CELINE HERRERA POV "You shouldn't trust everything Xavier tells you, Celine," David said, his voice somber, and I glanced up at him in the mirror, my hands freezing in the process of putting on my lip gloss, my brows shooting up."What do you mean by that, David," I asked, genuinely curious. Xavier had been the one to tell me everything about my past and the gap he couldn't fill; he encouraged me to remember myself. But try as I might, I couldn't recall anything. All I knew was that I'd had a pretty decent life from what I saw in the news... there were occasions Jab at me being an illegitimate child here and there, but since I didn't have any memory of that time, I also didn't have the emotion that went along with it."Forget it," he started, and I shook my head and turned to face him."No, I can't just forget about it. Is there something Xavier is hiding from me? If you know something, you should tell me," I said, because even though I trusted Xavier, sometimes I felt as if he was o
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV I watched her expressive blue eyes widen as the words left my lips and I had so many questions, but I was only going to get my answers once she was back where she belonged. At home, with me. I could tell she was going to run and as she moved back, her body rigid as if she was waiting for me to whip out a gun and kill her, I grabbed her arm and yanked her toward me. "Are you going to run away again right after I found you?" I asked, both relieved and furious. With the way she was acting, it was almost like she'd planned the whole fiasco with Xavier. Did she fall in love with him while in captivity? Was that why she chose to leave me and fake her death? Just the thought of it had me clenching my jaw. "What, Celine, do you plan to run away? Perhaps back to Xavier?" I asked and watched as her eyes widened and she trembled. So she'd been with him. She'd been with him all this time. Just the thought, oh Gods! I wanted to fucking destroy everything. Instead, I ju
CELINE HERRERA POV "Xavier" I called, refusing to believe that I was staring at Belshar. Where the hell was I? Raising my hand, I rubbed at my eyes and when I opened them, my spine went rigid when it was still him sitting right in front of me "Yes, it's me Belshar. You do not have to look so shocked," he rumbled, his deep voice causing tremors to race up my spine as I jerked my gaze from his. The room I was in was huge and unfamiliar. Was he going to kill me? How could I have messed everything up so badly? The plan had been to run into him, pretend that I couldn't remember who I was and that I'd just woken up to find myself at Atlas and was barely getting by all by myself, but I'd gone to blurt out his name the moment I laid eyes on him.I probably also gave myself away by reacting too vividly when he mentioned Xavier's name. But I'd been so out of it with fear when I couldn't reach Xavier, I'd just reacted and even now, I couldn't help but wonder if he was still alive. He hadn't a
XAVIER POV"You shouldn't have let her go. You should have made her yours when you had the chance," David said, and I glanced at him before lifting the glass of wine to my lips."I could have, you are right, but I didn't," I said and took a sip of the hard drink, but it didn't quite take away the ache in my chest. I glanced at David who stood watching me, the grim look of disappointment in his eyes glaring. "Do you want to know why"He clenched his fist and moved a step forward as if he wanted to punch me, then thought better of it."Because you've grown weaker. You and Belshar, Celine make you both weak, and you can't fucking see it. We were good, we had our own territory, and we ruled like kings before you learned about her, and then everything came crashing down. We are on the run like fucking fugitives and the only pawn we had to protect ourselves, you let her go without a second thought. You had her, and not once did you touch her, even when you knew she wanted you. What did you
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
CELINE HERRERA POV The shot was a warning and Delia flinched, getting distracted for a second, but that was all I needed. I shoved at her hard and she fell to the floor, a gasp escaping her lips. The gun skidded out of her hold and she crawled after it. I got it before she could, then I kicked her in the face with my leg. She grunted, her head smacking against the hard concrete. She slumped to the floor, blood seeping out of the cut on her head. The cops lying in wait all rushed up to the roof, then they swooped in and grabbed her by the arms, handcuffed her hand, and dragged her to her feet. Delia looked around wildly as her shock wore off, and then her gaze met mine in disbelief. "How... How" she stuttered but I felt no pity for her. I'd always wanted her to pay for her crimes and now that it was happening, It felt like a breath of fresh air."It was pretty easy Delia. You are not as sly as you think you are" Once I was sure they had her secure, I walked toward her and wasn't s
CELINE HERRERA POV "I'm so glad you are here Grandma. I thought you wouldn't make it" Grandma held my face In her hand, a smile on her face. "I would travel over the seven seas just to celebrate you, my child.""Aww, that is so Sweet. I am so sorry for the stress though. It must have been exhausting for you""You don't have to apologize. I should be able to do this much after everything that happened" I frowned. "Didn't we say we were going to forget about that, Grandma?" "Oh right, we said that. I'm sorry, I keep forgetting about that. You look so beautiful by the way. You're so pretty, it's making me tear up" she said and I laughed "You're going to make me cry too, Grandma"She patted my head and then looked around. "Where is Belshar. Why isn't he here by your side? He's been gone for a while hasn't he""I'm sure he'll be back soon," I said, glancing around. The music suddenly got louder and the DJ encouraged everyone to get on the dance floor."See, he should be here with you.
DELIA HERRERA POV Celine was smiling and moving through the crowd. She looked so happy that it made me sick. I watched as she spoke with some group of people, the happy smile on their faces making my fist clench. Bunch of people pleasers. I was sure most of them didn't even like her. They were all just pretending so that they could get something out of her. It had been annoying to find out that despite all the money I'd siphoned out of the company, she'd still managed to rebrand it and keep it running. Then she went on to change the name, erasing Herrera from it. She destroyed my very legacy. All the time that I suffered, she'd spent it in achieving great things and being happy with Belshar.Tremor racked through me all of a sudden and I swayed on my feet. My hand trembled and my body grew hot. I knew exactly what I needed. The darn pills that Zane had gotten me addicted to. Why hadn't I taken the stupid pills? I thought I could survive without them but now as I shook like I was c
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED The party was in full swing. My gaze stayed on Celine as she laughed and mingled with the guests, and I couldn't help but fall deeper in love with her. She was so damn perfect, she made my heart ache. As if attuned to my gaze, she glanced up and our gaze clashed. Her eyes brightened, then she blew me a kiss. I made a show of catching it then grinned as she grinned bashfully and put her hand over her heart.I mimicked her gesture and then gave a nod back. Celine's smile widened, but then she pressed her lips together and pointed with her chin that someone was behind me."Belshar" My expression hardened as I turned to face Kail. It was one thing that Celine had invited him to the party but that he was shameless enough to come was another. "Thanks for inviting me..." "Don't bother with that Kail, I didn't invite you. I am also sure you know how I feel about you being here. Didn't I warn you to stay out of my sight" He blanched, then stepped back. "I just wanted
DELIA HERRERA POVZane was right about everything and I hated that he was. His words rang in my head, driving me Insane.Wanting to get rid of those voices In my head, I reached for the bottles of pills, my hands trembling as I uncapped them. I glanced inside it and noticed that there wasn't much left Inside. I frowned, wondering just how many I'd used up in two days, then recalled that each time I felt even the slightest discomfort, I'd drowned the pills as if they were the solution to all my problems... Maybe they were. I didn't feel as shitty when I was high on them.I picked out two of the pills and then stopped as I brought them to my mouth. Was I really going to do this too myself? Was I just going to watch everything crumble like dust around me?I couldn't. Throwing the pills away, I capped the bottle shut and got up from the bed.A quick shower helped to reduce the tremors in my hands and also helped clear my head."You are Delia Herrera, Delia," I told myself because it was
DELIA HERRERA POV "You said you wanted to watch me kill Celine. It's been three days now and you still haven't told me how that's going to happen. Are you stalling because you're having second thoughts? You've also been spacing out lately. Are you thinking about her " I asked unable to keep it in.After the last sex we had on the day he arrived, he hadn't touched me and it was driving me Insane just thinking that it was because of Celine. It was infuriating and recalling his words about how he was going to let me kill Celine because he couldn't have her made it worse."Are you not going to answer me" Zane glanced at me from across the table then sighed, before flinging his spoon to the wall. "Can you stop? You're fucking ruining the romantic atmosphere, Delia" he growled but I was too pissed off to care about his anger."You're so fucking delusional. There's nothing romantic about this setting" I screamed then dragged my hand through my hair, before clutching at it tightly and pull
CELINE HERRERA POV "I think I am going to take some time off work" I got out and Belshar's gaze jerked to mine in surprise as he stopped pacing.He'd been walking in circles for a while and at first I just thought he was agitated from excitement, he was, but he was also worrying and I could see it on his face.Belshar was damn perfect at hiding his emotions, so if he was so expressive this time, it meant he was really stressing over it."You are" he asked, his tone disbelieving. Deep down I knew he was throwing a fist in the air. "Are you sure about that" I gave a quick nod, then smiled. "Yes, I'm sure. I think Karen should handle things in the meantime. She's really the best at what she does. I'm sure she'll be able to handle things in the office without me, Besides, I feel like if I don't stop working, You're going to pace a hole into the ground" I joked, then narrowed my eyes "Tell me the truth, you were trying to come up with a reason to make me stop going to work, weren't you"
CELINE HERRERA POV "Congratulations, Celine. You are approximately four weeks pregnant" the doctor announced and I jerked into a sitting position, my eyes widening as I looked from the doctor to Belshar whose jaw was literally on the floor.He'd stepped inside the room just in time to hear the news and It was a miracle that he didn't drop the glass of water he'd gone to get."I'm pregnant?" I asked dazedly.It was quiet for just a second and then Belshar threw a fist in the air. "Yes! That's what I am talking about" he grinned as he rushed at me and engulfed me in his strong arm, then he proceeded to pepper kisses all over my face while I struggled to shove him off. "Oh my god, Belshar" I groaned even as I laughed. "You're suffocating me" I got out and he quickly let go of me. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to hold you like that" he asked as he looked me over, worry written all over his face. "Will you cut it out? I am perfectly fine. Stop fussing already" "You're carrying a ba
DELIA HERRERA POV "A present," I asked, my heart thudding hard against my ribcage. Zane nodded. "Yes, I did. " He said and pointed to the shopping bags he had dropped beside the bed. It wasn't what I was curious about but I forced a smile to my lips. I've learned that if I was patient enough with Zane, he would eventually tell me what I wanted to hear."Thank you so much, Zane," I said and picked them up, my hands trembling. Zane noticed it and my breath hitched in fear when he frowned. He grabbed hold of my hand and I held my breath, waiting for him to hurt me. "Have you been skipping out on your pills You're shaking so badly" I let out a gasp of air. "There are only two pills left and I didn't know what day it was. You've been gone for so long..." "I was gone only for a weak" I fidgeted. Had it really just been a weak? It felt so much longer. "You never let me go out of the house, so I can't tell how long it's been" "Are you saying you want to go outside""No of course not