Lahat ng Kabanata ng Becoming my Enemy's Bride: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

V E L I N ABy the time my eyes open, they feel heavy, along with the rest of my body, my gaze drifting around me as I try to figure out where I am...That's when I feel it, the immense heat around me.As my eyes focus on what's closest to me, I realise that I'm on the floor, dust covering the surface, and I feel too weak to move, as if my veins are filled with cement, and my head spins as I experience vertigo...But why can't I move...?The fire roars so loud it almost drowns out my breathing, spitting heat, flame and smoke into the night.Night... how is it night already...The last time I checked, it was the afternoon. I was at the mansion, my father finished a meeting with the family and the rest of the men, and issuing orders for the day. Operations of the syndicate were mandatory for me to know as the daughter of the Don, but I was the last born, so even if I knew everything... it didn't make a difference...I decided to leave for the afternoon, just to clear my head and be out

V E L I N AJohnny.He stands near the far wall with the other men, arms at his sides, his brown eyes meeting mine, his expression wary as he watches everything unfold. For a brief moment our eyes meet and something inside my chest tightens.Johnny is the only person in this entire family who ever treated me like I was an actual person. The only one who showed any decency when everyone else acted as if I did not belong here.He was the one who carried me out of that meeting years ago when I took a bullet meant for my father.He is the reason I survived.And yet now he stands there quietly like everyone else, and he says nothing.“Kyla, are you sure you do not need to go to the infirmary?” Rolando asks from somewhere behind me, and that's when I turn to watch as he assists Kyla in walking properly. She has an arm wrapped around him, and another wrapped around herself, as if she can barely stay upright just as her eyes finally meet mine."I’m... I'm fine..." She calls out and her voice

V E L I N A"And who..." he begins, taking a few slow steps toward me, closing the distance between us until I can see him clearly now, every detail of his face. He is drop-dead gorgeous... and being this close to him.. does something to my senses that I'm way too ashamed to admit. I notice how his jaw tenses as he stares down at me, the faint crease between his brows as he frowns at me... and the proximity between us... He is close enough that his scent now fills my nostrils, sending my heart racing and my head spinning as I try to focus on what's happening in front of me. He is an enemy; he is the man that has barged into my family home and threatened to kill us... just because he's the most handsome man I've ever seen doesn't mean I need to lose sight of that...He continues to watch me, still having the gun pointed right at me. But that's when things change, and he instead lowers the gun and steps even closer to me, his face now inches apart from mine. I am too distracted as I loo

V E L I N A"You can't do this!! You can't!!" I scream, my voice breaking as tears stream down my face, my chest tightening as I try to process what is happening around me, my mind struggling to catch up with the reality that my own father has just handed me over to a man who walked into our home with guns drawn and threats ready on his lips.No one answers me.No one even looks at me."We will have everything prepared here before I leave this house." Luciano lets out calmly, as though this entire situation is nothing more than another arrangement, another deal being finalised between families.My father nods once in response, a quiet exhale leaving his nostrils as he looks back at Luciano."Understood." He answers quietly.I stare at him, disbelief tightening my throat as I wait for him to change his mind, to show hesitation, to say anything that suggests this is not final.But he continues."I will have one of our lawyers present to prepare the marriage certificate as well as an off

V E L I N AI stand completely still as the hot water runs from the top of my head down to the rest of my naked body, my hands braced against the wall as I keep my eyes closed, trying to slow my breathing and quiet my thoughts, though neither seems willing to cooperate. My mind keeps replaying everything that happened downstairs, the handshake, my father's voice agreeing to the deal, Luciano watching me, my mother's slap, and every time I try to push it aside, another memory replaces it, leaving me feeling drained before this marriage even begins.Eventually, I reach forward and turn the water off, the room growing silent as lone droplets of water fall from my body to the shower floor below. I remain standing there, letting the last drops slide down my skin while I try to gather myself before stepping out.I dry myself slowly, my movements stiff and distracted, and once I am dressed in the robe left out for me, I step back into my bedroom.And the moment I walk in, I freeze...There a