"So, does this mean I'm not your prisoner anymore?" Adeline asked.
"You were never my prisoner, Adeline. I just didn't want to lose you again, so I didn't let you out." Damien smirked.
"I could still leave," Adeline scoffed.
"I would advise against that. Don't forget who I am. If you thought your asshole ex-boyfriend had connections, my reach is way far out. More than you can ever imagine," Damien said.
Adeline's eyes turned dark at the mention of Tommy.
Damien instantly felt bad. It must be a sore subject for her. "But I would never hurt you like he did. If I inflict pain on you, it would be for a good reason," he said and grinned devilishly.
Adeline rolled her eyes.
A week had passed since their wedding, but Adeline still refused to open up to him completely. He wanted to ask her about Tommy and what kind of things he did to her so he could plan his punishment, but she refused to open her mouth about it. She kept insisting sh
Who is she? Any theories?
Damien narrowed his eyes. Even though she looked familiar, he couldn't recognize her. Was she someone he had hired at a different club? Someone he had done wrong. Maybe he killed one of her family members. If that was the case, maybe he could pay her off for her grief. He was cruel, but not heartless. "Am I supposed to know you?" he asked. He squinted his eyes. She really did look extremely familiar. "Typical. Can't seem to remember the girl you fucked over in high school, huh? You've been with so many hoes that I was merely an object, right?" Destiny said. Ah, so she was one of his conquests. He looked into her eyes and it suddenly clicked. "Alison Gomez. You look different," he said slowly. "And you changed your name." Memories came flashing back. She sure had reasons to hate him since he framed her and sent her to prison. But how would she find out? Damien stared at her intently. She looked nothing like how she looked in high school. Aside
"I don't want you to go out without me anymore," Damien said to Adeline after he went back home. "Excuse me? I thought you said I can have more freedom as long as I take one of your bodyguards with me?" Adeline glared at him. "I know what I said, but I'm taking it back. It's not safe out there for you," he declared. He was right all along. This news made Adeline angry. "I knew it was too good to be true. I thought you were starting to trust me and treating me as your equal now that I'm your wife, but here we are again. You are treating me like your property. What's next? Are you going to control my eating habit too? How many peas should I eat for dinner, Master?" Adeline rambled on. Damien sighed. "You are acting like a child. Get
Adeline wasn't angry at Damien, but she was annoyed. How could he promise her freedom then take it away? Was it all a lie to get her to like him again? That's low even for him. And on top of that, he kept seducing her! She was fully determined not to let him touch her all night, but he seduced her in the shower and then again in the bedroom. Goddamn him to hell. Maybe she'll mess with him. That'd show him! She worked on designing some clothes for a while then headed to the garden. She paused as she was passing by his office. Was he in? She decided to check. She quietly opened the door and went inside. The office was empty, and no one was around. No one but her. At least she wasn't constantly being watched anymore. She didn't see any of his men on her way into the office. Damien must've told them not to bother her anymore. She looked around. Damien's office was spotless. Not a speck of dust in sight. Everything was perfe
"I'm outta here. I'll get that signature later," Robbie announced, then left the room for good this time. "Me too. Hope you get that stain out," Adeline said and tried to leave, but Damien grabbed her wrist. "Nah uh, missy. You aren't going anywhere without getting punishment," Damien growled. Adeline looked at him, wide-eyed. "Punishment for what? I didn't do anything!" she exclaimed. She knew Damien didn't believe a word she said. "Likely story. I know you rigged the pen too. It's obvious. And yes, this shirt is expensive," Damien said. "Well, maybe you should stop being so flashy and buy reasonably priced clothes," she argued. She wanted to buy herself more time, but Damien wasn't having it. She tried not to let him see that him staring at her was affecting her, but he knew her weaknesses by now. She yanked her hand free, then stepped back a few. "Come here," he said. "No." "Come on, I won't hurt you," Damien smirked
"A party?" Adeline looked confused. "Yes, get ready by five and we'll be on our way," Damien said. He made the final decision to take Adeline to Tariq's sister's party. He would be with her the whole time, so it shouldn't be a problem. "Why are you taking me?" Adeline asked. "What do you mean, why? You are my wife. Who else would I take?" Damien raised his eyebrows. Adeline didn't say anything else. Maybe she didn't fully accept her status as his wife yet, Damien thought. After a few more hours had passed, they were on the way to the party. Damien looked at Adeline. Her face was flushed and her hand was trembling slightly. "Why do you look so nervous?" Damien chuckled. "It's just a party. You've been to those before." "It had been a few years since I've been to one?" Adeline said quietly. She looked out the window and released a sigh. Few years? Damien didn't understand. Adeline was still young. Was she just sitting aro
Damien kept wishing the conversation with Tyriq would end quickly, but the man could talk. Damien couldn't be impolite and interrupt him, but he was eager to go back to Adeline. After almost twenty minutes, they were finally done. "Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you away from your lovely wife. Please, do go back to her and enjoy the rest of the party," Tariq said. Damien was relieved. Finally. "Damien, wait!" He halted. What now? He turned around and saw Miriam standing there, smiling. He looked around her, but she was alone. Where was his wife? "You know, just because we didn't end up getting engaged doesn't mean we couldn't be friends." Miriam pouted. "I didn't think it was appropriate. Your family traditions are different than mine and they disapprove of a young girl hanging out with men like me unless we are married. Or am I wrong about that?" Damien narrowed his eyes. "No, you are right. But still...you could've
Damien felt hopeless. No matter what he said, Addie wasn't having it. If he said something sweet, it made her cry even harder. "What can I do to make it up to you, Addie? I'll do anything you want," Damien said desperately. "I...I don't know. I think I want to be alone for a while if that's okay," she said. She wiped her tears. Damien sighed. He was afraid she would ask that. "Okay. I'll go to my office and get some work done," he said tried to touch the red mark on her face, but she turned away. He didn't know what else to say, so he left. Damien went back to his office and called Robbie. "It's time. We are going to get that bastard Tommy. Gather some men and head to Chicago," Damien ordered. "Are you sure about that?" Robbie asked. "You remember he was a cop, right?" "I don't give a fuck if he was the president. He is going to pay for what he did to Addie. She acts like everyone is out to hurt her and she will
Damien stood in front of the burning building. The fire department was called, but most of the club was already consumed in flame. The club was a goner. "Did anyone get hurt?" Damien asked Akiko. His face was grim. He would lose a lot of money. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was still a waste of business. "Not that I know of. It seems that the dancers were warned ahead of time. That means someone did this intentionally," she said. "I see," Damien said. He turned to one of his men. "Pay off our insider at the police department and tell them to rule it out as an accident. I don't need police sniffing around this property. I want to find things out on my own," he said. Was Enzo behind this? he wondered. He was mad about how Damien took his knee out and decided to burn his own club down. No, Enzo was spineless. He was all talk and no play. He wouldn't do something drastic like this. Was it Alison? The thought occurred to him, but i
Damien walked into his office and squinted his eyes. Something was off. No one dared to enter his office and mess with his things because he always found out. But someone did dare and that someone was in a heap of trouble. He smirked as he saw a tiny handprint on his desk that most likely belonged to the culprit. "Mila? Get in here, right now!" he yelled. He leaned back in his chair and smiled when he heard the pitter-patter of small feet approaching. "Da, papa?" a small voice spoke from the entrance. He stared at the tiny version of Adeline in front of him. She had just turned five. Mila had deep blue eyes like him and Adeline and thick brown hair. She wore a white cotton dress that Addie made for her that made her look like a princess. His little printsessa. "Did you touch the cookie jar on my desk?" he said and narrowed his eyes. Mila looked down on the floor with her hands behind her back. "No..."
Damien observed Adeline's face. Was she scared? Upset? Angry? He couldn't tell as she was just staring at him without showing any kind of emotion. "Addie?" Damien called her, breaking her out of her trance. Adeline slowly turned toward Damien. "You dragged Tommy over here. All the way from Chicago?" Her voice shook. Damien nodded. "You asked me to bring him here, remember? So...um...happy birthday?" Tears streamed down her face. She bit her lower lips as if to stop herself from sobbing loudly. Damien was taken aback. Maybe he shouldn't have brought him over. It was upsetting her more, and that was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want to make her cry on her birthday. "Malen'kaya ptitsa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Damien said. Tommy finally spoke. He looked at Adeline straight into her eyes. "Addie, baby. Look what this monster did to me! He beat me to a pulp then tortured me. Make him stop. I am
Tommy wailed like a street cat as Damien broke his fourth finger. "Stop crying like a little bitch. I thought you were a cop. Aren't they supposed to be tough motherfuckers?" Damien said irritably. If he had to keep listening to Tommy's screaming, eventually, he'd become deaf. "Let me go, asshole. I told you I didn't do anything wrong. So what if I smacked her around a little? I was just disciplining her because I was too afraid to lose her," Tommy said. He could barely talk as he was gasping for breath. Damien grabbed the back of Tommy's head then slammed his face on the table in front of him. Tommy started coughing out blood. After he was done, he stared at the table with a horrified expression as two of his front teeth were now rested comfortably on top of it. "Wha...what did you do?" he managed to say between choking and coughing. "Looks like I rearranged your teeth a bit. But back to business. I don't appreciate you acting like it was oka
Damien was in Chicago, watching and observing Tommy's movements. He ended up staying home with Adeline after that night as he woke up with a sick hangover. Stupid drug.... He flushed it all down the toilet. "I'm sorry for making you take it. I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes," Adeline had said. Damien wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "I'm glad you did. Now we are even." "You don't have to go, Damien. Can't we just forget about Tommy? I don't even think about him anymore because he is dead to me," she whispered against his chest. Damien stroked her hair slowly. He knew Adeline didn't like the idea of hurting someone, even though that was someone who abused her constantly. She may want to forget all about it, but Damien couldn't. Not after the bruises, he left on her beautiful body. "I want him dead, Addie. I will bring him to you like you asked, but if you don't kill him, I will," Damien said.
It didn't take Damien long to recover, just as Nancy predicted. He was back on his feet within a few weeks. He decided to go back to business. Robbie had been filling him in about everything that was going on. He even gave him regular updates on Tommy. "Do you want me to kidnap him and bring him to the warehouse?" Robbie asked. "No, I want to do this personally. Tommy is mine," Damien said. "But you haven't recovered fully yet," Robbie raised his eyebrows. "I am well enough to travel," Damien said dismissively. "If Addie found out you are about to take a long trip, she will kill you." Robbie laughed. Damien winced. He forgot about that. She had been taking care of him for the past few days, which consisted of constant scolding because he refused to stay in bed. "I'll make up an excuse." "Good luck with that," Robbie said. Later that day, Damien brought up the subject. "No." Damien groaned. He was afraid
Damien tried not to collapse as long as he could. He didn't want to look weak in front of Adeline, but the pain became unbearable and he had lost too much blood. That bitch got him good. How did she learn how to twist a knife like that? Hopefully, she didn't hit any of his vital organs. He didn't want to die before he had the chance to kill Tommy. He lay on the ground with his eyes closed. He could hear Akiko screaming at Yuri to get the van ready, but he couldn't hear Adeline. Where was his wife? "A...Addie..." he managed to let the word out. It was starting to get difficult to breathe. Something soft touched his forehead. A hand, he realized as it was gently stroking his hair. "I'm here." Adeline's voice was soft and loving. He had always dreamed of her speaking to him that way. Maybe she was taking pity on him because he was hurt. Damien opened his eyes and saw her face. Her cheeks were wet, soaked with tears. Was she crying?
Damien ran into the house as soon as they arrived. "Where is Addie?" he roared. Odette came running. "What's going on?" she asked frantically. "Adeline. Where is she?" he repeated. "Ms. Adeline was outside when her friend visited," Odette said. "Is everything okay, sir?" Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Alison was already here. Damien's eyes glowed with anger. If she put a scratch on her body, he'd cut her arms off. Damien walked toward the garden before answering. He saw one of his men, Luke, standing at the entrance. "Is my wife out there?" Damien tried to keep his cool. He realized Luke had no idea that Alison was dangerous as he didn't look alert. "Mrs. Sky and her friend went into the bedroom," Luke said. Why the hell didn't he follow Alison and Adeline? Damien decided to be angry at Luke later. But, first, he needed to go to the bedroom and handle Alison. He hoped it wasn't too late. He quickly ran
Adeline was restless. She had been waiting for Damien for a few minutes now. She knew it hadn't been that long since he had left, but It felt like she had been waiting for an eternity. She went to her little library and tried to read a book but couldn't pay attention. She decided to sit in the garden instead. She stayed out for a few minutes and stood up to go back inside but stopped as she saw Odette walking towards her. "Ma'am, there is someone who wanted to see you," Odette said. "Who?" Adeline was surprised. How can she have visitors? It wasn't like she had a social life. Was it Robbie? Or Natasha? "A woman. She said she is an old friend from high school," she said. Adeline was even more confused. An old friend? "Did she say her name?" Adeline asked. "No. She wanted it to be a surprise. The guard is holding her at the gate for your own safety." Odette said, then handed her an iPad so she could look at the security f
Damien stood in front of the burning building. The fire department was called, but most of the club was already consumed in flame. The club was a goner. "Did anyone get hurt?" Damien asked Akiko. His face was grim. He would lose a lot of money. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was still a waste of business. "Not that I know of. It seems that the dancers were warned ahead of time. That means someone did this intentionally," she said. "I see," Damien said. He turned to one of his men. "Pay off our insider at the police department and tell them to rule it out as an accident. I don't need police sniffing around this property. I want to find things out on my own," he said. Was Enzo behind this? he wondered. He was mad about how Damien took his knee out and decided to burn his own club down. No, Enzo was spineless. He was all talk and no play. He wouldn't do something drastic like this. Was it Alison? The thought occurred to him, but i