009

TESSA

If I thought the previous mansion was opulent, then this one was heavenly. I stared in awe at the estate when we drove in, wondering the extent of Pierre’s riches. I could swear on his life, this wasn't clean wealth.

When we got inside, a few maids were present, and two of them led me to a room that was ten times bigger than the previous one I stayed in.

I walked into a massive closet inside the massive room and saw both male and female wears. I picked out a forest green dress and held it in front of my body, admiring it in a full length mirror. I couldn't believe I was in Italy. Maybe I would have been a little more excited if I were here with a familiar and more comforting person, or if I were here to shoot a scene for a blockbuster Hollywood film starring as the female lead with Michael B. Jordan.

But no!

I was stuck here with my psychotic ex who was now a mafia don and, for some reason, still so obsessed with me.

I took a few steps forward and placed my forehead on the mirror as I laughed at the irony of my life.

The rest of the day went by really fast. I freshened up, took a nap, had lunch, and now I was heading down for dinner. I hadn't seen Pierre the whole day, and I don't know if that was truly a relief, like my mind tried to make me feel it was.

“Where's Pierre?” I asked one of the body guards who had been following me all day.

“The Don had business to attend to. Is it something important you'd like his attention for, Ma'am?” the man answered.

I shook my head in response and took my seat at the dining table.

Halfway through my meal, I turned to the security man again and asked out of curiosity: “What business does your Don do?”

I mean, I've read a couple of mafia books and seen one or two related movies. And from those, I knew Mafias run illegal businesses like human trafficking and the like. But just for clarity's sake, I wanted to hear it for myself.

“I believe the Don is the best person to answer that, Ma'am,” he said and stepped back a bit, indicating his disinterest in a conversation.

Rude.

After my meal, I stood up and walked in the opposite direction of my room.

“Ma'am, your room is the other way,” one of the men said, blocking my path.

“I'm not a prisoner. I'm tired of staying locked up in one room for ages. I want to go outside. Please.”

The men didn't say anything. They looked at themselves as if contemplating, then agreed and stepped out of my way. They followed me still.

I sat on a swing in a beautiful garden, admiring the scenery as the cool evening breeze blew past me. It was quiet, peaceful, but a mere façade to the real turbulence I suspected this place to come with.

“It’s a beautiful view. Do you like it?” I heard the unpleasantly familiar voice say plainly, before he appeared and stood before me. His black shirts sleeves were folded in half, and his hands were tucked in the pockets of his trousers.

“Yes. It is. Not enough to impress me, though.”

“What can I do to impress you, love?” he asked. His mood was damp, but I couldn't care less.

“Hm, let's see… you can start by letting me go, or bagging me my first acting gig. But it's a pity. I already copped the second, so its the first.”

“Don’t get me angry, Tess. Now's not the time,” he said sternly, giving me a warning glare.

“Where’s my ring?” I asked angrily as I stood up from the swing. “I've been meaning to ask you since, but I was either interrupted or you were nowhere to be found.”

“I keep warning you about your tone,” he said, doing the same thing he was warning against.

“I want my ring back! If I've been quiet about you abducting and keeping me against my will, I won't take this lightly! Give me back my engagement ring.”

“Take her back to her room,” Pierre instructed and was about walking away when I pulled him back and grabbed his collar.

“Give me back my engagement ring! Give it back! You won't let me talk to my fiancé, and now you've taken the only thing that reminds me of him?” I cried.

Pierre grabbed my wrists off his collar and shook me violently. “How dare you come at me like that? Why do you enjoy disobeying me? I told you not to talk about him again, but you don't listen. You're pushing me too far, and you won't like the outcome of that!” He tossed me aside and began to walk away.

“You're so insecure because you know you'll never be half the man he is. You even had to take my ring to feel better? How cruel can you be?”

I bit my tongue as he stopped in his tracks and snapped his head in my direction.

“You want to know how cruel I can be? Fine. I'll show you,” he said and charged at me. I instantly wished I hadn't said that. I moved back in fear, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with him.

He tossed me in the passenger seat of one of the SUVs parked nearby and drove, stopping at a cave-like structure at the rear end of the estate.

He dragged me out of the car and led me into the cave, where close to a hundred of his men were.

“Hold her up,” he ordered. He left me and two strong men grabbed my hand and pinned me in place.

My face was covered in tears, and my breathing was heavy. I cried, then stopped abruptly when my eyes landed on more than twenty badly injured men chained to the wall.

My eyes widened in disbelief. Pierre roughed his hair and literally trembled in anger as he pulled a knife out of one of his men's belts and pointed it at me from the distance where he stood.

“Do you know what I'll do to Andrew Parker if you ever talk about him to me again? Here, let me show you.” He strode over to one of the men on the wall who was too weak to even speak.

Pierre inhaled deeply and began to stab the man multiple times, mercilessly. He left the dead man and walked up to the next and did the same thing. He repeated it to three other men, and my legs wobbled on the ground. I didn't realize I was being held up by the men holding my arm as my legs rolled on the floor.

Pierre tossed the knife on the floor and walked to me, his body covered in blood.

“It’s your fault they died earlier than planned,” he said, and walked away.

I puked out my entire dinner on the spot.