Sasha’s POV"Yes, thank you," I said, bowing my head and repeating my gratitude.When the porridge was served, I focused on eating it.Valentino advised me on several things to be mindful of, emphasizing that I shouldn't appear weak in the company. He suggested I adopt a more professional look, mentioning that black clothes convey strength."High heels are a woman's weapon. If you go to the company in casual clothes and flat shoes, you'll naturally be looked down upon. Even if you don't feel like a strong woman inside, at least make yourself look like one. Your appearance can intimidate people first," he kept advising.I listened carefully while drinking the porridge."I remember everything. I'll buy the right clothes tomorrow," I said.Valentino nodded."Well, I don't know much about the company. What should I do when I go there tomorrow?" I asked, looking at him for guidance.I felt clueless, like an idiot. I didn't know what to do once I was at the company."Set up your chairman'
Sasha’s POVOn my first day in the company, I sat in the chairman's office while Valentino stepped up to straighten things out for me.Several assistants in the secretary's office were directly dismissed.Some old employees were also let go because they didn't cooperate with me.Valentino informed a large number of absent senior managers and old employees that if they didn't want to stay at Rex Corp, they could leave immediately.As the new chairman, my actions sparked dissatisfaction among the employees, but they also pushed everyone to work for me.Anyone who was not willing to work well was shown the door.Some people asked me how the company would operate with so many employees gone. I simply told them, "Business as usual. Open positions will be filled immediately."The first day went relatively smoothly.I also asked Jared to find some bodyguards and secretaries.In the next few days, with Valentino's help, I managed quite well. With Valentino's assistant by my side, the employe
Sasha’s POVI managed to grab my phone and dial Valentino's number, but before I could say much, the phone was snatched away from me and smashed by the men in black.Then, I was forcibly dragged into a car by them. Faced with their strength and skill, there was no way I could resist."Who are you guys and where the hell are you taking me?" I asked, trying to keep calm as they pulled me into the car, but none of them responded.One man in a black suit drove while another sat beside me in the backseat, both keeping a watchful eye on me.The car sped along the road. I began to suspect that the kidnappers were from my own company, perhaps dissatisfied with my leadership at Rex Corp and resorting to kidnapping to force changes."Are you from the company?" I turned and asked the man beside me.I was relieved that it wasn't some random criminal kidnapping me. If it were, my situation would be much worse.They remained silent and professional throughout the journey.Soon, the car pulled into
Sasha’s POV"Kill her; break her bones with all your might!" Mr. Joe exclaimed as he examined his injured hand, tears of pain nearly escaping.This woman is like a wild animal. How dare she bite me?With a chilling state. I fixed my eyes, burning with a determination that promised I would haunt Mr. Joe even in the afterlife."What are you looking at?" Mr. Joe roared, rising from the sofa and slapping me across the face. "I offered you a hand, and you bit me instead!"Several bodyguards lunged at me, tearing at my clothes. They ripped them away in an instant, exposing my trembling shoulders.His men gazed upon my smooth, delicate skin with hunger in their eyes. Even with his injury, Mr. Joe couldn't help licking his dry lips. "Damn, she's beautiful, with flawless skin and body. It's hard for anyone not to want a taste." Mr. Joe squinted at me.I turned my head slowly, meeting his gaze with an intensity that sent a chill down his spine. Without uttering a word, I exuded a silent streng
Sasha’s POVWhen I woke up the next morning, the room was already bright. Valentino hadn't shown up yesterday, and now it seemed he wasn't coming today either. I felt a pang of disappointment as I wanted to thank him for saving me.I hadn't expected Valentino to care about me beyond our contract. Yet, he had acted decisively and saved me. Despite his intimidating presence, I couldn't deny that he had a certain goodness about him. Maybe he was just a tough guy with a softer side.Lying in bed, I felt bored and restless without my phone or any other distractions. I wondered when Emilia would come and if she'd bring my phone.What about the company? I fretted over the chaos that might ensue in my absence. The business had just stabilized, and now I feared it might unravel again.Suddenly, the ward door swung open, and my heart leaped. "Jared, how are you?"Seeing Jared instead of Valentino surprised me."I came to see you, Sasha, and brought you a mobile phone," Jared said, approaching
Sasha’s POVI was bored in the ward, with nothing to do except contact Jared to discuss work.In my idle moments, I played with my phone and scrolled through my Instagram feed.There was some news about Valentino on my IG, and I found myself subconsciously paying attention to him, feeling inexplicably guilty afterwardI checked Valentino's Instagram page. He didn't post frequently; it seemed he rarely used it for personal updates, mostly sharing company news.Feeling bored, I was about to close Instagram when suddenly, the door to the ward opened. In walked a pair of slender legs, and our eyes met—Valentino's and mine.My heart skipped a beat.The thought of Valentino's return flashed through my mind.What does he want now?Nervous inexplicably, my expression betrayed my flustered state. I had expected to see Valentino, but now, I didn't want to face the man standing before me.He seemed terrifying, someone not to be trifled with.The three-year contract suddenly felt daunting. Would
Sasha’s POVEmilia looked at me with concern, distressed by what I might have endured at Valentino's hands. "If Valentino has done anything to you that's not right, I won't let him off the hook.""Well, if he crosses a line I can't accept, I won't tolerate it," I replied with a smile.Jared knocked on the door and entered, holding a stack of papers in his hand."Excuse me, Sasha. Do you have time to talk now?" Jared asked politely."Sure, come on in. This is my best friend, Emilia. You can discuss anything in front of her," I said, gesturing towards Emilia.Jared nodded, entered, closed the door behind him, and handed the documents to me.Throughout this, Emilia eyed Jared with hostility."Well, a beast in human clothing," Emilia muttered coldly.A beast in human clothing? Was she referring to him? What had he done to earn such disdain? How had he become this so-called beast in human form?I frowned at Emilia. I understood her anger stemmed from Valentino's actions, but her hostility
Sasha's POV As I walked through the company, I noticed how everyone greeted me with respect and, in some cases, apprehension. It seemed my absence of just a few days had elevated my presence to something almost intimidating.Entering the chairman's office, I found Jared immersed in his work, glancing up as I approached. "Sasha, you're here?" He said, surprised to see me back at work so soon."Yes," I nodded, curious. "What's going on with everyone in the company? They look at me like I'm a ghost."Jared explained, “Valentino dealt with Mr. Joe firmly. Word spread and people are cautious no, fearing they might meet the same fate as Mr. Joe."Thinking of Mr. Joe, my frown deepened. "What happened to Mr. Joe?""He's in prison," Jared replied. "They gathered evidence of his illegal dealings. He's looking at a long sentence.""Good," I muttered, my teeth gritted. Mr. Joe had almost assaulted me. Prison seemed like a fitting punishment for him.After a brief chat with Jared, I delved into
Valentino’s POV I promised if I found Sasha, I was going to make her my wife. This time for real and no longer would she be a placeholder. “Arrgh,” I screamed as Jared let me in on Sasha being kidnapped by that fool, Dave Martin. I had beaten him to a bulb and had him leave her alone. After all these years, all these moments, he had been lurking, laying siege to Sasha, and I..I foolishly let her leave into harm’s way. Sasha was a beautiful bird and a lot of predators were circling her, trying to take advantage of her. “Get me Dave on the line, Jared,” my voice hurried as I threw my fists in the air. “Dave Partner boss?” Jared questioned. I didn’t know if to smack his face or to laugh this over with but there were no jokes tonight. Only thing on my mind was getting Sasha back, here with me, whole and as my real wife. “Fuck it Jared, I’m talking about Dave Martin, get him on the line now. Didn’t you just tell me he’s the one who’s got Sasha and you're talking some gibberish.”
Sasha’s POV “Let me go…please..let..me..g…” I had a wood plank on my head and I lost consciousness. It was at this moment I wished I had not run away from Valentino. Problems seemed to follow me each time I was away from him. He was a refuge and a strong fortress for me and this time, more than ever, I hoped he’d found me. I felt a weight over my body as I slowly gained consciousness. Studying the environment, I opened my right eye slowly, as it hurt so much, and my head hurt so much to open even my very own eyes. I was tied up in a chair and I couldn’t tell where exactly I was but it didn’t seem like a warehouse. I could tell this was someone’s house but couldn’t tell who exactly it was. “I am blindfolded so how do I even know where this is,” I uttered under my breath. Maybe I should scream and some passer-by could come to my rescue or call the police and I could get out of here. I didn’t want any of those men who must have brought me here to find me here. They were damn mea
Sasha’s POV “What was that?” I yelled, my voice shaking with frustration. I couldn’t believe Emilia had let me down like this. She was the only one I had trusted with my secret, the only person who knew exactly where I was. I had begged her not to tell anyone until I was far away, safe in Spain. And now, it felt like everything was crashing down around me. I felt this deep pain in my chest like someone was pressing down on me with the weight of a thousand boulders. Everything I loved had been ripped away from me. My family was gone, my company had been stolen from me, and even Valentino—my Valentino—was no longer by my side. There was nothing left for me here. Nothing. But when I heard Valentino’s voice over the phone, it did something to me. It was like a tiny spark in a room full of darkness. My heart, which had felt so cold and broken, suddenly stirred with the smallest flicker of life. “I can’t do this anymore,” I whispered, talking to no one but myself. “I can’t stay here.
Valentino's POV I grab Emilia’s phone and frantically try to call Sasha, but I can’t get through. Frustrated, I look at Emilia coldly and ask, "Do you know where she is? What do you know about her?" "I... I don’t know," Emilia says, frowning. "Sasha is being super careful this time. She didn’t tell me where she’s staying. She said you might come looking for her through me, so she didn’t want to risk it because she thinks I can't keep a secret." Emilia pouts, looking all upset. "But it's late. Maybe she's already asleep, so not picking up isn’t that weird." Jared turns to me. "What about tomorrow?" I frown, thinking it over for a second. "Track her number. Find out where Sasha is," I say, determined. "Alright, I’ll get someone to track her phone and find her," Jared replies, nodding. Emilia just watches us, looking a little confused. She pouts again, like she’s thinking something over, but doesn’t say anything after a while. Finally, she shrugs. "You guys do your thing. I’m
Sasha's POV Fred and I are really funny after we drink too much. We keep guessing things and playing games, and we hold each other a lot.Gabriel looks annoyed as he tries to separate us, not wanting us to keep holding on to each other."Enough already! Stop it!" Gabriel frowns and says, "You’re both drunk.""We're not drunk!""Yeah, you’re the one who's drunk!" We both stare at him for a moment and then start laughing.Gabriel looks frustrated as he watches us, knowing he can’t change our minds.Luckily, Fred and I pass out after drinking. That gives Gabriel some time to clean up after us.Over the next two days, I talked with Gabriel and Fred about starting a film company in the United States.In the end, Gabriel agrees that Fred and I can work together to plan this film company.…Valentino's POV I keep searching for Sasha, but with Gabriel and Sandra causing problems for me, I haven’t heard from her at all.Jared comes to my house and tells me what he’s found during his search.
Valentino's POV Sasha disappeared, and for two days, I, Valentino, searched for her, but I couldn’t find her anywhere.Jared was looking everywhere too. He tried all kinds of things, but it felt like someone was always getting in the way. Many surveillance cameras had been hacked, and some videos were missing, so he couldn’t find Sasha directly.I was left with no choice but to use the simplest method: sending a lot of people to ask about Sasha’s whereabouts.All over the city, people were taking photos of Sasha, trying to find out where she was.But no one knew where she had gone.It was like she had vanished completely.I was losing my mind. I couldn’t believe Sasha had disappeared from my life, and I just couldn’t accept it.“It’s time for you to eat, sir,” one of the maids said, sounding worried about me. I had lost a lot of weight in just two days. “Even if you don’t eat, your wife might not show up. You should have a good meal. I don’t think she would want to see you like this.
Sasha's POV I looked at Gabriel like he was an idiot. "If I went to be a cook with this kind of skill, I'd probably get myself killed..."Seriously, who doesn’t know how to make hot pot? It’s just tossing everything into a pot to cook. When I was studying abroad and craved hot pot, I used to make it in my dorm all the time."Really? It all looks so delicious. You seem pretty talented. How could you get yourself killed? If anyone dares to mess with you, I'll take care of them first," Gabriel said, grabbing his chopsticks to sneak a taste.Once I finished setting the table, I told him, "Sit down and eat.""Alright," he replied.But just as Gabriel was about to sit, the doorbell rang."Who is it?" I asked, looking at him."I'll go check. Maybe it's some big star!" Gabriel joked as he ran to the door, chatting briefly with whoever was outside.From the sound of it, it seemed like more than one person had shown up. A little curious, I peeked out and saw a familiar face.Why is he here?I
Sasha's POV The maid stopped me as I was leaving and asked, "Where are you going, ma'am?"It seemed like she was confused about why I was leaving. Everyone always thought my husband and I were close, so this sudden departure must've seemed strange. Maybe they thought Sandra had some evil plan to push me out.The maids didn’t trust Sandra. They knew she wasn’t a good person, and it seemed like they wanted me to stay.I smiled at the maid and said, "I'm leaving. I'll see you later."I tried to walk out with my head held high, pretending everything was okay. But inside, I was breaking. I was sad, hurt, and didn’t want to leave at all.As I walked out, I could feel Sandra’s eyes on me. I knew she was smiling, satisfied with herself. With me gone, she probably thought she could hide better and make Valentino forget about me.The maids were glaring at Sandra, clearly not happy with her. But she didn’t care. She knew she would be the lady of the house soon and could treat them however she l
Valentino's POV I came back home, but I couldn’t sleep all night.Early the next morning, my phone rang. It was my grandfather telling me to come back to the old house.“I got it. I’ll be there soon,” I replied before hanging up.After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I went to Sasha’s room. She drank too much last night and stayed up late, so she was still fast asleep. Her sleeping posture was a bit messy, almost childlike, but she looked so cute.I tucked her in before heading downstairs.“My wife is still sleeping. When she wakes up, make sure to prepare some breakfast and soup to help with the hangover. If she’s not feeling well, call a doctor to check on her. I’m heading out.”“Yes, sir.”I drove off, leaving the maids to continue their work. I overheard them talking about yesterday and how drunk my wife had gotten.But one thing was clear—they knew I cared about her. They’d make sure she was well taken care of.I pulled up in front of the old house in my car. As I stepped