The missing piece of the puzzle.It was my father.The blood that Alaric wiped all over me was my father's. A thought that has me wanting to scream and cry at the same time. But I couldn't even if I wanted to.If Alaric's goal is to emotionally torture me, then he succeeded. I may harbor bitterness in my father's lies and his seemingly selfish decision but at the end of the day, he was still my father and I love him.But that's not it. Shockingly, while my father bathed in his own blood my mother is having an affair with Roman's father, Enrico.What a joke. And yet it was not.My day started, blissfully aware of the hard planes of a man sleeping next to me. Roman had stayed with me. I woke up with my body curled against him, his legs tangled with mine while his arm draped protectively across my body. We fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. His warmth was a contrast to the biting chill of my room as we forgot to turn on the heat when we

I wake up in darkness. The kind of darkness that seems to swallow me whole and like I didn't even open my eyes. The ground was damp, adding to the biting cold that seeping through the thin night shift I'm wearing. For a moment my mind drifted back to a memory from a year ago, the time when I snuck out of my chambers in the middle of the night, thinking it was a good idea to lay outside and soak under the gentle glare of the moon and stars. There has been no moon or stars that night, only the thick swirling mass of clouds that seemed to descend on me and kiss the ground. Stubborn that I am, I lay on my back and waited and waited until I fell asleep only to be awakened with the loud boom of the thunder and lightning followed by fat and cold drops of water. Obviously, I'm not in a garden or under the sky. I'm in a room, probably a basement that was made into a shelter by hundreds of rats and roaches. When my circumstances finally sank in, I scramble up, only to fall

“If you are thinking or plotting for an escape. Don't.” Alaric said as we neared at a door made of thick wooden boards. “There's only one exit and there is a camera aimed at this door.” He added, pointing at the camera mounted on a sturdy-looking wall in front of the door. “And if you find yourself outside this door, don't run further. You'll end up in the living room full of mercenaries watching over the exits.” “Is that all?” I asked my tone dripping with sarcasm as I rubbed my arms to keep myself warm while throwing a glare at the man responsible for my predicament. If I would have known that I would be kidnapped in the middle of the night I would have worn thicker clothes, not a thin night shift.   I bite my tongue to keep myself from lashing out at him. Antagonizing him won't help me.  Alaric seemed distracted, clearly impatient to get rid of me and continue his life. I stared at him. Too bad he's not looking back at me or he'll see the grimace

Every time I close my eyes I could smell the stink of the man's breath fanning on my face just as vivid as his unwelcome touch. I could feel him, his fingers painfully rubbing the sensitive spot at the juncture of my thighs. Instinctively, I close my legs while writhing and fighting, trying to break free from the invisible claws of the man violating me. My eyes snapped open from an unexpected rapped on my prison door. A rush of rancid air filled my lungs in one go, making me gasp. I should have been thankful for the reprieve. But instead of relief, I trembled, my body coming alive as fear flooded through my veins. My heart thumped hard and fast against my chest. Wide eyes and jaw locked, I readied myself to flee. Seconds ticked by and the door creaked open, a silver mop of hair of an elderly Asian woman peered through the door, opening it with wariness. I watched as her eyes roamed around the dimly lit room. I could see the horrified look on her face as she stare

Never in my life, I had ever thought to have my engagement party or attend any party inside a casino or in a den full of corrupt foreign dignitaries and criminals. Though it shouldn't had had surprised me. Enrico was a criminal after all. I walked in on Alaric's arm. The scenario I've been in could have been taken from a bad Mafia movie. A girl pretending to be in love with the big and bad Mafia boss while forced to smile in the sea of criminals with her bareback on her family's enemies. I swallowed hard as the crowd parted to let our group through, Enrico being the leader of it. If I've been talked with Enrico's guest positively it could have been attributed to the fact that I was one of the few women at the casino wearing a dress that doesn't show any of my private feminine parts. All the lingering and approving gaze didn't matter anyway, there's no other gaze that could make the small hair on my arms rise deliciously other than Roman's. In front of us, I saw Enrico being swallo