Raya's POV
Dylan held me by my elbow and dragged me inside the house so hard that I stumbled and fell bruising my knees. What was wrong with Dylan? Why was he being so rude to me? I was aware that he didn’t share the bond between a father and a daughter but he had never been abusive towards me or physically hurt me this way before.
“Dylan, please you are hurting me” I sobbed.
“Get to your room and stay there. I want you to freshen up and look like a million bucks. Understood?” he barked ordered ignoring my pleas.
“No. I have to get back to the port. Mr. Thomas would be waiting for me there. He won’t know where I am” I said standing up and dusting my clothes.
“You are not going anywhere, sweetheart. Dylan is not letting his golden goose getaway. You are going to stay here and lay golden eggs for him whenever there is a need” Michael sniggered and Dylan joined in as if they were sharing some private joke that I was not privy to.
Raya’s POV Mr. Rossi shuts the door behind him and I hear the door click from outside. Dylan must have locked it again. I am frozen to the bed with fear. I can’t believe I am stuck in this nightmare. I feel like I am going to puke. I want to scratch my whole body and scream as loudly as I can to get out of this nightmare. I just can’t imagine anyone else touching my body except Mr. Barlow. How selfish was Dylan to be selling me off to a man like Mr. Rossi? Even though I didn’t agree to be sold off last time I somehow conceded in the end because it was that or my family would be homeless. Now I was wondering if that was even worth it, Did I break my vow for these people? For Dylan? Where was my mom who had played the victim and got me to agree to sell my virginity? I didn’t see her or Gary anywhere. Was she aware that her husband was selling off her daughter to be a prostitut
Raya’s POV He sits on the edge of the bed and I move further up towards the wall and fold my knees and put my hands around my knees hiding my body with my legs. He runs his hand on my bare back and brings them close to my butt. I can see a huge bulge in his shorts. “Oh Raya, why did you have to kick me? why couldn’t you be a good girl? Now I have to punish you for misbehaving. Come closer and sit on my lap” he points to his lap and gestures that I should sit on it. I shake my head and continue to hold my legs tighter against my chest. I hold his hand that is trying to feel my body and try to push it away from me but his grip is strong and he doesn’t let go. He snakes his hand around my waist
Maxwell’s POV I hated leaving her without even saying goodbye. But when Xander Benson calls I have to put everything on hold and attend to him. Plus she is out cold. Did I open my mouth too early about who I was? Did I scare her away for good? The tension was too much to take. Benson was back from the honeymoon and wanted to have brunch with his close ones so that his new wife too gets to know everyone better. I wanted to take my dear Raya with me to the brunch too but she was still sleeping and looked like she needed the rest. I tried waking her up but she was too groggy and kept muttering in her sleep. She was running a fever too. There was no way she was going to be fit to travel in a helicopter now and get ready for Brunch in time. We were to meet for lunch in Paris. I signed why couldn’t Xander wait until he was back here in New York to have brunch where all of us were.
Maxwell Barlow's POV I drop Dylan’s collar and rush inside the house. I can hear Raya scream again and I am sure that someone is hurting her and I focus on the door from where her sound is emanating. I try to open the door and it is easy as the door is locked from outside. I unlatch the door and barge inside to notice that Raya is sitting on the floor naked and there are two welts on her back. An old man who is wearing only his underwear is standing in front of her and holding a belt in his hand. Raya turns to look at me when the door opens and as soon as she sees me she breaks down and runs towards me. I take her in my arms and hug her tightly while whispering in her ears. “I am sorry baby, I am so sorry” I try to calm her down between her sobs.  
Raya’s POV I am curled up in Max’s lap and I am so glad that he listened to me and agreed to let that man go. I know what Rossi did was heinous and I hated him for it. But I would hate myself more if I acted like an animal and punished him in a barbaric way for it. There is law and order in place for a reason and I did not agree with Max taking it upon himself to punish Rossi for what he did. He is used to being a mafia and does not believe in law and order but I just could not do it. I don’t know if he sensed it but somehow he had a change of heart and agreed to it and I was so grateful that he did. Would my life ever be the same again? I knew that I could never go back home. I didn’t have a home no
Raya’s POV Maxwell has gone crazy, like completely crazy. He wants us to get married tomorrow. He has barely known me for three days and is swearing that he cannot live without me. Well, I did swear too that I would not be able to live without him but getting married sounds crazy. He is like an excited puppy and from the time I agreed to his proposal he is thinking about nothing but our marriage. After carrying me inside and making love to me. He slept like a baby. I felt comforted too being by his side and sleeping next to him. He was my safe haven, his arms felt like my home. At breakfast today morning he started telling me his plans of how we had a lot of things to do and so little time. Literally, we have just one day as his plan was to get married tomorrow. 
Maxwell’s POV We are back from shopping and I am hungry. Hungry for her my sweet little girl. She rushes to the bedroom with me close behind her heels. When I try to enter her room she stops me with her hand on my chest. “Wait for a while I get ready for you,” she says with a naughty twinkle in her eyes. “Okay” I groan reluctantly. The beast inside me is awake and there is no way it is going to be able to wait. I can feel my hardness pressing against the zipper of my pants and I sigh wondering how long it’ll be. After what seems like eons she taps on the do
Raya’s POV The day is finally here. The day every girl dreams of, my wedding day. I had dreamed about this day from the time I was young like all girls do. While playing with my girlfriends when I was ten and to slumber parties but I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that this day will be coming so soon. Here I was in the most beautiful wedding gown I had ever seen, getting ready to be Maxwell Barlow’s bride. Another sleek silky wedding gown hung in the side of the room ready to be worn for the reception. He has managed to pull it all off in one day. The venue was Maxwell Barlow’s house itself. I glanced outside my third-floor window to see the pergola beautifully decked up with a floral arch. Pink peonies and lilacs formed the floral arch and a lilac-colored carpet had been laid out on the runway for me to walk on. Still, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach, amidst the nerves an
Raya's POV It was my worst nightmare. I had been in terrible situations before and being forced to do something against my will was nothing new to me. My father making me swear that I would be a virgin was against my wish, Dylan trying to sell my virginity was against my wish, and Dylan trying to sell me to sleep with a man was against my wish too. So when Xander Benson's men are forcing me to go to Rossi and beg him to forgive me was against my wish too, it was worse than anything I had to endure before because now they were hurting the only man I had ever come to love. They were punishing Maxwell Barlow, the only ray of sunshine in my life. Max tried to fight them off, he tried to save me but he was outnumbered. Charles could do nothing either. A seven-foot-tall man hit Max on his head when he started protesting Xander Benson's decision and Max had fallen to the floor. My sweet Max! It crushed my heart to see him in such a terrible situation. I cried and cried but the strong hands
Max's POV Shit! We are in deep trouble. I look at Raya and her face is a worried mess. She knows it too. What have I gotten us into? Why the hell did Xander Benson have to get married to Rossi's daughter and why did he have to be a lecherous old man like this? Amelia looks like she wants to kill Raya and me. Xander Benson was her husband and she was his new bride which meant that we were in deep shit. A new married man is like a puppet in the hands of his wife. I knew that he would not hesitate to decapitate me right here if she would ask him to. I had no answer to his question that would satisfy him. "No Xander. Dylan is not dead" I tell him. "Does he look worse than Rossi then?" he thunders on. "No. I was busy trying to rescue Raya and he got away. I don't know where he is" I mumble. This would not have been a big deal if Rossi was not Amelia's father. This would probably be just a story about me rescuing my helpless d
Raya's POVMax lets go of my hand. My breath gets stuck in my throat. I can't scream even if I want to. It is a prank. This surely is a practical joke being played on Maxwell by his friends. But no one is laughing and Max is tense. The woman is sitting beside a bald man whose face is hard like it has been carved out of marble."Darling, what are you doing?" he says to the woman who objected."I object Xander. This wedding cannot take place. Our Max cannot get married to this woman who is a cheater. She has brainwashed Max. She will spell nothing but doom to Max and to our family if she is allowed to marry Max" she goes on. By now it is clear that the bald man is Xander Benson. The Mafia Kingpin and the loving way that Xander Benson is holding her hand and her gaze is proof that she is his wife."Amelia my love. What has gotten into you? It is Max, it is our Max that you are talking about. He is no one's puppy. He is my most trusted man along with Ch
Raya’s POV The day is finally here. The day every girl dreams of, my wedding day. I had dreamed about this day from the time I was young like all girls do. While playing with my girlfriends when I was ten and to slumber parties but I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that this day will be coming so soon. Here I was in the most beautiful wedding gown I had ever seen, getting ready to be Maxwell Barlow’s bride. Another sleek silky wedding gown hung in the side of the room ready to be worn for the reception. He has managed to pull it all off in one day. The venue was Maxwell Barlow’s house itself. I glanced outside my third-floor window to see the pergola beautifully decked up with a floral arch. Pink peonies and lilacs formed the floral arch and a lilac-colored carpet had been laid out on the runway for me to walk on. Still, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach, amidst the nerves an
Maxwell’s POV We are back from shopping and I am hungry. Hungry for her my sweet little girl. She rushes to the bedroom with me close behind her heels. When I try to enter her room she stops me with her hand on my chest. “Wait for a while I get ready for you,” she says with a naughty twinkle in her eyes. “Okay” I groan reluctantly. The beast inside me is awake and there is no way it is going to be able to wait. I can feel my hardness pressing against the zipper of my pants and I sigh wondering how long it’ll be. After what seems like eons she taps on the do
Raya’s POV Maxwell has gone crazy, like completely crazy. He wants us to get married tomorrow. He has barely known me for three days and is swearing that he cannot live without me. Well, I did swear too that I would not be able to live without him but getting married sounds crazy. He is like an excited puppy and from the time I agreed to his proposal he is thinking about nothing but our marriage. After carrying me inside and making love to me. He slept like a baby. I felt comforted too being by his side and sleeping next to him. He was my safe haven, his arms felt like my home. At breakfast today morning he started telling me his plans of how we had a lot of things to do and so little time. Literally, we have just one day as his plan was to get married tomorrow. 
Raya’s POV I am curled up in Max’s lap and I am so glad that he listened to me and agreed to let that man go. I know what Rossi did was heinous and I hated him for it. But I would hate myself more if I acted like an animal and punished him in a barbaric way for it. There is law and order in place for a reason and I did not agree with Max taking it upon himself to punish Rossi for what he did. He is used to being a mafia and does not believe in law and order but I just could not do it. I don’t know if he sensed it but somehow he had a change of heart and agreed to it and I was so grateful that he did. Would my life ever be the same again? I knew that I could never go back home. I didn’t have a home no
Maxwell Barlow's POV I drop Dylan’s collar and rush inside the house. I can hear Raya scream again and I am sure that someone is hurting her and I focus on the door from where her sound is emanating. I try to open the door and it is easy as the door is locked from outside. I unlatch the door and barge inside to notice that Raya is sitting on the floor naked and there are two welts on her back. An old man who is wearing only his underwear is standing in front of her and holding a belt in his hand. Raya turns to look at me when the door opens and as soon as she sees me she breaks down and runs towards me. I take her in my arms and hug her tightly while whispering in her ears. “I am sorry baby, I am so sorry” I try to calm her down between her sobs.  
Maxwell’s POV I hated leaving her without even saying goodbye. But when Xander Benson calls I have to put everything on hold and attend to him. Plus she is out cold. Did I open my mouth too early about who I was? Did I scare her away for good? The tension was too much to take. Benson was back from the honeymoon and wanted to have brunch with his close ones so that his new wife too gets to know everyone better. I wanted to take my dear Raya with me to the brunch too but she was still sleeping and looked like she needed the rest. I tried waking her up but she was too groggy and kept muttering in her sleep. She was running a fever too. There was no way she was going to be fit to travel in a helicopter now and get ready for Brunch in time. We were to meet for lunch in Paris. I signed why couldn’t Xander wait until he was back here in New York to have brunch where all of us were.