CELINE HERRERA POV Grandfather looked uncomfortable for once in his life as the two families were introduced, and I could tell from the perpetual frown that was etched on his face that he was not happy that I was getting married, that too before his beloved Delia. And Belshar was also a business rival.He didn't hide his judgment and disappointment but I could also tell from the look on his face as the night wore on that he was already scheming in his head on ways to use this connection to his advantage.Only Séda had accompanied Belshar, but I could tell they came with a team of guards who were probably all around our mansion to ensure the evening went as planned. Grandfather on his part got the best chef and made sure the dinner was befitting for Belshar and his Mom.Dinner went mildly well even though Delia moaned and bitched throughout. I was sure she did it to get Belshar's attention, but throughout the suffering ordeal, I knew he didn't glance at her for once because I could f
CELINE HERRERA POV PAST"I hate you!" Crystal yelled, the lightning rendering the skies making the statement even more severe. "You have everything and yet you can't even let me have just one thing that I want... Are you really my friend... Is this how you are going to treat me after all these years" Tears streamed down my cheek but the rain wiped them off as soon as they dropped. "You do not get to say that Crystal!" I yelled, matching her riotous energy and stepping into her space. "Do not think for one minute that you get to use that line on me. Do you not get tired of coming to me every other year and making the most ridiculous demands? What haven't I let go for you huh? I gave up Asher for you didn't I, I let you get first place in all the exams in high school, I applied to a different college cause you didn't want me to go where you were and now you want my fucking kidney. What are you going to ask for next, my freaking heart"She shook her head, the motion making her neck loo
DELIA HERRERA POV "Why are you just allowing her to marry Belshar? Their wedding is this week. What about me? This was not part of the plan" I screamed, my hands flying to my hair while my whole body shook almost convulsively. I was losing my freaking mind and grandfather looked totally nonchalant about it. "Say something! Fucking say something damn it" I roared. "Enough of your tantrums! I told you this was a bad idea from the very start.. what would you have me do against someone as powerful as Belshar" "If you had just cut her off then this would not be happening. She's not even a real Herrera and she killed your son. My mother died because of her.. how can you let this happen!".Grandfather stood up, walked toward me, and then grabbed me by my shoulders and stared at me for awhile until the trembling restless energy that coursed through my veins lessened. "That's enough now my lovely child, take a deep breath and calm down so we can talk about this rationally," he said and I t
DELIA HERRERA POV PASSION GARDEN Once I stepped into the garden house I saw him and my heart gave a little jump in my chest. God, he made me so mad even when he was doing nothing. He stood tall in a tailor-made impeccable suit, his gaze focused on one of the flowers in particular. Why a flower garden of all places? I bet he was doing it on purpose because he knew just how much I despised settings like this. Was his one goal in life just to annoy me or what?He had his hands tucked into his pocket and his stance screamed power and authority and all that combo just made me more furious than I already was. I really should have drank a bottle of wine before coming here because there was only so much I could take in a day."If you stare at me for much longer you might really fall in love with me Delia," he said making me blanch from where I stood then he turned to face me, a knowing smirk on his lips, his hazel eyes a light shade that shone with amusement.I scoffed, then rolled my eyes
DELIA HERRERA My marriage was registered and In the news a day before Celine's wedding and I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she joined us for dinner tonight.I knew she had no plan for a bachelorette party because the only people who would have been in attendance had had no choice but to attend the small ceremony we'd held to commemorate my wedding. Grandfather had made it absolutely necessary. Celine had not come of course since she made an excuse that she was going to be getting her wedding gown that day but dinner was a different ball game and she had to come.I couldn't wait to gloat in her face. She thought she could one-up me but I was going to make sure that things never go the way she wanted them to. Marrying Enoch had not been part of the plan but Celine had left me with no choice since I hated the thought of her getting married before me. And Grandfather was right, Enoch was really the right candidate if I ever wanted to outshine Celine. But that didn't me
CELINE HERRERA POV Tears welled up in my eyes as I yanked open the door to my house and stepped into my little sanctuary. I took in the familiar interior then squeezed my eyes shut and slipped to the floor. The tears fell in torrents. They hadn't stopped falling since the night I'd left Bella's place and tonight Delia had managed to push me so hard, I'd said stuff that I normally wouldn't. I rubbed my hand against my face and flinched in pain as my hand rubbed against the crusty dried blood and the small cuts on my face. Picking myself up from the floor, I made my way to the bathroom and washed all of the blood off, then I stared at my reflection for the longest time. I took out the first aid box then treated my wound and put bandages on the most nasty of the cuts.My phone rang and I glanced to see that it was Julie calling. I picked up the phone and answered the call."Celine, oh my God, thank God you picked. I thought you were still mad at me" I still was but I also heard that
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED Everyone was gathered at the church and as I took in the expectant faces of all the guests, all I wanted was to get the charade all over with. Séda had planned the whole wedding so of course I'd expected it to be grand. Most of the time I did whatever it was they wanted just so they didn't focus all of their attention on me but marrying Celine who was an illegitimate child had been all my decision and I was sure the wheels in their head were turning as to why I was doing all this.Everything was a game to my family and the dynamic was such that the weak didn't survive for too long. I'd survived for so long because I had Selene by my side but she was gone and I knew that If I showed any crack I was going to end up dead like Antonio my older brother and Angelo, my stepbrother. It was just me and Kail now and I was sure mother and father were salivating to know who was going to come out on top.They were crazy but my family's had always been. Selene had been the onl
CELINE HERRERA POV The piano piece sounded like an intro to a horror show, and as I got closer to the altar with Belshar standing and staring at me as if I'd bolt at any second, I felt the seriousness of the situation and that there was no way for me to back out. I was fucking doomed.Séda was by my side as soon as I reached the aisle where she was sitting. She took my hand, kissed my cheek then met my gaze, the smile on her lips not quite reaching her eyes."I am so happy you showed up for your wedding Celine. I almost thought I'd have to kill you if it turned out you ran away" she whispered so only I could hear then chuckled when she saw me clench the flower I was holding tighter. "I am just joking love, you shouldn't take everything so seriously, it's really a bad habit.. now off you go, let me not keep you waiting any longer," she said and patted my back. I walked away from her but I could feel her gaze boring into my back and even though she had said it was all a joke, I knew t
KAREN POV "I used to really hate Belshar, you know," Kail got out as he turned on his side to face me."Why?" I asked, staring into his grey eyes. "Because father and mother used to pay more attention to him than me. It was almost as if I didn't exist back then. They always had their eyes on him, so I had to go the extra mile just to get them to notice me."He paused, and I watched as a wry smile played on his lips. He looked so sad, it hurt my heart."I started to bully him because of that. I took pleasure in causing him pain since he took all my joy away. Father and mother soon noticed, and instead of getting in trouble, they told me that they were proud of me. So the pattern formed. It was only when I hurt him that Mother smiled at me, so I did it more times than often. But that feeling of finally being noticed soon faded because it was still because of him. I hated him so much all I thought about was killing him""And Belshar never fought back," I asked. It was a bit surprising
KAREN POV "Eat" the man snapped as he shoved the tray in my hand. "You should be glad that bastard over there takes all your punishment pretty doll. Enjoy it while it lasts because It won't be long until he's worn out. Then I'll have you all to myself" he said and reached to grab my breast."Don't fucking touch her," Kail roared, then groaned, his eyes squeezing shut in pain as he fell to his knees.The man laughed and then grabbed me by the chin. "It looks like it won't be long now, doll. You better pray Belshar does something to get you two out, or you're really going to die here" he grinned, then walked out of the room, the door shutting hard behind him.I cursed under my breath, then walked toward Kail.The food on the tray did not look all that appetizing but I was so hungry, my stomach was literally growling.This was the third time they were feeding us since they put us here. I crouched beside Kail. "Eat this," I said and tried to feed him the soup they'd brought. He shook h
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