CELINE HERRERA POV Xavier's rough gasp was music to my ear and as he glanced down between us, red blooming on the hole in his chest, I couldn't help the smirk that kissed my lips. "Go rot in fucking hell, you bastard," I said, my gaze moving to those of Belshar's fiercely proud one as I pulled the trigger the second time. Now it was all left to Christian and the soldiers to make sure that I did not get killed.Xavier stared at me in shock. "You... You fucking" he gasped, but couldn't quite finish his word as he dropped to his knees. You could hear a pin drop. David roared out in pain and then it was fucking pandemonium as bullets started flying from all directions. I ducked for cover, trusting that Christian and the rest of the soldiers were going to take care of Xavier's men. My gaze never left those of Belshar where he lay on the floor. He was staring right at me too with a smirk on his lips that made my heart flip in my chest. I could tell that he was fucking proud of me and
DELIA HERRERA POV "What do you think you are doing" I got out groggily, then tried to stand up. I couldn't. I glanced down at my body, my brows furrowing when I saw I was in a straightjacket. Jason turned me over, then pulled at the straps tightly while I grunted, and then he moved me again until I was lying on my back. It was disorienting and because I was just waking up, my brain was taking a while to catch up."What are you doing... Jason" I was exhausted, so when Jason ignored my question, I went mute, my gaze following his every move. Wearing a straightjacket wasn't bad. I'd spent the last few days naked in the cold and was already at my breaking point. Jason paused, his gaze taking me in. "So fucking perfect" he murmured. A sharp gasp escaped my lips and I shuddered as his fingers skated over my naked thigh. I wanted to wiggle away, but I knew that would only end with me getting hit across the face, so I stayed put and let him touch me as much as he wanted.He smiled as
DELIA HERRERA POV PAST *****"Mom... Mom" I shouted, tears streaming down my face as I ran up the stairs and toward her room. The voices of my parents arguing should have made me stop, but I was in pain after being bullied at school and needed to confide in Mom, so I didn't. Besides, they were always arguing these days... After finding out about father's other woman and her daughter, things hadn't been the same and it was starting to take a toll on me.I opened the door and both their gaze zeroed in on me. "What the hell do you want Delia, didn't you hear us talking ..." I panicked for a second. My mom was very mean whenever she was angry and I could tell that she was already pissed off even before I interrupted them. "Um... I'm sorry, I just needed to talk to you about something..." "Look, go to your room Delia, your mom and I are having an important conversation. whatever this is, we'll address it after we are done talking" "No, we are done with this. I will not take in a fuc
DELIA HERRERA POV Someone was touching and pulling on my arm. My eyes fluttered open as light filtered through my lid letting me know that the blindfold had been taken. I trembled all over, my body strung so tight, that I felt like I was going to get snapped in half. "Delia, open your mouth" Jason's voice reached my ear. His image was blurry. Was this another dream? My brain felt like it wasn't mine. Even blinking felt like a herculean task."Open your mouth, Delia" he ordered, his tone more insistent.I wanted to weep in relief to know that he hadn't left me to die after all, but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything but try to breathe and even that was difficult.Water splashed against my lips, and I gasped, opening my mouth to lap it in. The water hit my dry throat and I choked, but I didn't dare stop. If I did and Jason decided not to give me any more, I was really going to die. The water was like life flowing into me, and with every gulp, my heart rate started to return to nor
DELIA HERRERA POV "Were you that angry that I left you all by yourself, is that why you did this the first chance you got?" he said, pointing to his head. Blood dripped all over his face and down his chest while I gazed up at him in fear. He'd used a fucking taser and my head was still spinning from the bolt of electricity that had coursed through my veins. He moved closer, then leaned over me where I lay on the floor. I flinched as his blood dripped onto my face. "You begged me not to leave you alone and the first chance you get, you run away... Next time if you really want to go, then make sure there's nothing left of my head," he said and raised his hand. I clenched my eyes shut. His hand landed against my neck. I blacked out. ******"You need to feed her more. She appears to be malnourished Jason" An unfamiliar voice spoke and my eyes fluttered but I stopped them from opening. "She tried to kill me while looking like that.. imagine if she was well fed, she'd have probably b
DELIA HERRERA POV The cuff was back on my ankles and judging by the bag Zane had bought, I was sure there would be more. Didn't Jason say we were going to start all over so why I was still being restrained? Zane was not going to help me and judging from our conversation earlier, I would have a lot more chance of survival with Jason than him. 'You killed your grandfather' I jumped, my gaze moving around the room. "Who said that" I got out, then grabbed at my ears so that I didn't have to hear it again. Images of my grandfather's face as I gave him the drugs flashed in my head... But he'd looked so peaceful as he slept... Hadn't I been merciful? I did what I did to save him. I did what I did because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. 'no, you did what you did because you didn't want your feelings to get hurt. He was the only one who liked you and you hated for his love to change to disgust just like everyone else'"And is that so wrong to want just one person on my side until t
CELINE HERRERA POV SEVEN MONTHS LATER. "Thank you for visiting me. I thought you'd be done with me once the trial was over. It gets pretty lonely in here" Julie said and I waved her words off, shaking my head."You cooperated with the lawyers and made sure to tell the whole truth just as you promised, you also apologized to me after the sentencing, so, of course, I would be here" Julie nodded then sighed. "Do you know what I realized after spending time in here?" She paused, her gaze fixed on the holes in the glass between us. "Everything Delia said about me was the truth. I really was a bad person" Her gaze jerked to mine, and she smiled tightly. "Telling you sorry will never be enough Celine. When I get out of here, I'm going to do better. I'm going to make it up to you""And I'll keep you to that promise." She nodded quickly, her smile easier. "What about your cellmates, do they treat you well" Julie let out a sigh and then pressed her lips together tightly. "Is it that bad""
CELINE HERRERA POV I was brimming with anticipation when I got to the mansion. Belshar wasn't back but I knew he would be home in an hour or two. His message on my phone was burned in my head, and no matter how much I tried to calm myself down I couldn't.Dropping my bag on the table, I glanced at the message once again. It was eight simple words, 'Do you want to play hide and seek' to which I had replied 'Game' at a point during my meeting with Zane."Ugh, this is going to be a hell of a night" I got out then blushed as I recalled the last time we'd played hide and seek. "I should probably freshen up" I got out. I also needed to relieve some of the stress from work. I rushed to the bathroom, prepared a bath, and immersed myself in the sweet scenting tub of soapy water. It was refreshing and I relaxed fully into it with a satisfied smile on my face. Just fantasizing about what Belshar was going to do to me had me giggling to myself and splashing at the water to create more bubble
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV "We need to join them at the table," Celine murmured against my chest, where she had her face pressed against."But I quite like it here. Just the two of us, dancing under the moonlight"Her arms wrapped around me. "Me too," she sighed, then glanced up at me.Her eyes sparkled, reflecting the iridescent glow of the moon. I wanted to get lost in them."It feels so good to get away from everything, doesn't it""Yeah," I nodded, then caressed her cheek. "How are you feeling. Has it been difficult with Sadie""Not too hard since you help out a lot... Antonia has also been a good help to her. Thank you for getting her. You were right, she's really good at her job"I grinned. "I am happy to hear that. If it gets too hard, tell me okay"She nodded. "I will"Celine gaze darted to the hall as the music coming from inside changed."Do you think they'll notice that we've been gone for a while?" she asked, meeting my gaze."Kail is keeping them busy with his MC skills. We
CELINE HERRERA POV Giving birth was a nightmare, but as I stared at my beautiful baby girl's face, I couldn't help my heart filling up with joy and love. I glanced up at Belshar who was grinning down at the baby in my hand."She's so tiny" he got out, his voice filled with awe. "I know, right? After all that food, I thought she'd be a lot bigger"His grin stretched, his eyes crinkling at the side. "She's perfect," he said, then looked up at me. "Just like her mother"Color filled my cheek and I leaned toward him. "And she's strong just like her father," I said and pressed a kiss to his lips.His eyes were moist with tears when I pulled back.My heart squeezed; the feeling of too much happiness in my chest suffocating. But I loved it. I loved everything I felt when I was with Belshar."You're going to be a great father Belshar"He took my hand. "I promise to always be there for you and our daughter. And our other kids that we are going to have very soon," he grinned."Hey, what's tha
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV "Oh," Karen gasped, then pulled away from the kiss.I stared at her, my heart pounding as I took in her flushed face and swollen lips."What's wrong?" I asked as I watched her try and catch her breath."Celine. Celine and Belshar are here. They were the ones who told me about where you were. I was scared to come alone, so they came with me"I shook my head as I sucked in a deep breath. "I know," I said, then turned, and pointed to where Celine's phone was peaking through the hallway by the side of the wall.The phone soon disappeared and I chuckled. She probably noticed me staring and pointing at it."You two can come out now! Your cover has already been blown" I yelled and waited.Celine was the first to come out. She smiled as she gave a small wave. "Oh my God, Kail, it's been how long since you vanished," she said, The guilty smile on her lips stretching the closer she got to Karen and I. Belshar followed behind and stopped by Celine's side when they reached u
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV "What the hell do you want?" I groaned as I stumbled out of bed, my feet studding against the bedframe and jarring me awake as pain shot up my body. "God damn it"I grumbled as I walked out of the room. It was probably room service. My head throbbed and I barely managed to avoid tripping on the bottles that littered all over the floor. Just how much did I drink last night?"I told you not to fucking bother—" The words died on my lips as I yanked the door open and came face to face with Karen.I stared at her, my heart stopping for a beat."Karen—" her name escaped my lips as my heart kicked up in my chest, and then I clenched my eyes shut. "God, I am going crazy," I groaned, then chuckled under my breath as I rubbed my hand over my face. "I must be drunk out of my fucking mind. How long am I going to keep seeing your face, Karen," I muttered to myself, then pulled my hand away.My brows furrowed as I stared at her. Why was she still standing there? On a normal da
CELINE HERRERA POV "Absolutely not," Belshar said, then faced Victoria, who quickly looked away and shrugged. "You cannot travel in that condition""Why not? I already gave Karen my word that I was going to be her wingwoman," I pouted, and he scoffed."You are not going to be traveling, Celine, and that's final. Call Karen and tell her that you won't be able to go with her." He said then paced for a bit before turning to face me. "Did you forget what you went through in the past months? The doctor said no stress"I crossed my arms, my brows furrowing hard as I frowned. "Travelling is hardly any stress and you owe me this much after everything that happened"Belshar let out a sigh of frustration and then glanced at Victoria again. "Are you not going to say anything. Tell her just how dangerous traveling is in her condition" he said and I looked at her, my eyes daring her to say anything that was not in my favor She sighed as she dropped the towels she was folding. "If it's just for a
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