SCARLETT'S POV. THREE HOURS LATER. The party had started to get heated. People were popping in from every corner now. And the place started to get a bit crowded and tight. Many had decided to go out to the garden but it still felt like we were at a concert or something. It had been a bad choice Matt had made to organise the party at the house. The set-up was beautiful no doubt but it was becoming too suffocating. Or maybe it was just my body's reaction to Luca sitting beside me on our table.The rest of the guest looked like they didn't mind at all. Maybe it was just me actually. "So, how has therapy been?" Luca's voice sounded so close to my ear and I practically jumped in my seat, embarassing myself further. "It's been really good," I smiled tightly. "Uhh... The therapist has been really good and understanding. I-I feel like a totally different person now."I could remember giving him the same response some time ago when he'd asked. Shit. Why was I acting that way?And where t
SCARLETT'S POV.The moment Luca's lips touched mine, I melted into a puddle. My knees had gone weak and I feared they were going to buckle soon if I wasn't careful. Damn. The man knew how to kiss. He made sure that he ravaged my mouth with intensity, showing me with the kiss just how much he really wanted me. From my face, his hands travelled to my spine and then all the way back up to my hair and then he pulled. Shit, the force of the action caused a sting, but it was sweet. The pain was delicious. I loved it. He continued to kiss my mouth like his life depended on it until he decided that he'd had enough of it and wanted to taste my neck. Once his mouth touched there, I straight up melted into him, to the point he had to hold me up. "Woah," he laughed, amsued. "I haven't even touched you. You don't even know all the things I have planned for you.""Stop being cocky and kiss me," I demanded, pulling him back to my mouth and he let out a satisfactory growl."You're so damn sexy,
SCARLETT'S POV."There's nothing we can do, Scar, you have to marry him."My heart shattered into a million pieces immediately I heard that, and I felt my breathing cut short as I stared at both my parents in shock.I blocked out everything my mother was saying as I pondered what everything they'd just said meant for me. I was going to have to get married to one of the most ruthless billionaire's in the country all because of some stupid debt my father owed? No way. I wasn't going to allow this to happen to me. There was no way I was going to marry Luca Nicholas. "No way," my body finally swung into action and I got up from my seat. "I'm not marrying that monster, you can't do this to me."Dad heaved a frustrated huge sigh and said, "Scarlett we know this might sound too much for you, but I want you to know that I've thought about this properly before making my decision. There's no other way—""You can't tell me that, Dad," I cut him off sharply, forgetting my manners. "Can't we th
SCARLETT'S POV. My heart was pounding so loud, I thought it was going to burst right out of my chest. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. Why had fate decided to play such a sick game on me like this? With shaking hands, I looked up at the men standing beside Luca and their faces were far from nice. "What are you going to do to me?" I asked, lips trembling. Luca didn't say anything, he just kept staring at me with a cold, hard expression on his face. I could see the anger in his eyes, and I knew that he was furious.Soon my whole body started to shake with fear. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. I was just frozen in place.Luca took a step towards me and when I looked hard, I saw that he was holding a gun. He pointed it at one of the men behind him, using it to motion for them to get Henry out. Quickly the men opened the door and pulled him out. Henry tried to fight back, but they were too strong. They dragged him out of the car, threw him to
SCARLETT'S POV.My eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, I couldn't remember where I was. The room around me was unfamiliar, the air heavy with silence. Panic prickled at the edges of my consciousness, gradually seeping into my veins. How did I end up here? Then, like a cracking dam, the memories came rushing back.A surge of horror filled my chest as I took in my surroundings. The room was vast, adorned with opulent decorations that oozed with extravagance. Gold accents glistened against the dim lighting, and the air smelled of stale perfume and dominance. My gaze shifted downwards, and I froze.I was tied to a large bed, my wrists tightly bound by ropes that dug into my skin. Fear gripped me, squeezing my throat, as realization crashed over me like a tidal wave. Luca had trapped me in his house, a prisoner of his whims, and there was no escaping his clutches.With each passing moment, the reality sunk deeper, swallowing me whole. I began to scream, raw, guttural cries that tore th
SCARLETT'S POV.The sound of the knife hitting the floor echoed throughout the room, and next came the loud gasp from the old housekeeper. I fell lifeless back onto the bed and then the horror of what I'd just been about to do dawned on me. I had just been on the verge of stabbing myself because of this man. What the hell had come over me?I felt disappointed in myself as I thought about how everything I'd worked for in life would have all gone to waste if I hadn't stopped myself. Not only that, Dad and Mum would have been disappointed in me too if they found out that I'd given up just like that.I mean, there was still my dream of finishing college and then going to law school. Then there was my small cake business that had recently started blowing up, and there was Kevin. I couldn't take my life until I was certain that he was actually dead. And for some reason I just had faith in him still being life. All in all, what I'm saying is it was very unlike me. Suicide? Hell no. I was
LUCA'S POV. I was having the most fun I'd ever had in my entire life, and it was all thanks to the Damiens. Call me crazy but the looks on their faces as I tormented them made my heart swell with pride and satisfaction.It was funny to me, how dumb they thought I was. Did they really think they could hide their daughter away from me and I would just watch them—doing nothing? No way. From the moment I'd called Ramson and informed him that I'd be visiting their house to talk about the marriage, I'd known that he'd try to act smart. And I was very ready for anything they tried to do. A smirk formed on my face as I watched Scarlett's eyes widen when my boys brought her boyfriend in. She looked beyond shocked at first but then she sighed, relieved that he was still alive. She'd really believed I'd killed him, huh? She was completely wrong though, I knew I was a ruthless man but never in my life would I have thought of killing someone. Even when I'd pointed the gun at her back then, I h
SCARLETT'S POV.The deal had been sealed in the end. And now there was no going back. I was going to be Luca's wife until my dad could afford to pay back the shit load of money he owned him. At least that part, I'd seen very clearly stated in the contract. The rest of it, I hadn't paid attention because I really wasn't interested.All I'd been thinking about while signing those papers was how my life had gone to this, and how I could no longer be with the one I loved. Kevin and I had met at a coffee shop back in my neighbourhood, and I didn't like to believe in connections and all that but I could swear that from the moment we locked eyes, we'd immediately developed a connection.I wasn't one who liked dating and all that, so I'd been single since middle school, but then there was something about Kevin that I hadn't seen in other guys. He was cute, funny, romantic, and overally just a nice guy—just everything I'd wanted in a man. And so it didn't take time for me to accept him as my