Chapter 5 Getting Married

[Eight weeks later.]

_Isabella_

I threw my backpack on the floor the minute I entered my room, kicked off my shoes, and lay cross-legged on my single bed.

Exams were finally over for the semester. I could finally breathe. But I was far from being done with school. I had about three more years to go. But for now, I could breathe before going to work in like...

ten minutes.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. My relaxation was over, I needed to change for work. I walked over to my window and peeked at the road below. It was deserted due to a large number of students who were already done for the semester and had gone home.

The cafe was not far, but the silence gave the place an eerie feeling. After changing and putting on music to lift my spirits, I made my way downstairs to the lobby.

Mike, the security guard gave me a gentle nod as I passed him and out of the building. It looked like it would be me and him during this summer break.

I stopped at the pedestrian crossing, not because there were a lot of cars passing by, but because, I was stalling, I hated the place I was going to, including my horrible boss.

When I finally decided to make a move, a black sedan appeared from a corner of a building and drove in my direction at a snail's pace. My first thought was, that the driver was most likely in a foul mood like me and was not in a hurry to get to wherever he was going. So, I waited for it to pass me, all the while wishing only I had a home to go to.

But the car never passed me, when it was a few feet away, It came to a stop, and I watched as two bulky men dressed in black exited the car, grabbed me, and shoved me inside the car.

A glance and a smirk were shared between the two men, and then the car door closed, sealing me inside. At that moment, I realized I had missed the opportunity to cry out for help.

My mind had been paralyzed by shock and curiosity, rendering me helpless. It dawned on me that the two men had surely recognized my vulnerability, seeing me as an easy target.

Summoning every ounce of my anger, I mustered the strength to elbow the man on my right, screaming my lungs out, "Let me out of here!"

But my attempt at fighting seemed to go unnoticed as if my newfound hysteria held no significance to them.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, my voice cracking with fear or panic. I couldn't decide which was stronger.

As the reality of what was happening finally dawned on me, horrifying stories of girls abducted on campus flooded my mind.

They vanished without a trace, never to be seen again. And for the few unfortunate souls who were discovered, the police merely uncovered fragments of their shattered existence.

"If you don't shut up, this will be an unpleasant ride for you," the driver said. He spoke clearly and without an accent for a kidnapper. Not that I'd been around a lot of them in my line of work at the cafe and between my classes on campus to know what they should sound like.

"You piece of shit," I screamed at him. The driver adjusted his mirror, so I could only see his eyes.

One of the bulky men next to me took out duct tape, and I started to scream and wiggle away from my seat, but there was no space to move to. He nodded to the second guy to hold my hands, and he tapped my mouth.

"Sorry, it has come to that," the guy driving said. I muffle a curse word. His calm demeanor was more infuriating than being manhandled by the two thugs.

With my mouth tapped and hands bound, I fell into silence and somehow resigned myself to my fate.

The ride was long but uneventful. The silence in the car had me wishing if only I could nap, but the seriousness of the situation kept me awake and alert.

What were they going to do to me? Maybe cut me open and harvest my body parts. That thought sent shivers down my spine, and I thrashed and kicked wildly again, then stopped. The men only looked at me with tired expressions as if this had not been part of the items on their job descriptions.

The car slowed down but didn't stop.

"Cover her," the driver said.

One of the big men took out a black cloth and covered my head. I could feel the car begin to pick up speed, take a turn, and come to a stop.

They were dumb if they thought I couldn't find my way back.

The doors opened, and they dragged me out of the car and forced me to walk to what might be my death.

Doors opened and closed between us, and the men let go of my hand, but I stood still until I heard their footsteps retreating and a door close behind me.

I took off the black cloth, and my eyes were not prepared for the brightness of the room.

I was in a room? I took a few steps in a circle, with cream walls all around. There was a bed with white bedding. A couch and a seater. Against another wall, was a mini bookshelf, too small compared to a standard one, but it was a bookshelf nonetheless. If anything, this was a fancy prison.

I looked at the bed with longing. Who would kidnap me and bring me to a place that looked fancier than my dorm room?

I walked over to the couch and took off the duct tape on my mouth. The cream linen curtains were drawn so I walked over to the window, and pulled them back, when I tried to look outside, the glass window was painted White. I cursed under my breath.

A tap sounded from the door, and I almost tripped over myself in a rush to get to the door. but it was locked.

Then I heard keys from the other side. Why even bother to knock when they had keys to come in?

I stood expecting to see the two bulky men but instead, a maid in a black and white uniform came in holding a tray.

When she moved further into the room, I tried to make a run for it but hit something hard.

I looked up and it was one of the ugly goons from earlier.

"Cynthia will be the one bringing your meals. You can talk to her if you need anything else."

I clicked my tongue and I followed Cynthia to the table in the room.

"Whose your boss?" I asked her as she put the tray down. But she only looked at me and smiled at me. What in the hell?

She took out a writing pad and a pen and put it next to the food on the table. She looked at me and then at the writing pad, smiled, and made her way to the door.

Her whole demeanor reminded me of my time as a maid. A time I would rather forget. You weren't allowed to look at a guest's eyes unless you were spoken to.

The door closed behind her, and I was still stunned. I wasn't hurt or mistreated...yet. Whoever their boss was, they needed me alive and well-fed, if the smell escaping from the covered plates was anything to go by.

I opened the tray expecting to find raw meat or a human's brain, but what I found instead was an array of different meats. cooked in different styles. I'd never seen anything like it, except...once. But that had been a long time ago and it was not related to the shit luck I was experiencing right now.

I sat on the couch and contemplated my move. The food was tempting, that was certain, but what if this was it? The part where I was being drugged to fall asleep and be murdered. No.

I got up and went to the window again. There were no handles on the windows. Damn. They had thought this thing through. But what if I broke the glass? I took off my shoe and before I could hit the glass, I heard the sound of keys jingling, someone was opening the door.

I jumped back to the couch and sat still, if there was any chance of me escaping here, I had to keep it to myself and not send out any alarm bells.

The goon from earlier came in and looked around when he was satisfied that I was still behaving. He faced the door. "Come inside, don't be shy."

I also looked at the door, wondering if there were more of us. But instead, a young man walked in, carrying what looked like a high-quality garment bag and a makeup case.

The minute he walked inside, he looked at me up and down. He didn't seem to be in any distress. I watched him put his bag down and stand with his hands on his hips.

"Are you going to watch?" He asked the goon, who got the message and moved to the door, embarrassed.

"Tap on the door if you need anything." He went out and closed the door behind him. I think I liked the young man already.

"Who are you and why are you here?" I said, standing up and walking to the bag on the bag.

"I'm Stephanie..." He looked at me as if expecting me to know who he was, when he realized he wouldn't be getting anything from me, he shrugged.

"Anyway, my job today is to make you look like a dream for your soon-to-be." He winked at me.

"Soon to be what?" I must have turned different colors of the rainbow because he looked at me with a new concerned look on his face.

"Husband. You getting married. Honey, are you okay? I mean it's okay to get cold feet before walking down the aisle but you look outrageous."

He pointed to my feet. I was still wearing the one shoe.

I knew what it looked like but, wait. Did he not know that I was kidnapped and now he was talking about me getting married, but to whom?

I voiced out as much to him and noticed that Stephanie had changed his mind about making small talk with me. He gave me pitiful looks like I was the crazy one.

"I was forced to be here. I said, in a low voice.

"You and me both." He said before getting to work on taking out his beauty tools.

Great, he had made his conclusions about me.