Chapter 6 You Owe Me

"Want to take a look?" Stephanie asked. Isabella woke from her daze. She had completely switched off while the young man was doing her hair and makeup. She opened her eyes and someone like her looked back at her.

She looked... beautiful. Although that was the last thing she wanted to admit at the moment, the man knew what he was doing. She looked like a porcelain doll, perfect and cold. She flipped her lashes and closed and opened her eyes. It was her.

"This is not me," she whispered to herself, but it was not soft enough because Stephanie turned to face her.

"This is the best version of you. Your groom is going to flip when he sees you."

Stephanie helped her into the dress and zipped her up. She couldn't help but steal a glance at herself in the mirror. The dress fitted her like a glove.

A tap on the door brought her back to her reality and Stephanie rushed over to speak to whoever was at the door.

"You need to be going already," Stephanie said apologetically. He put her shoes on and fussed with the train of her dress.

Isabella walked to the door where the goon was waiting for her. "Your groom is waiting for you. You better not try anything stupid." He handed her a bouquet and showed her a small remote. "Any funny business and you go up in flames." She fought the urge to roll her eyes like she would try anything when she was surrounded by thugs with guns.

She walked to the lobby, seeing the outside of her room for the first time since she arrived that morning. It was a house, from where she was standing. She could see that there were other doors leading to what might be rooms.

Before she could walk any further, the goon stopped her. "Wait here, someone is going to walk you down the aisle. Remember what we talked about." He smirked before walking away.

How proper. To be kidnapped and then walked down the aisle by a thug. There was no better definition of having a bad day.

She looked around her, an opportunity was an opportunity. She scanned the lobby, but the train of her dress was too long. Besides, It wouldn't be that hard to find someone in a wedding dress like hers, with all the bells and whistles.

But before she could form a fully fleshed plan, a familiar face appeared. She wanted to scream with happiness, as she felt all her fear and anxiety fly out the door and into the street.

"Joseph!" she shouted. She had never been so happy to see him in her life.

"Look at you, Princess." He put his finger on his lips to signal for her to keep quiet. "But not so loud,"

he looked dashing as he stood next to her and took her hand in his.

"You won't believe what happened..." He gave her hand a gentle pat and she stopped.

"I can. I know." He looked away, something like guilt masked his features.

"You do?" She looked at him properly then, and saw that he was wearing a tux. She had never seen him in anything that formal before.

"Are you also in on this?" face fell and she pulled her hand back. "This is not like you, help me please."

He looked at himself and frowned.

"Isabella, I can't. You know how Dominic is, either you obey his orders or it's the highway." His face turned red with embarrassment.

All Isabella wanted at that moment was to go out and scream to the heavens, she didn't hear the rest of Joseph's reply.

"Dominic...?" she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. She gripped the bouquet tighter. She needed an outlet for the rage she could feel bubbling up.

"Yes." He lowered his voice. "And he wanted the whole affair to be as intimate as possible because you know-"

One of the goons appeared and cleared his throat and Joseph cut his explanation short.

"We have to go. Everyone is waiting." He seemed to have collected his thoughts again, but Isabella was no longer paying attention. Her body and mind were on two different paths. She saw and heard everything happening around her. But she was not part of it.

Joseph led her through a long corridor and into an open area that could have been a formal dining area except it was now converted into a wedding venue.

There were white chairs with flowers tied to them. For anyone, this could have been a romantic sight, except she didn't want to be there and she didn't even recognize any of the many faces staring at her as she walked beside Joseph.

When she stood before the priest and the people who had come to witness a union she had no say in. It dawned on her the significance of what she was doing. She was marrying the second most dangerous man in London, against her will.

Her heart did some somersaults and with each breath, the knots in her stomach got tighter.

Once the priest was done with his piece, they faced each other to do the vows and she came face to face with Dominic.

There was a sight you didn't get to see every day. He looked just as she remembered him. Tall and slim, not to mention handsome. With a square jaw. The same eyes that had haunted her dreams for the past five years.

The only thing that had changed was how he styled his hair. Now it was all black curls neatly combed back above his head.

She raised her chin. At least now she was not the same naive little maid that used to work for him, she knew her place in the world and she knew who Dominic was.

Once she had left the Montego family, she had done all her research and the results weren't good.

She mumbled her way through the vows.

The rest of the wedding and reception was a blur, with couples and people she could only assume were there for Dominic's benefit, wishing them a happy life ahead.

***

"Get in." her husband said in a gruff voice. The reception was over and a car was waiting to take them to god knows where.

Once the doors closed, Dominic cleared his throat. This was the first time they were alone without people around them.

But before he could say anything, she screamed at him. "Who the f**k do you think you are?"

"I know who am I, and I suggest you watch your tone when you speak to me." He said and yanked his tie.

Isabella leaned her head against the headrest and let out a sinister laugh."Or what?" she challenged him.

"I can make your life very unpleasant," he answered, taken aback by her reaction.

"There is nothing more you can do that you haven't done already." She shifted and looked outside the window. Where were her phone and bag?

"I haven't done anything...yet." He said.

"Then, what do you call this?" She was facing him again. "Is this part of your everyday life, where you just kidnap people and force them to marry you at gunpoint?"

"Those who owe me, maybe." He leaned back in his seat.

"And you owe me a lot of money. How exactly did you think this would play out? That you would rip my family off and go sailing into the sunset without any consequences?"

"I owe you shit-"

"We here." Dominic cut her off. She looked around and they had stopped in front of a stone house.

It was nothing like what she expected. This looked like home, a place where you would find small bikes left careless on the lawn, and swings on the big trees around the house.

She gaped at the sight of it. Dominic was not taking her to his parent's house. If she was lucky, he was coming to drop her off and go back to his parent's house.

The car stopped in front of the entrance. And the men opened the door for them.

She stood on the pavement on wobbly legs. Now that she was here, her mind shot out different instructions. She looked at her feet and wondered if she made a run for it. She wouldn't make it past the car before she got shot down.

When Dominic realized she wasn't following him, he came back and grabbed her hand. Now that he had a firm grip on her hand, she struggled to keep up with his long strides.

Oh was Dominic angry at her for not being grateful that he kidnapped her and forced her to marry him? Touchee.

They reached a closed door with a security gate. He put in the code and the gate opened.

"Go in." He nudged her back and she stumbled forward. Not exactly the kind of entrance she had seen most brides make. But she was not like most brides. She didn't want Dominic picking her up, and she was sure as hell that it was not something that crossed his mind.

The house was different in every aspect. The hall was wide and her high heeled shoes made a clicking sound as she walked around, looking at the paintings on the wall.

Dominic had disappeared to what she assumed was the kitchen. Obviously he was not scared of her running away now that she was officially behind bars.

"Dominic!" She stomped her feet on the floor like a five year old and began chanting his name at the top of her lungs.

"Dominic! Dominic! Dominic! Dominic!" She stomped around in a circle while chanting. "Dominic! Dominic! Dominic! Dominic!"

Dominic appeared from a narrow passage, and stopped at the sight in front of him. "What in the world?"

"Dominic! Dominic! Dominic!" She continued stomping and chanting, unaware that Dominic was now in the room.

He walked over to her and shook her by the shoulders.

"Are you out of your mind?" He shouted at her.

Isabella opened her eyes and tried to catch her breath. "Oh you here, finally." She put her hands on her hips.

"I want to go home." She puffed out air loudly, she was exhausted from her act.

"What are you, like ten? This is your home for the next five years. Deal with it and stop acting like a child."

"Five years?" She exclaimed.

"That's how long it took for you to blow my money and that's how long it's gonna take you to pay it back...in kind." He winked, and she wanted throw up with disgust. If he thought that she and him would even... Ew.