The car stops in front of a large, Italian styled mansion. Scarlett stares at the place, quite impressed by its asymmetric massing of the towers which are standing high, looking elegant. The garden is luscious with exotic flowers and a marbled pavement is snaking towards the front door which is made of posh mahogany wood. “This way,” the driver respectfully tells her. Scarlett hesitates but follows him into the mansion. She’s led to a beautiful hallway which is illuminated with golden lights. A staircase spirals its way from the upper floors to the lower one while a magnificent fountain is placed in the middle of it. The walls are painted in light silver color and there are matching furniture sets around her. Scarlett has been to many mansions but this one has a warm touch to it as if the owner has intricately detailed them on his own. Before she can marvel at the beauty, she hears a pair of footsteps approaching. To her surprise, a girl of around eighteen is ascending the stairs.

Two men are hurriedly walking along the long corridor of the Hawkins’ mansion, looking very worried. They pass by the busy servants who are working to set up the decorations for the engagement party that night. There’s a line of part timers outside who are waiting to get their shifts but the men are not concerned with the party. They’re well dressed in suits and look extremely professional. One of them is a stoic man in his fifties with gray hair and a dignified look. The other man is in his late twenties with thick black hair and a freckled face which is very nervous. “Mr. Palmer,” the younger man addresses his boss. “The CEO won’t be happy with this news. Shouldn’t we wait until tomorrow? He’s gonna be furious!” “There’s no other option, Jim,” Palmer states in a curt manner. The older man is Jeremy Palmer, the senior secretary to Hector Hawkins while the young man is Jim Porter, Jeremy’s underling. Jeremy is a no-nonsense man with strict work ethics. He has been working for Ha

A sleek Maybach stops in front of the Hawkins’ mansion. Everyone in the vicinity instantly breaks into whispers when they see Ryder Rochester coming out of it, looking sleek and handsome than ever. His red hair is brushed back and his sharp eyes are twinkling as if he’s expecting something exciting to happen.“Isn’t that Ryder Rochester?” One guest whispers.“A Rochester at Hawkins’ party? He won’t be pleased!” Another guest gossips. Ryder ignores them and simply walks towards the hall where the guests are enjoying themselves. His eyes fall on the dark haired woman in the middle who’s wearing a pink dress and is entertaining the guests at her own engagement party.Elle is sweetly smiling at the business associates, but not engaging in conversations with them. Their business talks are boring to her.“Congratulations.”Her smile freezes when she hears the voice. She slowly turns around to find herself face to face with Ryder. Her heart skips several beats when he steps closer.“What ar

The party ended abruptly and all the guests went home. Hector has strengthened the security around the mansion and is paranoid. All the guards are on alert, with orders to kill anyone caught trespassing. “How the f*ck did his men enter my mansion?” Hector growls. He slams his fists hard on the table. Palmer and Jim are standing in front of him. Hector is glaring at them so Palmer clears his throat to speak.“We have checked every CCTV camera and saw nothing suspicious,” he states in a matter-of-fact way. “The mansion was well secured and-”SMASH!A vase comes flying at him but he calmly steps aside and lets the object smash against the wall, breaking into tiny pieces. Hector’s fury is through the roof but Palmer is unaffected while Jim is terrified. The wrath of their boss is exploding.“MY F*CKING ENEMIES GOT INTO THE MANSION!” He screams. “THAT TOO ON MY ENGAGEMENT! AND…AND…”He’s f*cking my ex-wife! He thinks bitterly. The image of Scarlett and Ryder is flashing through his eyes a

Scarlett slowly wakes up only to be momentarily blinded by the dazzling sunlight. She slowly sits up, confused. Her eyes are half closed and she sleepily yawns. The jail doesn’t have much sunlight, she thinks to herself. And why is the ground so soft? She touches what she expects to be the floor but to her surprise, she feels a soft satin mattress. Realizing that something is amiss, she opens her eyes. “Where the hell am I?” she asks in astonishment. It takes her several seconds to realize that she’s no longer in jail. The events of the last day come back to her. She was released from jail, her mother died, her ex husband and her step sister are engaged and Scarlett is now… “Shit!” She gasps and looks around for Ryder. She’s no longer a prisoner but is the wife of the country’s most ruthless mafia lord! “Did he not return home?” she wonders out loud. The other side of the bed doesn’t look as if it’s been slept in. There’s no sign of him anywhere. Scarlett gets off the bed an