Ayden drove directly to his penthouse before stopping his car in the underground parking lot. After stopping the car he turned to look at Eleana who was already looking at him with a blank face. "Why did you bring me here?" Eleana asked calmly as she watched him unbuckling his seatbelt. Ayden didn't answer her question as he got out of the car. Eleana didn't make any sign of unbuckling her seatbelt or getting out of the car. In just a minute Ayden reached her side before pulling open the car's door. Eleana had her arms crossed over her chest as she looked ahead without bothering to spare him a glance."Get out." He barked as he held the door open for her. His dominating words made Eleana glance at him."Why?" She asked without raising her voice as she looked at him with her serene blue eyes. She could see the fury in Ayden's eyes still present as he looked down at her impatiently. Ayden seemed to be in no mood to answer her as he began to unbuckle her seatbelt making her let out a ga
Eleana sat for hours on the bed while shedding tears. She was sad, angry and frustrated because of how things turned out. She was angry at Ayden for locking her in. How could he do that? The most humiliating thing is she's letting him do those things to her without putting up much of a fight. She should have fought more. But she didn't want to drag her loved ones in it. She knew how powerful Ayden was besides he had a hold on her company too which made him more powerful than her. So how could she fight him? She always became vulnerable when it came to him. After God knew how many hours sitting on the bed, Eleana finally decided to get up and get changed out of her gown. She quickly wiped away her tears before carefully looking around the bedroom. The same bedroom which she used to call theirs a few years ago. Less than two years to be exact. It was the same as she left. The wall, the furniture, the curtains, everything was picked by her. A sudden bitterness rose to Eleana's heart
"Natasha?" Eleana echoed his words in surprise. Ayden nodded at her words. Eleana was at a loss for words. She twisted her lips as she stared at Ayden who was now playing with her fingers. Eleana reached her hands before wiping his tears away. Her action made Ayden calm down a bit. He again buried his head in her lap. A sigh escaped Eleana's lips. "I'm not getting what you are saying. Can you explain?" Eleana asked softly while putting her hands in Ayden's soft hair. "I h-hurt her. I didn't push her intentionally. She lost it b-because of me." Ayden mumbled in her lap making Eleana more confused. "She lost what?" Eleana asked, sounding a bit impatient. "Do you love me?" Instead of answering her, Ayden asked her another question. Eleana became silent as she didn't know how to answer his question. Did she love him still? When did she ever stop? Eleana sighed. Her silence on the other hand made Ayden feel more suffocated and sad. "I knew it. You don't love me anymore. I knew I'm
Eleana heaved a sigh before looking away from Ayden. But Ayden didn't remove his eyes from her. A frown took over his face as he tried to remember what happened the previous night after he drank. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember a single thing. "Did I hurt you?" Ayden suddenly asked, making Eleana pause her eating. She turned to face him completely. "Didn't you?" She asked while narrowing her eyes. Instantly guilt took over Ayden's face, making him look down, ashamed. "No, I mean did I do something bad after I drank? I tried to remember but my mind is blank." Ayden explained quietly while clutching the coffee cup tightly. "Do you think I would have served breakfast to you if you did something like that?" Eleana questioned back. Her words made sense as Ayden stared at her. She let out a chuckle. "So you are not angry at me?" Ayden asked, sounding a bit scared. "Of course I'm. After what you did yesterday, it's natural for me to be angry. But since I'm in a go
Ayden turned off the stove before turning towards Eleana with a smile. She grinned at him."Ahh finally." She let out a sigh of relief before she got off the island she was sitting on. "Be careful," Ayden warned her as she got down. "It seems like I can't eat flan before night." Eleana pouted her lips. "Yeah. If you want to eat it so badly then we can grab it on our way to the beach." Ayden suggested while taking off his apron. "No. It won't taste like yours." Eleana replied while shaking her head. Her words made Ayden smile as she ruffled her hair. "That's true." He agreed with a smirk making Eleana punch him playfully. "Stop being a prude just because you make some good food." Eleana rolled her eyes as Ayden began to remove her apron. He didn't say anything to her, he just smiled. "I will go and set the tables. You go and freshen up meanwhile." Eleana said when Ayden removed her apron. "Ok." He nodded before taking a step back. Eleana walked over to the kitchen counter befor
After returning from the production house, Eleana made her way into her cabin. She slumped her handbag on the sofa before taking off her black coat and placing it on the chair. She didn't have any lunch yet and felt hungry. So she decided to order a sandwich for herself. The winter collection is ready to launch but she didn't fix a date for the ramp show yet. Eleana checked her watch and found it was 3 in the afternoon. She wondered where Ayden was. She hadn't seen him since the morning after he dropped her off at the Davis Corporation. Eleana took out her phone and was about to drop him a text when she was surprised to find two texts and a missed call from him. The call was about half an hour ago. He texted her asking if she was done with her work or not. In the second text, he asked if she had eaten her lunch or not. A small smile crept up on the corner of her lips. Ayden was never a chatty person. He preferred calls over texts. In the past whenever she would text him, he would ca
"You don't mean that." Started at Lucien in shock. Did he like her? How could he? From one, she told him clearly that they could only be friends. Nothing more nothing less. "I'm being serious, Eleana." Lucien looked at her with a hint of determination in his eyes. Eleana was speechless. "How could you say something like that, Lucien?" Eleana could feel herself getting upset. She didn't want to lose her friend. "I tried to hold back but I couldn't stop myself from falling for you. I want to be there for you, Eleana. I want to protect you with my life. Please give me a chance." Lucien confessed his feelings honestly while holding Eleana's left hand in his. Eleana seemed to be in a complicated situation. She never thought she would be caught in such a dilemma with Lucien. Eleana gently removed her hand from his. Noticing her reluctance, Lucien's face fell."I'm sorry, Lucien. I can't return your feelings. I told you everything already. Despite knowing everything, how could you say so
Eleana finished the rest of her cooking in a sour mood. Natasha's visit ruined her mental peace and there was no doubt about it. Eleana was about to go upstairs after setting the dining table when she heard the front door open. She turned around to check and as expected it was Ayden. When their eyes met he smiled warmly at her making all her worries and headaches disappear. "What have you been up to, Princess?" Ayden asked casually while walking towards her. For a moment Eleana was unable to say or move. She just stood there rooted in her place while staring at him with her dark blue eyes. "What's the matter? Did something happen?" Ayden's smile turned into a frown when he stood a few metres away from her. "Eleana?" Ayden called out worriedly while putting his laptop bag on the nearest table. Unable to hold herself anymore, Eleana ran towards Ayden before wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his hard chest. Ayden was taken aback by her sudden movement but he didn't st
Eleana slowly walked towards the long mirror planned in the centre of the room before standing in front of it. Her sapphire-blue eyes collided with her reflection in the mirror. She looked a little nervous. Eleana tried to swallow it down while glancing from top to bottom. She was dressed in a white mermaid wedding gown with a sweetheart-illusion neckline. The silhouette of the dress stayed fitted from the chest to her knees and then flared out the rest of the length to the floor, along with the long veil adorning the top of her elegant bun. Eleana could feel her heart palpating against her chest as she stared at herself. Her make-up was done elegantly, and her hair was put in a beautiful low bun. She was wearing a small diamond necklace, which her mother bought for her, along with matching earrings."You look beautiful, baby." Eleana heard her mother's soft voice behind her, making her turn around. She smiled at her mother and Kathleen."Thank you, Mama. You two look gorgeous." Elean
Eleana slowly opened her eyes before closing them again to adjust to the light. She felt like her whole body was on fire. She couldn't move at all because of the pain she was feeling in her lower body. She frowned while looking around the unfamiliar room and bed she was in. As she tried to remember what happened, her head began to hurt, making her let out a painful groan."You are awake. Don't move, Princess." Eleana heard Ayden's worried voice, making her turn around to face her. She visibly winched when she noticed his awful state. He looked absolutely awful with those dark circles and eye bags."What happened?" Eleana tried to get up while asking. Ayden was quick to react. He stopped her own time."Don't move." He warned her while gently pushing her down. Eleana frowned and was about to ask him more questions when her hand accidentally brushed her stomach, making her eyes widen in shock. Her stomach was flat."My baby!" Eleana exclaimed as flashbacks started to run through her head
"What rubbish are you talking about?" Giovanni gritted out while clenching his fists tightly. As he spoke, his facial expression changed, and he glanced at his father, who looked puzzled as well."You should know this better than me." Ayden chuckled while glancing at Lucien, who suddenly got up from his seat and then brought some documents out of nowhere. He then walked towards Leonardo and handed him all the files. Leonardo took the files with a nod before putting the documents in front of Antonio, who leaned forward and took one of the files before opening it."These are the proofs of what you, Luca, and Alessandro have been doing for years behind our backs." This time, Leonardo spoke up and then pulled out a remote from his pocket. He pressed a button, which made some piles of documents and photos flash on the screen one by one, making both Luca and Giovanni's eyes go wide in pure shock and terror. Antonio's face changed colour as the icy mask he had been putting on all along dropp
"What!" The three of them asked in unison. The rest of the family members were also shocked as they stared at Antonio in shock. The only people who were calm in the whole room were Eleana, Ayden, Lucien, and Leo. Eleana glanced at the man who sat quietly beside Antonio without much expression on his face."You guys heard me," Antonio responded coldly."How could you say that?" Giovanni couldn't contain his anger as she raised her voice at Antonio."Dad, are you out of your mind? This marriage is important for us. for our business. Everything's already done. The deals are signed. How can you just call off the marriage?" Luca roared at his father. He couldn't believe his impulsiveness. This old bastard was out of his mind."I see you two have already learned to raise your voice at me." Antonio chuckled while turning to look at Ayden. They exchanged a look before Ayden nodded and then pulled out a remote out of nowhere. He then pressed the remote, making the big black monitor light up. E
Finally, the most anticipated day arrived. It was Andres and Idalia's wedding day. The ceremony was supposed to take place in the afternoon. Even though the whole villa was busy preparing for the wedding, the members of the family were quiet, except for the younger ones. For the past two days, the wedding preparation has been going on, yet there has been no wedding vibe at all. Ayden and Lucien had been really busy for the two days, and Eleana hadn't gotten a glimpse of Ayden since the day she informed him about the things she found out from Eirene. After that, he disappeared again with Leonardo and Lucien, leaving her puzzled. The only thing he informed her was that he had a few surprises for her, which she would get on the wedding day. He just recommended that she relax and enjoy herself. Eleana was really suspicious about his behaviour. He suddenly turned oddly secretive after he rescued Lucien, and after that, he had been spending a lot of time with Leonardo. Eleana had suspicions
After successfully putting ointments on her bruise and treating her, Eleana put away the first-aid box. A long silence filled the room as Eleana looked at her sister, who was biting her lips while looking down. "Are you feeling better now?" She finally asked, breaking the silence. Eirene looked up at her before slowly nodding her head. "Do you want to talk about it?" Eleana asked gently, giving her space and time. She didn't want to force or pressure her to talk. She wanted to comfort her first so that she could talk about it on her own. At first, Eirene didn't respond. But after a minute, she reached out her hand before grabbing Eleana's hand. "Who did this to you?" Eleana asked while holding Eirene's hand. She could see her visibly shaking after hearing the question. "Eirene. I need to know who did this to you. You don't need to be scared. I'm here to protect you. Ayden's also here. No one can hurt you or us. I promise I will make them all pay. Each and every single person who da
The next day, regardless of all the chaos that had taken place previously, the whole Santoro Villa began to prepare for the upcoming wedding. The wedding was supposed to take place within the next two days. Even though there was wedding preparation going on around, the people of the villa were quite calm. Eleana couldn't feel the wedding vibe at all. Eleana was more concerned about the plan Ayden was working on. He didn't tell her everything in detail. Just some vague answers left her confused. However, Ayden had requested that she trust him and sit back. He didn't want to drag her into the plan and stress her out because of her pregnancy. She's already in a crucial state.Even though Eleana wanted to engage herself, she had no choice but to obey him this time. She had already neglected her baby, and it almost harmed her. She couldn't let this happen again. She couldn't help but sigh as she walked through the corridor to go downstairs to find Eirene. The plan Ayden was working on alon
After storming out of Antonio's office, Eleana directly made her way toward her bedroom. She was shaking because of anger. How could he just say something like this? Eleana wanted to leave this house as soon as possible. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but none of it worked."Eleana." She heard Ayden's voice calling her, which made her turn around instantly. Ayden heaved a sigh after seeing her state."Are you okay?" Ayden asked in a soft voice while walking towards her. Eleana looked at him before inhaling and exhaling deeply."How could he just demand something like that? How could he?" Eleana sounded bitter and emotional as she let out the question. Ayden reached her and then pulled her into a hug, making her wrap her arms around him slowly."It's alright. Please don't cry because of this." He pleaded while rubbing her back soothingly. Eleana let her tears flow while closing her eyes."I just can't help it, Ayden. I feel so disappointed and angry." Eleana mumbled i
Eleana's eyes slowly travelled towards Lucien, who stood behind Ayden while looking lost in his thoughts. Eleana's eyes went wide in shock when she realized she had almost forgotten about his presence. He had a white bandage covering his forehead and arms."Lucien!" Eleana called out his name, grabbing his attention. She slowly separated herself from Ayden before rushing towards him. Lucien looked at her before passing her a weak smile. His whole body was covered with bruises here and there. Eleana's heart sank deeper as she noticed his state."How did this happen?" She cried out while rushing into his arms. Lucien carefully hugged her while wincing in pain when she accidentally brushed his injured arm."I'm so sorry, Lucien." Eleana cried while hugging him. Lucien chuckled before separating her from him."It's alright, Belle. I'm fine." He replied with a wide smile while trying to show her how strong he was. It only made Eleana's heart hurt more."You need to sit first. Come with me.