From standing at the altar, ready to marry her childhood best friend, to being forced into a wedding with the most feared man in Maython City—the Don himself. Salvador is the living incarnation of Hades, a man of cruelty and border line disdain. Those who cross him are marked as his branded dogs for life. Catalina Maria never imagined her fate would take such a cruel turn. It was her fiancé who betrayed the Don, stealing from him and scorning his power. Yet, it is she who must pay the price. Because to Salvador, Catalina isn’t just an innocent bystander. She’s his collateral. She is everything he is not. Soft where he is hardened. Kind where he is ruthless. Terrified of his eyes, while he finds himself unable to look away from hers. Oh, mercy.
Lihat lebih banyakCatalina Maria.I didn’t wait for him to wake up this morning. The moment I could, I slipped out of his room like a shadow. After last night, there’s no denying it anymore—Salvador is every bit the monster people say he is, and maybe worse. I’ve made myself a silent promise: I won’t defy him again if I can help it.But at least... at least I got to write my test. Small victories, I guess.Still, guilt weighs heavy on me. Diego is the only one who’s treated me like a person in this house. Not a prisoner or a servant. I should’ve told him where I was going. I owe him an apology. I know he must be upset with me, maybe even disappointed.So here I am, scrubbing dishes, folding laundry until my arms are sore, cleaning the vases one by one, letting the hum of work drown out the memory of Salvador’s threat. The image of my family home burning… I can’t shake it. Anything, I’d do anything to not think about it.“There you are…” Rosa startles g me as I tend to flowers. “I’m sure everyone’s bee
Salvador Silver Mendoza.From the color in her eyes, I know exactly what I am—the nightmare she can’t afford to provoke, yet here she is, doing just that.I scan the room and take my time. The grey-bearded man must be her father. The sour-faced woman clinging to him must be his wife. Then there’s Lucas and his pathetic brother, hovering like flies over rotten fruit. Did they gather here to plot an escape? Perhaps with my diamond in tow?No one speaks. No one dares. Not when their throats has clenched shut against better will.“Salvador, I—” Catalina tries, but I turn my gaze on her, and the words wither on her tongue.“Go outside.” I say.“My daughter is not going with you! I’m calling the cops.” Her father steps up like a dog with no teeth.Bruno chuckles behind me, amused at the man’s bravery—or stupidity.“Your daughter is my wife…” I say, as if explaining the obvious to a child. His mind must be rusted over if he can’t remember.As I study him—and the trembling woman by his side—I
Catalina Maria. “Goodness, I have a physical test in twenty minutes!” I turn around to face Diego. “I’m going to miss it. It’s a biochemistry test, and I’m going to fail.”I drop the computer mouse from my hand in despair and before I know it, tears are stinging the corners of my eyes.“No, you’re not. Come on.”I look at Diego in confusion as he rummages through his desk.“What are you—”“I’m taking you to the university. University of Malcolm City, right?”My lips part in shock. “Yes… Are you sure? Your brother—won’t he—”“I don’t know what Salvador will do if he realizes I took you but we don’t have time to wonder. So, come on. Unless you’re ready to miss the test and say goodbye to it forever.”He is already moving toward the door, and for a second, I hesitate. But then, the weight of the test—of everything I’ve worked for sets in so I am pushed into motion.I jump up from my chair and rip off my apron. I chase after him through the Mendoza estate’s massive halls. The farther we
Salvador Silver Mendoza. “Why the hell can’t I find Diego in this whole damn house!?” is the question I raise when Sabrina walks in, carrying a few ledgers—the job I pay her to do. Sabrina is…I’ve never quite known what box to put her in. She isn’t a friend, not quite an employee in the traditional sense, and the fact that we had sex once complicates things further. I was drunk. That’s the only excuse I have. I don’t even remember the details, just waking up to her naked beside me with red hair spread over my pillow like flames. And the first word out of my mouth was fuck. That was three years ago. Sabrina’s been working for me for six. Her father was my father’s accountant, so we’ve known each other since we were teenagers. My old man had strict rules—no personal relationships with anyone working for us. Not that it mattered for I was never interested. But Sabrina? She had a crush on me and it was obvious to everyone. I’ve never gone for women below my age. I’ve always preferred
Catalina Maria."I didn’t mean to break it—""It’s like you don’t mean to do anything, yet you somehow do everything!" he yells.His voice is serpent, but I barely hear it over the sting in my finger. It’s only then that I realize that he's still holding my hand.I try to pull away, but before I can, he tugs me out of the hallway. Salvador’s legs are much longer than mine as I am forced to follow. We reach the kitchen in seconds. He doesn’t say anything, just turns on the tap and pushes my hand under the cool stream of water.I squirm when the water stings my finger. I end up leaning back—straight into him. His body is a wall of heat behind me and with his big arm, he reaches forward and turns off the tap.I retrieve my hand from his calloused ones and cradle it against my chest. When he moves away, I can finally exhale. My heart is still racing from the suddenness of it all. I have broken another thing in his home and I am sure that costs a fortune too.“Bring your finger.” he orders
Salvador Silver Mendoza. She left me to suffer.Why wouldn’t she? No young woman in her right mind would have stayed, especially after coming face to face with the stroke of my rigidity. Now, in the dim morning light, she sleeps—curled up on the couch in my pristine space, completely oblivious to the way I stand over her. She doesn’t know that I see the slow rise and fall of her breath, the way her body curls inward, as if she’s subconsciously protecting herself even in sleep.Last night was a torment. I was soaked in veins. Yet, because I am a man of discipline. I did not seek release on my own. I never have. A man should find it in a woman, not in his own hands. It may seem ironic, given the violence I am capable of, but there are lines I refuse to cross, boundaries I will never break. This is one of them. My body is sheen with water for I just left the bathroom. A towel is in my hand and as if she senses that someone is looking over her, Catali parts her eyes open. The first thin
Catalina Maria. I swallow for my throat has become dry. Words fail me as I stare at the obvious bulge in his pants. It is a large pointed bulge that strains against the fabric of his pants. I must be seeing things. It is obviously heavy and pronounced in a way that makes my pulse stutter and my body lock up. A stroke of need so visible it’s almost unbearable to look at before he hastily drops his shirt over it.Is that why he turned away from me?When he pulled me against him earlier, I felt something pressing into my stomach, but I had assumed it was his belt. Yet now, with my own eyes, there’s no mistaking it.“Just leave!” he rasps.I glance at the door, torn between obeying and staying. I should go. I should pretend I saw nothing, walk out of this room, and let him deal with… whatever this is.But he’s suffering.As a student studying clinical pharmacy, my mind immediately jumps to conclusions. Either he took something—like an aphrodisiac—or I don’t know. Either he took an aphrod
Salvador Silver Mendoza.I’m on my second tequila, and the night hasn’t even bled open yet.Tonight was supposed to be about work. I had plans. Things to handle. But with the wreckage life insists on throwing at me, I’ve got no choice but to sit through my mother’s tea party, put on a show, and silence the vultures.My shirt is the color of midnight—black enough to swallow the light, dark enough to keep my sins hidden. Mother walks beside me into one of our infamous receiving room and complaint rolls off her tongue.“The guests are already asking about Catalina—left and right, it’s like they think she’s some celebrity or something.”The receiving room is filled with Diego’s usual company—men with too much liquor in their veins and too little sense in their heads. They are men I tolerate at best. Diego, sprawled in an armchair with a girl on his lap, hand wandering up her thigh, notices our mother and immediately shoves her off. Too late. Mama Doza’s eyes have already seen it.“Is this
Catalina Maria.As soon as he leaves, I look around the room. From left to right, the bed is as wide as an ocean, enough for at least six people. When Salvador was on me, it felt like the weight of a thousand men, but it was not suffocating. It was scary…until he kissed me. Not until I felt that though he is a man of cold exteriors, his lips were nothing but soft. His tongue was hot and it felt like pillows in my mouth.This isn’t the first time I’ve been kissed. So, why did I go numb? Or should I be asking, why did Salvador kiss me? To teach me a lesson? For someone so rough and wicked, he kissed me like a husband would kiss his wife.And that is the problem.He is not my husband. I am not his wife. He has made it clear that I am his collateral. Therefore, he is not supposed to kiss me like that.I touch my lips because I can still feel him. How do I explain it? He tastes of rain, of mint, of siege, all at once. Even now, my lips are still trembling. And worse, when he threatened to
Catalina Maria.I let go of my foster dad’s arm and climb the few steps to the altar where Lucas, my fiancé of two years is waiting for me. He is smiling and it’s that stupid, lopsided grin that makes my chest do this annoying fluttery thing. Lucas reaches for my hand as I step up. Through the veil, I see the way his eyes soften. He doesn’t let go of my hand even after I’m up. I chuckle—the crowd chuckles too. This is it. The day I marry my childhood best friend.The priest clears his throat, ready to start the intro of our wedding when a cosmic rumble creeps into the cathedral. At first, it’s faint. Maybe thunder? But no, it’s louder. Closer. Like…engines of powerful cars?Before I turn to see what’s happening, boom—the cathedral doors slam open so hard they practically fly off the hinges. The air explodes with many noises. Engines are roaring, tires are screeching, a rapid pop-pop-pop of gunfire goes through the ceiling. Dust rains down from the ceiling into everyone. Screams bounce...
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