DON'S POV"Uh.. Bentley, this is my husband."I cleared my throat and stretched out my hand for an handshake, "I've heard quite a lot about you Ms. Bentley, I'm Don Donato, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."Bentley's smile died from her face and colors drained from her face, as her gaze met mine, she felt like she had seen a ghost.“It’s you...” She whispered, unable to process the scene in front of her.I glanced over to catch her reaction and watched as a deep frown settled on her face. I frowned back at her in response, feeling uneasy.“I’m sorry… Did you not realize?”"Excuse me..." She whispered softly and retreated quickly back into the kitchen.I narrowed my eyes as her retreating form."She has a lot to learn doesn't she?" I commented dryly."Don, can you give me a minute alone with her, please?" Accalia pleaded and I nodded. "Thank you."I backed away from her silently as she left and walked towards the kitchen, I glanced around the bar and taking in each and every det
DON'S POVMy eyes wandered around the interior of my SUV and searched for anything familiar as I tried to clear my mind and collect myself.When I was able to focus on something other than my chaotic thoughts I turned to glance at the man slumped across the seats and saw that he had fallen asleep. His breathing was steady and deep, and if I wasn't staring at his sleeping figure then I wouldn't have known he was asleep. He was dressed casually, just jeans and a white shirt. His brown hair fell freely over his face and covered his left eye, obscuring the scarring on his face.My face turned into a scowl as the memories crashed down on me like a tsunami. I knew why I hadn’t recognized him at first sight. It was because he looked so much younger than when I last saw him. He had been thirty seven when I last saw him - almost eight years ago, after all. But that had barely been the case then, at least, not compared to now. At that time, he didn’t look old enough to go bald yet, though.
ACCALIA'S POVI ran after Bentley and grabbed her hand immediately we stepped into the kitchen."What's wrong Bentley?" I asked worriedly. She had been acting strangely lately, and now that I was thinking about it, I realized that she hadn't spoken much in days, or seen me at all really, but I ignored that in favor of asking her what was wrong. I saw her gaze flick towards me for a moment before her face blanked once more.She shook her head frantically, "It's nothing, don't worry I'm fine."She gave me a strained smile, but there was clearly something off. Something was bothering her, and I needed her to relax. So I sighed heavily, dropping her hand, and walked over to her side, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her close to me."Tell me now if something's bothering you." I whispered softly. I kissed her temple tenderly.Bentley hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly in response. "I don't want to lie..." She trailed off quietly."Then just tell me." I encouraged
ACCALIA'S POV"You will not marry him. I forbid you." She repeated loudly, a crazed expression on her face."You can't... you can't force me!" I choked out hoarsely.She stared down at me angrily, "You will not marry him!" "It's a contract marriage." I whispered, closing my eyes."What?" She asked in surprise."It's a three month contract marriage. We will go our separate ways after three months." I answered."So you're telling me that you would only be married to Don Donato for just three months?""Yes.""Why? I mean, why did he offer you such a contract?" Her voice became calmer."Because he pities my current situation." I replied, unsure of myself, I had never really asked myself why Don had offered to be my contract husband and paid my debts."I see," Bentley said thoughtfully. "So this agreement means that he is willing to keep you as his wife until the debt is finally paid off?""Yeah."She frowned, There was a silence between us. The tension was thick enough to slice through
ACCALIA'S POVLuca glanced at her, "This is not a movie, Miss Bentley."She winked, "Call me Bentley, and lighten up a bit, will ya? You're like a walking iceberg."I could not stop myself from giggling at the banter unfolding before me. Bentley was determined to crack Luca's icy facade.Luca, however, was determined to maintain his composure, "I'm here to ensure the young miss's safety, not for amusement."Bentley nudged me, "Well, Lia, seems like your bodyguard needs a crash course in humor."I smiled and nodded in agreement, "Maybe he's just saving his laughs for special occasions."Luca's eyes flickered towards me for a moment, his cold exterior showing a hint of amusement.Bentley crossed her arms, "Alright, IceMan, challenge accepted. Let's see if we can get a smile out of you by the end of the day."Luca merely nodded and remained unresponsive to Bentley's playful challenge.Bentley has a mischievous glint in her eyes so she turned to Luca and asked him, "So, Luca, what's it li
BENTLEY'S POV“Let's go to a cafe, I'm craving a drink or something.” Accalia suggested as she stared at Luca and I. “What about you guys?”I chuckled and replied, "Sure, I could use a caffeine fix. How about you, Luca? Any preferences?"Luca remained silent for a moment before he finally said, "I don't have any preferences."I raised an eyebrow, surprise glimmered in my eyes. "Not even for coffee or tea? Come on, everyone has a preference.""I consume what is necessary." Luca said and shrugged nonchalantly.I smirked and said sarcastically, "Alright, Mr. Mysterious. We'll find something that fits your needs.”As we walked towards the cafe, I continued my banter with Luca, I was attempting to crack his stoic exterior with jokes and playful comments. I was surprised that Luca responded with occasional subtle smirks and very rare, short-lived chuckles.We settled into a corner table at the cafe and we ordered drinks, soon our drinks came and casually, we sipped our drinks, I couldn't re
BENTLEY'S POVIt took a couple of minutes for us to reach the park but after Luca parked my car in the nearest free parking lot, Luca got out first, quickly opened both our doors and waited for both of us to follow.After we entered the park, we headed toward the playground. We sat on one of the swings and I swung myself back and forth slowly as I allowed my mind to drift back to fantasizing about Luca. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted him.It was odd to consider this. In fact, I hadn't ever considered wanting someone so much before. I let out a sigh, knowing I needed to stop and concentrate on the here and now. I closed my eyes, focusing on my breathing, slowly inhaling and exhaling.Suddenly, Accalia reached forward and placed hee palm across mine, stopping me from swinging. I glanced at her and noticed that she seemed somewhat amused and I grinned.She turned to Luca and said, "I would really love some ice cream right now.""Okay young miss." Luca said and I quickly
DON'S POVI sat down on my office chair in my study and Butler Roy stood beside me as I wiped the blood off my wrists with the handkerchief he had handed to me earlier. It had been hours since I left Accalia with Luca watching after her. My mind drifted back to Accalia's best friend, Bentley, and for some weird reason, she looked very familiar. Not familiar in the sense of me seeing her pictures when I had carried out a background search on Accalia but familiar in the sense that she looked awfully familiar, like I had seen her somewhere or maybe she looked so much like someone I once came across.“Is the master perhaps worried about the young miss?” Butler Roy asked, it seemed that he had noticed how deep in thoughts I was."Don't be ridiculous, Roy," I snapped, my tone dripping icy. "I'm not worried about her. I was just... thinking.""But of course, sir," Roy replied with a smirk, his sarcasm dripping like honey. "Because it's completely normal for the master of the house to be sit
DON'S POV"I spoke with Bentley, her father is the police officer that ruled your sister's death as suicide." Luca said."So?""According to Bentley, Accalia family has no hand in it. Her father was threatened by the other gang and their new leader."I nodded slowly, understanding what he was saying. "We better get the truth out of Ken then, have you handed Florella over to the police?" I asked."Yes boss.""Good."We both headed down to the basement where Ken was being held captive, I needed to torture the truth out of his mouth.He was sitting against the wall with his arms tied behind his back, his wrists chained. His face bruised and bloodied, and his clothes covered in dried blood, he was still shivering, despite his cold exterior."What are you going to do with me?" He spat, spitting blood onto the floor of the dungeon."Well Ken Peterson , I'll give you an opportunity to answer a few of my questions and maybe I'll release you."Ken narrowed his eyes at me, "Why should I believe
DON'S POV "You need to calm down son, I have no reason to kidnap your wife!" My father screamed in annoyance as I held him by the collar, accusing him of being responsible for Accalia sudden disappearance. it has been two days since I've heard from Accalia or seen her.i recalled telling her to go home first after the press conference but when I got home, she wasn't there and no one knew anything about her disappearance.I was beginning to go crazy over her absence, I felt like something bad happened to her and I couldn't control it, I was scared shitless.I was furious that I did not know what had happened to her.who the hell dared to kidnap my woman?!!!"I won't let anything happen to her!" I roared while I tightened my grip on my dad's neck and squeezed harder.After I released my grip, my father gasped and began coughing loudly."What the hell are you?!" He questioned me as he took several deep breaths."Do you really think that I am a weak minded coward like you?!" I replied
ACCALIA'S POVI noticed alot of crowds at the company today but I had no idea why but for some reason Enzo seemed tense and clinged to me."Is the company doing something today? why are there a lot of people and reporters outside?" I asked but before I could hear Enzo's response, an egg hit me on the head."She's the one that hurt our kitten!" The man shouted and everyone's attention was turned to me, I was so confused but had no time to process that confusion because people began hurling insults at me and the eggs kept on flying.I tried to defend myself but people would not allow it, many people were throwing eggs at me and they kept on hitting me and I had no way to avoid the hits. One egg managed to land on my head causing me to stagger.I wanted to defend myself, the insults weren't hurting anyone they were just getting their point across.Someone picked up a bottle and threw it at me. The impact of the bottle hitting me made me flinch.Enzo guided me through and I finally made
FLORELLA'S POVI frowned as I watched the new model, Accalia walk into the studio. She had a radiant smile on her face and everything about her just screamed beauty and perfection, no flaws or imperfections in sight.Her hair was styled in perfect waves that framed her face beautifully, her makeup perfectly complimented her gorgeous olive brown orbs and bright pink lipstick.She looked good. So good! So incredibly good that she could probably win any contest she was in! I almost gasped in admiration as I saw how breathtaking she really looked.I hated how beautiful she was, I never understood why anyone could want to look like that, but she was definitely an exception. She had a unique personality that drew people to her in a different way than everyone else did.I hated the fact that she was pretty that me and could easily over take me in the modeling world, there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen. i have been bullying her for over two weeks since she came but she
ACCALIA'S POVAfter hours of modeling and posing for countless pictures, it was time for me to go home and rest before I had to return to the studio again for another day full of work. My clothes were all wrinkled and dirty after being used so many times for clothing shoots.But I was tired and hungry. So, with only mild hesitance, I walked out of the studio to head back home. my phone chimed and I looked at it and saw it was a text from Don asking me to use the back door of the company and meet him at the car park where he was waiting for me.I smiled weakly at the text before I took the elevator to the car park tiredly.I exited the elevator and walked out of the building and saw Don standing at the entrance of the parking lot, he waved as soon as he saw me approaching and headed over to the car to help me inside. Once I was seated, he walked around the car to the drivers seat."Where is everyone?" I asked curiously, noticing no cars."They had to go somewhere." Is all he told me.
ACCALIA'S POVI smiled as I dressed up for my first day at work, yes, my first day at work. I was so excited when Don told me to dress up today that I would resume work at his company as a model.I wanted to make a good first impression so I needed to dress up nicely. A white button down shirt and a black blazer were the two pieces of clothing I selected from my closet after I finished dressing in bed this morning. I also wore some light makeup but it wasn't much. Not too much, just enough to look like I hadn't slept with it all off last night. That made me think about something else - Don's lips... I shook my head trying to get rid of those thoughts.I brushed through my hair once more then applied one last coat of lip gloss before leaving my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I took a deep breath of air and exhaled deeply, hoping to calm myself before I headed down the stairs to meet Don."Good morning!" Don chirped happily when he saw me. I grinned back at him and walk
ACCALIA'S POVDon squeezed my hand reassuringly, his gaze filled with unwavering determination. "We can do this, Accalia," he said, his voice steady despite the tremble in his hands. "Together, we can face anything."With a heavy heart, I nodded in agreement, drawing strength from Don's unwavering faith in our future. As we boarded the bus and took our seats, I cast one last glance back at the village of Arinthia, its familiar streets now fading into the distance.And as the bus pulled away, carrying us towards an uncertain future, I knew that it was time to go back to my old life.As the bus journeyed towards the city, the landscape outside morphed from rolling hills to towering skyscrapers, a stark contrast to the quaint charm of Arinthia. With each passing mile, my heart grew heavier, the uncertainty of our future weighing heavily upon me.But as we finally arrived at our destination and stepped off the bus, a sense of anticipation tingled in the air. For the first time in what fel
ACCALIA'S POVDon wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close as he felt my body tremble with suppressed sobs. "It's okay, Accalia," he whispered, his voice gentle yet filled with unspoken sorrow. "We'll be alright."But the dam had already broken, and I could no longer hold back the flood of emotions that surged within me. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I buried my face in Don's chest, my heart aching with the pain of leaving behind everything I had ever known."It's just... so hard," I choked out between sobs, my voice muffled against Don's shirt. "Saying goodbye to everyone, to everything..."Don held me tighter, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I know, Accalia," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "But this isn't goodbye forever. We'll come back someday, I promise."His words offered little solace in the face of our imminent departure, but I clung to them nonetheless, finding comfort in the warmth of his embrace. Together, we sat down on the worn wooden b
ACCALIA'S POVWe climbed into the of the truck, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the thought of leaving behind another dear friend. Kito had always been there for us, offering his help and support whenever we needed it, and the thought of saying goodbye to him was almost too much to bear.As we settled into the worn leather seats of Kito's truck, a heavy silence hung in the air, punctuated only by the soft hum of the engine. I glanced out the window, watching as the familiar sights of Arinthia faded into the distance, my heart aching with the weight of farewell.The ride to the bus stop was a somber one, the only sound the steady hum of the engine and the occasional sniffle from one of us. Kito tried to lighten the mood with some of his trademark jokes, but even he seemed to be struggling to find his usual cheerfulness.As we neared the bus stop, Kito pulled over and turned off the engine, the silence that followed almost deafening in its intensity. "Well, this is it," he