CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar was going to fucking kill me if I didn't find a way to end him first and as he let go of me to pace the room and punch at the wall until blood seeped down his hand, I couldn't help but watch him with bated breath, my lips tingling and throbbing."Are you in love with Xavier? Is that why you left with him," he asked, his hand grazing through his hair in agitation."I don't know what you are talking about," I said, and he turned to face me, looking calm and collected, but I could see the pain in his eyes, and it made my heart twist viciously beneath my ribs. Why did his pain hurt me this way?"Tell me the truth, Celine. I know you hate me because of everything I did to you in the past but it's different now. I know why you refused to tell me about Crystal; you didn't want me to hate her; you wanted to protect her till the very end. I know you didn't push Crystal off that building, Celine. You were telling me the truth and I refused to acknowledge it. I treate
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV I watched her run, my heart burning darkly. I'd wanted to test her, to see if she was going to stay with me even if she saw an opportunity to escape, but I should have known she was going to run. No one wanted to stay by a fucking monster anyway, but that didn't mean I was going to let her go. Celine was mine and I refused to let her leave me. I already lost her twice, to lose her a third time was a call for insanity. I thought that she was starting to warm up to me, especially since she'd been a bit more agreeable than she was before. I should have known better. She was just waiting for a chance to go back to him, and no matter how much I racked my brain, I just couldn't understand why she would want to be with Xavier.But I noticed something strange, though; Celine was totally convinced that I'd been the one to arrange for her to be kidnapped and killed off and that I was just pretending not to know about it because I wanted to mess with her head. She was
CELINE HERRERA POV I expected Belshar to fall flat on his face, unconscious. Instead, he turned, totally steady on his feet, and snarled at me as he rubbed at the back of his head while I stood there clutching at the wood in my hand. "That was a mistake, Celine" he rasped darkly, the dark intentions in his eyes glaring.I panicked and swung back the wood, but he didn't wait for it to connect; he lunged at me, his hand hitting the wood out of my hand. The branch flew out of my hands, and Belshar slammed down on me like a brick wall, sending us both crashing to the floor.I groaned, clenching my eyes as branches and roots dug into my back, making me gasp at the pain.I shouldn't have attacked him, but everything had hurt, and I couldn't breathe. Then I had cut my foot on something, and I knew running was only going to get it worse, so I'd decided it was either fight or get caught. I should’ve known I could never win a fight against him.Belshar growled as he planted his hands on eit
CELINE HERRERA POV I stretched out my hand, presenting to him my wrist, and watched as he pushed the looped rope through my hand to my wrist, and then pulled at it sharply. I let out a sharp gasp as the rope tightened, my gaze jumping to those of Belshar's intense ones. "Now let's get you cleaned up; your hair is a mess," he said, carried me up, and went into the bathroom. He gently dropped me into the bathtub that had already been filled up, the water warm and soothing against my cold skin, and I stared at him; because of everything I expected, this was not it. What was he up to? What was he going to do?I watched, my mouth going dry as he started to undress, the ripple of his muscle as he took off each piece of clothing mesmerizing, and when he undid his belt and tugged down his pants, I looked away, heat flooding my cheek because even though I had turned my head, I'd gotten a glimpse of just how big he was, and how hard, and how beautiful. "Stop it," I blurted out, then raised m
DELIA HERRERA POV "I want my money back," I said, and Kail looked up at me from his phone, a bored expression on his face."I do not have it," he replied nonchalantly, then grinned, and for a second, I had to take in a deep breath so I didn't explode. "Don't fucking mess with me Kail, even if you are the most feared killer in the world, I will fucking destroy you" He stood up all of a sudden and I backed up as he towered over me. The look on his face was psychotic."Do not fucking threaten me, Delia. You should learn to read the room and realize that I am a minute away from bringing out a dagger and slicing that pretty throat of yours" he grinned, his eyes flashing.I glanced at his fist clenching by his side but there was no other weapon in sight. "If you hurt me, you won't get away with it," I said, trying to sound brave.He reacted by throwing his fist in my face, stopping a second before it connected with my nose and I stood there, my hand staying uselessly by my side because h
DELIA HERRERA POV "Delia," someone called, and I turned in the direction of the voice. Bella was standing there and as I took in her appearance and the look on her face, it didn't look like she was here by chance. "What a surprise running into you here. Such a small world isn't it" I forced a smile. "You are absolutely right, but just so you know, I usually do not frequent such dingy places, but I came here to eat once and the food was so good, it became one of my favorite places to come when I am having a bad day""You're having a bad day? And here I was thinking that you came here to celebrate your sister being found after she was declared dead," she said, and my fake smile stretched."What can I do if the world doesn't revolve around Celine Herrera? There have been some troubles at the company. I needed a break from all the toxicity"She nodded as if she understood me. "Of course. Making money should always be our priority, and if the business is experiencing bad marketing, you s
DELIA HERRERA POV The water cascaded down my skin and I tipped my head back, rubbing at my neck to get rid of the tension. God, today had been a tough one. It was going to be another week of sleepless nights, but at least I'd gotten rid of one of my problems. A giggle burst out of my mouth, and then I started laughing as the image of Bella's surprised face when I'd attacked her flashed in my head. It had been so good to stab her in the throat and hear her make those awful gurgling noises.My finger skimmed her pearl necklace on my neck and I grinned at the giddy feeling that rushed through my body. I knew I would wear it better.My goodness, that little bitch had been intolerable, and she acted so high and mighty as if she thought no one could touch. Did she also say she was crazier than me? What a fucking joke.Yes, I'd been impulsive, but killing her had felt so good that if I could turn back time I would do it all over again. I would do anything to see the shocked look in her ey
CELINE HERRERA POV "Oh my goodness, Celine!" Delia gasped as she saw me, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened. "I can't believe it's you," she said and started toward me. "You have no idea how brutal these past few months have been; I have missed you so much... Argh," she stopped as the palm of my hand crashed against her cheek, her head whipping to the side. She turned to face me fiercely, her eyes fogging up. "What the hell," she said, grabbing her cheek. "Why the hell did you hit me" I crossed my arms, my brows furrowing. "You don't know?" I asked and she gaped at me as if I'd gone insane. "Maybe if I give the video clip of you pushing Crystal off our company building to the cops, that might jog your memory" "Crystal? Who the hell is Crystal" she shouted, the veins on her neck popping out."Crystal is Belshar's wife Selene, my best friend that you pushed to death" There was a brief moment of absolute silence, then Delia's eyes widened, her mouth dropping to
CELINE HERRERA POV THREE MONTHS LATER "What's wrong. You've been spacing off for a while now" Karen turned to face me and then shook her head, her eyes squinted to avoid the glare of the sun."Nothing's wrong," she answered, and I gave her a look because even a blind mind could tell by her aura that things were not right."You know you can always talk to me right"She forced a smile. "I know that"I couldn't help becoming more concerned. "If you're still traumatized about the whole thing you went through, I can fix you an appointment with the therapist that helped me when I experienced something similar"She sighed and came to sit beside me. "No, you don't have to do that at all. I promise I'm really fine."I nodded even though I wasn't convinced. There has been something off with her ever since the rescue and her refusal to talk to me was starting to make me worry.I already felt bad that she got dragged into our family's mess and had to go through something so horrible, so why wa
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV I watched as they wheeled her away, my heart burning in my chest.Belshar walked toward me; his face was grim and emotionless. He stopped in front of me and my jaws clenched, the anger in my chest poisoning my blood."You sure took your time, Belshar"He scoffed, his gaze moving over me. "That's what you think but I didn't take a rest for the ten days you both were captured, kail. I did everything possible to make sure you didn't have to die In this dump""If it was Celine, you would have made sure you rescued her in time" I roared and grabbed his shirt. "Do you have any idea what Karen went through in there? She's probably going to be traumatized after this" I gritted and saw red when he smirked."What the hell is so funny" I gritted out, the urge to punch him in the face becoming impossible to resist."I didn't think I'd see the day you would be concerned for someone else. I thought you were angry for yourself, but it turns out it's for Karen. You're down that
KAREN POV I started to get up and stopped when he reached out, his gaze intent on mine."Don't" he started, then swallowed, his gaze darting away from mine. "You don't have to get up"My face flushed and the prickly feeling in my neck intensified despite the frigid air. "Don't you like me anymore?" I asked and he shook his head, even though the action caused him a bit of discomfort."I like you a lot, Karen. You have no idea how hard it has been for me to have you so close and not be able to do anything" he said, his gaze pinning mine. "From the moment I laid eyes on you at the cafe, you consumed my thoughts. I couldn't help but watch you... I must have scared you"I bit down on my lips. "You did scare me at the start but I knew you weren't going to hurt me"A flicker of a smile ghosted across his lips, then he became serious. "You told me at the cafe before all of this happened that you loved Enoch. I told you how I felt about you and that was your reply"I twiddled with my thumb,
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