(Emily's POV)*One week later*I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was ridiculously white, with some silver ribbons around the waist. The sleeves were long and ruffled. The wedding was in two hours. Leila and the maids had helped me dress and do my makeup. Now I just stood there staring at myself.I surrendered.My mind drifted to that night... I've never seen Tan around. I wonder what Dimitri did to him. Since he dash off from my room that morning, he never came back. It's not like I waited for him to come back, it's just weird."Emily?"I snapped out of my thoughts and saw him standing by the doorway in the reflection. He had cleaned up nicely and wore a black suit. My body immediately tensed up and looked down. He started walking towards me."You look beautiful."I started biting my lip furiously. He put his hands around my waist and kissed my neck. I shivered and tried to move away from his hold. But his strength was unbelievable."I thought the groom was supposed to wait b
(Emily's POV)"So what is your decision?" Dimitri asked smirking."Neither," I said. They both looked confused, "I belong to you Dimitri, so it's your decision. But If anything happens to my brother and friends then I swear to god-""They will be fine," he smiled."No, they won't be" Jerry stood up and turned to me. "I hope you realize what you're doing."My breathing quickened."Mr. Sloviski, I suggest you leave, we'll contact you about a new deal." Dimitri stood up. Jerry only winked at me before leaving me alone with Dimitri. Once I heard the door shut I look at him."Please, don't let him kill my friends!" I pleaded almost falling to my knees."Relax love, they are fine. I had my men take care of it and I sent them home."I couldn't believe it, he had saved my loved ones. Before I knew it, I was hugging him tightly. It came as a surprise for him too since I felt him take a step back."Thank you," I whispered.As I started walking toward the door. Then I felt his hand grab my arm.
(Emily's POV)I woke up when a strong light landed on my face. I open my eyes and squinted as I felt a gust of wind... then waves... hang on. Where am I?! I quickly got up and looked around. This was some sort of a summer cabin. With thin walls and big windows. I could see through the two open doors on my right. The open sea was the only thing there.Where the fuck did he take me? I tried standing up but something pulled me back. I looked at my wrist... I was cuffed to the bedpost."Morning sunshine." Dimitri walked in.I glare at him, "You drugged me."He sighed "I didn't mean any harm." What the fuck is wrong with him?! "I understand you're upset but it was necessary."Necessary? Seriously?! I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. Then I pulled on those devil cuffs trying to release myself."Emily..." he came closer and I moved away from him. He lay next to me and I just looked outside the doors. Where the sea was and freedom. I felt him touch my cuffed wrist. This is prison."Plea
(Emily's POV)In the most awkward position, I woke up when I had my legs tangled up with Dimitri, my so-called husband. By the rigid breathing, I feel that he too was awake but why didn't he want to remove it?And I tried to sleep, but the awkward position took all my sleep away, and then I noticed his right hand holding my left hand, like a lost boy.Strange feelings engulfed me, so I hastily removed his hand and get up to untangle our leg. And I could tell that he was watching my all moves but I didn't know why he didn't react.I then walked inside the washroom and started getting ready for the day or whatsoever. And when I came outside, Dimitri had already gotten ready and our breakfast has already arrived.What's more, is that the greatest jerk is waiting for me. I just looked at him with a shocked expression and then he clears his throat and gestured for me to sit down.Acting like a gentleman again, he served me the food and we started eating it. Nobody speaks a word for a while
(Emily's POV)It was cold when I woke up. That's weird, I'm sure I closed the window last night. I tried opening my eyes and see no one on my side.My panic settled in when I moved my left hand, but it was handcuffed to the headboard of the bed."Dimitri?" I called out. "Dimitri?!!"I struggled as much as I could but the handcuff was only hurting my wrist. I hauled myself up to a sitting position. "Hello?! Dimitri!?"What did I do this time? Why is he doing this again?I heard footsteps coming into the bedroom. The curtain moved and Dimitri came in wearing a suit. Is he going somewhere?"What is this Dimitri?!" I scowl at him but he didn't respond. "Dimitri! Take this handcuff off!""I'm going somewhere and I can't bring you there. I am not sure if you behave while I'm gone for a day.""For Godsake! I am on an Island God knows where this fucking Island is located, do you think I would swim the fucking sea to reach the city?""I was just making sure, Emily.""No, take this off... Take
(Emily's POV)As I am relieving, Dimitri's handsome face flashed in my mind. Where is he going wearing a suit on this isolated island? Or is he going back to the city? Is he planning to put me in prison here in this nowhere place?Damn that jerk!There is no way I can elude from this den, but was hoping there is a way out. After releasing the thing beneath me, I clean up myself and wash my hand and face. Staring at the mirror, hanging on the wooden wall, I can see myself again with a pale and distressed face. I'm really losing weight.I exhale deeply while running my fingers through my hair. "When can I go home?" I whispered to myself.Am I really stuck here forever? Did I really tie a knot with that treacherous jerk? How is Steve now? Goddamn, this life of mine.I feel like my life is over from the day Dimitri abducted me. But there is a question that keeps me confused. Why did he let me live? Is it really because I beg my life to him? Was that really the real reason? What if he
(Dimitri's POV)"I'm sorry for this abrupt meeting, Mr. DiFronzo. It won't happen again."I just nodded and stood up and reached Mr. Rinaldi's hand for a formal handshake. I exit the restaurant building I owned here in Rome in which Mr. Rinaldi is my business partner in this area. He plans to build another building in the US but I still hesitated since I can't ensure to look over the business outside of France. He kept pursuing this project for a year, maybe I will reconsider this year.He suddenly reschedule our meeting one week before because of his personal matter. I can not complain about his decision since he is the most trusted businessman I have known. He never complains about my work ethic and neither does I to him. I believe that we did click with each other when it comes to this kind of business. Even though I am a leader of the largest Mob in Italy, the Cosa Nostra, I am still a business owner in a business world in which I owned and operated restaurants, casinos, nightclub
(Emily's POV)I felt my whole body in pain, especially my neck. I couldn't fully open my eyes. I couldn't move my hands, they were tied behind my back, with something hard as metal, I think it's a handcuff. My head felt heavy, I could not hear any sounds from my surroundings.I slowly began to regain consciousness and slowly opened my eyes. The room was empty and it seems like a basement. I spotted a stable steel chair and table. There is no window inside. And a door on my right side which I think is the way out of here.The room was frigid like someone had not been in here for ages. I could stink of blood, but I guess that might have been my blood since blood was running down my face, my hands behind me might have been bleeding as well because they were tightly handcuffed.This place is similar to Dimitri's basement where he always held his punching human bag. I started regaining my memories. On the island, gun fires, and forest. Did Dimitri hurt me again? Because I attempted to escap
(Emily's POV)Eight hours later. I glanced out the window of the private jet. I'm finally seeing again the tall Eiffel Tower. I glance at Dimitri and had been his attitude the entire flight: indifferent. He and those stupid 'Delicious!' sounds coming from his phone were driving me crazy. Lucio wasn't any better company. He was flipping through a Cosmo in the row of seats at the front of the plane. And Mali was sleeping in the corner while snoring.After we got married two days ago, even though I'm pregnant, I'd been burning up, waiting for him to touch me, kiss me, and drag me to the convenient bed in the back. But he hadn't done any of that. When I got tired of waiting. I'd straddled his lap, ran my lips down his neck, and cupped his erection as it grew harder beneath my hand.I thought I was finally going to get what I wanted, but then he shoved me off him to the couch and said, "I'm saving myself for our honeymoon, wife"I glared at him.He thought it was funny.Frustrated, I got u
(Emily's POV)The next day, something smelled like pancakes. It made my stomach churn.I loved pancakes.I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair, then padded out to the kitchen to find Dimitri at the stove, shirtless, his hair wet. I loved him like this, the casual side of him not many got to see. Like this, he was mine.But when I wrapped my arms around his waist, he tensed. Uncertainty flickered through me. He'd been quiet since last night after our wedding yesterday. I woke him up when he was having a nightmare, and an insecure part of me was obsessing over what could be his dream."Are you hungry?" he asked when I stepped away from him. I looked at the plate of pancakes on the counter and wrinkled my nose."Not right now." Grabbing the orange juice from the fridge, I poured a glass. "Is there something wrong?" I asked."Nothing.""Stop hiding anything, Dimitri. I want to know what's on your mind. I want to know more about you."I was sitting on my couch, not su
One month later(Emily's POV)Sunlight shone through the high windows of the church's bridal suite, lighting dust particles in the air like tiny flickers of gold. Nausea swirled in my belly, and I pressed a hand to my stomach and tried to breathe through it.It's our second wedding but I'm fucking nervous.I swayed as Lea tugged at my laces. "You've got to suck in, Emily. I've barely begun tightening it up."It felt like she was squeezing the life out of me. "For goodness sake, Lea, she can't suck in her boobs," Carol commented from her seat in the corner. She had a Vanity Fair magazine in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other."It's her backside I'm having trouble with. The laces are gonna be gaping at the seams if I can't cinch them in any tighter."And they wonder how I could ever be depressed...With another jerk on my laces, I breathed, "Oh, God," and covered my mouth as nausea traveled up my throat."Quick, Carol! The waste bin!" Lea exclaimed.My best friend hopped from he
(Emily's POV)Dimitri and I turn onto the main road right as the fire truck comes roaring up the lane, headed for the Castle's beach house, or what's left of it, anyway.I can see the firemen's faces as our car passes their truck, they're looking down at us, eyebrows raised, but unable to stop us from fleeing the scene."What a fucking trip!" I shout, my heart still galloping like a racehorse. "I did not know he was that crazy! I thought he was just normal crazy, like 'I don't want my food to touch,' or 'talking to yourself in the shower' crazy, not like full-out Shining."Dimitri is driving way too fast, hands locked on the steering wheel. Improbably, he's grinning almost as much as I am. Could my uptight husband be starting to enjoy our adventures?"I can't believe I found you," he says."Yeah, Did you find my shoe?" "Yes, I found it! And I remembered."He looks over at me, his blue eyes brilliant against his smoky skin. I don't know how I ever thought his eyes were cold. They're f
(Dimitri's POV)I roll down the window to try to get a better look at some of the cabins that are set back from the road, half-hidden in trees.Some of the driveways are so faint I can barely see them. In fact, I almost pass one by, failing to see the faint tracks through the grass. Until I smell a hint of smoke. It's so mild that I hardly know what scent I caught. Then I feel the automatic reaction, the hair on the back of my neck standing up, and my heart starting to race. It's a primal, terrifying smell. A warning of danger.I slam on the brakes, whipping the wheel to the left. I follow the long, winding path toward a double stand of trees. Between those trees sits a small blue beach house that I've seen once before in a battered photograph.I stop my car, hoping Oliver hasn't already heard the engine or seen me driving up the road. I slip out of the driver's side and crouch down behind the car, trying to peer around at the house.I send a quick text to Emily's brother. I'm an ho
(Emily's POV)"I need to pee," I tell him again as he forgot."You can do it with the door open," he says.I glare at him, in a stand-off between his stubbornness and my throbbing bladder.I can only last a few seconds. I drop my pants and sit down on the toilet, letting go. The pee comes thundering out, with more pain than relief.Oliver stands in the doorway, watching me. There's a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. His eyes look hooded and pleased.I wish he would turn the fuck around and give me some privacy. Or at the very least, I wish I wasn't peeing for so long. It seems to go on forever, and it's fucking humiliating.He's right, though, if he'd left me alone in the bathroom, I would have climbed out the window in five seconds.When I'm finished at last, I pull up my pants and wash my hands, wiping them dry again on my clothes, since there aren't any towels.Oliver watches this too, with a scowling expression. I think he's looking at the cast again. Then I realize he's act
(Emily's POV)I wouldn't have gotten in the fucking trunk if I knew how far Oliver was going to drive. I feel like I've been in here forever. Also, I drank a lot of water with lunch, and I really have to pee. Also, I'm worried about what Oliver might have done with my purse. He wasn't stupid enough to put it in here with me, unfortunately. I'm anxious that he just chucked it out of the window or something, which means that my precious little package is already missing again.For a long time, I can feel that we're on the freeway smooth, steady progress in the same direction. Eventually, we turn off and start driving slowly and erratically down roads that are obviously narrower and less well-maintained. A couple of times the car jolts hard enough that I do hit my head on the top of the trunk.I've been hunting around in the dark, looking for anything useful. If there was a tire iron back here, I'd use it to brain Oliver the second he opened the trunk.At last, the car slows down. I thi
(Emily's POV)I'm sitting across the table from my new friend, Drake Lee. He passes me the little box I've been waiting and hoping for all week long, and I open the lid to peek inside."Oh my god, I can't believe it," I breathe. "I know," he laughs. "This was the hardest one I've ever done. Took me three whole days." "You're a miracle worker. Honestly."He grins, almost as gleeful as I am."You mind if I put the whole thing up on my YouTube channel?" he says. "I was wearing my GoPro the whole time, got some great footage.""Of course!" I say.I close the box, still hardly believing what I'm holding in my hand, and I stow it back in my purse. I give Drake a slim envelope of cash in return, the amount we agreed upon, plus a bonus for saving my fucking ass. "Well, call me if you ever need me again," he says, giving me a little salute."I hope I won't need you," I laugh. "No offense.""None was taken," he chuckles. He raises his hand to signal for the waitress."I already paid for the
(Dimitri's POV)I'm sitting at the table, surrounded by my men, basking in the glow of victory. We just got back in California. Our days in Bali will remain a memory. I'm also thankful that it's not our honeymoon or Zajac's head would float all over Bali's ocean.I find myself tuning out of the conversation because I want to look at Emily instead.I can't believe she stayed at Zajac's warehouse, looking for me.She could have been killed, or at the very least, recaptured and held hostage until my men returned the money they stole.She could have just run the moment she escaped the office. But she didn't. Because she knew I was somewhere in the building, probably being tortured, possibly being killed.I was frightened to see her hurt again because of me and I don't want to lose her.I've come to respect Emily and love her, too. I like the effect she has on me. She makes me more reckless, but also more focused. Before I met her, I was going through the motions. Doing what I was supposed