Isabella felt terror seize her as the hot water rushed into her nostrils. She thrashed violently, her arms flaying, legs kicking out and splashing in the bath water as she tried to come up for air. But those damn hands held her solidly in place, keeping her head submerged. The first thought that came to her mind was Teresa. It had to be her. The threats she made the day she came resurfaced in Isabella's mind, increasing the terror within her. She grabbed the hands and scratched at it. She clawed desperately, but the hands didn't budge. Instead, they pressed her deeper into the tub. Her lungs began to hurt, protesting for air. The urge to breathe in was so strong that she had to remind herself that she shouldn't breathe under water. Her vision started to fade at the edges, thin spidery lines appearing faintly. Her eyes lost focus and she started to give in to the darkness when the hands released her suddenly. She pulled her body up, breaking out of the water with force. She dre
Teresa knew the moment Antonio returned. She sneered when she heard Isabella's laughter in the living room. After Antonio left her in the study hours ago, she went into a fit of rage. She grabbed the bouquet of roses and tore into it, ripping it to shreds and stomping on it. Isabella ruined everything for her. The bitch didn't know what was coming her way. Nobody messed with her without suffering the consequences. She remained in her room, waiting for Antonio's outburst. Thick smoke curled around her, wafting from the rolled-up foil paper she held between her fingers. She raised the foil paper to her lips and took a long drag. She shut her eyes, head falling back as she blew out a thick plume of smoke. Moving slowly, she picked up the syringe beside her and stabbed the needle into her hand, directly into the vein. Then she pushed the plunger and emptied the brown liquid in the cylinder into her bloodstream. She let out a sharp hiss, her entire body shaking violently. The feel
Isabella was waiting at the usual spot Antonio always picked her after her classes. Esmee and the twins already left, while Veronica waited with her. They chatted quietly, holding ice cream cones which slowly melted. "You know your friends don't like me." Veronica was saying. "And not just them. Leonard doesn't like me too.""Don't let it bother you." Isabella smiled at her. "Esmee and the twins will come around. As for Leonard, I don't care. He isn't my friend anymore.""What happened?" Veronica inquired. "What did he do?"Isabella licked her thumb and faced her. "So, I went with him to a party." She began. "It was at the time you stopped talking to me. Why did you stop talking to me anyway?""I told you, I was going through a lot of things." Veronica said evasively. "It won't happen again. Tell me what Leonard did.""Wel, it turns out he liked me." Isabella continued. "He drugged me and tried to have sex with me.""At the party?" Veronica exclaimed. "Didn't anyone try to stop him?
Antonio didn't drive back to the villa immediately. He had planned on spending the day with Isabella, but he knew how important her studies were. He smiled as he remembered how happy she had been when she saw her grade point. Her smile had lit up her face beautifully, and he had sworn at that moment to do everything to keep that smile on her face. He couldn't believe it took him so long to realize he had fallen deeply for her. A soft chuckle escaped him as he drove down to the casino. Reconstruction had begun and the construction team were working full time. This time, he was making a lot of changes. The security would be twice as tight. And there would be an access card. Whoever had no access card would be denied entry. He would do the same with his other clubs. He had been too lenient, too relaxed, which was why Pedro, the fucking bastard, found a way to sneak in and plant the bomb. After he made sure everything was under control, he drove to his other clubs, mainly to check o
"Have fun." Antonio murmured as he leaned over and kissed Isabella. She smiled and raised her brows, surprised at how gentle he was. "I doubt I will, but thank you." She caressed his face and stepped down. "I love you." He called after her. "Call me when you're finished." Her smile widened. "I love you." She blew him a kiss and shut the door, then waved to him as he drove away. Then she turned around and made her way to the lab where her practical test would hold. She texted Esmee as she hurried up the stairs. She still had about half an hour before the test commenced. As she hurried on, she spotted Veronica jogging towards her. It was becoming strange, the way she would always pop out of nowhere. It was almost like she was stalking her. "Veronica." She smiled. "It's been a while.""I just want to apologize for how I acted the last time we met." Veronica began. "I was an asshole, and ignoring you that way wasn't nice. I was just going through some shit."Isabella didn't care.
That night, Isabella lay quietly beside Antonio. After what happened with Teresa that night, she had a lot to think about. And one was her future. Did it include Antonio? She couldn't envision a future without him in it. She loved him too much, too much to let him go. She once read somewhere about 'Stockholm Syndrome', and she remembered rolling her eyes at the article, because she didn't believe a sane person would fall for their captor. Yet here she was, falling for the same man who captured her. She didn't know if he ever planned to marry. But whatever happened, she would never leave him. Teresa could go eat nails for all she cared. She fell asleep listening to the soft hum of his heartbeat. And when she opened her eyes the next morning, she found Teresa sitting on a chair in front of the bed, staring straight at her. "What the fuck!" She yelled, shocked to the core. She sat up and pulled the sheets to her chest, covering her bare body. Antonio wasn't in the bed with her.