ISABELLA POVThe party is in full swing and Dominic Is still nowhere to be found.“Not here yet?” Rafaelle walks up to me, a simple smile on his face, “You look, Gorgeous Isabella, if you were mine I wouldn't make you wait” I share a laugh with him, “But of course, you belong to my best friend and I guess he just has much more important things to care about” he shrugs taking my arm in his“Grace got kidnapped,” I say rolling him to the bar, as we get a couple of champagne glutes.“Did she?” he frowns taking a sip of his drink “If Dominoc wanted her rescued in two hours, he would send his men and it will be done for good, how long did you say he has been gone for?” he turns to me a deeper frown on his face.Confusion overtakes my features, “Almost twenty-four hours” I say slowly pressing my lips together, I grab my drink downing the rest of the champagne in anger and grabbing another.Now dont think too much about it, Dominic is still your husband, he just has a small soft spot for G
ISABELLA POV“Going to the man in the black suit at the back at fifteen thousand dollars, going and gone!” the host says as someone buys out a piece of jewelry “Now to the main part of the night” he startsThis is why I was so worried about Dominic not coming, the women and I had agreed to be auctioned off to the men for a dinner date and the money would go to a charity of our choice, not the Delucas. And this was it, of course, he will have to auction for me, my eyes move around the room landing on Grace with my sisters-in-law, giggling and laughing.“You were gone for hours I turn to Dominic, you abandoned me in Monaco and ran straight into your mistress's arms at the sign of a little distress”“You can't call her my mistress after what we shared in Monaco Isabella” he whispers to me, his face serious, “I’m really done with the accusations, you shouldn't be saying things like that to me, Grace is my Ex yes, but she's a friend and thereby connected to me”He turns to me, a deep fro
ISABELLA POVThe stage is high and I can feel and see everyone's eyes on me, my husband just auctioned for another woman, the mocking stares, the side laughter, I almost want to climb down but my eyes meet with Bianca seated at the far right, if she had enough money, she would take me right away.“For the stunning Mrs Deluca, we can begin at ten thousand dollars,” the host says and the room erupts into a mocking laughter“A hundred million” Dominic yells from his seat“I’m sorry Sir, but I assume you didn't pay attention to the rules, you paid for Miss Grace so you can't do the same for another woman” the host turns back to me“Fifty thousand dollars!” the older man with the scar from before yells from behind sending a smirk Dominic wayHis hands fold together in anger and to my surprise, Rafaelle raises his number plate.“Ten million dollars” he sends me a soft smile, always ready to rescue me and be the best of friends that he can be.“Fifty million dollars” the older man screams an
ISABELLA POVHe lets go of my lips, leaving a bruise in its wake, before my brain can comprehend, my hands raise and a slap is thrown across his face.A gasp is heard from the driver and he stops the car as we are already at home.My fingers shaking in anger, my brows drawn together, my eyes raise to meet his shocked and angry ones.I push the car door open in anger and walk into the dark house, I'm yet to renovate and it still looks the same as before, dark and brooding.The slam of the door halts me at the bottom of the stairs.“You won’t ever in your life do that again” he whispers his voice deep, low, and threatening.I turn to him, my eyes narrowed, “Dare me” I threaten back turning back to the stairs His steps are heavy and fast and he grips my arm stopping me, “why the fuck are you angry?””I saved you from Giovani, I brought you back home safe and sound” he calls out anger in his voice “You put me in the position to be saved!!” I yell back pulling my arms away from him my ey
ISABELLA POV“Mrs Deluca, Mr Deluca would like to see you in his office” Thelma walks into our bedroom as I pull on my suit for the day.I'm sure the office will be filled with gossip about what happened at the party, me, Grace, Dominic, and the auction, I should have scraped the auction when I had the chance if I knew it was going to come to this.“I’ll be there in a minute Thelma” I turn to her with a nodShe nervously wrings her hands turning to leave but turns back to me, her eyes worried.“What is it, Thelma? Is there something you want to tell me?” I raise a brow at her confused about why she's standing there like a kid about to beg for candy.“Sir Dominic hasn't always been like this” she whispers, “angry, arrogant” she bits her lip, “I held him when he was a baby, I mended his wounds when he was a teenager” she sighs her voice heavy, tears in her eyes, “He's a good boy, but his father” she shakes her head, immediately looking around to see if anyone is coming.The topic of his
ISABELLA POVI sink myself easily into work as soon as I'm at work, but today, I get distracted.The smell of Dominic whiffs into my nose randomly when my door opens and closes, welcoming people in, meeting my meeting.The thought of his half-naked body stains my mind and I put down the wrong numbers, his blue eyes the night in Monaco when he-”I sigh, “I have to get out of this office” I pick up my phone dialing Bianca's number.“Hey baby girl, WhatsUp” she calls into the phone“Where are you? I will literally come and meet you anywhere right now”She giggles, “I'm on set at that new boutique, I'll tell my manager you're coming,” she says immediately sensing my urgency.I sigh, turning to my assistant, “I’ll be gone for the rest of the day, I have dinner with my family tonight, so postpone the rest of my meeting for tomorrow”She nods, helping me pack up my bag, I walk out of the office early and the stares that follow are daunting, it's like everyone thinks they know what’s happenin
ISABELLA POV“Raffaelle” I call out surprised, “what are you doing here? “I was around the neighborhood and spotted those outside” he points outside to the 10 large bodyguards patrolling the streets and doors, Dominic assigned to me, “And I thought there's only no-one that moves with that much security in this city and decided to drop by and see you”I send him a sweet smile, “Dominic is just super paranoid” I turn to Bianca “You know Rafaelle, Dominic's best friend” I introduce again“I know, I saw him at the wedding and in Bali remember,” she sends him a sultry smile and he turns his attention to her raising her hands to meet his in a handshake.He places a kiss on the back of her hand their eyes locking, it almost feels like I'm interrupting some private moment.Her phone rings at that moment cutting them off, she turns to the phone a frown taking over her features, “it's my manager, I have a shoot in Paris tonight and I need to be on my flight” she pours turning to me.I nod, Ra
DOMINIC POV“And where is my wife at the moment?” I say talking the phone at her personal bodyguard as the car carries me home, It's 7 pm and I remember Thelma telling me this last night about dinner with her family, but she's yet to be home. “Uhm sir, she's at the skating rink,” he says his voice nervous “And?” I call, my voice low and threatening “Mr. Rafaelle brought her here, they are currently here together,” he says panic in his voice like they are doing something bad.I frown but dont think about it too much, Rafaelle is my friend and is probably trying to bring her more Tk my side and he is a very friendly man, he has always been the friendly one since high school and I the brooding one, I changed in high school, after my father-”I halt my thoughts turning to the driver, “We are heading to my wife instead” I instruct him watching him turn the car around, the others following.Easily we spot her cars and guards, I had doubled her so security since her exposure to the head C
Isabella POV “What? No deal!!” he yells out, pacing the room I shrug, “Then we will be stuck here for a very long time Rafaelle” I mutter my eyes on his pacing figure “I can't trust you!” he turns to me with pointed fingers I sigh turning my head away from him as I put up more drama to make him believe in me. “I...I just want to see it live, see him one more time as he betrays me” I say my voice cracking as I speak, my cheeks staining with tears. “I need it as some sought-of closure before I move on with you Rafaelle” I grit out, trying to convince him He bites his lips, his expression changing as he stares down at me with a look of unbelief. “How can I trust you?” he lifts a brow at me, his voice low and threatening “Why the sudden change of heart?” he asks further, his voice cautious. “I can't run from you Rafaelle, you have made that clear, and if Dominic is actually going to betray me and marry Grace, then I want to see it,” I say harshly, convincing him completely He
ISABELLA POV I watch Rafaelle as his phone rings multiple times after his call with grace but he refuses to pick up the calls I frown still silent as I watch him, after force-feeding me he has barely spoken a word to me. The sunlight from the sun bounces into the cabin, the sound of the waves smashing against the side of the boat, and all I can think about is finding an escape out of here. Rafaelle walks back into the room, how eyes fixed on me, his unwavering gaze makes my skin crawl and I physically want to hurl myself out of the chair I'm tied to. “You know, Bella, Dominic will be married in a few days” he spreads his arm out, his voice low and menancing. “Can you believe it?” he smirks moving closer I roll my teary eyes ignoring his words, I feel a pang of sadness hit me that Dominic might be playing directly into their trap but at the same time, a tinge of hope fills me. “Dominic won’t marry Grace, Rafaelle and we both know it” I grit out finally responding to his
GRACE POV I smile to myself as I leave Francesca’s office, my kitten heels clicking on the marble floor loudly. My eyes move to my phone screen, tapping the stop button as I was recording the entire conversation between Francesca and I Now, all I have to do is alter the recording to ensure that only Francesca is seen in a bad light, and I? The victim. I smile happily to myself as I leave the office, “I need to continue with my next plan of action” I head back to my car, happy that my plan is coming to fruition, it's been months of waiting and planning, and finally, in a few days, I will have everything. I almost jump in the seat of my car as I take the long drive to the shipping docks. “Bianca” I mutter, my lips set in a thin line as I park my car. I walk directly to the caravan where we kept her and the guard eyes me. “Mam, you're here, Miss Francesca didn't inform me you were coming” he lifts a suspicious brow at me I pull out my purse, my fingers clenching the l
GRACE POV “Just a few more days,” I mutter to myself, pacing my new bedroom. Soon, I will be moving to Dominic's room, and nobody will be able to stop me. I sigh heavily, the sun reflecting down on my figure, I could swear Matilda and Dominic were talking about me last night in his bedroom but I could not hear them properly. I was sneaking closer to the room when they caught me, I pause, “I hope he doesn't suspect a thing yet?” I frown. I also can’t believe Dominic has yet to say yes to the wedding, he has been dragging his feet about it while Madam Deluca and I made preparations “I need to get him to agree to this quickly,” I mutter to myself, grabbing my purse. I need to find the man and get an answer from him quickly before our plans are destroyed. My car comes to a halt in front of his office and eyes follow my movement as I walk in. I know many of them have gossiped about me, especially after I released the news of our marriage to the press But I dont care, I'm li
Dominic POV I push the door of my bedroom open and my gaze lands on a sight that I've been dragging myself through for weeks since Bella’s kidnapping I sigh heavily, my eyes scanning the area, bottles of alcohol at the side of the bedroom, Bella’s clothes strewn across the bed where I had dragged them out in anguish, sleeping with the materials for weeks to no end. The balcony doors have been permanently shut close with a board displaying pictures and a list of suspects. My feet carry me to the board, and the feeling in my chest prompts me to reach out towards the table. I've never had a reason to suspect Grace in Bella’s kidnapping. “But maybe I should,” I say to myself, pulling out a picture of her, I turn to the board pinning it right beside Rafaelle. I mean she has motive now that I think about it and with her pushing for the wedding so bad, I have more reason to suspect her. I bit my lip nervously, I don’t know if I should straight up accuse her and then alert her
Bianca POV Just like a deer caught in headlights, Francesca runs towards me just as the elevator door opens behind me I try to run inside to close it but she grips me pulling out her phone. I grab her by the hair as the elevator doors close, shutting us away from Grace and Dominic. I try to fight, grunting slightly as I grab her by the shirt. We tumble on the floor together and she takes power over me, slamming herself against me and pushing my back into the cold metal floor She pulls out a gun from her side making me squeak out in fear “Don’t kill me!!” I yell out my eyes widening in panic. She laughs wiping the sweat from the top of her forehead, “You escaped and played right back into my trap, you are so dumb Bianca” she laughs pulling me to my feet the gun still pointed at my back “You won't get away with this, Dominic will find out, he will see the security footage” I grit out, my hands raised up in surrender She changes the course of the elevator down to the gar
Dominic POV “What are the both of you doing here?” my voice booms across the hallway, my eyes on Grace and Francesca as they whisper between themselves “Dominic!!” Grace sings, practically shouting while Francesca runs towards the elevator My eyes brows shoot up in shock at Francesca suddenly running away at the sight of me Does she think I'm angry about her taking numerous trips without my approval? I roll my eyes at that, I've been so stuck trying to find Bella that I've lost concentration on every other thing. I sigh heavily as my eyes settle on Grace properly, her eyes move between the elevator door and me as she struts towards me Annoyance bubbles in my throat and my gaze finally settles on the dress she's wearing. My eyes narrows at her impending figure, “What the hell are you doing wearing that dress?” I demand, my voice echoing off the walls She pauses looking down at the dress, “uhm, Dom, I saw the dress and thought you would like it” she says quietly her e
Rafaelle POV I stand on the deck of the ship, the wind whipping in my blonde hair. We are back on sea and on our way back to New York, I didn't know where else to go and Francesca gave no direction so this will be the best decision. And if they find Bianca they can easily bring her back to the ship My knuckles turn white as I grip the ship handle tighter, “No more playing by anybody's rules but mine” I mutter to myself I turn around heading below deck. Bella is seated at the head of the table, one hand tied to the chair and the other scrambling her fork across her plate of food. She looks up as I approach and I can see the fear in her eyes, I bite my lip, smiling slightly to reassure her but she looks away from me I sigh, one of the reasons I want to be back in New York is because I want to kill Dominic for myself, I know Francesca wants to do it but it's my revenge and I plan on taking out Dominic for good. Just as I sit down, my phone rings in my pocket. I glance do
Rafaelle POV “I need you to get Bella out of town, take her to a whole other continent I don’t care but get her out of here quickly before Dominic can get any ideas” Francesca rattles off as she walks towards the car quickly “I can't believe these idiots, one minute with her and they let her escape” My heart pounds in my chest as the evening breeze blows across my skin “Maybe if you had not sat down to drink and if you had carried her yourself we wouldn't be in this mess by now!” she yells back her eyes angry Annoyance erupts in my throat, rolling my eyes at her like she is the head of this plan, Like she controls us. I gulp, “Call Grace, I will get Bella out and I will call you when we are safe” I turn my back against her She huffs, entering the car to the private airport where she will take an urgent trip back to town, just incase Bianca heads there. My feet hit the floor quickly and adrenaline flows through my veins as I head inside the room with Bella. She's asleep