“You're absolutely breathtaking.” The beautiful woman awed as she looked at her finished work.She was styling me for an event I didn't even know of, but I heard from the maid that brought me food that I was going out with the mafia man.I didn't know where but I was in love with the look this black dress gave me. It accentuated my curves in a way that made me look like the prettiest professional.I loved it so much, and the woman was also a sweetheart, asking with every step what I was and wasn't comfortable with.Her constant consideration of my feelings and thoughts melted my heart and even though I had been down for the past few days, I offered her a smile in response. Gently holding my hands, she walked me down the stairs where the mafia man and another very handsome man was standing, and as we came down, I looked at the mafia man and for whatever reason, he had a shovked look on his face.It made me think that he never thought I could look good.Well, I do and I knew that I loo
“You can sit down there. I'll just go through some things that need my attention and we'll head home.” He said as he points to the couch in his office.The office was one that felt unnecessarily spacious because it had so many compartments like a mini kitchen, a couch on the far side of the office, a balcony, a refrigerator and other machines inside of it.Maybe I was just raised by poor standards.Nodding in agreement, I walk over to the couch and sit down but I almost moaned as soon as my body came in contact with the couch because it was so soft and oddly comforting.I wanted it.I know I sound so weird but I want this couch so bad.Sighing in comfort, I sink into the chair and in in my comfort, I think about all the things that have happened up until this moment and it was quite shocking that I was still alive and not just alive but better.I wondered and pondered about the reason for all the acting by the mafia man. It's not like there was anyone who would come to ask him about
These days have been a little better after they changed the guards who were guarding my room. These new guys were funny and actually helped out with the television without me asking them.They came to me themselves and were wondering how I was staying sane being by myself with no source of entertainment.Now, I found it to be the best source if entertainment sitting outside with them because no matter how many times I invited them in, they declined and made me understand that it was against their duties and that they shouldn't even be talking to me.Them saying that made me remember how that other guard died for such a petty reason so I found a way to spend time with them.Now, they could be considered my friends.“The man actually thought he could outrun our speed car just because he had won some races, so we decided to play with him a little and slowed down so that we wouldn't outrun him, but just enough to be close to him. When we got closer, we…” The guard paused for dramatic eff
Lorenzo's P.O.V“Good morning boss. These are the papers that show the amount and types of iron they would like to purchase. Stainless steel seems to be the most demanded for but we are short on it.” I hear one of my staff say but I didn't want to listen.I knew this was business and also knew not to mix any other thing with business but I was angry.I heard my name being called, once twice and then I heard nothing.I was in a conference room but far away at the same time, lost in my thoughts.I had been angry since I woke up and I didn't know how to manage it. The thought frustrated me so much.It was like a thorn I could not get rid ofEARLIER THAT DAY: “I've had enough of your muteness. It's so obvious that you talk to everyone but me and I don't know why.” I said to her immediately she woke up. She slept by my side yesterday and I felt good seeing her wake up beside me, and even better when I saw that she took care of me the whole night.“I have nothing to say to you besides the
Pacing in my room. I pondered on the possible reason why the mafia man wanted me to talk to him so much.Was his who bruised seeing that he was the only one I wasn't talking to?I didn't understand him and I didn't want to if I was being honest.He was in and off and weird, and nice and wicked, and considerate and inconsiderate, all at the same time.It was tiring.I have thought and thought about what his plan for me was. I hated living on the edge and having so many thoughts with no conclusion. As soon as I had this though, I heard the sound of the mafia man's car and for some seconds, I felt cold with fears.Ever since I left my father's house, I had reacted the same way everytime I heard the sound of a car whether it was similar to my father's or not, I felt terror when I hear the sounds of a car's engine.“What have you done to me little traitor?” The mafia man asks as soon as he walked through the main door, knowing that I could hear him from my room.The question caught me of
My heartbeat quickened as I jumped up from sleep, awoken by a violent knock on the door. I wondered what exactly was happening and had somehow come up with the worst possibilities possible. The violent knock came again and this time, I ran to the door to see who it was and why the knock was so aggressive. Opening the door, I saw Janet standing on the other side with a crazed look, and oh boy, was I scared. Very scared because this woman was always composed, and calm. “Did master come here yesterday?” She asks with a fire in her eyes that could burn this room to ashes. I wonder what the problem was this time Scared and confused but curious, I nodded a yes to her question. The anger somehow looked like it doubled when I nodded and it made me remember that she hated no words. “Y-Yes, he did.” I responded, my voice shaking uncontrollably as I took a step back with every step she took towards me. Was she going to hit me? Did the mafia man send her here to finish the job? Nah,
For the last two days, the mafia man has been weird but unlike this weird and hoped that this weird would last forever because he was taking great care of me and didn't leave me even when he was going to work. It was like he had to have his eyes in me the whole time.Since the incident with Janet, I had woken up everyday to him sitting by the bedside with his head on the bed beside me.He would wake up early and go back to his room, thinking I didn't know but I knew very well.What was he up to?The switch up was too fast that I could not help but think it was another tactic to fulfilling his promise.“Morning Miss Sarah.” The man who had introduced himself to me as Daniel, comes in with a meal that I had rejected earlier.‘How did they known I didn't eat?’ I ask myself and then realize who it was, and so I saying my eyes at them who were already looking at me, causing them to turn their faces forward and very fast.I couldn't help but smile.“Thank you Sir but I'm not hungry.” I sta
Lorenzo's P.O.VIt was the day of the event, and I could not pretend that I was happy about it. Most of these business men had relations with the mafia, and if I pick one, I may be gaining an enemy which was why I never associated with any of them.I needed a plus one and Sarah would be coming with me.Somehow, that made it a little better because despite the fact that I didn't want to make another enemy, I hated crowds and events.Too many people somehow made me overstimulated. I preferred peace and quiet.Walking down to my room, I see the jewelry box that contained, an earring, necklace and a rin, that I got for Sarah.It should go perfectly well with her purple dress, and her skin tone. At least, that's what the lady at the store told me after describing her looks and dress to her.Using the door that I created to connect our rooms together, I walk in and my mouth almostwster at the sight in front of me.I hated the way I was so easily moved when it came to her but it appeared lik
Lorenzo’s POVI didn’t sleep that night.Not because I couldn’t. Because I wouldn’t.Sarah lay curled against me, finally still after hours of trembling. Her face was peaceful now, but I knew that peace was borrowed. Fragile. Her breathing was even, but I felt the storm she was holding back. It pulsed under her skin, and in the small sounds she made whenever the wind knocked against the windows. Every time, I reached for her. Every time, she clung a little tighter.I kept my eyes on the ceiling, memorizing every creak in the cabin’s frame. Every groan in the wood. I tracked the trees outside by the way their shadows shifted across the floor. I listened for anything. Everything.Because I knew he was still out there.Donga.That bastard had come back, not just as a threat, but as a ghost Sarah was finally starting to lay to rest. And now, she was bleeding again.Not on the outside.But in all the places I couldn’t reach with my hands.By dawn, I had a plan. It wasn’t perfect. Plans rar
Sarah’s POVIt happened on a Tuesday.The kind of day that felt ordinary in all the right ways, socks warm from the dryer, fresh coffee in my favorite mug, and Lorenzo’s jacket draped over the kitchen chair because he never remembered to hang it up. The wind carried the smell of pine, and I had just sent my first message to a support group I found online. I was building something again. Piece by piece.I thought I was safe.I thought peace had roots now, buried deep enough that nothing could dig them up.I was wrong.I’d gone out to the clearing again, the same one I had walked to days before when I finally felt free in my body again. I’d brought my journal and a blanket, planning to spend an hour under the clouds scribbling thoughts and hopes and maybe even a letter to my younger self.The wind was softer today. The sky open and merciful.I didn’t hear him at first.Didn’t sense it.Didn’t feel the old, heavy darkness until it was already too close.The snap of a branch.I turned.An
Sarah’s POVIt started with a single step.One step off the porch, then two. Three steps into the wind, jacket zipped, boots laced, and heart thumping like it hadn’t done something this brave in a while. I told Lorenzo I needed to walk alone today. He didn’t argue. He just gave me a thermos of tea, kissed my forehead, and said he’d be here when I got back.It’s funny, idea of freedom used to terrify me as much as I craved it. Not the philosophical kind, the kind people post quotes about. I mean real freedom. The kind that requires choice. Movement. The kind that means you step beyond your safe place and trust the world not to hurt you again.But this morning, the sunlight through the trees was too beautiful to ignore. The wind too inviting. The quiet too rich to fill with fear.I had to go.Even if it was just a mile into the woods.Even if it was just for me.The trail behind our cabin was one I hadn’t walked alone since the kidnapping. Daniel had cleared it once, back when he was
Sarah’s POVFor the first time in a long while, I felt like I could breathe.Not the shallow, anxious breaths I’d taken after the kidnapping. Not the trembling ones I’d hidden from Lorenzo at night. This breath was full, deep, real, grounding. The kind of breath that didn’t come with dread tangled in the back of my throat.I stood on the ridge just behind the cabin, wrapped in a blanket, watching the sunrise bleed gold across the trees. The air was crisp and still. Somewhere in the distance, water trickled through thawing ground. It felt like a beginning. Not just of spring, but of something inside me, something that had been buried under fear and pain.Healing isn’t clean. It’s jagged. Uneven. Some mornings I still woke in a cold sweat, certain I could hear the rasp of rope against wood or the sound of boots on barn floors. But those memories didn’t control me the way they used to. They no longer felt like cages. Just echoes. Old ghosts that I had stopped running from.Now, I faced t
Sarah’s POVI didn’t sleep much.Even though I was safe. Even though Lorenzo barely left my side, even to breathe. My body knew I was free, but my mind hadn’t caught up. The dark didn’t feel like peace anymore, it felt like the barn, like rope on my wrists, like metal against my skull.I’d wake in cold sweats, breathing hard, fingers curled into fists that refused to unclench.Sometimes I screamed.Sometimes I was silent.I hated that I had spiraled again. The last time this happened, I was still back home with nanny. Why was I being so weak again?However, Lorenzo was always there. Holding me. Steady as stone. He didn’t flinch when I sobbed against his chest or when I punched the mattress in frustration because I couldn’t stop shaking at the sound of a creaking floorboard. He didn’t speak unless I asked him to. He just stayed.And somehow, that helped.Still, there were moments I hated myself for what I felt.I hated how small I was now. How fragile. Like I was made of broken glass
Lorenzo’s POVShe was in my arms, but it still didn’t feel real.Ny wife, barely able to stand, but alive.I held her like the world would tear her away again if I let go. Her breath hitched against my chest, every inhale a sob, her fists gripping my jacket like she didn’t believe I was real.Truth be told, I wasn’t sure either.The barn reeked of rot and rust. One of the men was still groaning in the corner, gut-shot, barely breathing. I didn’t care. Not yet. My whole body was coiled tight, every muscle ready to snap. But I forced myself to focus on her first.“You’re safe,” I whispered, one hand cupping the back of her head, fingers brushing over a swollen welt behind her ear. Rage flared again. “I’ve got you.”I lifted her gently, cradling her against my chest. She was lighter than she should’ve been. Hadn’t eaten. They’d kept her tied up like an animal. I could feel it in the way she flinched, not from me, but from the memory of what they did.I carried her outside into the pal
I should have known something was wrong the moment the wind changed.It came suddenly, sharp and acrid, like sweat and smoke and blood. It wasn’t the cool, clean breeze I’d grown used to on the ridge behind the safehouse. I paused halfway through my usual walk, turning to glance back at the small cabin nestled between the trees. Everything looked the same. Quiet. Still.But my skin prickled.“Daniel!” I screamed, stumbling backward, as I saw him fall like a pack of card on the floor, already looking lifelessThree of them. Maybe four. Faces wrapped in cloth, eyes cold and distant, like they weren’t even human anymore. Just shadows with weapons.I could see from a distance that there were other men in total black, like the guards of the mansion but they seemed to actually attack the maids. It was definitely not our guards. Daniel tried to stand. He made it to one knee before the second man kicked him full in the ribs, a crack echoing through the clearing. I couldn’t move. My feet we
“You left her alone, didn’t you?” He said with a wicket glint in his eyes. I blinked. “What did you say?” He chuckled. “Sarah. How is she? Still making that jasmine tea at sunset?” He questioned. The look in his eyes told me that he was sure of what she was saying because she truly recently had been obsessed with Jasmine tea. The room dropped ten degrees. No. No, he couldn’t have I grabbed him by the collar, yanked his face up until we were eye to eye. “You stay the hell away from her.” “Oh, Lorenzo,” he said, voice a murmur. “I’ve already been.” I froze. No, he was bluffing. Had to be. Sarah was safe. I’d left her with Daniel, the only man I trusted enough to guard what mattered most. My wife. My reason. My center. But Donga… Donga was looking at me like the devil already had her by the throat. I shoved him back down and turned, pulling out my phone as I stormed out of the room. My fingers moved too fast, too clumsy, as I called Daniel. Ring. Ring. Voicemail. I tried
The moment Lorenzo walked out the door, the air in the room changed. It was as if the light had dimmed on purpose, as if the walls knew and mourned with me. I sat frozen on the edge of the bed, the last words he spoke still echoing through the hollow of my chest: “I’ll come back, Sarah. I promise.”But promises meant nothing when you were going up against Donga.I hugged my arms around myself, rocking slightly, eyes locked on the empty space where Lorenzo had stood only moments ago. The silence left in his wake was unbearable. I listened , not for footsteps, because I knew he was long gone, but for anything, anything at all that could tell me this was just a nightmare and not the cruel reality we had both been dragged into.My father, Donga. I hate saying his name, even in my own mind. It tastes bitter, like ash and rust. To the world, he was a ghost cloaked in violence, an outlaw whose name stirred fear even in hardened men. To me, he was a prison guard in a home that never knew peac