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Chapter Thirty-four

Author: AUTHOR_DANNY
last update Last Updated: 2023-04-10 16:07:53

IT WAS almost midnight when Sylvia finally collapsed in her old childhood bedroom.

Trembling with exhaustion, clasping the same pink cardigan she’d worn in Mexico more tightly over her arms, she sank down on her small single bed, staring blankly at old posters of rock stars she’d pasted as a teenager over the peeling, faded floral wallpaper. A beloved old teddy bear looked down from her bookshelves, next to baking trophies she’d won at the local fair in high school. Downstairs, she could hear her family talking in low voices as they moved over the creaky floorboards. She could smell her mother’s clam chowder bubbling on the stove.

She was home. Nothing had changed. And yet—Sylvia looked at Xavier’s dark form in front of her window—everything had changed.

They’d both changed on the jet into clothes more appropriate for the cold rain of northern California. Now wearing black pants, a white shirt and a black woolen coat, he looked out at the lights twinkling in the distance. “Is that you
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  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Thirty-five

    He snorted. “She took her payoff money and left for a life of excitement and freedom in Miami.” As if examining the fabric, he ran his hand idly along her old linen curtains. “She never wanted to go back to the life she’d fled, to a barren island of rocks and parents who despised her modern ways. My grandparents did not speak English and were ashamed of me, their bastard grandson. But my father—” he spat out the word “—sent some money, so I was a source of income they could not refuse.”Sylvia stared at him, pain curling around her heart. She thought of the five-year-old boy, abandoned by his mother, rejected by his father, sent away to be ignored and despised by his grandparents in a faraway land.Xavier’s eyes traced around Sylvia’s old bedroom. “I used to dream of having a home like this, a family like this. When my grandparents didn’t speak to me for days, I dreamed of someday coming back to America and finding my real parents.”“And did you?” she breathed.He gave a hard, ugly la

    Last Updated : 2023-04-10
  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Thirty-six

    After washing her face and brushing her teeth in the bathroom, she paused again at his closed door as she returned down the hall. Raising her hand to knock, she hesitated. Then with a deep breath, she rapped softly.There was no answer.She exhaled. He must be asleep already. She sighed, filled with a jumble of nerves and disappointment.Tomorrow, Sylvia vowed to herself. She would tell him that she loved him before they reached Las Vegas. Tomorrow, before he traded her for Laila and her chance was lost forever.She’d already experienced so many miracles in her life. The miracle of a good family. Of a home. Of a grandmother who was steadily getting better.Having Xavier love her back would be too much to ask. But tomorrow, Sylvia would take her courage in her hands and do it.Xavier heard a soft knock on his door.Sylvia. She’d come to him, in spite of her mother’s warning. With an intake of breath, he hurried from the bed and reached for the door.Then he stopped. He knew what would

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  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Thirty-seven

    The SUV passed a thicket of juniper trees and drove past a gate into the parking lot of a small modern hospital. The building was blocky and sterile, but even in the cold rain of late February, Sylvia had never seen anything so beautiful.Xavier had chosen her. Over his promises. Over honor. It was all she could do not to wrap her arms around herself and sing a happy song. And suddenly, she was so filled with love for him that she no longer cared who heard her.As the car stopped in front of the hospital, she turned to Xavier in the backseat.“I love you,” she blurted out.His black eyes widened. She heard his intake of breath. “Sylvia—”She covered his mouth with her hand. “If I don’t tell you now, I might never have the courage. I love you, Xavier. I love you and I’ll never forget that today you chose me over…”Her voice trailed off as she saw a red Ferrari roar past their SUV, followed by a van. The vehicles parked in front of them on the curb. A man got out of the Ferrari, and Syl

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    “I will be a better man from now on. Everything is going to be different now, petal. I swear to you. I will do whatever you say, anything to make you happy, anything at all…”Sylvia stared out wearily at the passing scenery as they approached the eastern edge of San Francisco. For the last hour, Arnold had been prattling on about forgiveness and love. She didn’t think he knew what the hell he was talking about.But then, neither did she, Sylvia thought bitterly. She thought of the stark, anguished look on Xavier’s face when he’d said, “I will not try to see you again,” and it was all she could do to keep from crying.So maybe she did finally know what love was after all. Pain.She blinked quickly, staring out at the rain as they zoomed west on the highway.“I was so selfish to insist on having our wedding in Sweden. I should have realized how important it was to you to be married in your own hometown. I swear to you, petal, this time we’ll do it differently…”“Just take me home,” she

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    “WE’RE still running tests, Mr. Regulusi, but we’re optimistic.”Xavier sagged in relief against the white concrete wall of the medical clinic. “Thank God.”“We’ll keep you updated.” The doctor looked at him with concern. “But you should get some rest. Before we have to check you in here as well.”“I’m fine.”The doctor clapped him on the shoulder encouragingly. “Don’t worry. She’s young and strong. Her chances are excellent for a full recovery.”After he’d left, Xavier closed his eyes, feeling the fresh drizzle of rain on his face. His sister was safe. Laila was now receiving the best medical care possible. For the first time in a year, he did not have that driving fear inside him, the fear that he might fail her, the fear that she might die after he’d promised to always look out for her.He should have been overcome with relief and joy. And yet he found himself still hunched over with grief. He looked up to see a blond woman coming out of the mist in the parking lot.“Sylvia,” he wh

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  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Forty

    “Get in there!”Cursing, Arnold shoved her into the old cabin before he slammed the door behind them. Sylvia backed away, still glaring at him, rubbing her half-frozen wrists that he’d bruised with his sinewy grip.They’d walked for three hours in the frozen rain, up the snowy, rutted dirt road on foot after Arnold’s Ferrari had slid on a patch of ice and blown a tire. Her black dress and thin black coat couldn’t hold up against these wintry conditions. Her black leather pumps were soaked through, her feet like ice, and she’d almost forgotten what it was like to be warm. She didn’t know if she would ever feel warm again.But still, when Sylvia had seen the cabin in the clearing, she’d tried to run away. She’d turned blindly back toward the woods to take her chances in the frozen mountains. But Arnold had had other ideas. Now, he blocked the door, locking it behind him.“What is this place?” she choked out, huddling near the cold fireplace.“Laila’s great-grandfather built it.” He look

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    Two months later, Sylvia stepped out of the white clapboard chapel into the spring sunshine, still gripping her new husband’s hand.“It stopped raining,” Xavier said in amazement, looking up at the fluffy clouds in the blue sky. “Is that the sun? Finally, the day is a lot better and more beautiful.”Was he implying that his new home in northern California wasn’t exactly the sunniest place in the world? She grinned at him, her heart full of love. “I wouldn’t know. Every day seems sunny to me,” she said over the lump in her throat, “as long as I’m with you.”His dark eyes caressed her. Lifting her left hand to his lips, he gently kissed her fingers, and her simple gold wedding ring.Family and friends followed them outside, cheering and throwing flower petals as Sylvia and Xavier headed for the car waiting to take them to the airport. They had no time to attend their own wedding reception; they barely had time for their honeymoon. Resting her hand on his arm, Sylvia looked at her incred

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    Book TwoNote: This is a spin off of the last story which ended in chapter Forty-one. They are completely different stories merged together because both stories are short. I tried to expand but that would be adding meaningful details to both stories. I hope you enjoy. ‘Who is the father of your baby, Sylvia?’Holding her six-month-old baby on her hip, Sylvia Browne had been smiling with pride and pleasure across her family’s two-hundred-year-old farmhouse, lit with swaying lights and filled with neighbors and friends for her sister’s evening wedding reception. Now, pushing up her black-rimmed glasses, Sylvia faced her younger sister with a sinking feeling in her heart.Who is the father of your baby?People rarely asked that question anymore, since Sylvia always refused to answer. She’d started to hope the scandal might be over.‘Will you ever tell?’ Becky’s face was unhappy beneath her veil. At nineteen, her sister was an idealistic new bride with romantic dreams of right and wrong.

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  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Sixty-one

    Sylvia hesitated outside the closed doors of the huge, flower-strewn library, frightened out of her mind.She could hear the rumble on the other side of door, the mutters and whispers. The wedding had been scheduled to start thirty minutes ago, and everyone was obviously starting to assume the worst.But there was no way around it. She had to get through it. With a deep breath, she pushed the doors open.The enormous two-story library had been modeled after an old English abbey with walls of gray stone. It was now festooned with white roses and candles, with hundreds of chairs set up to create an aisle down the middle.At the sight of the bride standing at the end of the aisle, musicians hastily began to play ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ on guitars and violins. Sylvia stopped the music with a chopping gesture across her neck.Silence fell. She could have heard a pin drop as three hundred pairs of eyes turned to her.She trembled, passing a hand over her eyes. Then she heard her baby

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    Xavier had to hurry. Every second he wasted with Sylvia was like a grain of sand falling through a fatal hourglass. He had to leave at once.And yet he couldn’t.Leaving her felt like a death. He took a deep, shuddering breath. ‘This isn’t over,’ he said hoarsely. ‘I’ll be back after I close the deal in Rio.’‘Of course.’ Sylvia’s shoulders straightened, even as her lower lip trembled. ‘I will never stop you from seeing Robby. I hope…I hope you’ll see him often. He needs his father.’Xavier heard the music start to play downstairs and thought of the guests surrounded by white roses and candlelight, waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin. He clenched his hands, feeling that same strange spinning, sinking feeling in the region of his chest.‘Remember,’ he said tersely, looking at her. ‘This was your choice. I wanted to marry you.’She swallowed as tears streamed unchecked down her pale cheeks. ‘I’ll never forget that.’No, he thought suddenly. It couldn’t end like this. Not like this!

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    Two weeks later, Sylvia stared at herself blankly in the mirror.An elegantly dressed bride in a long, white lace veil and satin sheath gown stared back at her. It still didn’t feel right. She picked up her neatly bundled bouquet of white roses and looked back in the mirror.It was the morning of her wedding. In less than an hour she would have everything she’d barely dared to dream of—she’d be Mrs. Xavier Regulus. Robby would have his father.So where was the joy? She should have been ecstatic with bliss and hope. So why, looking at herself in this beautiful dress, standing in a suite of this beautiful rented mansion outside her village, did she feel so…empty?Xavier had wanted to marry her immediately, in Rio, but he’d quickly given in to Sylvia’s begging when she’d asked to have their wedding in New Hampshire, so her family could attend.‘We can get married in New Hampshire, of course we can, if that’s your wish,’ he’d told her. ‘But after the ceremony, we must live in Rio. Do you

  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Fifty-eight

    Sylvia woke up with a start to see the soft curl of a pink sunrise through the windows. She sat up in bed abruptly, the blanket falling from her naked chest. Had she heard her baby next door?She listened, and heard nothing except Xavier’s even, steady breathing beside her in the shadowy bedroom. Then she heard Robby’s voice again.‘Ma…ma…ma!’Quietly Sylvia rose from the bed and pulled a robe off the bathroom door hook. Leaving Xavier’s room, she went down the hall to her own, where she found her baby son sitting up in his crib. Whispering soft words of love, Sylvia took him in her arms. Holding him tenderly, she fed him, rocking him in the rocking chair. The baby, now yawning with a full belly, swiftly fell back to sleep.But Sylvia knew she would not.Putting him back in his crib, she went to the en-suite bathroom, closing the door silently behind her. She turned on the shower and dropped the robe to the floor. As the steam enveloped her body, she climbed into the marble shower. Sh

  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Fifty-seven

    By the time they arrived back in Rio two hours later, one thought kept repeating in Xavier’s mind. One thought over and over.‘Here,’ he said to her, covering her shoulders with his tuxedo jacket as they entered the lobby of his building. She threw him a grateful glance. Her red designer gown now hung askew on her body, the zipper broken from when he’d ripped the dress off her earlier.As they passed the security guards, Xavier glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. His white shirt was rumpled, the cuffs hanging open, his tie crumpled in the pocket of his trousers. Sylvia was looking at him breathlessly, her eyes luminescent, her makeup hopelessly smudged and her lips full and bruised.He saw the security guards nudge each other with a smirk, and he knew he and Sylvia had fooled no one. There could be no doubt what they had been doing.Normally he wouldn’t care if people knew he’d taken a woman as his lover. But this was different. This was Sylvia. And one thought kept going th

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    Trembling, Sylvia folded her arms.‘Ah,’ Felipe Oliveira said, stroking his chin with satisfaction as he looked from her to Xavier with canny eyes. ‘Now I understand.’‘No!’ Adriana gasped. ‘It can’t be true!’Sylvia’s gaze rested anxiously on Xavier. His dark eyes were deep as the night sky. She saw him take a deep breath. Then slowly, very slowly, he came toward her. Never looking away from her face, he took her in his arms. Biting her lip in apprehension, Sylvia waited for his jaw to clench with fury and resentment. Waited for him to say something biting and cruel.Instead, he gently kissed her cheek, then turned to face Oliveira and Adriana.‘We weren’t going to tell anyone yet. But yes, Robby is my son. I wanted to wait until after our wedding to make it public. It seemed more proper.’‘Proper?’ Adriana sneered. ‘When have you ever cared about proper?’Xavier stiffened, glaring at her. ‘I have always cared about doing what is right,’ he said in a low voice. ‘I would never leave m

  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Fifty-fiv e

    The Fantasia gala ball was the single most sought-after invitation of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval. Sylvia had read about it in celebrity gossip magazines in the United States. The glamorous event, held in a colonial palace on the Costa Verde south of Rio, attracted beautiful, rich and notorious guests from all around the world. And tonight, Sylvia would be one of them. Tonight, she would be Xavier Regulus’s beloved mistress. His pretend mistress, she corrected herself fiercely.The door of the black Rolls-Royce sedan opened, and she and Xavier stepped out onto the red carpet that led inside the palace, which had once been owned by the Brazilian royal family.Xavier looked brutally dashing in his black tuxedo. Sylvia felt his hungry gaze on her as he took her arm. She tried to ignore it, tried to smile for the benefit of the paparazzi flashing cameras around them, but her body shook beneath the palpable force of his desire.I want you, Sylvia. And I will have you.Liveried doormen in wig

  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Fifty-four

    With a gasp, Sylvia pulled back her hand and slapped his face.‘How dare you!’ she cried.The sound of the slap echoed in the bedroom. He stared at her incredulously, his hand on his cheek. Then his eyes narrowed. ‘Why are you pretending it’s not exactly what you want?’Sylvia sucked in her breath, feeling overwhelmed by need for what she could not—could not—allow herself to have. ‘Even if I want you, Xavier, I know you’re no good for me. It nearly killed me last year after our night together when you kicked me out of your life—’‘Kicked you out of my life?’ he demanded. ‘You’re the one who left!’‘You didn’t try to talk me out of it. You didn’t even ask me to stay!’‘I was trying to do what was best for you,’ he said. ‘I knew you wanted a husband, children. You needed a boss who didn’t demand your life and soul. You needed a man who could love you as I cannot. So I gave you up, when it was the last thing I wanted! And what did you do?’ He glowered. ‘You let yourself get pregnant by s

  • Abducted By The Billionaire Prince    Chapter Fifty-three

    It's only an act. Only an act!But in spite of the constant repetition of those words, Sylvia’s heart still didn’t believe it as she looked up into Xavier’s dark eyes.‘Really,’ the other man drawled in accented English. His eyes traced over Sylvia. ‘She’s certainly beautiful. But this is all too convenient.’ He folded his arms over his belly. ‘You’ve fabricated this affair, so I’ll still sell you Açoazul.’Sylvia’s pulse hammered in her chest. Convinced that their plan had failed before it had half started, she pulled away from Xavier. But he held her tight in his powerful arms, even as he never looked away from the other man.‘Why would I do that?’ Xavier said coolly.The man looked at Adriana’s tall beauty, then back at Xavier with a scowl. ‘You know why.’‘You’d be a fool not to sell me Açoazul,’ Xavier said sharply. ‘No other competitor has offered you a fraction of the price. Théo St. Raphaël certainly won’t. Don’t lose a fortune based on some unfounded fear!’The older man stif

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