I sat on the single long couch, blankly staring at the closed elevator doors, my mind empty and eyes distant.Time seemed to blur away, and I was quickly losing tract of it. After having an unsatisfying breakfast/lunch, trying to feel my hunkered belly with nothing but a few strawberries and flat water, I'd limped over to the couch to ease the pain in my right knee and hip.It was truly getting worse with each passing second, and no amount of massaging was helping lessen the ache deep in my bones.The apartment floor was awfully quiet and dark, the single light bulb shedding too little light in the room. Every part of me wanted to march myself to the curtain and pull it open, exposing the dim room to the natural glow of the sun.Yet, I couldn't force myself to do as my heart desired. Instead, I kept myself sited on the long couch, massaging my right leg and hip.The only sound other than my own breath came when Jacopo Nicolo left the bedroom.My eyes instantly jumped at him, and I ca
Jacopo Nicolo...I stood in my study, my right gloved hand still holding the key I'd just turned to lock the door from within. I waited by the door, hoping to listen for any movements in the hall, hoping that the little trap I set for her would catch her red-handed.When no sound came, I abandoned my stance against the door and walked towards the desk opposite to it. I had been playing Dante's offer in my head over and over again while I was in the bedroom preparing the laptop and setting the trap.The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I underestimated Dante's stupidity and his extreme selfishness. I should have fought my hardest against the marriage arrangement the second Dante told me he was thinking about it. I shouldn't have let it get this far.I should have said to hell with the web and all the rest of them instead of trying to find a way out of the marriage alone. I should have refused to show up at the altar of the wedding and I should have refuse
Ezabella Viper...The caution never left my body, sitting tense on my chest and at the back of my head, warning me against the comforting voice coming from the other side of the phone."I didn't get to speak to you today." Ella Smith, the woman with the scar, spoke. "I was hoping to formally introduce myself, and of course, the other young wives. But I thought you might need a little more time to settle in before I approach you. I didn't want to make you feel crowded."Her considerate words only confused me further, making me wonder why this woman seemed to care about me, a mere stranger that came from the other side of the dark world.I had no words to give her, my mind too confused to lead a reply to my lips. "How are you holding up?" The woman asked, and frustration clawed at my chest when I couldn't give her a reply again."I hope things are good over there." She added when I refused to let my voice be heard. "Us wives are going to have a gathering of our own tomorrow, and I h
Jacopo Nicolo...The discomfort and tension in my back grew with each second I remained hunched over the laptop, watching the woman sitting in the center of the walk-in closet, first taking a phone call that distracted her from using the laptop, and then going through her suitcases by taking her sweet time.I leaned back when she closed one of the suitcases and moved to the next one, choosing different clothes to wear.The failure of my initial plan provoked anger within me. I cracked my knuckles, the pop filling the quiet study I was locked in. The tension only built up to a mountain on my shoulders when the woman pushed herself to her feet, struggling to stand up.I've seen the way she walks. I've seen her limp. In fact, it was quite noticeable when she was walking down the aisle. Like father, like daughter. Victor Viper had the same limp on the same leg, but hers was a lot more exaggerated, almost as if she was trying too much to prove that she had a weakness, as if sh
It took an hour for me to arrive at the casino. Ricardo was waiting for me outside, pacing along the brightly lit entrance of the casino. I stopped the car in front of him before I stepped out. Ricardo opened his mouth to say something, probably to request to throw out the cops himself. But I cut him off. "Go park the car." I ordered as I walked past him. "Yes, sir." He replied before I heard him jog over to the car I left open. I walked into the casino, eyeing the men of the web standing around, keeping a close eye on the customers. I glanced around myself, looking for any suspicious person waltzing around the casino. "They moved to the slots, sir." One of the security men spoke to my right, and I moved my attention to where he said the cops were. It took me a few more seconds to pinpoint them out as they were newer cops I had never seen around here or pocking around my family's company. I walked over, my steps slow and calculated. The two cops, a man and a woma
Ezabell Viper...Boredom and hunger settled in after a few hours when the sun hung low in the sky and the cold from my body finally left.It took me about ten minutes to convince myself to take the damn shower, ten minutes to stop my brain from making my body think that I was back in that horrible cage, being woken up with splashes of cold water. After ten minutes of just staring at the cold water run, I stepped in and shivered my way through a quick shower that lasted half the time it took me to get in.By the time I stepped out of the shower and was drying myself, I thought about letting Jacopo Nicolo know that either there was something wrong with his shower, or I didn't know how to operate it.I wore the warmest clothes I could find in my suitcase, a black sweatshirt and leggings, and braided my hair into two sides before I settled in the living room.I had nothing else to do after that. I wasn't willing to return to the suitcases and venture deep in them, looking at the pho
I found myself in front of the window behind the long couch, standing in the thick drapes so I would be able to fully look out into the real world.My phone was in my hands, and for the past ten minutes, I've been rejecting Ella Smith's calls. She'd called about six times before she stopped, and I assumed she had given up.I looked down, my eyes following the small figures of cars and barely visible peoples walking around. I envied their normality, how they were able to wake up this morning and walk out of their homes so freely.I'd finally understood that I had taken the last years or so for granted, sticking to my father's house and my room only, without venturing out and trying to heal myself. I could have healed my body and soul, could have gained some confidence, and become unbothered by the heavy limp I have with each step. Instead, I continued to limit myself and carry out the emotional and mental punishment my captor had started for me. And now, I was back to that horrible l
It took me ten minutes to get ready. I didn't want to make Ella Smith wait too long, and I also had no desire to have a longer shower with the ice-cold water.A simple black dress was chosen for the occasion, one that flutterly fell down below my knees. My feet were covered with the same white flats I had worn for the past two days.I tied my hair up to the top of my hair, trying to hide how tangles the strands actually were from the lack of brushing for the last two and a half days.Ella Smith was right where I left her, looking down at her phone with a soft smile on her face."I'm ready." I called out, drawing her attention towards me.She shot me another smile, and the enthusiasm and positivity within her surprised me. It was practically radiating off of her in waves, forcing it upon myself. She didn't even need to speak to show some sort of affection. It was all so easily written all over her face."Great. Connor is waiting for us downstairs." She commented before she tucked her
I stood in front of the window, looking out at the starless night sky. I had one hand pressed against my lower abdomen and the other hand supporting my waist. I was exhausted, but I couldn't force my eyes away from the beautiful view just yet.The past eight weeks had not been easy, but they were certainly a working progress.The first few days, I was unable to make him eat much. He would nibbled on something and drained a water bottole before he would go back to sleep. He was losing a lot of weight in those times, and I was getting more and more concerned about him.He refused to let Doctor Morgan into the house so he can check his wound for him, and he refused to listen to my pleas for him to eat, to get up and stretch him muscles a bit. He refused to leave the bedroom we used to share, and he refused to speak to me as well. I had decided to sleep in his previous bedroom at night to give him the space he needed and kept being around him during the day.But I wasn't the only one J
I started by drawing the thick drapes and letting sun shower the living room, instantly making it much better than it was when I first arrived. I then went into the kitchen to first check if there was anything around that would result in a proper meal.The boiled eggs were at the same spot as I had left them when I decided to leave for the Viper city, and the remaining fruits looked a bit off considering the amount of time they were left in there. And from the clean trash can, I could tell that Jacopo had not been eating.I pulled my phone out, exiting out of the list of contact numbers from when I gave my father a call just minutes ago, and looked into the restaurants Jacopo and I used to order from.I knew he had a few favorites, so I decided to order from a few of them in case he was feeling of having a variety.Until I food arrived, I bussied myself by cleaning the fridge and them pacing around when I had nothing else to do.All of the food arrived maybe about thirty minutes later
The drive to Jacopo's apartment was silent. There was a car following after my father and I as he was planning on staying in the web city to make sure that I was safe. My stomach was fluttering with a lot of emotions, the most dominant once being fear and doubt."I want you to keep your phone on you every single second of the day and night. Understood?" My father commented as he stopped the car in front of the tall apartment building."Undrestood." I nodded my head."I also need you to keep me updated. I want your morning texts to be morning, noon, and night. Okay?""Okay?""Oh, and one more thing. Do not forget what you promised me. You sense any danger, then I was you out of there. Okay.""I'll keep my promise, Dad." I said, taking my seatbelt off and twisting in my seat to give him a hug."I'll be okay, Dad." I whispered.He let out a tired sigh as he patted me on the head."I'll trust that you'll be." He replied when I pulled away."I'm going to go now." I announced before I grab
I was discharged a few hours later, and it took me a great deal of convincing my father to let me see Jacopo one more time before we left."You'll see him at the funeral." My father had argued when I asked him to let me see my husband first, but he let me go to Jacopo's room first before we left, and disappointment hit me when I saw that Jacopo was no longer there, only Dante, who was sitting on the chair by the bedside, the same one that was turned over when Jacopo attacked him."Where did he go?" I asked, looking at the empty bed."He's gone." He replied."Where?""Probably to his apartment." I heard my father sigh."And you just let him go?" I questioned, looking at my husband's boss with a frown on my face.Dante didn't give me a reply, which gave my father space to butt in."There you have it, Bella. Now let's go. You'll see him at the funeral anyway." He commented as he turned around to leave.I had no other choice but to follow him, knowing that I couldn't get myself to the ap
Ezabella Viper...I woke up with a blinding headache, my eyes barely able to see around me. It took me some time to register that I was in a hospital room, sleeping in a hospital bed."Bella?" A familiar voice called out, forcing my eyes to shirt towards the bedside chair.My father's bruised face came into view."Bella," he called out again, hovering over my, his hands reaching for mine.Within the next seconds, he was running out of the hospital room to get someone and back with whoever he had gone searching for.The next few minutes went on as a woman examined me, shining light into my eyes, asking me how I felt, specifically how my head felt, and then proceeding to tell my father and I that I had a mild concussion and should be fine.My biggest worry was the health of my baby, as I recall being tossed around after those men dragged me out of the flipped car and into the trunk of their own. The most the doctor could tell me was that I needed rest and continuous supervision j
My car stopped just outside of town, and from the previous location of where my mother was being kept, I could tell that I had about thirty more minutes of driving left to get there. And if I chose to go on foot, then it was guaranteed that it would significantly decrease the chances of my mother's survival.But I wasn't going to do anything by sitting around and waiting for something to happen. I needed to be moving, so, retrieving the phone from the floor of the car, I hopped out of the car and slammed it shut as hard as I could, venting some of my frustration out.I started speed walking no matter how exhausted my body was. I've already lost a good amount of blood, and I had enough in my body to barely move around.But my mother.I need to get to my mother.I could feel chill creeping up in me. I could feel the blood draining from my face, most probably leaving me as pale as a ghost.But I couldn't stop.The sliver of hope in my heart was forcing me to keep going.I knew I would die
The bark of the gunshot nearly deafened me. Blood splattered on the floor as a loud gasp echoed in the warehouse, filling in the silence left after the gunshot. Blood made my face wet. I watched as attiwood crashed on the ground, her knees almost cracking at the empact.Blood bubbled up her throat and slid down her chin. She lost her grip on the revolver, the small gun falling to the ground in front of her.She looked in shock as she looked down at her chest, her clothes wet from her own blood.I looked past her shoulder as footsteps echoed through the warehouse, a few masked gun men rushing in and pointing their guns at every dark corner.Victor was with the men, his bruised and cut-up face unmasked unlike the rest of them, smoke flowing out of the barrel of his glock.He'd shot Attiwood. He rushed forwards, heavily limping as he pushed past the struggling old witch in her knees. He pushed me aside to look at Eza, scooping her up in his arms as he called out her name."Bella? Bella
Jacopo Nicolo...Elizabeth had sent me two texts which contained the locations of where my mother and wife were, two very separate locations that would each take about five hours to drive to if the starting location is my apartment building.I was already four hours into the drive back to the Vipers city, having to take a few minutes to stop at the gas station to fill up my tank.I kept calling anyone whose phone numbers I could remember, but it felt like the entire world was against me, completely shut off, cutting contact from me.I knew there was no use in calling Elijah again to ask for help, but I did call him to tell him that Dante was not answering his phone and that I needed him to make the call until he picks up so he can let the boss know of our situation.I expected to hear from Dante after that, but apparently, he wasn't answering for Elijah either, and neither was his shadow Harvey.I realized that I was pretty much alone in this. It made me wonder through the long dr
Ezabella Viper...I didn't want to stay home hiding in my room, which was a new behavior in this house. Staying at home meant that I was going to draw in my thoughts that I was going to think about everything that went wrong in my life. I would think about how Jacopo's car is no longer parked in my driveway. I would think about the way he reacted when my father let slip about the pregnancy, trying to figure out what every tik of his facial muscle meant.I had lunch with my father, and I returned to my room to pull comfortable shoes on so I could go on a walk, or even drop by the places I wanted to revisit since I returned to this city.I had the three sonogram tucked in my bag, along with my phone and the library card I have from over a year ago, in case it still works, making my way down the stairs to quietly leave."Where are you going?" My father's voice stopped me mid hall.I turned around and glanced at him."I'm going out for a walk." I replied."By yourself?" He shot back,