Thank you for reading this chapter :) What do you think is about to happen next?
Danika knew something was off when she heard those words coming out of Simon’s mouth.She knew the way he was looking at her, as if wanting her to know her place, as if wanting her to know she fucked up—big time at that—he had something horrible in his mind.Sweat broke through the pores of her skin and she had to wipe it off with the back of her hand, struggling—for the first time, ever—to find a way out of this unfortunate situation.So, she decided to come straight to the fucking point.There was no use in pretending to be nice anymore. She could tell that he didn’t care how beautiful she was, or how she could promise a great lay if given the chance.As far as she knew—or had heard of—Simon had a certain taste in women, and he never stirred from what he wanted. Trying to flirt with him or offer him something most people would fall face first for would only prove to be a waste of time.“What the hell do you want?” She asked, almost snapped, but not to the point it sounded rude, but m
Elena had no clue what to expect when she found Danika—her best friend—on the other side of the tinted window.At first, she thought maybe Cortez had hounded her just like he did to Elena all night, and now it was because Danika had slipped and said something she shouldn’t have—something that made the case even stronger against her—she was brought merely to show her how the hell she was going down.The thought brought a bad taste to her mouth and a shudder to pass through her spine.All Danika would have to do was to spill everything about Elena’s small revenge plan and that’s all it would take for Cortez to pin the murder on her. The man was hellbent on proving Elena a murderer and she couldn’t understand for the life of her, why?Surely, not every evidence could be pointing at her, right?There had to be something—no matter how small—to prove that she was innocent.Behind her, she felt Detective Cortez whispering something to his partner—another detective. And when she glanced over h
Elena felt drained by the moment she stepped out of the police station.Her eyes looked bloodshot as if she could finally use some sleep, and her legs wobbled with how little movement she had been allowed in the interrogation room all night.But the said exhaustion was nothing in comparison to the pain she felt in her heart, the betrayal that cut so deep, she didn’t think she would ever be able to recover.She couldn’t believe that during everything that happened in the past—from catching Richard cheating on her to Josh’s accident, from her divorce to spending more than a year away from home just so she could heal herself in the best way possible—if there was one thing that remained constant in her life, it was Danika.It was because of her she always managed to push through—or at least that’s what she told herself. It was she who showed her the way when Elena couldn’t make up her mind, when she was broken beyond repair, and all she was good at was being there for Caleb and nothing els
With tears tracing the length of her face, Elena placed a hand against his chest and felt his heartbeat race as fast as her own.But even though, nothing about the kiss—about the man—should have felt foreign, or wrong, or out of place, it did. And she couldn’t understand for the life of her—why?They had done it so many times in the past. They had done more than kiss on the lips. There had been nights and days and mornings when they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, when they had lied and pretended to be sick just to spend some extra time with each other.It should have come naturally to her, the kiss that is. The feeling of his lips on her should have felt the most right thing in the world—but it didn’t.It didn’t.In fact, it felt all wrong, misplaced and… she pushed against his chest and pulled away, gasping for breath.When she finally got the strength to open her eyes, her vision still fogged from all the tears she had been crying, she found Richard looking at her. He looke
Flashes of blurred visions danced in front of Elena’s eyes.“I don’t like this,” a woman said, shaking her head in disapproval.Elena barely caught that woman’s old eyes and wrinkled face when her eyes grew heavy again and she tumbled into the darkened corner of her mind.The next time her eyes fluttered open, she felt Simon’s face too close to her own. He didn’t look like himself, too much brightness and blurriness in front of her gaze made it feel like a dream.He smiled at her, the same sinful smile that always made her think of all the secrets hidden behind them. “Don’t worry, darling. You’re doing very good.”And then she was gone again.And then there was this another dream; cool oceanic breeze brushed her hair away from her face, making them dance here and there.“The room is ready, sir,” she heard someone say, while she struggled to make her throat work.“Good work,” someone else said, and even though there was no way to say for sure, she knew he was Simon. He had to be.———El
Elena almost took a step back from the sheer shock of the sound that followed the contact, her breath caught in her throat at the stinging sensation she felt on her own palm.She gazed down at it for a second before snapping her attention to Simon, who was already staring at her as if he had expected it from the beginning.But what else was she supposed to do? The bastard had kidnapped her, for God’s sake. She wasn’t supposed to thank him, that’s for sure.“You bastard!” She punched him in the chest, that hard, unyielding chest that did nothing but take the beating. “Do you even know what you did? How could you do this to me? And in such a fucking shitty way too! God! What were you thinking?” she yelled. “Were you even thinking?”And then he was suddenly all over her. She didn’t see it coming when he moved closer and pinned her against the wall with his body.“Stop,” he gritted.The sharpness of that one word made her snap her head up and look him in the eyes, so close she could see hi
It didn’t help that he kept his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants as he watched her with growing curiosity, the smirk on his lips making him look even more evil than he already seemed.“Don’t tell me you don’t understand the reason why I brought you here?” He cocked his head. “You’re not that stupid, Elena, are you?”He was doing this intentionally, confusing her. It wasn’t hard to notice from the way he looked at her. She just wished she understood his reasoning, his real motives. “I’m not in the mood for your stupid games, Simon. Just tell me what’s going on and get it over with, for God’s sake!”It wasn’t until that moment, until that second when her frustration finally took hold of her and broke through the wall of composure she was trying so hard to keep, that she realized how much this meant to her.It had been too much to bear for a while now—the sudden changes and the secrets lurking in the shadows ever since her brother went into the coma, followed by the murder of Ce
Elena’s breath caught in her throat as his words sank in. Married? To Simon? No. No way in hell. Not in this fucking lifetime. Not after what he had done. Not after… “No,” she whispered, pulling her hand away from his grasp as if the ring burned her skin. “You’re lying. You can’t just marry someone without their consent!” she said in disbelief. Simon grinned, though this time, his smirk was nowhere near a smile. There was a seriousness on his face that hadn’t been there before. He didn’t move an inch when she put space between them. “Do you know who I am, Elena?” he asked her, though it seemed like he was having a conversation with himself. Cocky bastard. “I’m not bound by the same rules as others, darling. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and however I want.” She swallowed hard at the implication of those words. But what he said only acted like gasoline on her rage. She shook her head, as if suddenly overwhelmed, as if facing something completely beyond her understa