Chapter 3

DAWSON MANSION

The Dawson mansion was in chaos exactly the way Carolina had imagined it would be.

Servants rushed through the halls in panic, guards stormed in and out of the mansion, and the atmosphere was so tense it felt like the entire house could collapse at any moment.

Mr. Dawson stood in the middle of the sitting room, gripping his phone so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

Woo Jin had been on the phone for hours, barking orders at his men to search every corner of the city.

"Find her!" he shouted into the phone. "I don't care where you have to look, just find Carolina!"

Mr Dawson dialed her number again, the same thing, switched off. His jaw tightened more than before.

"Where the hell are you, Carol...?" he muttered under his breath.

He knew she had run away but Carolina had nowhere to go, she has no friends close enough, no relatives she trusted, she has no one, which makes it certain to him that she would come back, she had to come back.

He walked back into the mansion slowly, his footsteps echoing through the large empty hall. Then he lowered himself onto the couch and stared blankly at his phone.

"She'll come back" he whispered, his voice sounded more desperate this time. "She'll come back."

But for the first time in years, even he didn't believe his own words.

MORETTI MANSION

Carolina sat quietly by the large window in her room, her knees pulled tightly to her chest, the room was beautiful, too beautiful and at the same time too cold.

It didn't feel like a room, It felt like a cage wrapped in luxury. Her eyes drifted toward the west wing of the mansion.

The large lonely building stood silently in the distance, separated from the rest of the mansion like it was hiding a secret.

She narrowed her eyes at it. "Why did he tell me not to go there?" she thought.

The memory of Adrian's warning still sent a chill through her. Don't go near the west wing, the words had been cold and final.

She kept staring at the West wing, the windows were shut, there's no lights, no movement, nothing. Yet something about it made her stomach twist.

"It looks empty, I wonder who lives there" She muttered, her fingers tightened around her knees.

A knock suddenly came from the door making her flinch. The door opened and one of the maids stepped inside.

"Master requests your presence," the maid said softly and Carolina swallowed before nodding.

She followed the maid through the long hallways until they reached the sitting room. When she stepped inside, she froze, Adrian was standing by the window, he was looking at the west wing.

Carolina's brows furrowed. "That west wing again" She slowly walked toward him.

She cleared her throat and Adrian finally turned to face her, his expression was unreadable and cold, as if he had never smiled a day in his life.

"Sit," he said and she sat down carefully, Adrian took the seat opposite her and placed a file in front of her.

"Sign it." He said and Carolina opened the file. The moment her eyes landed on the papers, her breath caught and her eyes widened.

"Wait, this is going to the media?" She looked up at him in disbelief. "I thought this marriage was only between us." She asked and Adrian leaned back slightly, his gaze fixed on her.

"The entire point of this marriage is for it to go public," he said coldly. "How else do you expect your father and your precious fiance to find out?" He said, his words struck like her like a slap.

Carolina looked down at the papers again, her fingers trembled slightly, the reality of it finally hit her. Once she signed this, there was no going back.

Her father and Woo Jin would know she's married to her father's sworn enemy but not only them, the entire country would know, and she would officially belong to Adrian Moretti.

"Sign it," Adrian said again, his voice low and impatient. Carolina stared at the pen for a long moment. Then she let out a shaky breath.

"Here goes nothing" She muttered and signed her name. The sound of the pen scratching against the paper felt louder than it should have, like she had just signed away her entire life.

When she dropped the pen, her hand was still shaking but she tried her best to cover it with her other hand.

Adrian picked up a bag, he reached in and placed a phone in front of her. "Your old phone was destroyed in the rain," he said. "I got you a new one. Everything from your old phone has been transferred." He said as Carolina stared at the phone.

Then Adrian looked at her. "Your father will call soon," he said. "Be ready." The word felt like a thorn, chill ran down her spine immediately. Before she could respond, footsteps echoed from the doorway.

An older man entered the room, he looked calm and dignified.

So she identified him as the mansion butler. "Master," the man said quietly, "the doctor is here." He said and Carolina blinked.

"Doctor?" Her eyes moved immediately to Adrian and for the first time, curiosity burned stronger than fear. "Why is there a doctor here?" she thought. "Is Adrian sick?"

"Tell him to go ahead," Adrian said. "I'll be there shortly." He said and the butler nodded before walking away.

Carolina looked back at Adrian, the question was already sitting on her tongue. She knew she wasn't supposed to ask, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Can I ask you something?" The moment the words left her mouth, Adrian's expression darkened, his eyes turned cold enough to freeze her where she stood.

Carolina immediately looked down. "Sorry," she whispered but Adrian said nothing, he simply walked past her.

The silence hurt more than if he had shouted, Carolina stood there, staring at his back as he went out of sight.

"This is no different from my father's house," she thought bitterly. "I'm still trapped, still a prisoner, just in a different cage." She slowly walked toward the window, that was when she saw them.

Adrian, The butler and a man dressed in white, she assumed he was the doctor the butler talked about earlier.

All three of them walking toward the west wing and her heart skipped. She stared as the large doors opened and they disappeared inside, the doors shut behind them.

Her curiosity burned even stronger as she lean against the window. "What are they hiding?" She muttered.

NEXT DAY

By morning, the entire country was talking about only one thing. The marriage between Adrian Moretti and Carolina Dawson.

The news spread like wildfire, everyone was talking about it, every television station, every newspaper, every phone screen, because no one could believe it.

The Dawsons and the Morettis had hated each other for years, every single being in italy knows that.

The idea of a marriage between them seemed impossible. Yet there it was.

Mr Dawson sat silently in the sitting room, staring blankly at the television.The news kept replaying the same images over and over again.

Carolina's and Adrian's name, which was now a single name. The Moretti couple.

His fingers slowly curled into fists, his mind was a mess, he had expected Carolina to rebel, he had expected her to cry, scream, beg, refuse.

But he had never imagined she would go as far as marrying Adrian Moretti, his enemy. The man he hated more than anyone, the man who wouldn't blink an eye before putting a bullet in his skull.

The sound of the door slamming open made him look up and Woo Jin stormed into the room. His face was red with anger, his eyes looked wild.

He stopped in front of Mr. Dawson. "What is going on?" he shouted. "Why are you sitting here doing nothing? Carolina was probably kidnapped by that psychopath"

Mr Dawson closed his eyes briefly and let out a heavy sigh. "Carolina would never marry someone against her will," he said quietly. "That is the entire reason she ran away in the first place." He said and Woo Jin stared at him in disbelief.

"What are you saying?" Woo Jin half yelled as he moved closer to Mr Dawson.

"You think she escaped your marriage only to end up trapped in another one?" Mr Dawson said looking away because even saying the words out loud hurt.

"Then you're telling me she chose him?" Woo Jin shouted. "She knew how much both of you hated each other and she still married him?" His voice cracked with anger and disbelief.

"What the hell is she thinking?!" He took a step closer, roughing his hair. "You shouldn't be sitting here acting calm!" He yelled again. "You should go to his mansion and bring her back" He completed and Mr Dawson looked at him slowly.

For the first time, there was something in his eyes that looked almost like fear.

"Walking into Adrian Moretti's mansion now would be suicide," he said. "I won't send my men to die."

"Adrian won't spare anyone that comes from me." He said and the room fell silent.

Woo Jin clenched his fists so tightly his hands began to shake, then he laughed bitterly. "Fine," he said. "If I can't marry Carolina, then forget about the deal between our families." He threatened.

"You won't get a single thing from me." He yelled and Mr Dawson's expression darkened as Woo Jin turned and stormed out of the mansion.

The loud slam of the door echoed through the room but Mr Dawson just sat there in silence.

Then suddenly, he grabbed the glass on the table and smashed it against the floor, the sound shattered through the room, his breathing became heavier.

"That bastard" he muttered, his fists clenched tighter but not at Woo Jin. At Adrian.

He picked up his phone with shaking hands and dialed a number, the call was answered almost immediately and Mr Dawson's eyes turned dark.

"Let's meet," he said over the phone and this time, he sounded dangerous.