5| You belong to me, Astrid

Astrid 

I groaned in pain at the relentless pounding in my head. It felt like someone was happily driving nails into the inside of my skull. Sunlight tickled my face, stabbing my eyes with its brightness. I used my palm to shield the light coming from the window.

"Two more minutes." I muttered, facing the other side of the bed, but I froze when my head slightly bumped into something hard....and warm.

What a damn minute.

My eyes shot open, and I found myself face to face with someone's chest. A naked man's chest. Fucking Christ. I jerked instinctively, but the pain that shot into my body made me freeze. Shit, it's like I'd been hit by a bulldozer.

My blood ran cold, and my pulse quickened at that somewhat familiar discomfort between my legs. What was I saying? Even Nathaniel had never made me feel this way. I looked down to find myself naked.

I turned my head slowly, forcing myself to look at the man responsible. My breath hitched at his attractive face. His body was still, chest raising and falling into a deep sleep. His dark, tousled hair framed his face perfectly. The sheet was draped loosely over his waist, showcasing his broad, chiseled back.

God does have favorites. And I thought Nathaniel was the most handsome man I had ever seen. But how the hell did I end up in a stranger's bed?

My mind felt fogged, struggling to remember what happened last night. And then it came. Everything. How I ended up in someone's room, the wine, the disgust on his cold face as I threw myself at him like a desperate woman in heat.

He didn't want to, well, at least not at first. But I didn't stop, I should have stopped. I kept begging until he finally made me scream all night. I had no idea how long we kept going, but long enough for me to know I won't walk straight for the next few days.

I sat very still; the cold creeping over my skin as the realization sank in. Did I take advantage of a man? Not just any man—but I just had to go for someone who could afford the penthouse of one of the most expensive hotels in the world. And he didn’t seem like someone who forgave easily. One wrong move, he could ruin me with the snap of his fingers.

My heart leaped into my throat. I couldn't let myself be caught up with this, especially when my divorce with Nathaniel was coming up. I needed to leave!

I quietly scrambled to my feet, careful not to make too much noise. I glanced down at the torn underwear on the floor and mentally groaned to myself. How rough were we last night?

Before I could think too much about it, I rushed out of the bedroom. I spotted my dress in the living room and slipped back into it and made a break for the door.

As soon as I entered my car, I let out a breath, I didn't know I was holding. I gripped the steering wheel, trying to steady my frantic heart. The whole thing was weighing down on me. I cheated on my husband, well, my soon to be ex husband. I know I shouldn't feel bad, not after what he did to me last night. But it was still hard for me to throw three years of love and devotion to the drain.

I caught myself in the rearview mirror and my eyes widened at the prominent hickeys on my neck and my swollen lips.

My face grew hot as I remembered what happened last night. The way his eyes darkened every time I begged for his touch, the way he made me come so many times I lost counts. He gave me more pleasure than I had ever known. I hadn't even thought about Nathaniel. Not even once.

My phone buzzed beside me, jolting me out of my thoughts. I flinched as I stared at the name on the screen. My heart thudded, and sweat glittered my forehead like I'd been caught doing something bad.

I had gotten used to this reaction whenever my mother-in-law called. It’s like I had automatically programmed my body to react that way to her.

I stared at the screen for a moment, contemplating whether to pick the call. Why should I avoid her? I didn't do anything wrong. It was not like I was the one who cheated on her son.....at least, not first.

Taking a deep breath, I pressed the answer button.

"When the hell are you coming home, you stupid brat?" My mother-in-law's voice exploded on the other end of the line. It was so loud that I had to pull the phone from my ears before she could damage my eardrums. "You're already a disgrace to the family. How dare you leave the house in the middle of the night? My son took you from the dirt and made you what you are. Is this how you are going to repay my family? Come home this instance."

My pulse quickened in anger at her words. Before I could say anything, she hung up, as if my opinion didn't matter. I let out a frustrated groan as I drove home.

When I arrived at the mansion, I pushed the door open only for me to meet three pairs of eyes glaring at me. If looks could kill, I would have been six feet under. I froze in the doorway, something urging me to just turn around and run. But I didn't. I wasn't afraid of them. At least that was what I wanted to believe.

"Are you going to stand there like a fool all day? Or do you want me to roll the red carpet for you?" Nathaniel's mother's eyes blazed with pure hatred as she spoke. She sat in the middle of the room, looking at me as if I were dirt beneath her feet. She had never liked me since the first time we met. In her eyes, her son was too good for someone like me. "I heard you want a divorce? Who do you think you are to ask for a divorce?"

"This is why you don't pick anyone from the streets, they start acting like they are worth something when you throw them a little bone." Olivia, Nathaniel's sister laughed mockingly. If Serena was a two-faced bitch, Olivia was a cold-blooded viper. She hated me to the core, and the devil would find every opportunity to talk down on me, reminding me how I wasn’t up to their status and was nothing but dirt to their family.

For the past three years of being married into this family, I had been treated like a servant by his mother and sister. They made me feel small and unworthy. And Nathaniel....he had never defended me as I got insulted again and again.

I looked at Serena, and she had a smile on her face, as if she was enjoying seeing me at my lowest point. After everything, she still had the audacity to come here? Why was I not surprised? Our eyes met, and I looked at her with a cold indifference. I was not in the mood to fight with her.

"Where is Nathaniel? I need to talk to him about the divorce."

"God, why didn't you give me someone with more brain cells as a daughter-in-law? I'm so stressed. I can't deal with this fool." My mother-in-law sighed, completely discarding what I said. She rubbed her finger against her temples dramatically.

"Are you okay? Can I get you something so you can calm down?" Serena, who was standing beside her, exclaimed in concern.

"No dear, you are so kind. If you were married to Nathaniel Instead, I would not have to worry about little things like this."

I gritted my teeth in anger at her words. She never had to worry about anything, because I always did everything to please her. I was always at her beck and call. She treated me even worse than the maids in her house. There was no way she didn't know her son was cheating and taking in her personality. She probably encouraged it.

I couldn't live like this anymore. I can't continue to live my life for others, just for them to mock me. With that in mind, I walked upstairs.

I hastily grabbed my suitcase and began shoving my belongings inside. I didn’t have much—just a handful of clothes that were truly mine, despite being married to a millionaire. I wasn’t sure what I was trying to prove. Maybe it was to show I hadn’t married him for his money. Or maybe it was because his family had always made me feel like I was nothing more than a gold digger.

They all thought I married Nathaniel because of his money, but I had never once used the premium card he gave me. I always used the money I earned for myself to buy him and his family expensive gifts. To please them further, I even agreed to sign that stupid contract stating that I wouldn't collect anything from the Davis family if we got divorced.

After packing, I marched downstairs, my heart pounding, ignoring the piercing stares from everyone around me.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nathaniel's mother yelled as she saw me walking out with a suitcase.

"None of your business, you old hag." I spat, causing her face to turn red in shock. I had always been the perfect daughter-in-law. I never spoke back, no matter what she said, receiving all her insults without any protest. But now, I won't let any of them get away with it.

I opened the door with a force I didn't know I had. But my body turned rigid as I stared into those piercing brown eyes that always gave my stomach butterflies, and that familiar warm vanilla and musk scent filled my nose. But as quickly as I was hypnotized, I snapped out of it, coming to my senses and brushed past him.

Before I could go out, a hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. I whipped my head around in anger, only to see Nathaniel standing there with a look I couldn't read.

"Let me go!" I snapped, trying to get my hand freed, but he held on tighter. "What? Will you hit me again for calling your mother a hag just like yes-"

"You're not going anywhere and divorce is off the table." He growled, his voice low and firm with a possessive rumble. I looked at him in surprise, confusion, and anger all at once. Why was he acting like this when he was the one who despised everything about me? Wasn’t I doing him a favor by divorcing him, freeing him to be with his perfect woman.

“You belong to me, Astrid.” He continued, backing me up against the door. “Don't be stupid to think you can just walk out when I bought you for a fair price. If you test me; I will not hesitate to make you understand that leaving is not an option.”

My brow quivered in disbelief. I was so taken aback that I almost lost my voice for a moment. “W-what do you mean? You brought me for a fair price?”