Astrid's POV The cold metal of the chair pressed into my back, and the ropes around my wrist burned with every movement I made. My head was spinning and my heart was equally racing. How had everything gone wrong so fast? One second I was hacking the Hills' system and the next I was being dragged out of the car and into this dimly lit room. The two men guarding me didn't speak much. They didn't need to as I already guessed what I was. I was the bait to lure Luca in because it was something sure that Luca wouldn't let me, a valuable pawn go to waste. Where was Luca? The question repeated in my mind. I had lost contact with him and although I wasn't worried about him being caught. He was more experienced in this than I was so there was nothing to worry about. But did he know what had happened to me? What if they set a trap at the car and he goes back to look for me? The door creaked open and I expected it to be more threats till I heard a familiar voice. “Astrid.” It was Luca and a w
Astrid's POV My heart pounded against the ribcage in my chest as I hid behind Luca, trying to process what was going on. Hills Bill was here, and we were surrounded to the brim. Armed men stood in a semicircle around us, their guns raised already. And wrong move and it could as well be the end of everything. I had faced danger before– hacking, trying to get away from those who were after me and wanted me dead. But this felt different, I felt like I really was going I die and I was to blame because I was with Luca. I've heard rumors about him single handedly defeating an army of enemies and that was when he had nothing to protect. His men were rarely there when he battled according to what I've heard but I didn't think that was the right choice at the moment. Luca stood tall, as calm as ever which made me even more nervous than I already was. How can he be calm when we were surrounded and any step meant death. Instant death that is. Bill took another step forward, his gaze flickere
Luca's POV Astrid fell limp in my chest and for the first time in years, I felt what was called fear. She was bleeding– bad. The red soaked her shirt, painting my hands red as I held her. I couldn't tear my pain away despite knowing we were still being tailed. I could stop here now. “Damn it.” I cursed under my breath, gritting my teeth in frustration. This was going nich slower than expected. The footsteps behind us got heavier and heavier. I knew Bill had sent his men head of him to finish the task and get my body and I wanted to scoff at the thought but I had other things to do. I scanned the area, my mind working into overdrive. No exits. No cover. No backup. I forced my emotions down and locked them away like I always did. I tightened my grip around Maya's waist and pulled her up to her feet while supporting her weight. “We're getting out of here.” I muttered, more to myself than her. She didn't respond, her head lolled to the side, her breathing shallow. The blood loss wa
Astrid's POV My head was pounding when I finally opened my eyes. The room was spinning, and it took a moment for me to focus my mind on my surroundings. Tje familiar scent Luca gave was lingering in the room and it strangely comforted me. The events of the night came rushing back to me, making my head hurt slightly. My chest tightened and I groaned softly, as I tried to move. Every muscle ached and a dull pain throbbing through my body. I glanced down at my body to see someone had bandaged the sounds on my side– Luca no doubt, and I was only in shorts and a light sports bra. The memories of how I was close to death made my blood boil but I still had to be grateful to Luca anyway. I sat up slowly, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. The room was dark and the faint glow of the dawn sky flickered into the room. Luca was nowhere to be found. Of course, he wouldn't. The man had probably left the moment I was stable. That's how he worked– he saved you, because you're a useful p
Luca's POV I watched as the color drained from Astrid's face. Her eyes widened in terror, darting between Vincent and I. We had found her mother rand sister while she was unconscious and I was going to tell her although it meant our deal would be off.“Astrid,” I called out to her, trying to get control of the situation but she was already heading towards the door, her hand trembling as she reached for the handle. “I have to go,” she whispered, panic lacing her voice. “I need to–” “You are not going anywhere,” I said, grabbing her wrist before she could slip past me to touch the door. Her wrist tighten under my fingers but I didn't let go. “Luca, let me go…” she said, her voice trailing off. “They have my family!” Her wide, pleading eyes hut me harder than I expected and I just wanted to ugnoryit but I couldn't, but one thing was I couldn't let her go. She was thinking with her heart and not her head right now, and that's going to get her killed. I'd seen it a lot of times, peopl
Astrid's POV I paced around the penthouse, trying not to make my nerves get the best of me. Luca's hadn't gone for a long time but I felt like an entirety had passed while waiting for him. I sat in the living room, the cup of coffee I had made more myself still sitting on the coffee table, untouched. I couldn't even do anything due to the anxiety I wasn't feeling in my right mind. When Luca was going, I knew he didn't tell me much before leaving which made me even more nervous. All Vincent said was that my family was taken hostage. Had they found my sister and mother while I was unconscious? I was unable to meet them soon because I was out. I rocked back and forth on the couch, trying to steady my breathing and gather my thoughts from all negative thoughts it was racing over to. My mind was racing in different directions, making me tap my face continuously. I didn't have to worry. Luca will take care of it right? A noise at the door startled me, and I shot up from the couch. My h
Luca's POV I sat at the back of the black SUV is it drove through the dimly lit streets of the city. My mind replayed the events over the past few days over and over again. One thing was sure, and it was the fact that the Hills were targeting Astrid to get to me and if I don't deal with this immediately, it might be a drag. Before all that, I had to have a words with Halo. He would know about this shit or else, he wouldn't have asked me to go get rid of the family. It was sure they had a much more deeper connection than it seems since not everyone could trace back to Astrid's family no matter how hard you try unless you're similar to me who took even months to find her. If the Hills were making moves like this before, it was impossible for someone like Halo not to know about it. The SUV pulled up in front of Halo's private club, and I stepped out, my usual and cold expression in place. The club was dark and gloomy on first glance but was filled with tons of VIP on getting in. A lo
Astrid's POV The ride to the graveyard was silent. I sat in the passenger's seat, staring down at my fingers as I twirled it gently and nervously. Luca was focused on the road, his grip on the steering wheel firm. I could feel the tension between us and I didn't know how to break it. A part of me didn't want to break it either. When I asked him to take me to my mother and sister's graves, I thought he was going to say I needed to stay indoors to be protected but he didn't argue and just told me as long as I got enough sleep and food. As we neared the graveyard, my heart pounded against my chest. It's been five days since their death was told to me and I haven't had the courage to ask Luca about it during the three days I was in for. It felt like their death was mainly my fault. If I hadn't brouvvvght them into the deal, maybe I would still have them alive. Just maybe. Luca slowed the car down as we neared the entrance to the graveyard. I thought cemeteries were usually eerie and c
Astrid's POV The evening of the ball had come and all of sudden, I began to develop cold feet about stepping outside with the way I looked. As I stared continually into the room, I could not recognise who was staring back at me. I had never looked so beautiful and elegant in all my years. "I'm just going to add some finishing touches to your make-up before you leave." The head of the women who had been in charge of my preparation broke through my thoughts. The other three women stood behind me, joining me to admire myself—perharps they were drooling over the woman they had transformed me into. I don't think I needed any more make-up, I could barely even recognise myself. My hair had been tightly packed into a bun which aligned the features of my face more vividly. And who still used glitter for make-up in this age, because I could see a small amount of it on both sides of my cheeks. "She looks really beautiful...." The first woman said. "I tell you, she is going to capture the
Astrid's POV I waited patiently until they all had left the dining table. None of them had eaten even up to half a morsel from their plates—not to mention requesting for more. I looked around me—the only people left were the maids who looked like they were ready to clear the table and were waiting for me to follow suit by leaving. I would have broken out in a loud laughter at the look on their faces. Did they think that I was going to abandon this food and go to bed hungry? I had not had anything as good as this food in years, and I was bound on devouring the whole thing from my plate before I took a step from this place. "If you want more miss, I can dish some more out for you!" The maid behind me said in a warm tone. She didn't look like she was mocking me or anything and genuinely looked like she was ready to dish more food for me. I couldn't say no to a request like this. I shamelessly smiled at her, revealing the food stuck in between my teeth and nodded my head in approval
Astrid's POV How dare Luca leave me alone with his family, what the hell was he thinking?!All my efforts to avoid his family had been in vain and for some reason, I kept winding up with his sisters even when he told me that the probability of running into any of his family members when I was on a tour in the house was close to zero. Had Luca lied to me or did his sisters just loved to snoop around the room at every chance that they got? I couldn't have had the energy to restrain the urge to want to look around the house and When Luca told me that it was okay for me to look around the house but with the aid of the butler, I had jumped at the chance. And now it felt like I was trapped in a maze with no way of getting out. With shaky fingers, I reached for the glass of wine in front of me and gulped down the whole content. And I regretted it almost immediately. I held myself back from slapping myself across the forehead when all of Luca's family turned to look at me. They were se
Luca's POV The one thing I hated the most was being interrupted, especially when I was almost on the middle of moving into another dimension with Astrid. I wiped my hand across my face trying to hide the irritation making its way to my face as I turned to face my sister. I knew she was the one from the way she kicked the door open, only she had the audacity to kick my door open even after I had warned her countless times not to do so. "Have you suddenly forgotten the art of knocking?!" I asked her, placing both hands on my hips. She didn't seem to mind the fact that I was pissed that she had forced her way into my room when I had told her several times to act like that lady like she was and knock on the door before I decided of to open the door to her not. And instead, her attention was on Astrid who seemed to cower under her gaze. "Father ask that you have dinner with him!" She finally said but not without folding her arms at me. I knew that she was ready to ask who Astrid was
The subtle murmurs, the slight gazes was the least way i thought I would be welcomed by Lucas's family. Why the hell did he not tell me anything about his family before bringing me down here?! "Astrid, what are you still standing for there, come let's go inside. Or don't you need some rest?" Luca's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. I swallowed as I made my way past the pair of eyes that stayed glued to my body. I could hear their side talks but I chose to ignore them. I couldn't bare to look at me—i would be drowned in the scornful pool of their gazes. I felt I didn't belong here or rather, they made me feel like I didn't belong here. The youngest women among them stared down at my dress and my shoes with a look in the eyes that I couldn't discern if it was irritation or surprise. Now I wished that I had taken my time to dress up like I belonged to their class. I wanted to scream it out to them that I had better clothes and shoes than this. I hated the look of judgement that th
Luca's POV My legs were already killing me from having to sit down behind the wheels for almost twenty hours without stopping. Getting down from the car felt like I had forgotten the art of walking. I looked over at Astrid who had found her way to the rear of the car, signaling to me to open up the boot for her so she can take out her things. "Hold on, Astrid!" I said to her, trying to conceal my tired smile as I reached into the car to unlock the boot of the car. "It's open now, Astrid, do you wanr to come take your things out for you?" I asked her. "No, I can handle my things by myself." Astrid replied with a grunt and the next thing I heard was a loud thud on the ground. Astrid had fallen one of the luggages on the ground. I rolled my eyes into the back of my head before made my way toward her. "I asked if I could help!" Was the only thing that I said before I grabbed the luggage she was struggling to lift from the floor. With the way she acted, I knew that she wanted to get
Astrid's POV "Geez, what do I pack, what do I pack, what do I pack?" I said a thousand and one times again. How did I not know what I was supposed to take and now, Luca had given me a time frame to get done with my packing. I couldn't deny the fact that I was equally nervous that I was going to meet Luca's family....for the first time. What are they going to think of me. I hoped I'd be able to impress them by the time I got there. The smile on my face vanished immediately I caught myself smiling. What was I even getting excited about, I was supposed to be pissed that Luca had asked that I start getting myself prepared for an impromptu trip and here I was, smiling to myself like a five year old child who had just been asked to get prepared to go to Disney world. Well this wasn't the first time that Luca had asked me to get ready for an impromptu trip but I was still getting quite used to it. I didn't know how long we were going to stay for so I had pack things—majorly my dresses t
Luca's POV "There's no way father needs me now!" I let out when I saw the text message from my father's butler hovering over the notification screen. I texted him back to assure him that I would be leaving first thing tomorrow morning and I'll definitely arrive before dusk tomorrow. I had already calculated the distance from my territory to my father's and it would take quite a long drive before I get there and besides, I hadn't started packing up yet. I was about to get back to business when I heard another notification. It was the butler suggesting that I leave today. "You know what, I'm just going to call my father and tell him that I won't be able to make it out today!" I said slowly while I typed down onto my phone. He replied instantly; "please sire, your father is extremely busy and I'd suggest that you follow his instructions and leave today.""Extremely busy, oh really now, even for his own son." I rolled my eyes into the back of my head and set the phone down, leaving
Astrid's POV I guess the alcohol had started to kick in already at this point because the only thing I could think about was Luca taking me to my climax. When I was supposed to be mad at him for leaving me for so long, all I could think about now was pleasing Luca and making him get the same sensation I was having down there. "Spread your legs wider for me!" Luca instructed before he crashed his lips against mine. I did as he said while my tongue did a little dance with his inside his mouth. I felt Luca thrust in deeply into me, ascending a peak I had never attained. I moaned against his lips while he continued thrusting deep inside of me. I couldn't hold my legs up any longer and wrapped it around it his waist instead while he sent me forth to paradise and back. "Fuck, Luca...." I screamed out his name at the top of my lungs when I felt my walls climaxing. I sank my fingers into his back and raised my hip toward him while my eyes were rolled inside my head with pleasure. After