melina's nose as it breaks in two. Melina tastes the metal in her mouth as blood pours out of her nose."I wonder if he will still love you once I make you ugly," James says, punching her in the stomach again.“Please” she rasps."This is just the beginning, love. By the time I'm done with you, Thomas will know never to mess with the Mexican cartel again."The punches continue until Melina’s black eyes can no longer stay open. Every part of her body hurts beyond words. Melina feels as if she's being ripped
THOMAS Thomas meets Richard halfway on his way to his office. They were able to get Richard back a few days ago after ambushing the car transporting him to a safe house. "Sir, I need you to come with me. There's something important you need to see." "How important?" Thomas asks as he turns the knob on his office door. "It's about Melina." Thomas' hand turns white as he tightens his grip on the doorknob. He knows Richard is capable of finding Melina, but he didn't expect it to be this quick. "You found her?" "Not really, but I have a good guess of who took her." "Took her?" Thomas knits his brows. Why would Richard say that someone took Melina? She fled. She wasn't kidnapped or… was she? "Yes, sir. I don't think Melina ran away. I have some information that suggests she might have been kidnapped." "Are you sure?" Thomas could not believe what Richard was saying. How is that possible? Her sister emptied he
MELINAMelina jolts awake to the sounds of someone screaming. She looks around the room, searching for the source of the voice and the danger, but quickly shuts her eyes as a shooting pain flies through her head. Melina lifts her hand to her temple to massage the pain away, but her limbs protest. Her entire body aches. Melina curls into a ball and clutches her stomach, as if her intestines are being ground. Tears fill her eyes as blood flows from between her legs."My baby," Melina says quietly, her bottom lips quivering."My angel," she says as she tightens her arms around her belly."I never got to meet you." Her heart squeezes as an ache settles in her chest."I'm sorry, I'm sorry little one. Mummy is so sorry she couldn't protect you. Please forgive me. “Melina’s shoulders tremble as loud wails begin to rip out of her. Her heartache is worse than her stomachache.Melina cries and mourns the loss of her baby until she falls as
“There will be no questions.” The man approaches Melina and grabs her arm. His nails dig into her skin as he drags her out of the room and down the hallway.They proceed down the corridor and up the stairs into a beautiful house. The walls are white with stunning gold designs on them. The white marble floor is designed with a lovely flower in the center of the foyer above a gorgeous chandelier. It had to be the basement they had just walked out of. They walk past a two-way staircase with a beautiful black banister and golden handle. They come to a halt in front of a door as they walk to the left. James is standing right in front of it.“Here you go, boss.” The man lets go of Melina’s arm, and she instinctively rubs the spot where he held her.“You can go,” James says as he turns to the door and knocks. Melina wonders what they’re doing here.“Come in,” a deep husky voice speaks from inside
MELINAMelina looks out the small window in the room where she and Franky were placed. They can't escape because the windows have bars on them. Melina has spent the last two weeks trying to figure out how to get them out of here. Franky is currently in a coma, and the doctors are unsure when she will wake up. Melina spends most of her days telling Franky about the amazing life they will have once she figures out a way to get them out.Melina hasn't seen Rafael or James these past two weeks. She's pleased about this. They both frighten her, and seeing them could only mean something terrible would happen to her. Melina's desire to die has vanished. Melina considered abandoning Franky, but after everything she had been through because of her, she realized that would be cruel of her. Franky would be devastated if she wakes up and finds out that all her suffering had been in vain. Melina couldn't bring herself to do that to her sister after everything Franky had been throug
Melina can't believe he’s here. She never expected him to show up. Why did he come? Melina pinches herself to make sure she isn't dreaming. She won't be surprised if she's hallucinating right now. Melina has heard that you see the person you love the most in the world before you die."I'm real, principessa," he says, placing his hand above hers. Melina feels the warmth of his hand penetrate hers, and she quickly pulls her hand away from his, as if the warmth had burnt her.Thomas is here, oh my God, Thomas is here. He must be furious with me for fleeing. Melina looks around in fear, trying to figure out where she can flee to. Thomas is going to kill me."I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run away; I had to." Melina says."I know, you don't have to apologize, principessa." Thomas reaches out to touch Melina, but she quickly moves away."I am sorry, I didn't mean to. I needed to." She buries her head betwe
"Please say something," Thomas says."Are you sick?" Melina places her hand on his forehead to check his temperature."I'm not sick, Mi amore," he says as he gently removes her hand from his forehead"You're definitely sick. You just referred to me as "your love."”"That's because you're Melina. You're the love of my life.""Is this some new way of torture because I don't understand why you're saying all of these?""I think I need to explain everything. I’m aware of what you did.""What did I do?""I know why you stole my money for James.""You do?" Melina says, finding it difficult to believe because what she expected from him, knowing the truth, isn't what she's getting."Yes, principessa. I know what you did to protect me." Thomas squeezes her hand as his shoulders drop. Thomas appears to really know what happened. Did his mom tell him? Perhaps she did, but why isn't he angry l