For the next two days, Simon seemed busier than ever.The only time he returned was at night, and the only thing he did was find Elena in her room and sleep while cuddling up to her.The third day, however, turned out a little different.When Elena woke up, Simon was not in bed as usual, but he sure hadn’t left for work before she even opened her eyes.She blinked up at the door, pretty sure she could hear his deep voice and Caleb’s cheery one intermingled with one another.Surprised that he hadn’t left yet, she got out of bed and made her way towards the hallway, curious what they could be talking about so early in the morning.She couldn’t make out much, but there were a few things that were said, that gave her pause.“Ooooooh! I never saw one. Did you see them, Uncle Simon? What did they look like?” Caleb asked excitedly.A pause, and then Simon replied, his voice calm and steady.“Of course, I have seen them. The Kangaroos are Australia’s most distinctive and recognizable animals.
Her words seemed to have rendered him speechless.Simon, who always could read her mind, always could understand the working of her mind, stood in front of her, lips parted in a soft, ‘o’, as he just stared at her with eyes wide in surprise.Elena, on the other hand, looking anything but surprised by what came out of her mouth. She seemed to be frowning, but not for the same reasons as him, he could tell.He couldn’t help but tip his head to the side, wondering what led her to this thought. “What’s with the sudden decision?”He was right. It was all too sudden. She should have given her words another thought. But she didn’t. And now it was too late. Not that any part of her regretted it. She knew it was the right thing to do, after all.“Well,” she said, a slight blush covering her face. “I just realised that it’s stupid trying to keep fighting against it. I do have feelings for you, and they are strong. I…never had such feelings for Richard. Yes, at the time we were dating, I liked hi
“Oh, Elena, this dress looks so beautiful on you,” Diana said with a grin as she watched Elena try on her eleventh dress. It was a simple white satin gown with gold lace appliqués on the skirt and an elegant open back. It fit her like a second skin and gave her a classic silhouette. It was elegant, understated, and very beautiful.“This is it. It’s perfect,” Elena said to herself, smiling as she watched herself in the mirror, taking a small twirl on the small pedestal in front of the mirror.“It really is,” the old lady agreed, coming over to tie the knot. Elena could only stand and stare at her reflection. Her eyes looked too bright, and she was biting her lips, trying to contain her happiness. But the way her body was trembling, she was sure anyone could tell she was going to explode with happiness soon enough.When she had married Richard, his parents and sister had done all the shopping. Richard had insisted that it was their tradition to have the women of the groom’s family buy th
The moment the call disconnected, Simon dialed Elena.The bell kept ringing, but she didn’t pick up.“Come on, Elena.” He dialed again.No answer.He then dialed Diana. She had accompanied Elena to the boutique to shop for clothes, hadn’t she?He held the phone to his ear, but she did not answer either.“What the fuck, Diana!?” he growled, his dark eyes flashing. He turned to his assistant, William. “Call for backup. Get the security at the boutique to find Elena. Tell them they need to find her before I do, or they will regret the rest of their miserable lives.”William quickly nodded. “Yes, sir.”Simon then stormed over to where his car was parked. The driver saw his mood and immediately knew better than to ask questions.“Go!” he shouted the moment he took his seat. The car started at full speed toward the boutique.When they reached the boutique, the place was full of chaos. Men and women were rushing around like a hurricane. Something had caused panic in the entire place, and he d
The Serpents,” Viper had said. A notorious gang known for their ruthless tactics and deep connections within the criminal underworld. It made sense that Barlowe would use them for his dirty work.“Keep digging,” Simon ordered. “I want to know everything about their operations, their members, their hideouts. I need to find Elena before it’s too late.”“Copy that.”The call disconnected and Simon found himself pacing in the hospital room.Diana, who now sat on the bed, watched him grow more and more angrier. She could tell Simon had murder on his mind. She had seen that look on his face before, and if the last time was any proof of what this man could do to his enemies, she feared for whoever crossed him this time.“What are you going to do?” She finally asked.Simon glanced up from his phone, his eyes glinting darkly.“Whatever is necessary to find her and make whoever dared to touch her regret their existence in this world.”“Simon,” Diana’s tone was gentle but stern. “You can’t let E
Elena woke up slowly. Her eyelids felt heavy, her throat dry. Her shoulders felt as if they had been crushed by mountains, and her legs felt as if they had been turned into lead.What the hell was wrong with her?Someone tapped her on the cheek, trying to wake her up. “Open your eyes, Elena. How long are you going to nap? You’re missing out on all the fun, sweetheart.”Elena jerked her head away, too exhausted to even open her eyes and see who it was. But that voice…she couldn’t mistake that voice for anyone else. The realization jolted her heart to attention.Elena snapped her eyes open, her heart already in her throat. “D…Dan…Danika?”“Yep!” Danika chuckled, finally moving back to stand upright, arms crossed over her chest. “The one and only.”Elena tried to move, but couldn’t. She looked down at herself and realized rather quickly that her hands were bound to the armrest of a chair, not by any ropes but something made of leather, and the more she tried to pull, the more they wrappe
Elena’s vision blurred with tears as Danika’s furious words echoed around the empty warehouse. The sharp sting of the whip across her flesh seemed never-ending, each strike sending waves of searing pain through her already battered body. She tried to steady her breathing, to find some semblance of control in this nightmare, but the torment was relentless.“You think you can just walk away from me? You think you can live your life without paying for what you did?” Danika’s voice was filled with venom, her eyes alight with a manic fire. “Well, I have news for you, princess. The universe isn’t as kind and forgiving as you think it is. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, and it’s time you learned your lesson, bitch!”With those words, she flung the whip to the other side of the room and huffed.Elena couldn’t help but sigh, her body too tired to even register the pain now. The cuts on her cheeks still burned like hell, but the relief from the torture was all that mattered to her
“You broke my nose!” She cried out, blood seeping down her face, dripping into the concrete beneath. “You bitch! You broke my nose!”“It’s a long overdue payback,” Elena growled.Danika snapped her head to her. “How dare you! How dare you say such a thing to me!”Danika jumped up, grabbing the backrest of the chair, and pushed her over. Elena landed hard on the concrete with a groan. Her body ached like hell and she could taste the metallic taste of her own blood in her mouth. Her vision still red, she gritted her teeth and pushed herself up.She wasn’t going down like that, she couldn’t let that happen.Danika pulled out a switchblade, holding it right at her eye level, threatening to stab her if she ever moved a muscle. But that was exactly what Elena was waiting for, to get Danika close to her.Once she got close enough, Elena raised her knee and slammed it right into Danika’s stomach, causing her to bend over in pain and gasp for breath. That gave Elena just enough time to turn an