The wind was beating against Brenda's face as she propelled herself further as she ran. Her feet tapped soundlessly against the ground and her muscles burned from running excessively. But she continued.
She had successfully escaped from their apartment without getting noticed. She had no idea where she was running to but she knew she had to get far away from her father and Ramirez. It would be all a waste if she was caught after running away. She kept glancing back as she ran to ensure that no one was following her.She stopped running after it was clear that she was far away from her apartment. With a tattered backpack, a jacket, and a torchlight, she stood by the sidewalk panting. She wiped the tears from her face with her jacket. She didn't even realize she had been crying until she stopped running. She couldn't stop thinking about Ralia and if she would ever see her again.She was sure that her father would look for her once he discovers that she had escaped. He would want to bring her back to avoid Ramirez's anger or punishment. She felt so outraged as she remembered what her father and Carla said to her. How could they expect her to marry a man that was twice her age?She had to move to another city and lay low for some weeks. It was the only plausible thing to do in her situation. If she remained in the city, it would be easier for her to be captured. She knew how the mafia's worked and how authoritative they were. Ramirez would turn the entire city upside down to find her. She saw a taxi approaching and flagged it down immediately. She was lucky to find a taxi by midnight. The taxi slowly stopped in front of her."What's a pretty lady like you doing here alone by this time?" He asked, eyeing her warily. She slowly used her jacket to cover her chest."Can you take me to Beverly hills?""Can you pay?" He asked, peering at her through his glasses.Brenda didn't like the way he was looking at her but she didn't have any choice. She didn't think she would catch any taxi so easily."Yes, I can pay. How much is that?""120 bucks.""What? 120 dollars?" She asked with shock."Well, it's that or you stay here for the next few hours.""Fine. Give me a minute."She opened her backpack to search for her money. After rummaging through her things for some seconds, it slowly clicked to her that she forgot her money. The painful realization that she left her money behind struck her and she wanted to scream in anger. How could she be so stupid? How would she pay for a cab to Beverly Hills?"Having money problems?" The driver asked, watching her search her bag desperately."I forgot my money at home. Can you —" Before she could finish, he zoomed away. Brenda stood sadly by the deserted sidewalk, watching his car in the distance. She heaved a heavy sigh and zipped her backpack. Without money, she would have to trek to wherever she had to go to. It was nearly impossible to get to a far distance on foot.Clutching her backpack, she continued her journey. After walking for an hour and feeling completely exhausted, Brenda decided to stop. It was almost 3 am and she needed a place to rest. She glanced up at the road sign and hissed. She had been walking for so long but she hadn't gotten anywhere. There was no way she would get so far without a car or ride from someone.As she continued to contemplate what to do, she spotted a car parked by the roadside. An idea quickly entered her mind and she walked to the car. She could hide in the trunk and move with the driver to his destination. It didn't sound like a bad idea to her and because she was desperate, she decided to do it.She slowly opened the trunk of the Maruti and slipped into the car. Her heart was pounding against her chest as she shut the trunk. It was pitch black and she couldn't discern if there was anyone in the car. She prayed that whoever owned the car would not be hostile. If possible, they wouldn't find her before she slips away."Boss said we must return before 9 am" She overheard a man saying and bit down on her bottom lips. When the car door was opened suddenly, she realized that it was the owner of the car speaking. She had no idea where he was heading but it was far better than staying at home and marrying Ramirez.The driver started the car and she heaved a heavy sigh because he did not check the trunk. Silently, she prayed that her plans would work out and she wouldn't be caught. When the car began to move, she exhaled. She had finally run away from home to start a new life. She was completely unaware of what kind of life awaited her but she was willing to try. Lost in thoughts about her life and family, she dozed off.*************************"Why the hell is she still sleeping?"Brenda's eyelids fluttered before they jerked open with force. She felt cold liquid trailing down her body and her head was banging. She blinked back rapidly as tiny flickers of sunlight blinded her eyes. She tried to cover her eyes with her hands but realized she couldn't move.Opening her eyes widely and glancing around, she realized that she was in a room. Her eyes fell on four men standing around and glaring at her furiously. Where was she? She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and her body was trembling as the men glared at her."Finally, the spy is awake." One of the men said and her eyes widened.Spy?"Where is she?" A man barked from behind the men and they parted immediately, giving him space to walk in.Brenda's stomach did a backflip as she stared at him. He was dangerously handsome with raven black hair, green eyes and dressed head to toe in black. His eyes spoke of a ruthless man with no mercy. His suit spoke of money and power and she immediately knew he was the leader."Who are you? And who sent you?" He asked, his voice laced with slight anger. Brenda was confused about his question until she saw the tattoo on his neck. Her eyes quickly darted to the other men in the room and they all had the same tattoo. A pit churned in her stomach. He was a mafia lord.She shook her head furiously, making gagging noises as her mouth was gagged. With one swift movement, he removed the piece of clothe from her mouth."I am no—not a sp—spy." She stammered. "Please don't hurt me."He leaned closer to her and she tried to ignore the tension between them as she stared at his eyes. "You're going to regret lying to me."He turned to his men. "Torture her till she speaks the truth."At the sound of the man’s voice directing orders to his men, two of them immediately rushed to pick Brenda up roughly from the couch they had placed her on and where she had just woken up from. They dragged her to a smaller room where a chair was placed right in the center of it. The room was dim and empty except for the chair and a few broken items. She was dragged and dumped hard on the chair and the men began to pace around the room, she glanced around and soon realize that she had been brought to a place where enemies or offenders where tortured till they talked, just as they were about to do with her that moment, taking her for a spy.“Please! I am not a spy!” she let out again trying to convince both men who walked round the room and occasionally around the chair she sat on.“Shut your mouth bitch!” one of the men screamed at her as he slowly brought out a penknife from his pocket before walking towards her and landing her a painful blow on her mouth.She screamed painfully when
Brenda was grateful in her mind that she was no longer going to be tortured every day anymore as Damien had said – not that she was in haste to believe him and anything else he says, but she was wondering why he would say something like that to her. He doesn’t like women? What sort of a man is he anyway? She was bothered that he just refused to let her leave even though he believed her, so she began to imagine just how much danger she was in falling into the hands of these dangerous people. Well aware of how dangerous mafias are, and now finding herself held captive by one of them, a new wave of fear hit her.Still seating on the dining table, Brenda tried to shake off the fear that gripped her, she looked down at her plate once more which had now been served. She had not touched the food even though she was starving, her gut told her she could not trust Damien. He just sat across her silently enjoying his meal while occasionally send gazes at her. Her stare shifted from the plate to
For two more weeks Brenda remained confined inside Damien’s mansion. They had stopped the maltreatment and tortures towards her already. Now they fed her well, gave her clothes and let her do what she wanted except leaving the house or roaming in the compound unescorted. She was restricted to just her room, the kitchen and a few other unrestricted areas. Everyday, still bent on finding a way out, Brenda failed to see a way possible. Regardless, she still studied all who worked there and every activity that went on inside the house. There were maids who provided her with anything she needed – she suspected they were doing so under the instructions of the master of the house. They served her food and gave her medicine for her wounds, a doctor was even called to check up on her. It was still very unclear what Damien wanted with her, she had begged him so many times to let her go but he would have none of it.Aside the maids, the guards and other workers inside the mansion like the garden
The question about Edwin Ramirez struck Brenda hard with surprise. Never did she imagine Damien to mention the name of the mafia lord who she was running away from. How did he even know who Edwin Ramirez was? How did that even link with her situation with him where he constantly blamed her of being a spy? She had planned to tell him everything about her escape but here she was shocked at the mention of Ramirez, or did Damien think that she was working for him or something? The sense of the matter began to dawn on Brenda but still confused how it all connected, she looked stunned at the raging Damien.“What? How do you….” She stopped herself from asking Damien how he knew Ramirez.“Answer me this instant Brenda! I’m not going to ask you again!” Damien kept screaming at her.“I don’t know who that is.” She denied.Waves of anger rushed through Damien making him grab Brenda by her blouse pulling her closer to him effortlessly with one arm. Standing closely, face to face with him, she tre
Damien left Brenda’s room quite in a haste after telling her that she was safe with him. He told her that until he figured out what to do with her, she was going nowhere. What kind of trouble was she in? What sort of prison has he placed her in? Brenda went deep into thoughts for the next few minutes after Damien had left her. She wondered the magnitude of danger she was now learning that her captor was a mafia lord too. It explained a lot to her but it also disturbed her. She had been running away from one dangerous man and had ended up in the hands of another one, worse, they both were enemies, which placed Brenda right in the center of it.She began to think of what Damien had in mind to do with her. She could not understand what he thought of her to keep her in his house with no clear purpose. She concluded that it might mean or eventually lead to her end, everything seemed to crumble the moment she thought it was going to be fine. She needed to get out of here, she needed to be r
Brenda could not believe what Damien was saying to her. “What?! She exclaimed.Did she hear him say get married? Does he really know what he was saying at all? What made him think she would ever marry him after all he had done to her. He had let his men beat her up, treat her like trash and even though he had stopped treating her that way, she wondered why on earth he imagined she would marry him. She was his prisoner and she had begged him every time to let her go but he had refused, yesterday, he had said he wouldn’t let her go until he finds what to do with her. Is that it then? Was that the idea he thought of to do with her? He must be insane if he thought she would escape from one mafia lord to end up marrying another, someone who held her against her will and had treated her less than an animal before.“I know, it sounds absurd, it did to me when I first thought of it and it does even now. But before you express your contempt listen to me first.” Damien said trying to convince h
In the days that followed, preparations went underway for the marriage as Damien and Brenda went over the contract details together. She had informed him of her own terms to it already and together they sat everyday in his fancy office drafting out and going over all agreements. Damien invited his lawyer and everything was set in place. Next, they began to make plans for the wedding, Damien wanted it to happen as soon as possible, Brenda too, so they decided that it held on the following weekend which was days away. The also agreed that the wedding take place in his house and only a few guests allowed, his family and a few friends mostly. Damien thought the event should be private considering it was just a sham and would be ended soon enough, so there was no need for any publicity or huge ceremony like he knew his family would want – well, he was not going to do it the way his family would want, he was already doing what they insisted of him and that was enough for Damien.Brenda’s fa
The last two days before the wedding day was different for Brenda. There seemed to be a sense of happiness in the air. She had met Damien’s parents and despite all her fears concerning their sham, they had bought it without a single doubt. That surprised Brenda as she thought that she would be caught in a series of questions with them but they were just overwhelmed with the reality of their son finding someone to settle down with that they had not paid attention to details that might have given them off. Damien’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Smith had insisted that the wedding held in a chapel against Damien’s wish, he could do little to resist them so he agreed, it was no longer going to hold in his compound like he initially planned. The idea gutted him but he decided to just carry out their wish.After the dinner Brenda felt a sense of relief even though she knew it was only a start to long journey for her. She felt the happiness around and it eventually rubbed off on her. Even Damien seeme