CELINE HERRERA POV I woke up wrapped in Belshar's warmth, our naked bodies tangled together. Images from the night before flashed in my head and a smile tugged on my lip. I glanced up from his chest to his beautiful sleeping face, my breath catching in my throat from how divine he looked. I moved a bit, the soreness between my thighs making a small moan escape my lips. Belshar had been a beast at the end of the night even though he started out gently. I even lost count of how many times he made me cum. Remembering just how loud I'd screamed his name each time I came made me blush. It was the most intense feeling and he'd whispered words into my ears that still resonated deep inside.Smiling at the memory, I moved closer to him, my breath catching in my throat when his hand tightened around my waist a bit. His touch went lax and I let out the breath I'd been holding. I gazed at his face, taking in every feature that made him unique. His brow, the small scar at the side of his face
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV "I came to see my daughter-in-law since she didn't deem it fit to reach out to me," Séda said, her eyes locking with Celine who stood behind me. I didn't like that Séda was here, after what they did to Celine and what I knew they were plotting against me, seeing them only reminded me that I was a monster and they were my trainer.Celine had managed to tame the beast inside, and for a while, I'd had a taste of what it felt like to have a normal life where I could just be carefree and happy. Séda was a wake-up call.To leave this life behind, everyone in opposition would have to die. The game was never going to end until either I or Kail died. I clenched my fist. "After what you and Father did, I do not think Celine owes you anything" "And what did we do that we haven't paid for Belshar? We are family. Mistakes are made sometimes, you should stop holding such a grudge against us... After all, you got your pound of flesh. I thought we had an agreement and was
DELIA HERRERA POV Enoch didn't make a move to touch me where I stood. Was he going to hurt me? The feeling of anticipating his next move was both dreadful and exhilarating."Take better care of your affairs, Delia. I will not stand by and watch you drag my name in the mud" My chest felt stuffy. I wanted to yell, to tell him that if he didn't want me to drag his name in the mud, then he should give me the bloody divorce I'd been asking for. But I couldn't get the words past my lips. I didn't want a divorce, especially now when it looked like he was still in love with Celine, or was it Julie?"What are you going to do? Are you going to hunt Zyaine down? Are you going to have him killed" He scoffed, a chuckle escaping his lips as he watched me. "Why do you sound like you would like that... Is it because that's what Belshar would do if he caught you cheating" I sucked in a breath. "What the hell are you talking about" His hand grazed my cheek, a look I couldn't quite decipher on his
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar stopped me as I made to get out of the car and I turned to face him. "Are you mad at me about what happened earlier? I was going to tell you about the party... It just took the backseat because there were more important things I had to do" he told me, his voice soft and calm. I took his hand, the contrast between my pale soft hand and his large strong tanned hand stealing my attention for a second. I glanced up to see him staring at me keenly. "I am not angry with you Belshar. Your mother was just a bit overwhelming. Also, I still can't get past what she said about us enjoying this while it lasted. I feel like things are not right, like she's planning something evil...""You don't have to be scared princess. I will protect you. No one will hurt you as long as I am by your side" "And I believe you Belshar, but I still can't help but be anxious. What if they do something horrible to you? What if I am not the target? What if it's you they want to kill? I
CELINE HERRERA POV "What is the meaning of this" I yelled as I stormed into grandfather's office and threw the newspaper I'd gotten on his desk.Grandfather's gaze dropped to it. The announcement he'd made earlier was boldly written at the top.His gaze traced the item on his desk before he looked up at me. "So, you saw the news and then you got the papers only to come here and throw it in my face." He picked the paper up and tossed it into the thrash. "What are you doing here Celine? Why are you throwing a tantrum" The sound of the door opening drew my attention and I turned to see who it was. Delia stepped inside, the wide smile on her lips making my heart burn. I wasn't surprised to see her.Her eyes widened a fraction, the happy look on her face disappearing as we locked gazes. "Celine. What are you doing here" she asked, her voice sounding a bit shaky. I expected to see a look of victory on her face, but she just looked agitated and worried. Was she seriously still acting? Was
DELIA HERRERA POV "What do you mean I am no longer on the guest list" I asked, getting to my feet. "You told me that everything was going to go to plan and I only had to be in attendance once Séda sent out the invites" "That is in the past Delia. You must have pissed Celine off pretty bad since she personally called Séda and told her she didn't want you or your grandfather in attendance. Well, that's none of my business. I kept my part of the deal, you were the one who messed up the plan" That bitch. I knew something like this was bound to happen. How dare she do this. She was literally a penniless nobody without my grandfather's or Belshar's support. Where did she get the audacity to cross me? I had to go to that party. That was my only chance to get with Belshar. After all the sacrifices I made, I totally could not accept defeat."You have to get me into that party however you can, Kail. I have paid you billions, helped you with smuggling your weapons, and have stacks of billion
DELIA HERRERA POV Julie knew something. She had to. My gut feeling was never wrong. I glanced at the glass of water that I'd drunk while she'd been here earlier. There were still some left. I got up and paced the room. Had she poisoned me? Did she know about Delia? Why had she asked about the pearl necklace specifically? She was not one to be interested in my jewelry, so why?The look that had been in her eyes and the way she'd smirked, was all a pointer that she knew something.I had to take the remnant of water and get the doctor to test it for the poison. Julie was too good to be true.I grabbed my hair hard. Why did everything always go the way I wanted only to be destroyed at the end? Kail was going to screw me over, Julie was probably just going to work against me while she took all my money and that bastard who had sent that video to me and then to Kail was going to ruin me. A message popped up on my phone and my heart skipped a beat. "Speak of the devil," I said, opening t
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV "Do everything you can to find out the person responsible for her death" I grounded out, grimacing as I pulled the cloth over Bella's face, the holes gaping in her neck etched into my memory.The cop nodded and walked out of the room.Stone stood by my side, his fist clenched as he stared at the body. "I gave you an order to stay back and find Xavier. Why did you come here?" His gaze never wavered from Bella even though she was covered up. "I couldn't bring myself to obey your order, Belshar," he said, his gaze jerking to mine. "Bella is dead. I still remember the last time we spoke Belshar. I told her she would get a chance to be your lover if I killed Xavier" Sighing, I walked past him to the door. "We will find the killer and make them pay for what they did, Stone. Bella will get justice" "And will that bring her back?" He asked the pain in his voice unmasked. "If I'd been here, to protect her, she wouldn't have died... You knew she loved you. You were
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV The black hood over my face was disorienting and as the man behind me shoved me around, I couldn't help but trip over my feet.It was fucking humiliating. I had to give it to the guy called Victor Stakov though. He was good. Two attacks in one day. Who would have thought?I hadn't even been given a chance to struggle before I got shoved into the black van and a needle was jabbed into my neck that had me passing out in secondsThe only downside to this whole bullshit was that they had taken Karen too. I knew because I'd been holding her hand when I came face to face with them.My hands balled into fists, the rope tied around my wrist digging into my flesh.Fuck! They better not touch her. Where was she now? I didn't want to think of the worst, but every step I took without feeling that she was near made the knot in my stomach tighter. I couldn't fucking breathe.It didn't help that I couldn't see shit through the black hood over my headPlease. Please. Please le
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV "Victor stakov" the man gasped, blood spurting from his mouth. "It was Victor Stakov," he shouted, then screamed when I pressed the branding rod against his skin.The sizzling sound and the smell of burning flesh filled the room, everything mingling to create an atmosphere charged with an intensity that made my blood surge through my veins as if I were riding out a high God I missed this. How long had it been since I last tortured anyone? I'd made a lot of coffee and cakes to keep myself occupied but it was always so monotonous. It got boring too. This. This was exactly what I needed. Dropping the rod onto the burning coal, I raked my hand through my hair and stared down at the man on the table. His body was covered with my brand, his skin bruised and burnt.It was a work of art, really, but there were still some spaces that I hadn't marked, and my fingers itched to pick up the rod and fill it up."Please" he gasped, spitting out more blood. "Don't kill me. I
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV My heart was in my throat. Fuck! I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. I was speeding through the highway but I didn't care. I should have known that something like this was going to happen. "Argh" I roared, my hand clenching on the steering wheel. "I'm going to make you pay bastard"Just how was Celine feeling right now? My heart raced with every terrible scenario, Fear clawing at my chest, its icy grip suffocating me. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't fucking wrap my mind around the fact that she had almost been hurt.I watched it all happen too.I veered off the road, my tires screeching as I turned a sharp corner. Kail's cafe loomed in the distance.When I arrived at the spot, I noticed that the car the hitmen had used was still parked out front. The windows were shattered and bullet holes riddled the door. My hands trembled, the rage in my chest suffocating. The guards were still standing around. Their greeting went unheard as the roaring
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar still wasn't saying anything. Anytime I got a picture, I asked him about his day, hoping that he was going to tell me about the girl and why he was meeting up with her but each time I asked, he just told me how work went and how boring everything was while skipping out the most important thing I wanted to know about.There were six pictures so far, and I was starting to get angry. It all came with messages too. Messages that ruined my day every time I thought of them.Was it a reporter sending the images? Are they going to call soon to demand money or threaten to release the picture?They probably wouldn't, especially since the photos were not that incriminating.The most intimate one was the first picture I got and that was because the lady had been in a bathing suit.I dragged my finger through my hair and then sighed. "Should I just ask Belshar about it?" We had real enemies to worry about, so why was I allowing this to chip away at me? What was I so af
VICTOR STAKOV "I don't think our plan is going to work out, "Gabby got out as she strode toward my desk. "No, I know it is not going to," she said, stopping in front of me. She leaned toward me, her hands slamming down hard to get my attention. "Belshar is being very difficult"I glanced up from the laptop in front of me and then flipped it close when she arched a brow. Exhaling roughly, I inched close to her. "How many times are we going to go over this, Gabby""As many times I meet up with him and he ignores my very existence"I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Give it time, it's going to work. You're just too impatient for your own good""No, that's not the case this time. It's been two weeks. Two weeks of trying my damned best to get his attention. We've met a total of six times and I am still not close to getting his attention as at the start""You told me he spoke with you the last time you pretended to run into him at a conference""He also spoke to other women there," Gabby s
CELINE HERRERA POV "What's wrong. You look pale" Victoria noticed, her eyes flaring in concern.I shook my head and dropped my phone. "Nothing, I just got a message from Belshar that's all. I think he will be home late today""You don't have to look so sad just because he's staying out, I am here to keep you company am I not"I forced a smile. "Yeah, but you're not Belshar"She rolled her eyes. "I don't know what I do at this job of mine. I'm just getting paid for doing nothing""Isn't that the dream job?"She grinned. "It is, but sometimes I need to feel the adrenaline from working hard at something"I shook my head. "You are so weird," I said, then reached for the fruit and popped one into my mouth. It didn't taste good, not with the image I'd seen replaying in my head over and over again.Why had he gone to the beach? What was he doing with her?Did they know each other from before? He hadn't even looked at her at the restaurant. Was that all a facade?God, my brain hurts just thi
CELINE HERRERA POV "I think Kail is stalking me," Karen said and I glanced up at her. "What?""I don't know Celine... I feel like I've been running into him a lot lately""Define a lot""Like every day of this past week. He runs a cafe so how is that even possible? Just how much time does he have to be going around like that, and that too everywhere I go? We don't have the same bloody schedule." She turned to face me, her back resting against the railings. "Do you think I am being paranoid""No, I don't think so," I said since it was Kail we were talking about. Just because he turned a new leave and was acting like a saint now didn't mean that he hadn't once been the epitome of all things evil. Also, I'd noticed the way his gaze had been on Karen the last time we were at his cafe. He'd stared at her as if he was trying to see into her soul.Karen pushed away from the railing. "Should I be worried? I can't imagine what he could want from me""I think he likes you," Victoria chipped i
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV"Do you have anything to report?" I asked Christian. The words that Victor had said to me a week ago rang in my head, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. It had been a threat. Was he going to target my wife? My fist clenched. "There is nothing so far. All Victor does is work and attend conference meetings. He's been creating a network for his business that has started to work from how much progress he made this week, but rest assured, all eyes are on him"Was that what he was hoping for? For all of my attention to be on him while he worked in the shadows to strike those closest to me."I want you to plant a mole in his mansion. I need to know what goes on when he's alone in his house.""Already working on that. We'll have inside information soon.""Celine has been home for a while now, but she's going to get bored as time goes on, so assign more bodyguards to her whenever she gets the urge to go out""Yes boss"I let out a rough exhale, then glanced up at Chris
CELINE HERRERA POV I was out with Belshar, and the Sky looked so blue that I couldn't help but feel a little thrill as I gazed up at it."Nice weather, huh?" he asked as he took my hand in his.I nodded. "It's really nice""We just have to walk for a few minutes and we'll be at the restaurant. The doctor said you need to walk more than you already do""Do we have to do everything he says"He grinned. "We don't want to give that man a heart attack, so let's just follow his advice, okay? He worries over you more than I do"I chuckled. "True. Off we go then," I said, and we started to walk.The street was a lot quieter than usual, and all of a sudden, I couldn't help but think if a hitman was lurking in the shadow, waiting to get a perfect angle and take us out.It was all because of Victor Stakov. That was the name of the man who was threatening to destroy the peaceful happiness that I and Belshar currently shared. It was unfair. Belshar said he had eyes on him and that the man only s