YVONNE "Tell him we're in the sea!" I ordered. She looked at me incredulously. "What?" she asked with disbelief. "Sea?!" "Yes! I'm sure we're on a yacht or another water vehicle of sorts. Can't you feel the motion?" I desperately asked. "Okay, okay! I just want to get out of here!" she retorted before turning back to the phone. "Yvonne assumes we're on a yacht," I heard her tell Vlad. She stopped to listen to whatever he was saying. "Yes! Please hurry!" she cried. "Vlad, I'm scared!" My nostrils flared while looking at her. Why does she have to be with me? But oh well, I won't be able to talk to Vladimir if she isn't here. More importantly, being with her upped the chances of being saved. Now I wouldn't have to worry that Vlad might not pay the ransom or worse, just let me die at the hands of my abductor. Especially now that it's only a matter of time before I get exposed for my real identity. I don't know if he knew about the article I found on the internet. I wasn't able
YVONNE"Hey!" Jade yelled. "Where are you taking her?"My goodness! Why does she have to intervene? It's not like she could do anything against these men!For fuck's sake, we were in the same boat! Literally and figuratively! Does she want to get hurt too? I thought as they dragged me out the door struggling."Yvonne!" she screamed desperately.I kept thrashing, trying to get myself free from their grasp even though I knew it was futile. I was dragged across a narrow hallway until we stopped in front of a door. The other man knocked twice before pushing it open. They rashly threw me in. My legs fumbled, causing me to fall. I winced in pain but I made sure not to make any sound."Get up!" somebody grabbed my hair to pull me up. My teeth sank on my bottom lip in an attempt to stop myself from screaming.It was so painful! I thought my scalp would be peeled off from my head! Damn it!I looked up and saw a man standing in front of a bed. I gasped as my head started to run wild.My eyes w
WARNING. GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AHEAD.YVONNEHe raised his hand to cup one bosom inside it. I shut my lids tightly. I don't want to see what he's going to do to me. He gently cupped my breast, his thumb circling my nipple. I thrashed and tried to move away from him despite being restrained."Stop moving!" he snapped. His hold on my chest tightened."No! You stop this!" I growled. I am so mad. How dare he touch me like that? I want to kill him right now!My jaw clenched when he crouched down and buried his nose against my neck. I wanted to kick him away from me but I couldn't move my legs. Damn it."Aaah!" I screamed so loudly when I felt him moving down, trailing kisses on my skin."Stop!" I growled. He laughed as he took a step back away from me. I sighed in relief until I saw him grip his whip again.Oh no...I watched him raise his hand and snapped it in the air. The leather strap landed on my side, the tip curled and hit my back. I bit my lip to stop myself from making any sound that mi
VLADIMIR"Shit! You're bleeding!" Mike hissed when the crossfire finally ceased. "We have to take you to the hospital!""Do you think I have time for that?" I growled. "We need to find her!""Our men are already looking for them. We should at least try to stop the bleeding!" he insisted while glancing at my stomach.The middle part of my shirt is now soaked in blood."You won't find her in that state," he snapped. "You might die first."Fuck!"I can't let them get away!" I yelled. We can't let precious time pass. Who knows what they plan to do to her?! And Jade!"Fuck! Did they get Jade too?""It seems so," Mike answered. "They couldn't find her anywhere.""Fuck!" I kicked the sand in frustration. "Who else knows we're here?""What's happened here?" Smith came up to me."Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" I retorted."What are you insinuating?" he narrowed his eyes at me. "We have nothing to do with this!""You better make sure of that!" I spat while reloading my gun.My head is sp
VLADIMIRI clenched my teeth after talking to Jade. I wished I could have spoken to Yvonne as well, but Jade seemed frantic. I kept telling her to give the damned phone to my wife but she just kept crying for help!It's understandable. I know she's scared, but...Fuck."Yvonne thinks they were in a yacht," I told them. "Mike, call our techs. See if they could track her phone.""Got it, boss," he nodded."We have speedboats," Smith said. "We could use them.""It might be too late. They could have gotten far by now," I hissed through gritted teeth. "I need a chopper!""It's impossible to wait for our chopper, Boss," Mike said grimly.I know."We don't have one, but I know someone who does," Eric said."Then what are we waiting for?" I snapped. "Let's go! I can pay! I don't care how much it takes!""We should let the others use speedboats, though. The chopper could only carry a few people," he said."Fine," I huffed. "Mike, you know what to do."I wasn't in the right headspace to give or
VLADIMIRLife seemed to flash right in front of my eyes.I will fucking kill him!"Vlad," Yvonne called my name desperately.My heart was breaking as I heard her sob. The skin on her chest, stomach, and thighs was full of cut wounds that looked familiar to me. He whipped her.How dare he do this?!Fortunately, I don't see any major injuries or bleeding on her."Let her go," I was surprised by the calmness in my voice. It was in great contrast to how I truly felt. I wanted to lunge at him immediately and strangle him with my bare hands until his eyes popped out of his head.But I have to keep my cool to avoid rash decisions that might endanger Yvonne even more. My eyes zoned in on the sharp edge of the knife held against her kneck.Fuck. One wrong move and it could cost me her life."I'm the one you want, right?" I muttered tauntingly while staring at him.He chuckled while staring back at me but didn't say anything."Who are you?" I hissed. "What do you want from me?"He chuckled. I'm
YVONNEI grabbed onto him, not wanting to let him go. I want to be in his arms."No, please..." I begged him to stay.My whole body is aching for his touch. For the safety that his warm embrace offered, but this may not be the right time to be clingy. He still had to deal with that man. I should try to understand.I bit my lip when he turned his back on me. It pained me to watch him walk away.I held the sheet wrapped around me like it was my lifeline. I was still naked underneath, but it was thick enough to protect me against the cold.I was right, we were on a ship in the middle of the dark sea. I couldn't be more thankful that Vlad found me when he did. It could have been worse.But wait...My eyes roamed around to look for Jade but I couldn't see her anywhere. Oh my god. Did they torture her too?"Where's Jade?" I croaked, asking no one in particular. "She was there with me!" I panicked but the men around quickly calmed me down."Don't worry. They already found her," one of the me
VLADIMIRI gently tucked her in. I wanted to stay beside her but I had to make some calls. I need to get to the bottom of this. I called Blaze to tell him what to do."Make sure the hospital is heavily guarded. I want men stationed outside her hospital room and around the vicinity," I told him.I will drop her off at the hospital as soon as we land. At first, I thought of just sending our doctor to the penthouse. That would be safer, but she needs to be checked thoroughly. I want to be sure she's alright."Okay, I will make some arrangements," he replied.An ambulance was waiting for us at the airport when we landed."What's happening?" Yvonne confusedly asked when she saw paramedics approaching."You need to be checked," I told her."Why? I'm okay now," she frowned. "I just wanted to go home and rest.""I know," I sighed. "Trust me, that's what I want too. But we need to make sure you're okay. You don't need to stay here for long, after the tests, you can go home."I can still see def
VLADIMIR"I promise I'll make it right."Her whole body became rigid in my arms when I held her. I know this sounds like an empty promise, but I meant it."I..." I took a deep breath. I turned her around to look at her. I wanted to see her face. I wanted her to see how genuine my feelings were."I'm in love with you," I told her while staring deep into her eyes. Her lips parted in shock. I had the strongest urge to ravish those lips, but this wasn't the time for that."Do you understand?" I asked when she didn't even blink.I cupped her face, pressing my forehead against her. I can hear her ragged breaths as if she was on the verge of a panic attack."I love you," I whispered. "But I need to make things right this time. I need to... end things with Riva so we can start on a clean slate."She remained dumbfounded. She was just staring at me as if I'd grown another head."Yvonne," I gently called her name. "Did you hear me?"She only nodded but still didn't say anything. I guess it was
YVONNE"Leave," even I was surprised at how my voice turned out full of conviction. I stared at the darkness in front of us.We were still in the middle of the road when he suddenly stopped the car.He chuckled humorlessly, probably from my audacity to give him an order like that. But I don't care anymore. I just need to do what I have to protect my heart from further breaking into pieces. Because if not me, nobody will."Stop playing with me," I said."I don't know what kind of game you are playing right now," I told him, my voice dripping with raw emotions. I didn't even try to hide how I really felt.I am confused and devastated. His mere presence is enough to fuck me in the head. Every time I see him around, it gives me a glimpse of hope. I don't want to. God knows I don't want to, but my stupid heart couldn't help but assume.Assume that he was here for me. Assume that he missed me. The more I see him, the more I expect him to talk to me and tell me he wants me back.It was pathe
VLADIMIR What was I thinking? I thought, staring at her as she obviously checked out everything in the room except me. How could I become so impulsive around her? I shouldn't have dragged her here in the pretense that I wanted to talk. I just wanted to be with her for a little longer and that's the only thing I could come up with when it seemed like she couldn't wait to get away from me. "What do we need to talk about?" she asked impatiently. I badly wanted to pull her closer, to wrap her in my arms and inhale her intoxicating scent to calm my shit down. But I stopped myself. As much as I wanted to confess to her, I wanted to settle everything first. I wanted to do it right this time. I should end things with Riva, before even thinking of taking her back. I owe it to both of them. What should I tell her though? My mind was blank. Fuck it. "What?" she muttered while looking at me with a puzzled expression on her face. It felt like I was saved by the bell when I heard a knock
YVONNEI chose a semi-formal emerald green dress. I took it from the rack and held it in front of me, imagining how I would look if I wore it."It suits you."I gasped audibly when I heard his voice behind me. I turned to look just to find him standing at the closet's entrance. I gulped when I caught his gaze lingering on my body.My cheeks heated up profusely. I can feel the temperature around us suddenly rising. I couldn't help but glance at the air conditioning unit in the room. It's turned off. It's definitely the reason why it's getting hotter here.I'm sure it had nothing to do with Vladimir leaning languidly against the doorframe, looking so damn... Fine..."Uhm, thanks," I murmured, fighting the urge to bite my lip. "I'll take this for the opening ceremony. I hope you won't mind."He looked around the closet. I noticed his jaw ticked when he must have realized that everything was still there."I don't care," he looked back at me. This time, he stared into my eyes intently. "Yo
YVONNE The silence that greeted me in the apartment was deafening. I suddenly wished I let Selene come with me again. I sighed as I plopped myself into the daybed. I stared at the ceiling as if it was interesting. I felt so exhausted after another day of pretending I was fine. I'm not. I even think I am on the brink of insanity. I'm barely holding on by a thread so as not to fall on the other side. I don't know what I want anymore. I want him gone when he's around, but my heart screams for him when he's not. Damn it. If that's not insane, then I don't know what else is! "Ugh!" I groaned loudly. I should seriously stop thinking about him! I harshly get out of bed to find something else to do to occupy my mind. I winced when I realized there was no food left. I was quite hungry because I had not eaten anything while in the shelter. I sighed. I had no choice but to go out. I can also drop by the store to buy some stocks. I just gathered my hair up into a messy bun, then grabbed
VLADIMIRI woke up with a heavy feeling on my chest. I pried my lids open just to find Riva sleeping soundly. Half of her body is almost draped on my chest. Her arms were tightly wrapped around me as if she was afraid to let me go.I sighed. I guess she has the right to feel this way. It's my fault. I haven't done anything to give her the assurance she needed.I can't even if I wanted to. Not after finally accepting how I truly felt.I let out a long sigh before gently untangling her from me. I was careful not to wake her up. I don't want another confrontation. Not after last night.I still feel emotionally drained from our conversation. Today, I just want to breathe without the emotional baggage that's been weighing down my shoulders for a while now."Is there any update?" I asked as soon as I arrived at the warehouse.Our operation is back on track, although I refused to deal with clients who turned their backs on me in exchange for a few dollars in savings."We still haven't found
YVONNEThe next morning, I woke up with a terrible headache. I already forgot most of what happened after finishing the bottle of tequila."Ugh," I grunted as I rolled out of bed. I barely slept last night but I still needed to wake up early to go to work. Dragging my feet to the bathroom, I went under the cold shower to wake my senses up.Selene was still sleeping soundly when I finished. I went to the kitchen in just my bathrobe to whip up a quick breakfast for us. To my dismay, my refrigerator was almost empty. I needed to go to the supermarket later. Luckily, I found a few strips of bacon in the freezer and still a few pieces of eggs left.I popped some bread into the toaster while I fry the bacon and eggs. I checked the pantry, waiting for the bacon to cook to take note of things I needed to restock.After I was done cooking, I set everything on the table and then proceeded to change into my work clothes. I pulled up a pair of stretchable pinstriped dress pants. Then I put on a s
YVONNEI don't know how I ended up in my unit with Selene after work. She insisted on coming with me, and now we share a bottle of tequila.What's even worse is as we both progressively got drunk, I found myself telling her everything from the beginning Everything. I told her how Vlad bought me from the ring, how he turned me into a completely different person and made me his wife."But our marriage wasn't real," I muttered bitterly after drinking from my glass."It was just a marriage for convenience. I was his contract wife," I added while pouring myself another glassful of tequila."And that woman we saw with him in the restaurant," I scoffed while motioning my hand in the air. "That was his real wife.""Real wife?" Selene frowned. She stared at me with disbelief written all over her face. "Are you drunk?" she snapped."Not yet!" I growled. "I'm not drunk! That's his real wife! She came back from the dead after years!"I stopped talking to drink."I thought we already shared somet
VLADIMIR"I can't..." I didn't realize I said it out loud until it was too late. I felt Riva freeze. She stared at me as if I had done something despicable.But her expression was quickly replaced by that of hurt and betrayal. A wave of guilt washed over me, but this was out of my control.I glanced at my damned useless cock which remained flaccid all this time despite Riva's attempts to rouse my desire."W-what's wrong?" her broken voice interrupted my trail of thoughts. "Don't you want me anymore?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper."No!" I hurriedly exclaimed. "It's not like that."She stared at me confusedly while I couldn't meet her piercing gaze."Then why?" she sniffed. "Why do I feel like you haven't missed me after all those years?!""Vlad, I fought for this," she stood up and walked in front of me.I picked up her clothes but she just brushed me off when I tried to cover her up."I never gave up. I held onto the hopes that we would be together again after everything," h