SELENA'S POV
Whispers?Someone was whispering something close to me."I'm sorry Rose." I begged as she approached me with bloodshot eyes full of vengeance, aiming her gun at me while I screamed."Rose, please forgive me!""Shut your tramp, you piece of shit!" A male's voice cursed, and I woke up with a start, immediately feeling a horrible headache afterward.My eyelids felt heavy, and my head was spinning; it felt like it would split in two any moment from now.However, I slowly recollected the events of my wedding day and eventually, my kidnap.My eyes grew wider as I recalled the terrible dream I just had. Rose had been determined to end my life in that dream.But waking up to reality made me feel somewhat grateful for life. At least, no one was pointing a gun to my head at the moment.Well, I immediately regretted the thoughts when I finally got a clear view of my environment and situation.My hands were tied against a pillar, and I was seated on the bare floor with my back resting on the pillar and hands tied behind it.My wedding dress was in ruins, but that wasn't the problem at the moment.I raised my gaze to see two of the masked men that abducted me, looking down menacingly at me."W-who are you guys, and why are you doing this to me?" I summoned courage to ask, while trying to release my wrists from the rope strongly tied around them.One of the men chuckled and squatted down before me, trailing his hand on my face. "You're so beautiful," he said in Italian, and I shifted my face away from his hand, but that got him pissed. "How dare you, lowly bitch, try to act so arrogant and mighty? You haven't properly realized your situation, right?"He grabbed my face forcefully, tilting my jaw upwards in a demeaning way. I gritted my teeth as I glared daggers at him."Oh, she's glaring," the other man laughed."Her fierce look is somewhat sexy, don't you agree?" The one holding me chuckled, leaning his face even closer, and I almost puckered because of how foul his breath smelt. Damn! I've had enough.Luckily, I was able to free my hands from the pillar. I angled my right knee upwards and gave a powerful kick to the stupid fool's balls, causing him to scream in pain and let go of my face. Then I wasted no time in standing upwards and sprinting towards what looked like the exit door of the storehouse.But I hadn't gotten close enough to even touch the handle when I was pulled backward by another masked man who had suddenly come out of what looked like a room in the storehouse.His grip on my hair was too tight; it hurt severely. But that wasn't all...Next thing I knew, my body was sent flying across the room, making me collide into a glass table I hadn't initially noticed.The force of my landing caused the glass table to shatter in the same moment I felt an unexplainable wave of electrical stimulating head rebooting pain that rushed through my head and all over my body.And then I felt something wet and sticky trickle down my head. Blood... Oh, Selena, how could you be so unlucky?I wasn't spared a chance to recover from the fall when a hard fist smashed into my face, almost making me go blind as I simultaneously felt another powerful kick to my stomach. I coughed out blood. Yet, that wasn't all...A masked man was kicking my body intensely against the floor with his hard-heeled shoes. I gasped breathlessly as I swallowed hard, my saliva tasting like hot tasteless glue. I screamed out tears, trying hard to get away from them.In an instant, I broke loose, but the next moment they were already slamming my head against a door, the effect of my pains causing me to scream out in agony. I fell to the cold hard floor with a loud thud. I was in severe pain and almost twisted my elbow. Blood spurted from my nose, trickling down to my lips while my heart pounded violently against my chest as though it would rip it apart.“I should get a piece of you goddamn stubborn forsaken bitch." The masked man I had kicked said, before proceeding to unbuckle his pants."Don't dare." The masked man who had grabbed me by the hair intervened. I knew his gaze was fixed on me even though I couldn't see his face. "We're not supposed to harm her in that way.” He said, and for a split second, I was grateful for that intervention.His gaze seemed to travel over my body as he slowly stepped closer. I subconsciously tried to move my body backward, but the pain from all the beatings and injuries made it harder to do so. My whole body felt bruised, and my white dress was now unsightly and mostly stained dark red with my blood.Could this be Rose's manner of paying back at me? It can't be! She wasn't such a horrible person. Was this how my life's going to end today? I may never get to see my family again. I might never even see Jake again.Jake? How could my heart be so stupid to think of him at this moment? If he hadn't abandoned me by that bridge, I would never have been in such a situation."Relax," he chuckled darkly, "I won't hit you again. But that's if you're very cooperative with me," he squatted in front of me and slowly watched me."W-who...who s-sent you? W-why...why are you doing this to me?" I managed to ask as tears rolled down my cheeks."Oh, no, don't cry." He said in a false sympathetic voice. "A gorgeous bride as you're is supposed to be having an awesome time with her groom, but look at you now," he chuckled darkly again, "we can agree that..."Suddenly, there was a loud sound outside, a car had just seemingly driven in. The masked man jumped to his feet instantly, just in the same moment a phone in the pocket of his black leather jacket beeped. I watched as he retrieved it with his gloved hand.Shortly afterward, there was an exchange of glances between all three men, and the next moment, they were all gone from the warehouse, with such speed I never imagined possible.I had barely let out a breath I didn't know I was holding when I sighted the silhouette of a man walking into the storage room. As he got closer, it turned out to be Jake, and a wave of relief instantly washed over me."J-jake," I called in a shaky voice filled with some relief, while I tried to get off the floor.Without a word to me, he lifted me from off the floor, and while I stared into his eyes with tears glistening in mine, he walked with me in his arms. The next moment my body came in contact with something soft and that's when I realized we were in a room and he was lowering me to the bed.And then, something strange happened, so strange it was that I was momentarily frozen. He was undoing my dress! And he seemed so strange and didn't look like he was in his right state of mind. I struggled beneath his huge frame as his hands suddenly clamped on my breasts while his lips met mine.JAKE'S POVI woke up with my head aching terribly. Someone was sobbing quietly beside me. My eyes snapped open, and I sat up instantly, looking around to see I was in a familiar room and was sitting upright on a soft medium-sized bed.I glanced beside me and immediately screamed when I saw the familiar face beside me. The only face I've been able to properly identify after many years of painful sufferings. What in the absolute heck was Selena doing beside me and almost naked?!She looked really rough, and her white dress was torn in several places, with stains of blood on her face, body, and dress. She gazed at me with eyes full of hatred and tears. "H-how could you do this to me?" She sobbed. And I glanced at her in confusion."I don't understand. What did I do?" My gaze traveled over her body and then around the room. I jumped off the bed when I found out this wasn't my room. But it was still a familiar room. Looking down at my body, I noticed I was only in my briefs and my inner ves
Selena's POVI sat still in my chair at the Marino’s family dinner. I should feel relaxed since I was one of them, but I could not. I would never feel relaxed because, one, I was seated beside Jake who began as if I was not there, and at my other side sat Kelvin, Jake’s brother, and in front of me was Nancy, who made it her mission of throwing me dagger looks. So, I was surrounded by enemies. The only thing was that Kelvin was trying to get me involved in their conversation.Apart from that, my whole body still ached. Jake had to force me down here so the family will not worry about my health. Everything was just a show for Jake, and I cannot believe I still loved this guy.“How come she landed in the hospital?” Nancy's voice snapped me back to the present, and I looked across to her. She was already sneering at me like it was my fault she was forced to be seated in front of me.“I told you not to bring the matter up again,” Mrs. Marino said, admonishing her daughter. She gave me a sm
Jake’s POVI still find it hard to believe that Rose could actually come to the house like that, like we were still together, and it hurts me that I had to hurt her always with my actions and words. She must never know the real truth; nobody knows the real truth, not even Selena.I looked at her briefly before concentrating on the road. She was asleep but was muttering words and sweating, so I put on the AC if it would help her. She does not deserve to actually pass through what she had. I could not remember the event that took place.How I saved her like she said or how I ended up in bed with her—I can't even remember having sex with her. I want to believe I would never do such a thing with Selena. This marriage was fake, only on paper till I get what I wanted. I needed Selena right beside me anyways.Was that selfish? That is life. Nothing comes easy in life; I see the world like a battlefield, where only the strongest survive, and I am all set on surviving, not just to survive now
Selena’s POVWhat the hell? I glared at Jake. What rubbish is he talking about? Hillary was a sweet person, a hardworking lady, a caring and loving mother to her son, and a good friend to me.He was rude to Hillary earlier, and knowing Hillary too well, I know she was offended. That was why she said nothing and just left the way she did. Jake had no right to talk down to any of my friends. No right at all.“You are married to a Marino. Don’t you think you need to be careful of who you call a friend?” Jake asked me.I felt like giving him a slap across his handsome face. I clenched my fist to avoid actually acting like I imagined. “Hillary is totally harmless, and Max is a sweet child.”“I wouldn’t say so,” Jake said.I closed my eyes and counted to ten, just as my aunt taught me to do in some uncontrollable situations. When I opened my eyes, I saw Jake looking at me like I have lost my mind. “You have no right to tell me who or not to associate with.” I paused and carried on before he
Jake's POV★FLASHBACK★“What’s going on here?” Mrs. Marino asked, walking into my office unnoticed. I quickly picked up the file from the ground, took my seat, and pretended to go through it, while Jeff just stared at me in disbelief.“Good day, ma’am,” Jeff said, realizing too late how he addressed my mom.“Ma’am? No... no, it’s mom,” Mrs. Marino stressed, correcting him. “Back to business, I came here to make sure you attend your blind dates, and mind you, number seven and nine are out of this country. Jeff, get the private jet ready,” my mom announced, strutting around my office.Sometimes I couldn’t help but forget my mom was once a model, but she always reminded me whenever she did the catwalk thing.“Yes, mom, I’ll get the jet ready, and I’ll tie him and drag him down to his dates if permitted,” Jeff pronounced his undying loyalty.“Permission granted!” Mrs. Marino gladly dished out. Jeff pulled out his tie from his collar, walking over to me, aiming to tie me down.“I’m not kn
Selena's POVI fell forward as I tripped over. I wasn’t expecting Jake to catch me, but he did. My front was pressed into his, and my braless breast felt his strong abs through the thin shirt of my nightdress. What was I thinking wearing such an exposed attire?My whole body was aware of his. I lifted my eyes to meet his, and we stood there, gazing at each other. My traitor of a body still craved his touch. The last time we were together, though I was in pain from the kidnap, I still felt Jake’s single touch on my body as I finally gave in to him.My tongue escaped my mouth and wet my suddenly dry lips, and I watched as Jake’s gaze followed this movement. My stupid heart got excited by this action. I mentally slapped myself to get normal. Instead of pushing away from him, I held on tight to him like he was my lifeline.Jake cleared his throat, which brought us both back to the hard reality of our situation. I can’t comprehend how we can easily go from barking at each other to being nic
Rose's POVI observed as my betrayer of a friend was playing with her child; she looked so happy. It didn't even show that she had been admitted to the hospital a few days back. She should still be wallowing in pain, at least to mirror the hurt she caused me, but there she was, smiling and laughing as if the world was perfect.She had turned my world upside down, so there was no justification for her current joy. Moving closer, I found it shocking that she had a kid she had been hiding. She had never mentioned her son, and I had not seen him before, even though we were close and had no secrets between us.Memories flooded back, like the moment I excitedly shared news of my engagement to Jake with Selena."Why do you have such a glow?" Selena had asked me as she joined me at our usual café.I smiled, pulling my hair back behind my ear with my ring finger. Immediately, she caught sight of the sparkling diamond stone atop the ring, she hastily drew her chair back and sat down across me.
Jake's POVI just concluded a meeting with one prospective client and made my way to my office. I checked my phone again to see if Selena had replied, but she hadn't. Why wouldn't she respond to the text I sent? Was she going to continue ignoring me?This was one thing Rose would never do. She always replied to my texts, regardless of how busy she was. Entering the main office where my secretary's office was, I saw he was talking to someone with her back to me. I waited for the person to speak; lately, I relied on people's voices now as sometimes their faces might go blurry."Rose," Jeff said."I want to see Jake. I have something to say to him now," she yelled"Rose, he..." Jeff looked at me for help."Speak," I said, bailing Jeff out from replying. Rose turned to look at me, and it pained me that I could not make out her beautiful outline clearly. I couldn't even describe how she looked, how the woman I loved appeared, whether she had grown more beautiful or not. That remained why I