MasukAria’s POV I am back in that room again. The smell of antiseptic and laundry fills my nose. The molds on the ceiling and walls mock me. My hands are tied up. I am trapped, again. And I watch as if my soul is far from my body, as a faceless person walks up to me and grabs my chin. There is a bottle of water?…or a drink in her hand and I watch in horror as she lifts the bottle to my lips. “Don’t. No…please.” I try to scream but my voice comes out muffled and distant. The faceless lips twitch and lift wickedly as she pours the liquid down my throat. —————“Baby, Aria. Wake up. Wake up.”The sound of Ronan’s desperate voice cuts through my nightmare as he shakes my shoulders. And just like every single night since that day, my eyes open, my lids feeling heavier than they should. For a second, the room appeared dark until I was able to make out the soft glow of the bedside lamp that we started leaving on every night since I got kidnapped. A dream. It was just a dream. I’m back h
Ronan’s POV It’s almost unreal. She is right here in my arms, cradled in my arms as she lies against my chest, her body limp, breathing shallow but steady with her head tucked beneath my chin. I keep running my hand up and down her arms, smoothing her hair and pressing kisses on her forehead, to make sure she is right here and I am actually holding her in my arms. I haven’t let her go, not once and I haven’t taken my eyes off her for longer than ten seconds. We are still on our way back home from the auction house. Maybe I should have sent for the jet, it certainly would have been faster, but she was already fast asleep before we could even wrap up the operations. As soon as we made sure Aria was safe with me, the police came in and raided the place. Adrian managed to escape. He was long gone before we could rescue Aria. My guess is, he spotted us the moment we stepped in and he fled immediately leaving his partner behind. He was arrested, and the lady of the auction house was
Ronan’s POVAn auction house? Out of everything that he could have said, I definitely didn’t see that one coming at all. At all. Kade said. An auction house? An illegal auction house on the outskirts of the city is filled with rich perverted people who have nothing good to do with the wealth that has happened to them. They are trying to sell my girl. My Aria. But she is mine and no one else. Mine alone. And God help me but I will burn down every single person who dares to look at her wrongly. “Can’t this car go any faster?” I ask the driver, who, in all honesty, is driving as fast as possible within safe limits. But I can’t help how uncomfortable and unsteady I feel. I am sitting here in some car, comfortable and safe and she is probably somewhere in that auction house, probably scared. I drag my hand down my face and pull on my hair, trying to focus on the sharp pain that shoots down my back but that doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t help at all. I can still see her face. Terrif
Aria’s POVI have been drifting in and out of consciousness since the drive started. As if knocking me out was not enough, the asshole still had me tied up in the backseat. My wrist burns from where the rope digs into my skin and I literally can’t feel my legs anymore, they have gone completely numb. We have been driving since forever. It might be the effect of the drug but it sure feels like the drive has been going on for way too long. I have been slipping in and out of consciousness the entire journey, and each time I open my eyes, I can’t make out much. My vision is blurry, and, coupled with the moving car, I just haven't been able to make sense of my surroundings. But I hear everything. It sounds mostly distant, like they are miles away from me and not in the same car, but I do hear everything. And it has become clear to me that even Adrian and Ben do not know who their boss is. Adrian recruited Ben directly so he has no direct contact with their boss at all. The situation is
Ronan’s POV“We have a problem,” Kade announces, his eyes dancing across the room frantically. I immediately leave my spot on the couch and walk up to him. He has his laptop and a whole lot of gadgets open in front of him. Neither of us has slept a wink since yesterday. I haven’t been able to even close my eyes because…I just can’t. It’s literally physically and mentally impossible for me to sleep. And Kade? Well, I guess he has been up because I wouldn’t stop pacing around the room and asking him for updates every two minutes. Matt left us in the living room a few minutes ago to check up on Mia. “What is wrong?” I ask him. He silently points at his laptop screen. I didn’t get it at first; it didn’t register until…The red dot moved. I blink and try to clear my foggy eyes. But no, there it is again. The red dot is moving. Steadily. “Is that…” I trail off. “The tracker? Yes.” Kade supplies. “It’s moving? She is moving?” I ask again. “Yes.” He answers anyway. I suck in my br
Aria's POVThe warning bells in my head go off. My heart rate quickens as I try to make sense of what he is saying. "What on earth are you going on about?" I ask. Realization dawns on him and he quickly shakes his head. "I wasn't saying anything...." "I heard you already, there's no point lying to me now." I cut in. "Are you...." I swallow, unable to get myself to form the words. "Are you going to sell me?" I ask. "Sell?" He repeats. "No, that isn't the word for it. More like, auction you off, to the highest bidder." He say grinning brightly. "He is selling me off. My fucking brother. My actual brother is selling me off. To the highest bidder? Like that is supposed to make it better or what? "Ben...." "We are leaving. Now." Adrian yells from wherever the fuck he is. My mind goes blank. What kind of sick joke is this? I try to make sense of this whole situation but it just isn't adding up."Sure thing, boss," Ben yells back. "Chop chop, we have to go." He says as he grabs the
Aria’s POV “Are you ready?” Layla asks. No, no, I am not ready. I am not ready at all. I feel like my legs are going to turn to water and my arms are not strong enough to hold me up and it also feels like I am going to throw up, so no, I am not ready. At all. I nod. “Yes, I am ready,” I respond
Ronan’s POV “I just can’t believe you knew and didn’t tell me,” Mathew says, shaking his head at me in disbelief. He has been saying the same line repeatedly for the past two minutes. I shrug. “I was sworn to secrecy,” I reply, repeating the same line like a broken record. We are currently at my
Aria’s POV I turn in bed and try to snuggle into Ronan but…he isn’t there. And I realize he hasn’t been there for a while because his spot is no longer warm. I reluctantly get out of bed and quickly head to the bathroom to freshen up. My conversation with Ronan last night keeps replaying in my h
Ronan’s POV He has her eyes. And her smile. The moment I set my eyes on him I knew immediately that he was her brother. It’s those eyes, those eyes that I see every day and absolutely adore. They look alike but they couldn’t be more different at the same time. He is jittery, nervous, and edgy.







