Chapter 3

Elena's POV

His every word made me realize I was in deep trouble. I was in a huge mess. What had I gotten myself into?

Last night was supposed to be fun. I was expected to just go to the club, have my share of fun like everyone else, and return home. Why was everything I did always different?

I went to have fun and ended up getting married? Trust me, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. Not even yet.

“I think you should…” I was going to say, struggling to pull out of his grip, but it only made the situation worse.

“You know what I dislike so badly, Squishy? It's repeating myself.”

With that, he swiftly jacked me up and draped me over his shoulders, my eyes bulging out in shock as I reacted almost immediately.

“What are you doing? Drop me down now! Drop me!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to climb down from his shoulder, but it was impossible.

“I'm taking you home, and that's final,” he said without a trace of humor in his tone. He was serious and wasn't going to back down.

“Please drop me. Let me go!” I begged, but he still didn’t listen.

He turned sharply on his heels, and upon reaching the car, the door was opened. He tossed me into the backseat, but just as I was going to run away through the other door, he got into the car and held me close to himself before shutting the door behind him.

“Drive, Nathan! Now!” he commanded.

Immediately, Nathan, as he had called him, turned on the car engine and drove off.

“Stop the car and let me go. You don't have any right to do this to me!” I shouted at him, but he looked so calm for a man in such a situation.

“You are my wife, Elena. Don't get things twisted. This isn't an option; this is what should be done. So when I say you come with me…” he paused briefly, his hand reaching for my scattered hair, tucking it behind my ear, “Trust me, it happens.”

I had gotten into one deep hell I couldn't pull myself out of. I wanted revenge on Caleb for divorcing me suddenly—not this. This wasn't the plan.

The car drove at a high speed. The kind that, no matter what, I couldn't jump out of it. I stayed still but kept trying to figure out what I'd do once the car stopped.

Nothing was coming. No idea at all. Only one thought remained, though: irritate him.

I was going to make him feel totally disgusted by me and everything I did. He was going to hate me no matter what. He would want me out of his life just as Caleb did.

This should work out—or so I thought.

After what felt like an eternity, the car finally came to an abrupt stop. He helped me open the door, and the second I climbed out reluctantly, I was met with the most shocking view of my life.

I was standing before what could be rated as a ten-star hotel. It was a massive building. It spoke volumes by just staring at it.

Did I mistakenly marry the president of the country and wasn’t aware?

“Follow me.” His voice echoed through my thoughts, his hand placed around my waist again.

Instinctively, I pulled away. “I can walk by myself,” I scoffed before walking ahead, still amazed by the house.

Walking into it, I gasped in astonishment. It was even more perfect on the inside. The living room was another world—not to mention the well-placed dining table made out of golden steel. Those weren’t real gold, right? I thought briefly.

“Seems you love it here already. I'll go get you a glass of water. Wait here,” he urged before walking past me.

He sounded more soothing at this point, but I couldn’t change my plan. I couldn't marry someone I barely knew.

“No matter what, Elena… you must stick to the plan,” I mumbled to myself as I began to walk around the house.

Do things to irritate him. This was part of it—disobeying him.

A smile curled across my lips as I felt satisfaction while doing things against his wishes. No one wanted a disobedient wife.

I was having fun, but then I halted at the sight of a slightly opened door. I didn't want to go any closer to it, but it was as though I was being called into the room.

Out of curiosity, I went closer to it. I slowly pushed the door open, the creaking sound echoing through the room.

The moment I got inside, I stood in amazement. It was a room filled with books—more like a study room for him. Caleb never had any of these. He never let me read, either.

So seeing this made me feel a sudden sense of excitement, but too bad I was going to leave them all behind.

I turned to leave the room after a few seconds to head back to the living room, but at that moment, something shiny, made of transparent glass, caught my attention.

The name plaque on the desk.

I walked closer to it. I picked it up, and the second I read what was written on it, I stiffened.

“Caspian Nightingale…”

This couldn’t be it, right? There should be more Nightingales in this country, right? I shook my head, trying to stop the thoughts, but they didn’t stop because, as it stood, the name NIGHTINGALE belonged to just one family in Maxnight City—and that was my ex-husband’s family.

“Is he related to Caleb?”