Ria was lying on the bed, on her back, with her feet up against the headboard. She was bored, she was angry, she was miserable, and she was tired of being all of those things. At this point, it felt like second nature to keep tugging her wrist away from the cuffs every five seconds, like she was going to magically find herself uncuffed. Her tugging was futile, but she couldn't just stay still while the cold metal bracelet remained on her wrist, taunting her with her helplessness. Tug, tug, tug. The only sound in the room was the jingle of the metal links. She still hadn't taken a bath. Ria wondered how other kidnapping victims ever survived. She felt terrible here, but she knew she had it better than most other victims. People were kidnapped for terrible reasons. She was kidnapped because her husband wanted to fix things between them. Things he had broken by himself. He brought her food and flowers, and thought that would be enough to win her forgiveness and bring her back to him.
The day wasn't even over yet, but Antonio was already getting frantic calls from the people at Harry's company. He had pulled some strings, and the media had blown up with many different stories and scandals, speculations about some very illegal activities Harry was involved in. Antonio watched on his laptop as the stocks to Harry's company dropped steadily, a wicked smirk on his face. From the moment Harry had chosen to go against him, he'd signed away his company, and signed his own death wish. This was the avenue Antonio had been waiting for. No one could say he wasn't patient. Earlier in the day, he'd already had a meeting with one of the majority shareholders from Harry's company. The meeting had gone extremely well, and there were more to come. Antonio just had to sit and bid his time. He could hear a commotion in the outer office. His secretary was trying to placate an irate man, but whoever the man was, he wasn't having it. "Where is he?" The man yelled. "I know he's in th
She didn't know how many days had passed. Maybe three, or less? She didn't care. She was still cuffed to the bed, her shoulder aching from being stuck in the same position for so long. Her feet hurt too, and the bandages needed to be changed. Ria was miserable. She was still wearing the dress she'd had on when Adrian kidnapped her. And she hadn't had a bath too. Adrian was too paranoid to uncuff her, and she wasn't even sure she wanted him to. Not when he insisted on going with her to the bathroom every time she needed a break. She'd rather stay dirty than let Adrian in the bathroom with her while she bathed. As if she summoned him with her thought, the lock to the door jiggled, and was pushed open. Adrian entered, a smile on his face, holding a hand behind his back. "Good morning," he greeted cheerfully. "How do you feel?" Ria stared at him, deadpan, but ignored him. He ignored her ignorance. Who knew he was perfectly capable of carrying a whole conversation by himself? Adrian —
Ria's bedroom felt unbelievably empty to Antonio, even though it technically wasn't. Her suitcases were abandoned in a corner. There was a scarf on her vanity stool, carelessly draped as though she’d only stepped out for a moment and would return soon. The babies' cribs were still there, even though they now slept in Molly's bedroom.Antonio almost never saw them anymore. Mrs Santos was back to taking care of them, and with the way he kept long hours at work, no one ever saw him much. A heavy sigh escaped his chest, his shoulders sinking with the weight of it. He missed them — God, he missed them. Sometimes, he thought about moving them into his bedroom, just to have them closer, but what would be the point? He barely spent time there. And the guilt… the guilt wouldn’t let him.Liam and Lena didn't understand that their mom was missing, but how could Antonio stare at them, hold them, and play with them when he hadn't found her yet? Every smile, every giggle, would just remind him of w
"Going somewhere?" Harry asked as Lucy strode towards the front door. She turned, startled, her hand freezing on the handle, and found him leaning against the bar, a drink in hand. "Oh, hey Daddy. I didn't see you there," Lucy greeted him. Harry raised an eyebrow. "You seem to be pretty occupied lately. Want to tell me what's going on?" Lucy rolled her eyes, trying to mask her unease with irritation. "What could be going on? I guess I've just been busy." "Busy," Harry repeated, staring at his daughter. Lucy was never busy. The most she did was lay in the sun and sip cocktails with her friends. When she wasn't trying to get Antonio's attention, that is. "Yes," Lucy said, glancing at her watch. "Did you need something? I have a meeting in thirty minutes." "Who are you meeting?" Harry asked casually. "Antonio?" An unreadable look crossed Lucy's face at the mention of Antonio's name. "No," Lucy replied. "When was the last time you saw him?" Harry pried, watching her carefully.
It seemed like hours had passed before Adrian finally poked his head into the room again. His gaze slowly swept over her, from the dirt smudges in her face and hands, to her haphazardly bandaged feet. He raised an eyebrow. Ria ignored him completely, keeping her eyes fixed on the other side of the bed. "Are you hungry?" He asked. He seemed to have calmed down from earlier. "Dinner's ready." Ria stared stoically at the wall, choosing to ignore his existence. Adrian sighed, and stepped into the room. Slowly, like he didn't want to scare her, he sat at the edge of the bed, leaving a small space between them. "You didn't do a very good job with these," he said, gesturing to her bound feet. She didn't even look at him. He sighed again. "I'm going to wrap them well for you.” He said gently. “If I reach for you, please don't try to kick me." If it was someone else, maybe she would have laughed. If it was someone else, the way he was acting would have been cute. But it was him, and i