Elena POVIn that subtle moment, everything felt paused to me, like a movie. I didn't think a single thought ran through my mind before I rushed over to the side of Dominic's bed, kneeling on the ground as I felt my worry spike within me.“Dominic!” I said, my worry now very evident on my face as my eyes still remained locked on his wounded arm.I gently grabbed his arm and examined it. To me, it seemed that the wound, which was already wrapped before, had reopened again, and that was because there were two shades of blood, with one darker than the other. It must have been from when he stood up abruptly from the bed and told Selene to leave, I think.“What happened to you while you were away? How did you get this wound?” I asked, hungry for answers. But then, seconds passed and I didn't get any answers to my questions.Dominic just sat there silently. He wasn't looking at his wound or at my hand, which I used to apply pressure on the wound so that the bleeding would slow down. To me,
Elena's POV“What's happening here?” I asked, ignoring Selene’s previous question as my eyes darted between Selene and Dominic, laying so still it almost felt like he was a log of wood.“What are you doing to him? Why is he—” I didn’t finish my next question before Selene jumped to her feet and rushed to me, using her hand to cover my mouth so I wouldn’t keep talking.“Shhhh,” she said, turning to Dominic, seeing that he only grunts a bit and then continues to sleep. She exhaled in relief and faced me with her earlier cold expression.“I asked you, why did you come inside?” she said, but her tone was low and stern as well.“Why wouldn’t I? I was very curious. I didn’t understand what you meant by your statement and again, you didn’t come out, so I didn’t know what to do and I couldn’t keep waiting outside,” I replied, also keeping my voice low.“Well, the best thing for you to have done is to go back to your room and wait till Dominic has decided to go to his office or somewhere you c
Elena POVIn that subtle moment, everything felt paused to me, like a movie. I didn't think a single thought ran through my mind before I rushed over to the side of Dominic's bed, kneeling on the ground as I felt my worry spike within me.“Dominic!” I said, my worry now very evident on my face as my eyes still remained locked on his wounded arm.I gently grabbed his arm and examined it. To me, it seemed that the wound, which was already wrapped before, had reopened again, and that was because there were two shades of blood, with one darker than the other. It must have been from when he stood up abruptly from the bed and told Selene to leave, I think.“What happened to you while you were away? How did you get this wound?” I asked, hungry for answers. But then, seconds passed and I didn't get any answers to my questions.Dominic just sat there silently. He wasn't looking at his wound or at my hand, which I used to apply pressure on the wound so that the bleeding would slow down. To me,
Elena POVThe first kiss was totally unexpected. And even after it, I didn't know what I was going to expect from Dominic or even myself. There were too many emotions involved for me to make the right call on the particular reaction I was going to make. Or Dominic was going to make either.But then he does this—an unexpected after a previous unexpected.This kiss wasn't as soft as the previous one. This time, I could feel there was more intention and desire behind it.This time, it was more raw and passionate and I could even say clumsy. I had closed my eyes, feeling just sizzles in my body while his tongue searched around in my mouth.And in this moment, my body surprised me the most because it wasn't doing anything I thought it was supposed to do. That is, kick against it, stop him from tasting me, and get angry even.We continued to kiss for a minute before he finally dislodged his lips from mine, and I was surprised by how I was trying to catch my breath. I felt as if fire had bee
Dominic POV "Ulterior motives eh?" I repeated and Selene nodded twice. “That's what I believe." selene affirmed. “She’s probably pushing your buttons, trying to get on your soft side so when you don't notice, she'll do what she's planning internally. What she harbors in mind." "Hmph," I said thinking, and Selene smiled.She probably thought in her head that if I gave her an inch, she was going to go a mile and keep adding fuel to fire so, Elena wouldn't be in my favour, but then, the conversation that seemed to be going North in her favour went south very fast. "What do you take me for?" I asked and Selene was caught off guard by the question."Uhm, what do you mean by that, Dominic?" She asked, genuinely confused. "Exactly what I said. What do you take me for?" I repeated, facing her and my expression had become grim and cold and Selene gulped nervously but she still stood her ground thinking of a way she could regain control of the conversation. If
Chapter 1Elena's POVMy boyfriend. The same boyfriend with whom I had spent and dreamed of long-term love, trust, and life together was sprawled on a bed sheet with nothing but my little sister, Lily."Elena!" Brian tried in vain to get into a sitting position, his face a picture of guilt and fear written all over his face.I guess it was too late. "It's not what it looks like!"But it was exactly what it looked like. Lily, my sister, leaned back against the headboard, completely unfazed, her smug grin igniting my anger.Well, I knew she was a snake, but bringing my boyfriend into this. He was the only one on my side. At least I thought so.“Oh, come on, Elena," she voiced out, playfully wending a strand of her hair through her shoulder. “I hope you didn't think he'd be sticking around for someone like you, or did you?”Her words cut deep as if someone had plunged a knife into my chest. My vision flashed, and my hands locked at my sides, screaming constricted my very throat. There
Chapter 2Elena's POV The car ride had no sound. I looked outside the window, my heart beginning to beat fast in my chest as we drove through the places I had never set my eyes on before.The city lights became a blur as we passed them but my thoughts fixated on one idea.How the hell had my life flipped so fast?They had betrayed me, sold me, and now a man who gave off a dangerous aura had kidnapped me. My father's words rang in my head, his cowardice eating through me. How could he have done this to me?"What's our destination?" I asked, at last, ending the silence. My voice was trembling but the aim was to sound tougher than I felt. The man, who sat opposite me, shifted his cold dark eyes to look at me. His sharp features seemed chiselled from rock, and his presence made it hard to breathe."You'll know soon," he answered, his tone as frosty as his look."Hey," I said, my anger starting to rise. "You can't just—""I can do as I please," he cut in, his voice deep and firm. "You'
Chapter 3Dominic’s POVWith her arms clasped, the girl sat on the bed's edge, her lips pressing down in a firm line.With her defiance, she held a stronghold on me, her blue eyes twinkling like she wanted to annihilate me."I'm not some slave." Her voice cracked slightly.Her voice hinted that her fear was not the same as that of any other captive.My eyes were unreadable as I stared at her. Despite being as captive as she presumed she still showed fearless behaviour.She had a small physique which matched her stubbornness. She was probably in her early twenties.“You're not going to treat me like a slave,”"I'm not required to chain you," I replied, my tone being colder than intended. The person in question remained silent.Her face shook in anger, and she silently spoke a series of curses, calling me whatever different names.“What are you going to do? Keep me locked in here? This is bullying and kidnapping.You are only doing this because you know I can't do anything in return be
Dominic POV "Ulterior motives eh?" I repeated and Selene nodded twice. “That's what I believe." selene affirmed. “She’s probably pushing your buttons, trying to get on your soft side so when you don't notice, she'll do what she's planning internally. What she harbors in mind." "Hmph," I said thinking, and Selene smiled.She probably thought in her head that if I gave her an inch, she was going to go a mile and keep adding fuel to fire so, Elena wouldn't be in my favour, but then, the conversation that seemed to be going North in her favour went south very fast. "What do you take me for?" I asked and Selene was caught off guard by the question."Uhm, what do you mean by that, Dominic?" She asked, genuinely confused. "Exactly what I said. What do you take me for?" I repeated, facing her and my expression had become grim and cold and Selene gulped nervously but she still stood her ground thinking of a way she could regain control of the conversation. If
Elena POVThe first kiss was totally unexpected. And even after it, I didn't know what I was going to expect from Dominic or even myself. There were too many emotions involved for me to make the right call on the particular reaction I was going to make. Or Dominic was going to make either.But then he does this—an unexpected after a previous unexpected.This kiss wasn't as soft as the previous one. This time, I could feel there was more intention and desire behind it.This time, it was more raw and passionate and I could even say clumsy. I had closed my eyes, feeling just sizzles in my body while his tongue searched around in my mouth.And in this moment, my body surprised me the most because it wasn't doing anything I thought it was supposed to do. That is, kick against it, stop him from tasting me, and get angry even.We continued to kiss for a minute before he finally dislodged his lips from mine, and I was surprised by how I was trying to catch my breath. I felt as if fire had bee
Elena POVIn that subtle moment, everything felt paused to me, like a movie. I didn't think a single thought ran through my mind before I rushed over to the side of Dominic's bed, kneeling on the ground as I felt my worry spike within me.“Dominic!” I said, my worry now very evident on my face as my eyes still remained locked on his wounded arm.I gently grabbed his arm and examined it. To me, it seemed that the wound, which was already wrapped before, had reopened again, and that was because there were two shades of blood, with one darker than the other. It must have been from when he stood up abruptly from the bed and told Selene to leave, I think.“What happened to you while you were away? How did you get this wound?” I asked, hungry for answers. But then, seconds passed and I didn't get any answers to my questions.Dominic just sat there silently. He wasn't looking at his wound or at my hand, which I used to apply pressure on the wound so that the bleeding would slow down. To me,
Elena's POV“What's happening here?” I asked, ignoring Selene’s previous question as my eyes darted between Selene and Dominic, laying so still it almost felt like he was a log of wood.“What are you doing to him? Why is he—” I didn’t finish my next question before Selene jumped to her feet and rushed to me, using her hand to cover my mouth so I wouldn’t keep talking.“Shhhh,” she said, turning to Dominic, seeing that he only grunts a bit and then continues to sleep. She exhaled in relief and faced me with her earlier cold expression.“I asked you, why did you come inside?” she said, but her tone was low and stern as well.“Why wouldn’t I? I was very curious. I didn’t understand what you meant by your statement and again, you didn’t come out, so I didn’t know what to do and I couldn’t keep waiting outside,” I replied, also keeping my voice low.“Well, the best thing for you to have done is to go back to your room and wait till Dominic has decided to go to his office or somewhere you c
Elena POVIn that subtle moment, everything felt paused to me, like a movie. I didn't think a single thought ran through my mind before I rushed over to the side of Dominic's bed, kneeling on the ground as I felt my worry spike within me.“Dominic!” I said, my worry now very evident on my face as my eyes still remained locked on his wounded arm.I gently grabbed his arm and examined it. To me, it seemed that the wound, which was already wrapped before, had reopened again, and that was because there were two shades of blood, with one darker than the other. It must have been from when he stood up abruptly from the bed and told Selene to leave, I think.“What happened to you while you were away? How did you get this wound?” I asked, hungry for answers. But then, seconds passed and I didn't get any answers to my questions.Dominic just sat there silently. He wasn't looking at his wound or at my hand, which I used to apply pressure on the wound so that the bleeding would slow down. To me,
Elena POVI didn’t sleep much last night.In my head, my conflicting thoughts were too much of a bother to allow me to lie down and get up to three hours of rest and so, I ended up sleeping outside for a few minutes before I woke up again. From the way I saw it, it felt as if the night just went by in minutes.All this while, I was thinking but yet, I still wasn't able to find a suitable answer to settle my worries. I sighed dejectedly and got on my feet, deciding it was better to go back to my room. There was no reason for me to keep answering questions with questions. I had to try and get some sleep, even if it was just a little.The soft ticking of the big clock in the hallway was the only sound accompanying my racing thoughts.There was something wrong, something off. And I could feel it.Every corner of this mansion seemed to carry hidden details of secrets I wasn't seeing.It felt like betrayal and a blend of other eerie things were going on from beyond the facade of it all, an
Dominic POVI just spent the last few minutea trying to stabilize myself and calm my nerves. Things were unraveling at a rate I wasn't catching up to in time. And I need to, before things get worse than they already are.“Boss.” Gabe called my attention, and I turned to him with an angry look. Not necessarily because he was disturbing me—I was just mad at everything right now.“I'm sorry, boss, but what do we do with her now?” Gabe asked me, and I shifted my gaze from him to Johanna, who still had a pool of tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were still locked on her brother’s lifeless body, and I sighed dejectedly and walked in front of Johan, covering his eyes before I shifted my gaze to her, shielding the body from her sight as I said,“This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.” I paused, looking at her, but she had shut her eyes, still biting on Gabe’s hand, who seemed to be enduring the pain. I signaled to him to let go, and he took his hand off her mouth. She kept weeping
Dominic POV“Would you like some tea?” I said mockingly, and Johan gulped even harder this time. I could see him starting to shake in his spot, his eyes darting around the room for a way to escape.“We've waited all this time for you,” I continued, enjoying the moment. “Your sister here gave us assurance you'd be back soon, so we took her words. Else we’d have taken her,” I added with a look over to Johanna, and she clenched the blanket she was holding even tighter. It was from fear—the more, the better. It would make things easier for me, easier to get information from Johan when he knew what was truly at stake.He had a look of desperation on his face, and in a sharp move, he turned toward the door. But he didn't take two steps before the man already behind him slammed the door shut. The impact made Johan fidget. He turned toward the stairs, desperate to run up them, but another of my men stood in his path. He slid and fell to the ground, his eyes locking onto the fire alarm. He was
Dominic POV I sat behind my desk in the study room, my knuckles pressed into my temple, while, with my other hand, I flipped through a document I wasn't bent on reading. I wasn't concentrating on the document, not really. Not since that damn message came in. A set of knocks on the door was easily enough to draw my attention and my eyes left the document. “Come in,” I said, and the next second, James walked in with an expression that made me curious. Clasping my hands together, I asked, “What is it?” “We found him,” James said. My eyes narrowed as I proceeded to ask, “Where?” “He’s currently at an abandoned duplex towards the southern part from here. It shouldn't be up to a two-hour drive. The man’s name is Johan. From what I've gathered, he works at a computer shop. Not too far from where he lives. He’s got a sister—just got discharged from a hospital.” I raised an eyebrow and James continued. “Cancer. Most likely in its late stage, from what we can tell.” My gaze left James