TANYA’S POV I didn't want to let go. I wanted to stay in his embrace forever. He was so solid, like the one stable thing I needed to hold on to, or else I would fall. But then his phone had to ring, and he had to accept the call. Now, he was standing a few steps away, speaking to Antonio. I couldn't hear what he was saying in his calm tone, but I hoped it was nothing serious. I really didn't care about what he was discussing with Antonio. I vaguely remembered that I was supposed to be eavesdropping on every conversation Rodrigo engaged in, but I didn't have the will anymore. All I wanted was for him to hang up that cell and get back to kissing me. I wanted to feel that safety I'd always craved from him. It felt like this was a different Rodrigo. I would have concluded that he was Fabio, but for his voice, that was unmistakably Rodrigo's. Maybe something happened to make him realize that I was hurting. Perhaps he regretted being harsh to me. Something happened; I had no
RODRIGO’S POV I wondered what Antonio was talking about through the drive to my father's mansion. His words on the phone kept coming to me, but they didn't make any more sense the more I thought about them. "I've tried the keys," Antonio had said. "They won't open the door. We need your help." What was I supposed to do? Break the door down? But that wasn't what troubled me more. I was sure I gave him the right keys, so his report was really far-fetched. Maybe he was making a mistake, or he didn't try hard enough. Either way, I had to see things for myself. My mind drifted back to Tanya. She'd probably still be where I left her. I wished Antonio hadn't interrupted us, but there was nothing I could change about that. As much as I would have liked to stay with her, there was always something more important to do. I shook my head, trying to arrange my thoughts. I shouldn't be thinking so much about her. That wasn't nice for both of us. How was I supposed to keep her from
TANYA’S POVI wanted to type some nasty words out to Enzo as a reply. What did he take me for? A puppet of some sort? Did he think he could jump orders in me and expect me to follow suddenly?And asking me to go against Rodrigo at that...he was really getting bold. I might not have minded naturally, but not now when I was starting to build a connection with Rodrigo, no matter how small. I didn't want anything to ruin it. Typing all my thoughts out would be extremely stressful, so I decided to put a call through to him to give him a piece of my mind. That is if he would even pick up. I'd already concluded that I was calling in vain when the phone began to ring endlessly. What was the point of even calling in the first place? Then Enzo shocked me by answering. "You know it's not safe to call this number, right?" he asked. I felt chills go down my spine at the sound of his still voice. He still sounded muddled, which made me wonder if he always wore masks over his head. I was tempted
TANYA’S POVI stared at the directions Enzo had texted me, wishing I could ignore them and get the hell on with my life. But I knew I couldn't. As dangerous as it was to meddle with Rodrigo, I knew that Enzo was also dangerous, if not more harmful.Besides, I'd already started. I had no choice but to go on with what I began. Enzo said to find a guard at the end of the hallway that Rodrigo's home office was in.From where I stood at the start of the hallway, I couldn't see anyone waiting for me there. I narrowed my eyes as I moved forward. If this turned out to be a bloody prank, it wouldn't be funny at all."Is anyone here?" I called as I walked. The lights were off. The only source of light was a window at the side. Why didn't I turn on the light as I stepped in? I scolded myself.Just knowing that someone who worked for Enzo was waiting for me was enough to make me scared of such a simple place."What's the code?" a deep voice replied to me, and I jumped. The voice seemed to come fr
Rodrigo's pov I scrolled through the security camera memory on my laptop. There was a mix-up somewhere. I could feel it. One file was missing, the one of some time in the afternoon, and I was checking to see if I would find it first before deciding on what to do next. I had a feeling my search for it was futile, though, and that it had to do with the key that was missing. I concluded that it was missing after I came back to search for it in my room and of course I found nothing. It was frustrating not knowing for sure if it was misplaced or if I was the one making a mistake, so I decided to check for the only accurate account I could find. There was a light knock on my door, and I looked up. "Come in." I watched the door open to reveal Tanya, and I stopped my scrolling. "Is there a problem?" I asked. "Um... Does there need to be a problem before I can see you?" she asked, her voice a bit shy. "Well, there has to be something you want," I insisted. I saw her take a d
Rodrigo's pov From Tanya's stance, I could tell that she was hiding and trying to sneak. I was trying because I knew that was not how they did it. But why would she be sneaking around the house? It was very strange. I wondered when she began that new attitude. I skipped through the part where Antonio and I spoke and then watched her tap on her phone. If I could zoom in and see what she was doing with the phone, I would have done so. I frowned, replaying that scene. She was texting someone, and my suspicion grew. I remembered that I wanted to have a look at her phone then, but somehow, I got diverted from that. I should have checked it when I had the chance. I skipped through the rest of the few minutes, gritting my teeth. I shouldn't have kissed her. That must be why she came in here to feel that connection again. It was dangerous for the both of us and now I managed to get her hopes up. I always tried to remember that we were just married on a deal here, and most times,
TANYA’S POVI sighed in relief as Rodrigo left my room. What had I gotten myself into? And who the hell was Don? I was glad he didn't mention Enzo else; I wouldn't have been able to keep the guilt from my expression.I picked up my phone and deleted my chats with Enzo. That was just a disaster waiting to happen, and I certainly wouldn't let it happen.Was I even still safe here? Rodrigo said I had to be here when he got back. Then what would happen to me? All I could see was my life flashing before my eyes, and I was scared.The feeling of the cold metal of the gun on my forehead lingered, and I touched that spot. Just one move and the gun would go off, a bullet straight to my brain, and that would be the end of me. I could already see it happening.I paced the length of my room, wondering what to do next. With Enzo's chat gone, I was safer, but Rodrigo mentioned something about me making calls to some person. What exactly had he seen in that laptop of his?I stepped out of my room an
RODRIGO’S POVThe night was quiet despite all that was happening. I didn't want to disrupt the atmosphere of calm either; there was no need to alert the enemy of our presence.I could sense my men in the background, though, but they were good enough at hiding to make it seem like they weren't there."Are we going in?" Antonio asked, shifting closer to me. When I came, I met him hiding behind some shrubs, not a good hiding place, but at least he wasn't dead yet."Yes," I replied. "We'll bring the fight to them.""What about the people in the house?" he asked with a frown.I thought of all the servants who took care of the house. It's funny they were in there while all this was going on."If they aren't already scared senseless, then I think they will stay in their quarters and not interrupt us. Whoever does will die."I motioned for two of my men to follow me, and Antonio and I slipped through the back door.It was nostalgic going through this door. It brought back memories of my child
Rodrigo POV I had to admit she was one of the strongest I had ever met. For some reason, she could keep up and pace with me, and that was also because she was pregnant. I felt happy knowing we had many more rounds like that to come in our lifetime. If that was the only compensation for the loss accumulated throughout the last couple of weeks, it was worth it. I got up from the bed, finally. After such a long time, I had been determined to leave her as soon as possible, but somehow, she had convinced me to stay. And stay I did, throughout the night, over to the following day, and even now. I didn't want to leave. Even though we didn't have sex throughout the entire night, the kisses and hugs we lovingly gave each other were enough to keep me excited all the way. She made a sleepy sound as I slipped away carefully, not wanting her to know I was going. Who knew how long I would stay back if she wanted me to? After all, I couldn't resist once, and most likely, I wouldn't be able t
Tanya's Pov By the time I met Dante, I found that he was making some phone calls. I had a sudden feeling that they were preemptory ones because he was planning something. I observed his expression for a moment, and upon seeing the grim expression on his face, I realised that he intended to leave. "Don't tell me..." I said once he was done with the call. He looked at me before managing a smile. "We are not safe anymore, not even me. I should have thought about it earlier. It's rather annoying that I had to figure it out from Rodrigo." I looked at him in surprise. I could vaguely remember Rodrigo telling me to tell him about this. Did that not mean he was not supposed to know about it yet, as I had not told him yet? "I asked him about where he was off to when I saw him acting all weird and uptight," he told me with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly, things don't always need a serious cryptic explanation." "Where is he now?" I asked, feeling like I was being left behind. I
Tanya's POV It took me a lot of serious searching to find him. Once or twice, I thought he was in the house and that Dante was bluffing. But after remembering the severe expression on his face, I decided to make sure that Rodrigo wasn't here before I went over to accuse Dante of lying. I found him eventually in a secluded room, staring into space despondently as if he were depressed by something. "Hey, Rodrigo," I said, my voice becoming very soft as I stepped in. Something told me he didn't want anybody to enter at this time; he wanted the moment of silence to himself. But I found myself intruding anyway. It had been so long since I had seen him, and I wanted to ensure he was well. He glanced my way, but suddenly, a light entered his eyes. He didn't look angry—wasn't angry like I thought he would be at my sudden appearance. Instead, he seemed happy. It made me smile, knowing that I still brought joy to him despite everything that had happened. The light in his eyes faded
Rodrigo's POV I didn’t protest anymore, deciding to hope for the best and let everything play out by itself. Tanya wouldn’t die; I knew it, and as long as she was alive, everything was fine despite everything I had lost and would lose. I had no other option than to let the driver take the car over to my mansion. I was shocked when he was granted access. It seemed that Tanya and Dante had modified the security system while I was gone. “It’s all well,” I thought to myself as I entered my room immediately after getting out of the car. I didn’t want to talk to anybody—though there was nobody for me to speak to in the first place. I needed some time to myself, time to meditate on everything that had happened so suddenly, and also some time to figure out what the next course of action should be. I was before my laptop, typing furiously as if my life depended on it because it probably did. I wouldn’t let the same situation repeat itself in my life more than once. But then again, it
Rodrigo's POV It took me quite a while before I realised that it was an ally standing in front of me. It wasn’t just any random person; it was Dante. “What are you doing here?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow. There was a good chance that he was here to help, but he could also have his motives. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that we were friends. We weren’t. “What does it look like I’m doing here?” he asked. “Saving you.” He went behind me, and with one swift motion, I felt the ropes on my hands slack. He had cut me loose. I looked at him again, realising that he wasn’t bluffing. It started to make sense now; he most likely had taken out all the men guarding me, one after the other, though they thought it was some accident. “Follow me,” he said. “I’ll get you out of here.” I didn’t want to accept his help, but I had no choice in the current situation. Since he had been able to manoeuvre his way through the many criminals with guns, there was a good chance he could do
Rodrigo's POV They were closing in on me. What's more, I knew it when I saw how everyone fighting around me kept an eye on me. I knew that it would be tough for me to escape. It didn't stop me from trying to free myself, though. Constantly, while they were fighting, I tried my best to loosen the ropes. I knew I would have a better chance of survival if I could utilise every skill at my disposal, and I couldn't do that if I were tied up. I was almost there; I could feel it already. All the ropes were nearly gone, and I was secure enough from the bullets flying across the place like rain. If I kept my cool and continued the process diligently, I would easily succeed in freeing myself. Then, I could either join the fight or escape entirely. Suddenly, I saw a man beside me, pointing a gun right at my head. "Don't move anymore," he said. "Do you think you can escape now?" I froze, realising that he wasn't bluffing; he would shoot me if I did anything funny. "Look here," I sta
Tanya's POV The leader I was to meet turned out to be Diego himself. Well, what did I expect? Seeing him, all the rage and frustration I felt as a result of how things had turned out came rushing back. After all the threats and everything, the man decided to kill me anyway. What, then, was the point of making me give him the flash disc? If he would fight to get me out of there, why didn't he do that from the start? I glared at him in annoyance as I opened my mouth to speak. From the look in his eyes, he already knew what kind of reaction to expect from me after what had happened. I only hoped he had a reasonable explanation awaiting. "Why?" I asked finally. It was only one word, but it carried the weight of all the emotions raging through me. I wanted to scream at him, to fight him—a couple of punches from me to him would release some of the anger and frustration. But somehow, I didn't move. "It's hard to explain and even harder to understand," he told me in a small voice. "But
Tanya's pov I couldn't understand why he would want me to hand it over to him if he had the power to threaten him. He made it seem as though he could keep him in check, but if he could, then why did I have to give him the document? Why couldn't he just break the both of us out of here so we could forget about the entire incident? All those questions were bubbling in my head, wanting desperately to burst out, but I kept them in. I knew when to speak and stay silent, and now was the typical time to remain silent. I couldn't precisely question him when he showed up out of nowhere to save my sorry ass. "Do we have a deal?" Diego asked him. From the amount of time he was spending to think about it alone, I knew that he had no intentions whatsoever to let me go out of here alive in the first place. The realisation made me even more glad of Dante's intervention, though I could not still understand many things about his actions and why he was doing them that way. Maybe it was not so
Tanya's POV The shooting started unexpectedly. I was still thinking when he finished counting down, and his men automatically started firing at us. The man named John took cover immediately, narrowly missing getting shot himself. His men took arms as well, and it was a free-for-all. I tried to find Rodrigo in the commotion. It was a perfect chance for me to escape with him and forget all that was happening. But suddenly, I felt a hand cover my mouth. I struggled, but to no avail. The person holding me was too strong for me to resist. Finally, when I stopped struggling, I felt his grip relax a little as he turned me to him. I already knew it was not Rodrigo before I saw his face, and when I didn't recognise him, I got my confirmation. He put a finger to his lips, indicating that I shouldn't scream. If I had known what was going to happen next, I would have because suddenly, he brought out some ropes and tied my hands behind me. I attempted to scream now, but it was too