CHAPTER THREE
ANDREW'S POV.The house was really small and shabby, it looked more like a shack than a house where people could live, at least compared to the mansion I grew up in.I got a whiff of bread, warm and fresh out of the oven. Or was it pancake? Whatever it was, it smelled really good. But I wasn't there for the pastries, I was there for business.Serious business.I had to prove to my father that I was a worthy son, that he could trust me with the business, especially since he was incapacitated from the accident. I may not be a Don like he was, at least not yet, but I could handle the business as efficiently as he could.This was just a test, to see if I could take over from him when he retired, and the task was simple."Let's go." I said to the guys when we got out of the Chevrolet suburban SUV.I heard a slight scrambling sound from within.Good. They were home, and scared.I nodded towards my boys and one of them stepped forward and kicked the door open. The old hinges broke from the impact.Why would such a wretched man borrow that amount of money from my father? Jacob Sanchez was the most ruthless and feared loan shark you'd ever meet. He showed no mercy when it was time to pay back.He was well known in the underworld and the business world as well. He was the owner of J&A wineries and owned many casinos across countries. Talk about rum, gambling, drugs,clubs and casinos, Jacob Sanchez was lord of it all.And I was his son, his only son, Andrew Sanchez.My father taught me everything about the business. The reason for my existence was to take over from him and continue his legacy, and I couldn't fail."Who are you people? What do you want?" A shaky voice asked with false bravery.A chuckle escaped my lips. How could he not know who I was?Alfredo, my secretary walked over to him and landed a punch on his jaw. The impact sent him crashing on the floor. A loud shriek sounded from behind me. A woman had been hiding behind the couch. She was probably his wife.Alfredo picked him up and dragged him towards me, kicking his legs so he knelt before me."Look at me." I commanded.He slowly raised his head to reveal his bruised lips. His teeth had sunk into it and left a deep cut."Do you know who I am?" I asked, a small smile on my lips.His eyes widened in surprise when he realised who I was. I had been with my father at the casino when he had come begging for some money. He was a regular at the casino and was addicted to gambling. That day, he had gambled so much and lost everything, he was also very drunk. He had lost severely, but he wouldn't stop. Everyone at the casino had been very amused at how pitiful he was. He had caused a ruckus and my father had summoned him."Andrew Sanchez.." he muttered under his breath."I see you're sober this time. You haven't been at the casino recently. Are you running away?""N--no..I'm not running away. I would never do that.""You couldn't even if you wanted to." I replied with a laugh. "Do you remember that day at the casino, when you begged my father for some money? You're quite the gambler Marcus Tanner."My boys joined in the laughter causing him to bow his head in shame.That day, when my father had summoned him, he confessed that the money he had lost was his wife's savings. She wanted to use it for her business and he thought to double it but ended up losing everything.My father wouldn't pass on a chance to ridicule him even more. He offered to loan him some money and gave him ten months to pay back with interest.It had been over a year and he still hadn't paid back. His debt had amassed to three million pesos now. My family had been so shocked by father's accident so we were focused on supporting him and helping him get better. Father was crippled from the accident but with time and a lot of therapy, his condition could improve.As soon as father could sit, all he could think about was his business. He was furious at me and the executives for putting everything on hold for him. There was so much to do now.I had overheard my parents discussing. Father wanted me to take over from him but my mother was against it. She knew the dirty side of Dad's business and never wanted to get me involved in it. She wanted me to have a normal life, find love and settle down with a good woman. But it was too late for all that. I'd done a lot of shitty things trying to impress my father, and I knew I'd have to do it yet again to convince him that I was ready to take over the company.He had called me into his room one day and told me to make sure that everyone who had collected a loan from him paid back in full. That was his test. To see if I had as much force as he did. To replace him, I needed to be ruthless and fierce. "We feed on their fear." He had often told me.So here I was, proving myself.But Marcus Tanner was dirt poor. It was obvious he didn't have my money and I couldn't go back empty handed. He would pay with his life. I already had my gun pointed at him, ready to fire when she came charging towards me. My reflexes were quick from years of training and I was able to stop her from hitting me. I had her pinned on the wall and suddenly, I was staring into the most beautiful cerulean eyes I had ever seen. Eyes that I had seen before. I could never forget them.It was her that night. Six years ago, she had saved me when I was attacked by a rival company; business could be dirty and risky sometimes. They had beaten me up and left me for dead, but she had found me.I was half conscious and near death but I had to stay awake. Her gentle voice was desperately calling out to me not to leave. She kept saying "stay with me please." And somehow, my body listened and obeyed.She got a taxi and found a small motel where we stayed the night and she nursed me. She treated my stab wounds and bruises. Luckily, the men had missed my vital organs.She seemed quite knowledgeable about treating wounds and had done a great job with the little materials she had. She stayed with me for four days and left when she was certain I would survive on my own. I had searched for her since but never found her.Until now.I had no idea if she recognized me. She probably wouldn't. With how beautiful she was, she probably had a lot of men chasing her, clamoring for her attention. So I pretended not to have recognized her. I would stay distant and cold.But still, I wanted her. I had no idea why but I just knew I needed her to stay with me again, just like she did that night. Her presence comforted me and somehow fought the demons in my mind.I needed her and I had just the perfect way to make her mine."You do have something of value afterall. I'll hold on to this precious thing until you pay back what you owe." I said.Despite her parent's plea and her resistance, I pulled her along with me and dragged her out of the house. My Men helped hold Mr and Mrs tanner away. They fought hard to keep her away from me but failed. I always got what I wanted."Let me go you monster!" She screamed, kicking and fighting hard to free herself. I lifted her and threw her over my shoulder."Hold still!" I commanded, hitting my palm on her bottom. She gasped in surprise and suddenly lost her speech. She was probably too offended for words."Don't worry, you're only collateral, just to make sure your parents pay me back. I'll let you go as soon as I get my money.Did I really mean that? Would I really be able to let her go again now that I had found her?I shoved those thought aside and threw her in the car. I and one of my men sat with her in the back seat, placing her in the middle. The others got in front and the driver started the car."Where to?" He asked"My place." I replied.CHAPTER FOURSARAH'S POVTWENTY-TWO YEARS AGOLoneliness. Silence. Chaos. Pain.All of these described my life as vividly as you can imagine. My life was a mess and the fact that I was helpless and could do nothing to fix it exacerbated my worries. My husband was sweet. He tried to distract me from my painful reality and succeeded once in a while to make me smile. But as soon as he was gone for the day's work, I was left with the emptiness and silence that had become my companion.Marcus and I had been married for seven years and had been trying to have a baby but couldn't. I had had several miscarriages already and was exhausted from trying. We both were. But we wanted children desperately.Things got worse.I had gotten pregnant again and hoped that it would stay this time, but it didn't. I lost the baby at sixteen weeks and this time, the doctor told me I couldn't have a child. Ever.The news broke me and I fell into depression. It was hard to get out of bed, to even bake,which w
Chapter fiveLORENA'S POVI could hardly breathe. Fear had paralyzed my entire being. Was I really not going to see my parents ever again? Would I really have to live with this evil stranger who wanted nothing but to make my life miserable? How could he forcefully separate a woman from her family? How could he be so heartless?The men sitting beside me weren't making things any better. They looked scary with their black, well tailored suit and bulky build. They had dark shades on which aided their stern look and I felt so small in the midst of them.I had been screaming and kicking since the drive to an unknown destination started but they paid me no mind. I was exhausted now, too weak to continue my tantrums. It wasn't working anyway. Instead, I sat still, studying their faces and occasionally, the scenery outside the car window. The glass was tinted so I knew no one could see through from the outside. I could look freely.It was beautiful outside. I thought so the first time I left
Chapter sixJACOB'S POVThe soft bed was now a thorn in my flesh, like the prickly thorns on roses. I had been stuck here for months after the accident and since then, time seemed to crawl by. It was hard, laying here in pain and not being able to supervise my casinos and company. Being bedridden was the worst thing that could've ever happened to me, but there was nothing I could do about it. The doctor said I had torn the ligaments in my legs and I wouldn't be able to walk for a while, quite a while they said. I had to undergo therapy if I was to regain the use of my legs.I was getting better now though, or maybe I just got used to the pain. Pain was nothing new to me. I built my empire with my blood and sweat. I didn't inherit my wealth from my parents neither did they contribute anything into making me the man that I am. They were poor church rats and couldn't offer me anything, nothing close to the life I wanted. So, I had to work extra hard to acquire everything I had. I was a
Chapter sevenSarah's POVSo this was what hell felt like. This was what it meant for your entire world to crumble while you could do nothing but watch. Why did it happen so suddenly though? Why?Marcus laid on the bed, the covers drawn to his chin. He was bruised all over from the beatings he got but I had cleaned up his wound. His bloody clothes laid in a pile on the floor. He was hurt and that was the only reason I hadn't brought down the roof on him. It was the only reason I hadn't kicked him out and sent him to get my daughter back."Sarah..I know what you're thinking." He said, struggling to breathe. The blow to his rib was severe but we had no money to get proper treatment for him. He would survive it with some pain killers and rest. He tried to hold my hands and console me but my icy glare must have made him change his mind because his hands recoiled from mine now."I was going to pay back. I had a plan for the money but things didn't just work out the way I wanted it to.""
Chapter eight.LORENA'S POVI woke up with a slight throbbing on my head. It felt as though I had been smacked on the head with a baseball bat. Not that I really knew how that would feel like but, you get the idea.I tried to open my eyes but the sunlight seeping through the window was too intense and on top of that, I was facing the window directly. It had to be noon. I turned, facing the other way and tried again. My eyes were open but i became confused instantly. I could not, for the life of me, remember where I was. This room was a sharp contrast to the one I grew up in. The bed for one was soft and comfortable and it smelled really clean and fresh. The wall was painted white with some gray hues on places like the window and doors. There were plenty furnitures in the room. A couch, and a glass centre table, a dressing table made of mahogany that matched the wardrobe. Everything in the room screamed class and wealth.But whose house was this?The door opened and a very good look
Chapter NineANDREW'S POVI hurried out of the room because I was beginning to lose my composure. I'd tried hard to control myself and not get close to her, I couldn't let her know the effect she was having on me.I went downstairs to the dining table without waiting for her to follow. I couldn't bear to be next to her. The feel of her skin on mine moments ago still tormented me. Why did she have to try to hit me? I wouldn't have had to touch her like I did back at her house and I wouldn't be struggling to keep my desires at bay. In my mind, I'd already imagined the different ways I could have her.I looked down at my pants and noticed the bulge between my legs. "Shit!" I cursed under my breath."I'm only keeping her here so her parents can take my payment seriously. It's just collateral. If they had something else that was valuable, I would have taken that instead." I said to myself. But did I even believe that?I had already made the decision to stay away from love. There were lots
Chapter TenMARCUS' POVI felt shame and guilt ate at my heart, constricting my air flow. I was to blame. Me! It was all my fault.I knew about the Sanchez. They were filthy rich and powerful people with chains of company all over Mexico. They had a winery and casinos that raked in lots of money. I knew that because I frequently visited the casino and saw the calibre of people that went there. I guess I had gotten greedy.Why on earth did I think I could be that lucky? Lucky enough to win at the tables and hang out with the rich and powerful people. If luck was smiling at me then I would have been able to succeed in all the businesses I had tried to start, but they failed every time. I couldn't make anything of myself and ended up being the poor gambler who only drank and played games with stolen money from my wife. It was a wonder that she hadn't left me. It would have been better for her if she had but I knew she stayed to protect her daughter. We were the only ones who knew that h
CHAPTER ELEVENLORENA'S POV"Where are we going?" I asked, forcing my leg inside the only slipper that could fit me among Maria's pairs. I had kicked off the slipper I had on while struggling to escape from Andrew and his men and now I had nothing. Andrew didn't say a word. He acted like I wasn't speaking to him when he was the only one there.What the hell was wrong with this man? Why was he so arrogant?"Hello? He's hot and freaking rich!" A voice in my head said, silencing me.He picked up his phone and dialed a number. Immediately it connected, he said only a few words. "Make sure Sia is available, we're on our way." Then he hung up.Is that how he talks to people?"Hurry up Lorena, I'm a busy man."My glare must have sent chills through him because he suddenly turned to look at me for the first time since he walked In my room"We're going to get you some necessities. You don't plan on wearing this dress you have on for the next three years do you?" He asked, humour in his eyes."