CELINE HERRERA POV "You shouldn't trust everything Xavier tells you, Celine," David said, his voice somber, and I glanced up at him in the mirror, my hands freezing in the process of putting on my lip gloss, my brows shooting up."What do you mean by that, David," I asked, genuinely curious. Xavier had been the one to tell me everything about my past and the gap he couldn't fill; he encouraged me to remember myself. But try as I might, I couldn't recall anything. All I knew was that I'd had a pretty decent life from what I saw in the news... there were occasions Jab at me being an illegitimate child here and there, but since I didn't have any memory of that time, I also didn't have the emotion that went along with it."Forget it," he started, and I shook my head and turned to face him."No, I can't just forget about it. Is there something Xavier is hiding from me? If you know something, you should tell me," I said, because even though I trusted Xavier, sometimes I felt as if he was o
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV I watched her expressive blue eyes widen as the words left my lips and I had so many questions, but I was only going to get my answers once she was back where she belonged. At home, with me. I could tell she was going to run and as she moved back, her body rigid as if she was waiting for me to whip out a gun and kill her, I grabbed her arm and yanked her toward me. "Are you going to run away again right after I found you?" I asked, both relieved and furious. With the way she was acting, it was almost like she'd planned the whole fiasco with Xavier. Did she fall in love with him while in captivity? Was that why she chose to leave me and fake her death? Just the thought of it had me clenching my jaw. "What, Celine, do you plan to run away? Perhaps back to Xavier?" I asked and watched as her eyes widened and she trembled. So she'd been with him. She'd been with him all this time. Just the thought, oh Gods! I wanted to fucking destroy everything. Instead, I ju
CELINE HERRERA POV "Xavier" I called, refusing to believe that I was staring at Belshar. Where the hell was I? Raising my hand, I rubbed at my eyes and when I opened them, my spine went rigid when it was still him sitting right in front of me "Yes, it's me Belshar. You do not have to look so shocked," he rumbled, his deep voice causing tremors to race up my spine as I jerked my gaze from his. The room I was in was huge and unfamiliar. Was he going to kill me? How could I have messed everything up so badly? The plan had been to run into him, pretend that I couldn't remember who I was and that I'd just woken up to find myself at Atlas and was barely getting by all by myself, but I'd gone to blurt out his name the moment I laid eyes on him.I probably also gave myself away by reacting too vividly when he mentioned Xavier's name. But I'd been so out of it with fear when I couldn't reach Xavier, I'd just reacted and even now, I couldn't help but wonder if he was still alive. He hadn't a
XAVIER POV"You shouldn't have let her go. You should have made her yours when you had the chance," David said, and I glanced at him before lifting the glass of wine to my lips."I could have, you are right, but I didn't," I said and took a sip of the hard drink, but it didn't quite take away the ache in my chest. I glanced at David who stood watching me, the grim look of disappointment in his eyes glaring. "Do you want to know why"He clenched his fist and moved a step forward as if he wanted to punch me, then thought better of it."Because you've grown weaker. You and Belshar, Celine make you both weak, and you can't fucking see it. We were good, we had our own territory, and we ruled like kings before you learned about her, and then everything came crashing down. We are on the run like fucking fugitives and the only pawn we had to protect ourselves, you let her go without a second thought. You had her, and not once did you touch her, even when you knew she wanted you. What did you
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar was going to fucking kill me if I didn't find a way to end him first and as he let go of me to pace the room and punch at the wall until blood seeped down his hand, I couldn't help but watch him with bated breath, my lips tingling and throbbing."Are you in love with Xavier? Is that why you left with him," he asked, his hand grazing through his hair in agitation."I don't know what you are talking about," I said, and he turned to face me, looking calm and collected, but I could see the pain in his eyes, and it made my heart twist viciously beneath my ribs. Why did his pain hurt me this way?"Tell me the truth, Celine. I know you hate me because of everything I did to you in the past but it's different now. I know why you refused to tell me about Crystal; you didn't want me to hate her; you wanted to protect her till the very end. I know you didn't push Crystal off that building, Celine. You were telling me the truth and I refused to acknowledge it. I treate
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV I watched her run, my heart burning darkly. I'd wanted to test her, to see if she was going to stay with me even if she saw an opportunity to escape, but I should have known she was going to run. No one wanted to stay by a fucking monster anyway, but that didn't mean I was going to let her go. Celine was mine and I refused to let her leave me. I already lost her twice, to lose her a third time was a call for insanity. I thought that she was starting to warm up to me, especially since she'd been a bit more agreeable than she was before. I should have known better. She was just waiting for a chance to go back to him, and no matter how much I racked my brain, I just couldn't understand why she would want to be with Xavier.But I noticed something strange, though; Celine was totally convinced that I'd been the one to arrange for her to be kidnapped and killed off and that I was just pretending not to know about it because I wanted to mess with her head. She was
CELINE HERRERA POV I expected Belshar to fall flat on his face, unconscious. Instead, he turned, totally steady on his feet, and snarled at me as he rubbed at the back of his head while I stood there clutching at the wood in my hand. "That was a mistake, Celine" he rasped darkly, the dark intentions in his eyes glaring.I panicked and swung back the wood, but he didn't wait for it to connect; he lunged at me, his hand hitting the wood out of my hand. The branch flew out of my hands, and Belshar slammed down on me like a brick wall, sending us both crashing to the floor.I groaned, clenching my eyes as branches and roots dug into my back, making me gasp at the pain.I shouldn't have attacked him, but everything had hurt, and I couldn't breathe. Then I had cut my foot on something, and I knew running was only going to get it worse, so I'd decided it was either fight or get caught. I should’ve known I could never win a fight against him.Belshar growled as he planted his hands on eit
CELINE HERRERA POV I stretched out my hand, presenting to him my wrist, and watched as he pushed the looped rope through my hand to my wrist, and then pulled at it sharply. I let out a sharp gasp as the rope tightened, my gaze jumping to those of Belshar's intense ones. "Now let's get you cleaned up; your hair is a mess," he said, carried me up, and went into the bathroom. He gently dropped me into the bathtub that had already been filled up, the water warm and soothing against my cold skin, and I stared at him; because of everything I expected, this was not it. What was he up to? What was he going to do?I watched, my mouth going dry as he started to undress, the ripple of his muscle as he took off each piece of clothing mesmerizing, and when he undid his belt and tugged down his pants, I looked away, heat flooding my cheek because even though I had turned my head, I'd gotten a glimpse of just how big he was, and how hard, and how beautiful. "Stop it," I blurted out, then raised m
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV "It was hard to meet with you Belshar. Your secretary was rather strict" Victor smiled, his lips stretching unnaturally. "She kept me waiting for hours. If I hadn't met you at the lobby, I might have not seen you at all"I watched him, wondering why he was here. "She was strict because you didn't book an appointment. You do understand that I am a very busy man""Of course. I know you are very busy Belshar, but so am I." His beedy eyes moved around my office, his head nodding in appreciation. "You have a beautiful office. The view from up here is quite spectacular," he said, pointing to the floor-to-ceiling window."Yes, it is," I said then held his gaze when he turned to face me. "I am afraid If this is a friendly visit, then I'll have to reschedule you as I have other important things to attend to"His gaze dropped to his pants. He tried to hide it but I could see his fist clenching ever so slightly before he forced himself to release them. A short, nervous l
VICTOR STAKOV "I was utterly humiliated. Do you have any idea what the hell I went through? I bet they were all laughing at me as soon I stepped out of that cafe. No, I definitely heard them cackling" Gabby screamed as she stormed past me and headed straight for the mini bar. Two bottles crashed against the wall as she tossed them with rage, then she picked a third.I watched as she panted, her eyes flickering at the contents of the table. I could tell she was contemplating tossing them too, but then her eyes crossed, and she let out a guttural scream instead. I was certain that she had torn a bit of the lining in her throat with how brutal it had been.Having had enough of her tantrums, I got out of my seat and stalked toward her, taking careful steps because she still looked like a feral animal and I knew any sudden movement was just going to reset her rage and make her act out."You should drink something," I advised, and the look she gave me was one of a person contemplating murd
CELINE HERRERA POV "Yes. Yours," I gasped and moaned as he ground his huge cock against my now-completely-slick panties, making the lacy material rub electrically against my clit."I can't hold back Celine. I want you so damn much," he whispered as he moved lower, nipping at my collarbone and making me whimper. Then he went even lower, the wild contrast between the scruff of his stubble and the smoothness of his lips on my skin pebbling it to goosebumps.He moved down over my left breast, and I gasped, shivering and moaning, when his lips suddenly wrapped around my aching nipple, which he promptly nipped with his teeth."Fuck" I cussed as pleasure surged through my skin leaving me breathless."That’s the plan," He grinned, and I shuddered, my breath catching as I dropped my hooded gaze to where he was looking up at me from my breast.Keeping his eyes locked with mine, he lowered his mouth again to my nipple and I watched as his tongue slowly and sensually swirled around the dusky pin
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar pulled back to give us room for air, and I gasped, my heart pumping fast beneath my chest."Don't ever let anyone put their hands on you except me, Celine. It drives me insane" he growled, breathing harshly. "You let him get too personal with you. He was touching your hair as if he had a right to"He was right to be mad. I had also seen red when that woman put her hands on him. I glanced up at him through my lashes, my hands splayed on his chest. "Don't be mad at me, Belshar," I got out, my eyes fixed on his to gauge just how pissed off he was. "I might have been trying to make you jealous; I also wanted to find out if you were still watching me or not," I murmured, then glanced down between us. "I know it's really childish of me..."Belshar made a sound at the back of his throat that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. I could feel his gaze burning into my skin but I refused to look up.His thick fingers grabbing hold of my chin and jerkin
CELINE HERRERA POV "Oh, my goodness. I am so sorry" she gasped as she stepped back from Belshar and then looked down at his ruined shirt in horror. "Oh my goodness what have I done? It's all my fault, I wasn't looking, and now look at what I did to your shirt" she got out, her hands moving up and down Belshars chest in her clumsy attempt to wipe at the stain. "This is never going to come off, is it?" she pouted, her hands splayed on his chest as she stared up at him.Cursing under my breath, I got up, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her away from him. Her eyes widened as they met mine, and then they flared in recognition a few seconds later."Oh, it's you. We met earlier at the boutique didn't we""Yes we did, but I am not sure you took my advice seeing as you keep bumping into people accidentally" Her gaze dropped to my grip on her wrist. "I beg your pardon, but what has that got to do with this situation? I didn't bump into him deliberately. I tripped. And why do I even have to expl
CELINE HERRERA POV "Oh, he's here," I chirped, then waved Enoch over. He smiled, the melancholic look on his face easing up as he sighted me. "Celine, hi. I got your message," he said as he got to our table, then his gaze roamed over my face, his brows dipping in confusion. "You look fine, so what was with that text? I thought you were about to give birth or something" I gaped at him. "I am just three months pregnant Enoch, the baby isn't due for at least another six months""Oh," he said, scratching at the back of his neck. "Then why did your message sound so urgent"I shrugged. "Maybe you read it wrong. It wasn't urgent. I just texted you to 'get here now,' how is that urgent... And that's beside the point; how are you here so fast? I texted you like five minutes ago""I was actually on my way here when I saw your text." He said, paused, and watched me for a few more seconds. "Are you really sure everything is good? It's a bit suspicious. You've barely reached out to me in month
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV *****Celine was at Kail's cafe again. It wasn't as if she was always going there, but anytime she had the chance, it was the first place she chose to spend her time and It made me very anxiousI had been watching Kail for the past few months, and it was glaring that he was different, but I still couldn't bring myself to trust him. It could all be an act and I was not willing to take the risk.I'd installed cameras in his cafe, especially in the areas where the drinks were made. If he was pretending and trying to get back at me, I would know in time and do what I must. Celine was fragile. She already gave me one of her kidneys. If anything was to happen to her now, I doubted she would be able to survive it. So I paid more attention as I watched Kail make her drink, my eyes fixed on his hand to make sure that the drink being prepared for them was safe; I watched with focus as he handed the drinks to one of the servers, and then I watched as the man took their
CELINE HERRERA POV "We should stop at Kails for some coffee" I suggested as we stepped out of the boutique. "I thought you were not supposed to be drinking coffee" "I won't, I'll just order cake and a soft drink. Can we go to his cafe, please? I am starving" "Is this a pregnancy thing too" I nodded eagerly. "It probably is. I love the scent of coffee, especially the one Kail makes. Also, we might run into Enoch there since that is his new favorite Cafe," I chirped in, and Karen groaned. I was going to tease her more when someone bumped their shoulder Into me, hard. I gasped stumbling back a bit before glancing up in annoyance at the person. It was a lady. My bodyguards were by my side in a flash, and knowing the orders Belshar gave them to do whatever it took to protect me, I couldn't help but worry that they would do something crazy. "Please, let me handle this," I told the guards, and seeing the serious look on my face, they stepped back a bit but still stood alert.The lad
CELINE HERRERA POV "He got you a caregiver" Karen asked as I tried on one of the dresses I'd picked out during our shopping spree. "Yeah, and I was skeptical at first, but Victoria has been really good to me, and I feel a lot better this day. And let me tell you, I was a little passive-aggressive with her for the first few days but she's such a sweet soul it's hard not to like her""That's such a sweet thing for Belshar to do. He is always so thoughtful, isn't he? You are such a lucky girl, Celine." she got out, her voice filled with awe, and I rolled my eyes even though I agreed with her. "It's like he always knows what you need just by observing your moods""You are right, but sometimes it can be annoying," I said and stepped out of the changing room. Karen's eyes widened. "Wow, that really looks good on you"I glanced down at the cream-colored flay gown I was putting on, then met Karen's gaze. "It is and I really like it, but I think it's too tight across my chest area. My boobs