Riella's POV.I sat in front of the mirror in the room, eyes gazing at my reflection like a hawk. My eyes were a bit swollen, dark threads hanging around in them. My breathing was shaky, each intake releasing another shaky set.My hands trembled slightly on the table. My dark raven hair which I had always taken care of was wrapped in a messy bun atop my head. I was dressed very formally in a beige-colored skirt that stopped after my knee. It had a slit at one end, one that ran up my mid-thighs but still managed to look professional.I paired this with a turtleneck black long-sleeved cotton top which I had tucked into the skirt. My feet were adorned in ankle leather heel boots.I was dressed that simply but I was starting to regret everything I had on. I mean, what if the slit was too much, and he thought I was doing too much?The humiliation, what had happened last night glared at me right in the face.It was all my fault.I shouldn't have settled down in his room, I shouldn't have dr
Harold's POV.“Alright, thank you,” I said on the phone before ending the call. I exhaled as I shoved my back into the pocket of my jeans.My eyes settled on the time on my wrist watch while my gaze flickered around in sight of a dark-haired lady. She wasn't anywhere in sight and frankly, I was starting to get very worried.I was starting to become more than worried.Had I done her dirty by rejecting her last night?Last night...I couldn't get the image of seduction out of my mind. I just couldn't deal. I couldn't get the feel of her hands around me, tugging at my hair and pulling me closer and closer with every action.I couldn't get the taste of her lips; they tasted like wine. A sweet wine that couldn't be ignored. A kind of wine that doesn't make you full but rather makes you yearn and yearn for more with each sip.Those were what her lips tasted like on mine.And her body, her goddamn body had been almost too difficult to resist. Too fucking difficult because it took everything i
Riella's POV.If wishes were horses, beggars would fly...It was crazy how my emotions kept switching up. When I walked in earlier, I was hopeful. But after Harold informed me about the fact that he had done the inspection himself, my whole mood was deflated.He just dampened my mood with his words without knowing. I wanted to be here, I wanted to see and inspect these things. I wanted him to ask him for my opinions, and suggestions, on what I thought. He once told me that I had strong suggestions and I couldn't agree more.But hearing that he did all that without me just broke my heart. Then, he outrightly confirmed that I was worthless to him by sending me to get him drinks rather than get to work.I didn't know what to make of that.He was just talking to me about clothes and the weather and I was starting to get really irritated. It was taking everything in me not to snap at him.Not to snap at my boss.But I would have chosen that moment, done that a million times rather than be
Harold's POV.Fucking bastard!I should have noticed. I should have suspected that something was terribly wrong when she started to tremble and stutter at the sight of him.She had been completely fine when he wasn't around. Even with the strain between us, she was still vocal, a lot more vocal than when the bastard arrived.I didn't even know what to make of him after he introduced himself as her boyfriend. I had been too busy trying to deal with the shock rather than suspecting the shocked look on her face.I was busy checking him out and trying to measure him up to me. Yes, I was that petty. He looked like an ‘okay' guy to me. He looked good looking and his cockiness was something that would charm a lot of ladies. Besides, he very much looked like a charmer.I was busy doing all of that when he whisked her away, I didn't realize that I just let her leave with the devil himself. Not until I played the scene in my head and realized that something was long.I waited for two minutes,
Riella's POV.I sniffed the air...the relaxing air of New York City as I climbed down from the plane. It felt good, extremely good to be back in the town. It felt like I had been gone for ages.Even though I knew that it was just a few days. Miami, the place held bad memories for me. It held events I wanted to dig a space in my mind and bury it into. It was not something I want to be remembering.“New York, ” I whined as I held on to the handle of my box, feeling tears brim in my eyes. It felt extremely good to be back. In as much as the city was crowded and all of that, it was still my beloved city.The past few days, especially after that day, I had gone from being fierce to emotional every passing minute. It was like the presence of Desmond that day had pressed a button, one that revealed my emotional side.I got stressed easily and had tears running down my face at the thought of it. Although I had wanted to talk about it, I didn't want to burden Carolyn with the news over the pho
Riella's POV.At the sound of the door, her expression faltered and she glanced my way. With widened eyes, I watched her point the gun defiantly at someone whose face I couldn't see.There was a spark in her eyes, blazing fire, and brimstones. She was fierce, defiant, and looked every inch of what she used to be...what we were.“Lyn, ” My eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets as they beheld hers. My hands shook slightly as I took a step closer into the room, the same time the man turned toward me and realization dawned on me once I got locked with his Sapphire blue orbs.Carolyn had always told me about how much she adored Tyler's blue orbs.But...why was he kneeling in front of her?“Lyn, what are you doing?” I whispered furiously as I took long strides toward her. I was suddenly alarmed as I watched her. This was a billionaire. A man worth billions of dollars.A man with high esteem and caliber. A man of the people. And he was here, kneeling in front of her with a gun pointe
Riella's POV.The table was silent. Extremely silent.It wasn't the kind of silence that came naturally with peace. It was the kind that was filled with extreme tension and awkwardness.I hated to be in situations like this.Sparing Carolyn a glance, I put the straw in my mouth and sipped on my pineapple juice. It was becoming increasingly hard not to say something. Anything at all.“You said you didn't want me handling it, ” I started as I sucked on my straw. She didn't say anything. She just looked up from her phone while looking around the cafe that we were settled in.To unwind from the stress of the past few days, I opted to take us both out. I was resuming work soon but I wanted to make the most of my free time.“I said I could handle it on my own, ” She grabbed her coconut milk and sipped it. She had insisted on having that while I went for this.For a moment, I didn't say anything. I just patted my hair and looked away from her.“You promised me that you weren't going to do a
Harold's POV.I cracked my knuckles, a tired yawn escaping my lips. I adjusted myself properly on the chair and typed on, trying to finish my work. We were behind schedule but thankfully, after three nights of staying awake, I had covered up my work.I grabbed my glass, took a sip of it, and placed it back on the desk. I pushed back my laptop and started to sort out my files, the ones scattered on the desk when the door to my study pushed open and Damien strolled in.He stopped when he saw what I was doing, brows perked up in amusement.“Isn't your assistant supposed to be here?” He asked as he took the second couch opposite where I was seated.“I gave her the week off,” I replied. He stopped to stare at me before a deep chuckle resounded from him.“Since when?” He asked and I shot him a glare.“She deserves it. She has been working hard.” I told him as I concluded what I was doing before shutting my laptop.He nodded and turned toward me, shoving his phone which he had been previousl
FIVE YEARS LATER.I hummed with a smile as I fixed my earrings to my ear properly. They were dropping and very long but they were also very expensive. A Christmas gift courtesy of my husband. I grabbed the cherry lip gloss on the vanity table and applied it to my lips. I smacked my lips together, pursed it, and posed in front of the mirror. I looked good. The red velvet dress I was wearing with the plunging V- neckline and long sleeves that were adorned with lace trimmings were so beautiful. I had my hair packed into a messy bun, leaving the fringes out while a pretty gold necklace lay on my neck.I did a spin and blew a kiss at my reflection. While I packed up my make-up items, the door to the room opened and my husband strolled in. He walked over and wrapped his hands around my waist. I leaned back and let him kiss my lips.“You look breathtaking,” he breathed and I beamed. Even after all these years, compliments had a way of soaking me in.I turned around and placed my hands on e
Riella's POV.Harold managed to get me to the hospital. He didn't even let me go home, he just asked that Damien drive us to the hospital, and as for Carolyn, she stayed glued to me while still sobbing about how this was her fault.Harold came through when I least expected it. It was the moment when I'd given up hope that I was never going to see him again. When I was very sure that I would never see any of them again, they came through. And I was very grateful. “How did you guys find me?” I asked as I leaned on Harold while he wrapped his hands around me.Carolyn smiled and leaned forward. Her hand gently reached out and stroked the necklace still hanging around my neck while watching me.“I put a jewelry detector.” She replied smugly and my eyes widened.“Wow,” I was honestly shocked, I didn't expect it.“I had a feeling that something could go wrong after you told me that day. I just wanted to ensure that you were going to be safe if anything were to go wrong.” She explained and
Harold's POV.My eyes widened and I went pale as soon as the line went dead in my hands. She was screaming. The bloody bastard had hit her. He was making her cry. He was hurting her. I tried to dial the cell again but it ended right on the spot.“I'm going to kill that bastard with my bare hands, ” George fumed as he paced about the room. I swallowed and shoved my phone into my pocket, swallowing up my emotions. Now was not the time for me to dwell or fume. I had to contain my emotions properly to keep a straight head. I still had time to kill the bastard.Turning around, my gaze landed on my parents. They were talking in hushed tones, looking all worried but I knew it was not because of Ella. It was a whole lot more of things that I wasn't even ready to listen to. My eyes darted away from them over to the siblings trying to talk their Mum from coming after me or whatever she intended to do with how much she was watching me.I sighed and started to walk over to her when Noel's voice
Riella's POV.I slowly regain consciousness, feeling groggy and disoriented. My head felt like something heavy had been hit on it and it felt like a spell of dizziness was cast over me. As I assessed my surroundings, I quickly realized that I was tied up and in a dark room. The pungent odor of cigarette smoke filled my nostrils, making it difficult to breathe. Fear began to set in as I realized that I had no idea how I got here or who could have done this to me.My chest heaved as flashes of what felt like the past few hours flashed through my mind's eye. The last thing I remembered was excusing myself to the restroom. My eyes widened and I coughed loudly when I finally registered everything.Oh my God, Harold!My heart ached and I found myself feeling my tied-up hands to check for my wedding bands. It was still there. Somehow, with my health at that moment, it was hard deciphering if anything was real anymore.God, if this was what I thought was happening, what was Harold going to do
Harold's POV. “So, I really need a detailed explanation of what happened,” Jackson, one of the men Tyler brought along asked, looking in my direction. I stared back at him and after a few seconds, Damien cleared his throat and started. “We had the wedding at the Oasis garden resort. It was private, essentially private. The only people who I knew attended the wedding and the reception were the resort staff. Oh and by the way, one of the staff is blackmailing us. They know how important this is to us and now, they are threatening and blackmailing. I'm still trying to get my hands on him.” Damien glared at no one again before he cleared his throat and continued. “After the wedding ended, the couples went ahead to take pictures shot by Kim, the private photographer I hired. We had fun and games and of course danced. I just finished dancing with Riella when she went off to see Jemma.” He concluded. The three men turned in the direction of Jemma who had been introduced. She seemed to s
Harold's POVI was getting ready to head back to the screaming people when Damien walked in. His eyes widened when he saw my nose and he rushed forward.“What the hell happened? And what is going on? How are Riella's folks here?” He demanded all at once?“Ella's dad did the punch. They are very worried about their daughter.” I shrugged trying to appear calm even though on the inside, I was boiling. “Damn, this is a disaster.” He massaged his forehead.“It will be a bigger disaster if I don't find my wife. An eighteen year old just promised to break my bones.” I gritted.“Are you kidding?” Damien screamed in disbelief. “Was that Ella's brother?” He questioned.“ Yep, and he seemed pretty serious about it. I love how protective he is though.” After a few seconds, I asked, ”Any luck with what you were up to?” I asked.“That's another problem. I couldn't get the pictures. The stupid man had it sold to the media already before he started threatening me. I tried to buy the pictures but
Harold's POV.I got to the door as I caressed my cheeks in anger, feeling the sting of her slap. When I opened the door, I expected to find Damien and Matilda by the door but instead, a frantic woman pushed me out of the way as soon as I opened the door and let herself in.I barely got to handle the door before a huge, brown haired man pushed his way in, followed by Jemma and Anna with a male I guessed was Duncan. He was tall, broad shouldered, and possessed pretty brown hair. I was about to shut the door when Carolyn walked in. She glanced at me, silently muttering an apology. I knew there and then that nothing would have gone well if the whole family was here. And with how much Jemma had messed up earlier, I would not be surprised if they knew everything already.“Are you the one who knocked my daughter up?” The huge man stalked toward me. I nodded and just like I had anticipated, I received the punch on my nose.I groaned and my hand immediately cupped my nose in pain. He was a ba
Harold's POVJust like I ordered, we rounded up our cars in ten minutes and we drove straight to the airport without a word. The wedding Spirit was disheveled. I had dumped my tux somewhere, leaving off my black shirt. I had made a series of calls while on the flight and now that we had alighted after four tiring hours, I was ready to strangle Brittany.“Are you sure you don't need me to come home with you?” I asked Carolyn and the girls for the umpteenth time after we arrived at the airport.“No, Harold. I will handle this. They wouldn't want to see or hear anything from you at all so, lete take the lead and handle this the way I can. It's going to be tough but they are going to listen to me in the long run. So, you stay away while I handle it.” She explained and I exhaled.Of course, I wouldn't expect Ella's folks to welcome me with open arms if I go to see them. They must have put two and two together thanks to Jemma and were probably furious now. They wouldn't want to see the face
Harold's POV.I was running mad.I didn't understand how something so perfect, something that had been going on so perfectly well had gone up in flames in a matter of seconds. Riella was missing. No, she wasn't missing.She was kidnapped.The last time someone had seen her according to Jemma who had been the person, it was when she had gone off to use the restroom. A hotel staff after then had reported that he saw a lady being snuggled into a car.“Did you catch the car's number?” Damien was the only one calm amongst us and he was trying to get answers from the trembling maid.“No, the car sped off before I could register anything.” She shook her head. I placed about, running my hands through my hair in anger. Everything was going downhill. I was running mad. I was feeling sick. I was angry.“YOU HAD ONLY ONE JOB? ONE FREAKING JOB!” I screamed at the crowd of men the resort had provided to protect us. I had gone the extra mile to pay them to specially ensure our safety but they had go