Alle Kapitel von Contract marriage: I am the daughter of my husband's enemy: Kapitel 111 – Kapitel 120

Elara’s POV, The rocks don't move. Not when we push or kick. Not even when Lucien shoulders himself into them hard enough to make me wince.Nothing.The metal is worse. We try cutting through it, prying it apart, bending it, and breaking it.Nothing.At one point, Lucien manages to get a flame going, and hope sparks in my chest, then water gushes from somewhere overhead.The fire dies with a pathetic hiss.Silence follows, as the water sloshes around our calves now, rising steadily and patiently. Like death has all the time in the world.I stare at the blocked exit, twisted metal, and the darkness beyond it. Then I laugh, a little too hysterically.Lucien turns immediately.“What?”I shake my head.“Ironic, isn't it?” The water ripples around my boots. “I always thought I'd die by fire.”His expression hardens, and he rolls his eyes. “We're not going to die.”I laugh again, and it hurts. My chest hurts. “Lucien…”“We're not going to die.” His voice is sharp this time. The voice peop

Elara’s POV, He goes quiet and looks away. His chest rises and falls rapidly. That’s when I noticed he was fisting and un-fisting his palms repeatedly, trying to control his emotions. “I was scared, Elara,” he says. “Do you understand? I was scared. I thought I was afraid of the dark,” he laughs, a bitter laugh. “Apparently not, because when I saw you hanging there…”The memory flashes through both of us, and Lucien swallows.“I couldn't breathe,” he rubs his other arm with one. “I didn't wake up from that damn fainting spell… just to watch you disappear. You're not doing that to me, Elara.”“Lucien…”“I wasn’t lying when I said I’m willing to bleed for you.”Tears run down my cheek, which annoys me. Why the fuck am I crying? So naturally, I march up to him and punch him in the stomach.He grunts, lurching forward. I grab his shoulders, “I fucking hate you.”“I know,” he grins, looking up at me.“I hate you so much.”“So you’ve said.”“So fucking much,” I let go of his shoulders and

Lucien’s POV, “The fuck? Dante?” Nikolai exclaims, and the car stops just inches from my leg. Dante climbs out from the driver's seat with an overly relieved face. “Lucien!!!” He spreads out his arms and rushes to hug me. I side-step before we can make contact, and he hugs the air, falling face-first on the ground. Isolde steps out next, and I blink. “Did she seriously have to be here?” I jerk my thumb at her, and she rolls her eyes. “Hello to you, too,” she folds her arms, and I raise both hands in a shrug. Viktor comes out from the back seat, immediately looking around.“Where’s Elara?”“We didn’t meet her!”“What do you mean? You said…” he pauses when his eyes meet mine, then gasps. “You left her alone?! They’re wild animals waiting to devour a pretty maiden like her. Crocodiles, badgers, lions…”“He does realize we’re not in the safari, right?” Adrian mutters, and I’m impressed that he knows about that. Then my eyes narrow. “How did you know we'd end up near a body of water?”

Elara’s POV, I’m coming, Asher. Mummy is coming to you. The mantra keeps repeating in my head, as my legs carry me upstairs.The room door slams behind me, and I immediately open three monitors. Minutes fly, and so do my fingers. I brush through the feed around the mansion like a comb, passing through security feeds, traffic cameras, GPS records, and phone towers.The room fills with the blue glow of screens, my fingers hurt from flying over the keyboards, and my eyes burn, but I don’t stop. Every second wasted…I swallow, shaking my head. Nope, don’t think about it. I force myself to breathe, still searching. Then, I pull up every camera surrounding the mansion.Nothing.Nothing.Nothing.Then, I notice one camera. It’s overwritten. Ten seconds keep replaying. Ah, such a stupid mistake. My pulse spikes as I hope it’s what I’m thinking. It was overwritten four months ago, so I couldn’t be so sure. Lines of code race across the screen, broken fragments become images, images become fo

Elara’s POV, I sneer at him, “A kiss?”“Just one.”“Did you hit your head on the way here or something? Every second counts!”“Exactly. Kiss me now, the faster we get to Asher.”“I’m starting to think you care nothing for your son.”“You hurt me, darling,” he folds dramatically, holding his chest. “I already have a team heading to the first two locations. I saved the best for you, but you wouldn’t know if you do not kiss me…”“I fucking hate you.”“...and you’ll miss out on the action of saving your son, and becoming the hero.”I decide he’ll probably look a lot hotter with my hand around his neck, strangling him. “You're unbelievable,” I mutter, and he grins. “Yet here you are about to kiss me.”I lean in, intending only a quick brush of my lips against his, but Lucien’s fingers slide into my hair and fist tight. He drags me closer, crushing his mouth to mine. The kiss turns deep in an instant, his tongue forcing past my lips to tangle with mine. I moan at the taste of him, heat