THIRTY TWOCATHERINAI had succeeded in bidding my brother goodbye without him having the slightest inclination to what I was about to do and I had to admit that I was quite giddy with excitement at fooling them all. Pedro waited in the parking lot while I stepped into the dress shop owned by a French woman who was one of mamma’s friend. I was quite sure she had not had about my sister’s pregnancy nor about the fact that I was the one now getting married to the man my sister was supposed to get married to. It was a fucking circus and one of the reasons I had to be away immediately“Come on, Catherina. I wasn’t expecting you today, how is your mamma and where is she? She and I were supposed to check out some dresses for your sister’s impending nuptials” Celine preened, enveloping me in a hug.I knew about the saying that the French people oozed sexual appeal and it definitely had to be true because Celine was the total definition of sex on heels. She had such beautiful and slim body wi

THIRTY FOURCATHERINAIf I could locate the gate, the one I had been brought in through then maybe I could be free once again, I thought as I ran.Nobody paid me any mind and I could only imagine this was some norm in their household; Andres torturing and hurting women.I got lost a couple of times before I began hearing shouting and people searching around for me, I realized. They finally knew I wasn’t supposed to be roaming, I thought bitterly as I pressed my back against the stone wall, waiting for the next set of men to pass.I could never go back there and be wife to a man that had my family killed and just because he wanted to prove some point. I refuse to believe that he was unaware of what they were going to do; they were his men and would never act outside his orders and even if they did, then it wasn’t safe for me here. I could be killed anytime one of them was in a fit or tried to undermine authority. I would forever be caught in the middle of some internal war going on in

THIRTY SIXCATHERINA“What the hell, Andre… where are you taking me? and do I need to be so tied up?” I said as he pushed me forward.His lips twisted in a snarl“You seem to have a penchant for running away, estimado and I am not going to allow that happen again” he said with finality.“I did not mean to…”“To run away?” he interrupted, pushing me when I tried to face him“To drown but it was like the water was calling out to me and I forgot for a second that I could not swim” I told himHe stopped for a second, giving me ample view of his face which had me worried.“You could not swim and you jumped into the water? Maldito infierno”“Do not cuss at me, it was a mistake and won’t happen again” I told him“Yes, it won’t” he echoed.We stopped in front of an opening and then began advancing lower into what I could tell was the dungeons. We had one of these back at home and my papa had explicitly warned my sister and I never to go near it or try to see what was inside.I obeyed that ins

THIRTY EIGHTCATHERINAIt is official, I am going to die and nobody will know where I fucking am, I thought as I took deep breaths.I was strung to a dungeon wall and tied up like a fucking criminal by a mad man and all because of what?I continued taking deep breaths with my eyes closed, trying not to think about the man who was in the dungeon with me; the idiota that had murdered my brother and father.He did not look better off himself but I wondered why he wasn’t dead, butchered and buried like all the men that had tried to harm me since the arrival of Andres.The air was putrid and definitely housed the odor of a dozen urines from a dozen dying men and the hijo bastardo had locked me in here like he would all he wanted dead.The door to the dungeon creaked open and I sighed in relief, jumping to my feet as an old woman strutted in. She had a gun in her hand which I could tell was loaded with the way she handled it; she advanced towards me and I shied back against the wall, wonder

FOURTYCATHERINAWhy the hell was he being sweet and nice to me when he had almost killed me, I thought as I sat in front of everything he had asked be brought for me to eat.I could not hate him if he was acting like this and I needed to channel my anger; it was his men that had ruined my family, after all. I was at his mercy and so I had to behave because there was no way I would go back to that dungeon alive; he would have to take my dead body if he had any plans of putting me back there after all these.There had been something about the way he had carried me gently away from the dungeons and now food? Even taking a bath in his bathroom?Would it work if I tried seducing him, I thought as I dug into the bacon in front of me.It was pretty clear to me that he was affectionate towards me and I was going to use that until I could get out of this hell hole and make him pay dearly.“What are you so concentrated on thinking?” he asked, jolting me from the murderous thoughts I was having