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THE ARRANGED BRIDE 61
Kellan's POV I had kissed Olivia as if that was my last breath. Her lips were warm, pliant, meeting mine in urgency that sent my heartbeat racing. All my doubt, all the barriers I tried to put between us, dissolved with the urgency of that kiss as I pulled her close. It was just us, and nothing else mattered. I pulled her right into my arms, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck as her breathing caught in sharp, shallow gasps against my skin.Pushing her back to pin her against the wall, I hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around me. My hands went under her dress, caressing her soft skin, making her moan into mouth. I held her close to me with my lips still connected to hers before walking toward the bedroom.It wasn't until I finally led her to the bed, laying her down, that our eyes really met. A moment of silence slipped by, the air compressing between words unsaid. I reached up and brushed that one stray strand of hair off her face; my fingers lingered on h
Last Updated : 2024-10-27THE ARRANGED BRIDE 62
OLIVIA'S POV The cab whirled through the night, the city lights fuzzy out the window as I fought to keep the tears in. It was all just so real: Kellan and Sharon wrapped around each other in that kiss. I feel my chest caving in; with every turn, I told myself I'd wake from this nightmare."Ma'am, we're here," the cab driver's voice pulls me back into the reality of night. I lift my head, and Brian's building comes into view in front of me; so awfully familiar. It had been the first place I'd had the urge to run to-just as instinctively as I had so many times before. But that thought twists something in me, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I couldn't keep running to him every single time Kellan broke my heart. What I really didn't want to be was that girl that needed to be saved every time things fell apart.I paid the driver and just stood there shaking as a cold breeze whipped down the empty street. Everything in me was screaming not to turn away from Brian's building. I didn't wa
Last Updated : 2024-10-27THE ARRANGED BRIDE 63
OLIVIA'S POVStanding in the doorway, I watched as Kellan disappeared into the bathroom. The hum of the shower turning on brought a grin to my face. It had been two months since we'd confessed our love for each other, yet every moment with him was like the first: exciting, new, intoxicating.I shed off my clothes, padded through onto the cold, bare feet to the shower, then slid inside. Kellan leapt and yelped out in surprise at first, but his face softened when he looked into my eyes-the smirk that so well characterized this curve on his lips, sent my heart off the starting blocks.He wrapped his waist, pulling me closer to him and taking my lips in his. “You're getting naughty, little wife,” he murmured against my lips.“You love me that way.” I smiled.He lifted me to wrap my legs around me before pushing his member into my aching clit. I moaned at the contact and I held onto him tighter as he moved in and out of me.I pushed me against the wall, ramming into me harder. “Kellan,” I
Last Updated : 2024-10-29THE ARRANGED BRIDE 64
KELLAN'S POVI finally opened the front door and immediately started having some very bad feelings, some sort of unease. Something was wrong with the house; it felt too quiet, too still. The lights were turned off, but there was no movement, nothing like those usual feelings of warmth that greeted me the moment I came home. I turned on the lights."Olivia?" I called, letting the sound of my voice fill up the empty spaces.Silence, thick unnatural silence.I kicked off my shoes and padded down the hall, peering into each room as I went. Nothing. Half expecting her to pop out and surprise me or tell me she'd been waiting for me to get home, just no sign of her. That all-too-familiar stir of anxiety humming in my chest, a signal I'd grown to recognize wasn't a good thing, was now abuzz.I frowned and pursed my face; it was late, she would never stay out this late. She said she'd be back by evening from the charity event; if she was running late, she'd let me know. She hadn't. Which wasn
Last Updated : 2024-10-29THE ARRANGED BRIDE 65
OLIVIA'S POVThe small room was all but in darkness, though pale streaks filtered through creaks in the door. And in a moment, my eyes grew accustomed to the light, and then my heart went dead, for across, out of the shadow, came a figure, Sharon. Of course, it had to be her, standing in the doorway, a pleased smile tugging at her lips as if she had waited for this very moment for a very long time."Well, well, well," she sneered, swaying into the room with exaggerated swagger. "Look who has finally learned her place."There was malice dripping from her voice, a blow. Its ripples of rage and terror were in danger of overwhelming me. I all but whimpered, "Sharon, please, what is this? Why are you doing this?”She laughed; the sound was hollow in the dead room. Crossing her arms over her chest, she eyed me up and down. "Oh, don't play coy with me, Olivia," she said. "You know why. You paraded around, flaunting that perfect little marriage of yours to Kellan like you'd somehow come out
Last Updated : 2024-11-03THE ARRANGED BRIDE 66
KELLAN'S POV These agonizing hours dragged on for two days-48 hours without so much as a glimpse of Olivia. Seconds, minutes, hours-like knives cut deeper, twisting into my chest. I had hardly slept or eaten, having frayed nerves at each little sound that could make one jump into action and head out. Without her, the house was cold and empty, an outright haunting reminder of the worst possibilities etching themselves time and again into my mind.The police were doing all they could, but it wasn't enough. Not knowing was killing me, and deep inside, a part of me just couldn't help but feel, too, that maybe they just weren't trying hard enough, that maybe she was out there somewhere, somewhere, God, desperately waiting for someone, waiting for me to save her. I couldn't stand the silence, the maddeningly eternal marking of the clock, which mocked me for any inability to do anything. Brian had been keeping me company along and was trying to stabilize me in his own peculiar way; however
Last Updated : 2024-11-04THE ARRANGED BRIDE 67
BRIAN'S POVI sat at my parents' kitchen table with cold coffee in front of me. The silence was enveloping, and I could hardly breathe. Mom sat beside me, her hand clutched over mine so tightly that her nails dug into my skin, but I did not move. She looked as weathered as I felt: her eyes red and swollen, her pale face etched with concern.Edgy for the first time in my life, anxious instead of laid-back, he paced up and down in the room. At last, Olivia's disappearance had finally scared him in ways I could never have imagined. In a way, all this felt like an invisible weight cast upon all of us, the burden heavy, heavier with every minute passing."Brian," Mom whispered, shaking from head to toe, "do you think they'll ever find her? She's just a little girl. She's been through so much." I wanted to reassure her-say we'd get Olivia back, safe and sound-but words wouldn't come. The truth was, I didn't know what to believe anymore. Of course, there was a conscious effort with each sec
Last Updated : 2024-11-12THE ARRANGED BRIDE 68
KELLAN’S POVNews replayed in my head, some broken record, words digging deeper, poisoning me with despair. I couldn't believe it wouldn't believe it. There was blood. There was clothing. But there was no Olivia.I clung to that last shred of hope as I steered onto the edge of the cliff. I needed to see it for myself-to know.Brian sat quietly beside me, supportive but mute. I knew he didn't know what to say; what could anyone say when there was just no sense to any of this? He did know this was something that I needed to do, but were a pain nonetheless. Earlier, he tried being dissuasive that we should just let the police handle it, but I'd have been in a position to listen. She wasn't just some missing person to me; she was my all.We finally reached the edge, and I went out onto the road-my eyes scanning in every direction for where she could have fallen, trying to imagine where she could have gone-if she'd survived somehow. The thought clung tenuously to my head, refusing to let g
Last Updated : 2024-12-10
Latest chapter
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 95
OLIVIA'S POV"I… I don't understand," she finally stuttered, her voice shaking, her eyes darting from me to Kellan in utter confusion. "This… this is some kind of mistake, right? Olivia can't be here. She's… she's dead."I took another step closer, my voice so cool and level, whereas inside, all hell was breaking loose. "No, Sharon. I'm very much alive.”Her eyes grew wide as she began to freeze with the weight my words burdened her with. Her mouth popped open to say her peace, and I afforded her none."You really did think you got away with it, didn't you?" My voice was high. "Thought you could just push me off that cliff and erase me from Kellan's life forever?”Sharon stepped backward, her hands shaking. "No," she said, the words tumbling hastily from her lips as she shook her head. "That's not what happened. You've got it all wrong. It was an accident—""Don't you dare," I snapped, my voice sharp as a whip. "Don't you dare to stand there and lie. I remember everything now. I remem
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 94
KELLAN’S POVSharon pulled in, a sleek black car shining bright beneath the driveway lights. I watched her get out, dressed to kill, a crimson dress clinging to her form, lips painted that brilliant red, her heels against the pavement, each movement deliberated and confident. She'd come for me; she knew damned well I would crawl back, and it was that which brought my fists into clench.“Showtime," I told myself, fidgeting with my tie and putting a grin on my face.The front door opened before she could knock. I was leaning indolently against the frame, trying to conceal the revulsion bubbling under my skin. "Sharon," I said, my voice deep and low, inviting. "I'm glad you came.”Triumph lit her features, and her red cheeks gleamed with pride. "Of course I came, Kellan. I knew you'd come to your senses eventually. But why did you tell me to come to your parents house?"“Because it's high time i introduce you to them,” I answered and her smile widened.She stepped inside and her perfectl
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 93
OLIVIA'S POVMy chest was constricting as disjointed pieces of memory clawed their way to the surface. They had been locked in so long, barricaded behind the fog of confusion and terror, but the dams were breaking. My hands clamped down on the edge of the couch, eyes darting from my parents to Kellan and back again. Their eyes were all pinned in on me with concern, but it was Brian's question haunting me.How did you disappear? What happened that day two years ago."I remember Sharon," I began, my voice shaking. "Her men kidnapped after that charity event and locked me up. Then she came and talked to me… about Kellan."Kellan stiffened beside me, his fingers clamping down on mine. I dared a glance at him, saw the fire in his eyes, but he said nothing."She told me…., " I stammered, my voice lodging in my throat. "She told me I was ruining his life. That Kellan didn't love me and never would." Finally, the tear in my voice gave out and I felt the stinging of that first swipe of tears t
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 92
KELLAN’S POV:The sun had long since set below the horizon, an amber twilight wrapping itself around Alex's estate. I stood beside the front door with Olivia-the softness of her hand in mine. Tenseness in her fingers spoke louder than words not formed upon her lips-she didn't want to leave. I couldn't blame her. It had been a haven, a place of refuge from all that Carl put her through.Alex filled the doorway, his sharp suit as perfect as always, but with a hint of a smile softening what was a hard steep countenance into something less unbending. "Finally leaving?"“Yes.” I nodded. "Thanks, Alex; I really don't know how to thank you for this."He waved it away. "You don't. You just take care of her. That's all I ask.”She leaned in a bit closer to me and flashed a small, genuine smile across the room at Alex. "Thanks, Alex; I really don't know what we would have done if it wasn't for you out there."Alex gave a slight incline of his head. "You have been through hell, Olivia. Just focu
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 91
KELLAN’S POVThe tension in Olivia's shoulders hadn't dissipated since the moment we stepped into Alex's house. Olivia hovered near the window of the living room, arms tightly wrapped around her middle while looking every other second outside the window at each movement the shadow made out there. I sit by the fireplace, flipping through my phone, and view her from time to time. Every groan of the house sends her jolting with yet another splinter to fragment a small bit of my heart."Olivia," I whisper, setting my phone aside. Her head jerks as I call her name; wide-eyed and afraid, open wide. I moved across the room in a set of languid steps, giving her ample time to document my approach. She didn't stir, but how her fingers curled into the flesh of her arms seemed to scream how wired she was."You're safe," I said, firm, halting in front of her. "Alex has the best security team money can buy. Carl's not coming for you. He can't.”She shook her head, her voice no more than a whisper
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 90
KELLAN’S POVMy heart rattled so strongly inside my chest that for one instant, I almost believed Carl would hear it. He had Amanda pressed against him with a knife glinting in the poor light that was far too close to her throat for comfort. Her eyes darted to mine, wide, terrified, pleading.“Carl," I said, stepping forward slowly, my palms up and my voice steady despite the storm inside me. "Let her go. You don't need to do this.""Stay back!" Carl barked, jerking Amanda closer. She winced as the blade nicked her skin.I froze. Every instinct in me was screaming to charge him, to rip him away from her. But I couldn't risk it-not when he was this unstable.“I'm telling you, Kellan, another step closer and she is history!"“Okay, okay," I said, moving a cautious step backwards. "You're the one in control here, Carl. You've made your point."“You think you are better than me," Carl scoffed. His voice was wavering with anger and desperation; his words were volatile, his articulation wea
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 89
CARL'S POVI walked around the lounge with Amanda slumped on the couch in front of me, lifeless as a doll. My pursuit of reason was after a wriggle away while the noise of the sirens was growing outside-no less shrill to herald an empire crumbling away.It would have had to have been Kellan-that self-righteous jerk-just couldn't leave well enough alone, could he? I built it with my own hands, he had no right to take it away from me.A loud crash, and my thoughts are rent asunder by the flying open front door. First to storm in is a tidesurge of river-backed, armed officer, hard on the heels of Hardhead, the head of Security-firm as unshakeable granite."Carl Martins," he yelled, as if his voice should have carried around the estate. "It's time to know what's left of you. Back away from Amanda now and surrender yourself to authority."I raised my hands, and a smirk curled my lips. "Surrender? To what, precisely? Baseless accusations? You have nothing on me."Out came the head of Securi
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 88
CARL'S POVMy ringing phone dragged me out of my sleep. Already, my chest was getting tighter while I read on-screen the name Marcus, one of my most trusted men. Swiping to answer, already my voice was a low growl. "What is it?‘We have a problem," Marcus said, the tight urgency laced into his voice. "The head of Security has mobilized a team. They're coming for you, Carl. They're going to raid the estate within the hour."I almost lost my grasp on the phone as that icy panic clutched my chest. "How the hell could this have happened?”"It's Kellan Easton," Marcus spat. "That bastard's been gathering evidence, and he gave it to them. They've got enough to tear you apart."I clenched my jaw so tight I thought my teeth were going to crack. Should have killed Kellan Easton when I had him. That smug, self-righteous fool actually thought to take everything from me, power, my empire, Amanda."Listen now," I said, my voice razor-sharp. "Delay them. I don't care how you do it--cause a diversi
THE ARRANGED BRIDE 87
KELLAN’S POV The next morning, I sat on the edge of Alex's couch, my phone clutched in the firm grasp of my hand as if the strength of the hold could balance my thoughts spiraling out of order. The room, apart from the soft light coming from the table lamp, was shrouded in darkness. The creeping shadows at each corner were a reflection of unease crawling in my chest.What was left now was the riskiest of them all, and frankly speaking, I couldn't afford to waste more time. So I dialed the number that Brian had sent me - London head of Security - a man who, per Brian, had ties in with the Brooke family and who would deal in high stake situations.It rang a couple of times until I heard this firm, deep voice respond, "This is Gerald Mitchell.”‘Mr. Mitchell, my name is Kellan Easton," I started off hopefully-my voice wasn't breaking, "I'm calling because I have evidence regarding Carl Martins’ involvement in some illegal activities including but not limited to fraud, bribery, and unlaw
