KAITLYN

"Why are you screaming, mi amor? Have you broken one of the rules?" He asks and my heart stills.

It is real! He is standing right before me, smirking down at me.

I part my lips again and scream, not because I am scared but because he has caught me.

He groans and clasps his hand over my mouth, causing my body to freeze. He gazes into my eyes, almost ripping out my crime from my guilty soul.

"What are you doing, mi amor?" He asks and I stutter, searching for a way to defend myself without ratting out my crime.

He darts his eyes around the bathtub and smiles.

Has he seen the phone?

My heart constricts, and I gulp, praying hard that he has not spotted the phone that I hid behind me.

"W…what?" I stammer.

Come on, Kaitlyn, put yourself together. I don't think that he has found it; if he has, then he won't have that weird smile on his face.

"You should have used your bathroom instead," he mutters, and I raise my brows in question, wondering what he is talking about.

He leans closer, his face a few inches away from mine, and his alcoholic breath hits my face.

I turn up my lips in disgust and turn my face away, but he grips my chin and forces me to look him in the eye.

"Are you scared that I will walk in on you when I come back? Come on, honey, we are married now…" he pauses and stares lustfully at my exposed cleavage.

"You shouldn't hide those things from me anymore," he smirks and leans closer till our face is just a hair's breadth away. My breath hitches, and my heart races in fear.

"They belong to me now."

I gasp and my body begins to paralyze when I hear my zipper being pulled open.

"What are you doing?" I gasp, heaving loudly.

He smiles and swerves his head to my neck, kissing my earlobe and sending shivers down my spine.

"What couples do on their matrimonial night," he whispers into my ear and my eyes widen.

I can't let him touch him, never!

"No!" I scream and dig my nails into his shoulders, forcing him to pull away from me.

He groans and rubs his left shoulder, slamming his eyes shut.

I sigh in relief and sweep my hand at the spot where I kept the phone while attempting to fight him off.

My heart skips when I can't find it.

"Looking for something?" He asks and I look up at him.

My jaw drops in shock when I see the phone dangling over my face.

"I am not so impatient to lick your pussy in a visitor's bathroom," he mutters and sighs before narrowing his eyes in my direction.

"You haven't read the document, have you?" He asks, and my lips part in confusion and frustration.

"Get up from there and come with me," he mutters and spins around for the door, the phone still in his hand.

I whimper in disappointment as I reluctantly get up from the tub and begin to head out of the bathroom, trailing after him at a safe distance.

He doesn't bother to pause for a while as he walks briskly in fast strides, causing me to run at some point to catch up with him.

"I was trying to check the news!" I shouted after him, attempting to defend myself.

He doesn't stop, neither does he look back. Instead, he increases his pace, acting like I do not exist.

I hate being ignored by someone, especially when I have something important to talk about. This has always been one of the many reasons I fight with my late father.

He finally stops in front of a door and looks at me coldly before pushing the door open.

He waves his hand towards me and then trots in. I hesitate for some seconds before walking in.

My eyes dart surprisingly around the shelves filled with books from different fields.

It's surprising to find thriller and martial arts books dominating most of the shelves.

"You are gonna stand there forever?" His cold voice forces me to look away from the shelves.

I push my feet forward towards him and stand at Akimbo before the dark oak table in front of him.

He reaches into the drawer beside him and pulls out a pack of cigarettes.

"You still wanna explain yourself?" He asks, and I gulp hard, staring at the phone which is on the table before me.

"I wanted to check the news," I repeat the words that I had summarized in my head earlier.

He scoffs and puffs out smoke, picking up a remote control.

He presses a button on it and a television that I don't know was there flicker on.

The first news that pops in is my chaotic wedding and Mr Benedict's revelation.

I sigh and turn my face away, guilt and anger ripples through me as the words sink into my mind.

"With the way you're reacting, your phone should be damaged by now," he mutters, and my throat knots.

"But…" he flips the phone around the table, peering at it.

"It's still in good shape," he chuckles.

"I…I…" I stammer, unable to find the right words.

I am trying to think my way out of this but the heavy cigarette smoke hanging above my head is making that impossible.

I cough, turning up my lips in disgust and he raises his brows in amusement.

He drops the cigarette in an ashtray and stands up.

My heart skips, and I take a step back.

Who knows what he's making up in his dark mind?

This is just a study room and anything can happen in here, right?

I glance at the door, which seems miles away from me, and then at the window behind him.

None of them is a good option for running away. I will certainly die if I jump off that window and he will catch me before I reach the door.

The shelves?

I turn around and glance at the shelves at the sides of the large room.

A cold touch on my chin causes me to flinch and return to my senses.

My eyes widen in dismay when they lock with his sharp grey eyes, which are staring down at me.

"Hmmm?" He mutters, tilting his head to the side.

Has he been talking to me?

"Huh?" I question, and he smirks, leaning closer in a way that my heartbeat increases.

"Have you been thinking of what our bedroom would look like?" He whispers and I frown in disdain.

Jerk! I've been thinking of how to escape from your snare. I want to yell that response to his face but I can't.

"No," I rasp out and he hums.

"Alright then," he sighs and throws his head back, showing off his tempting Adam's apple.

"Have you read the contract terms?" He asks and my brows shoot up in surprise.

"What contract?" I ask, and he groans loudly.

He pauses and stares thoughtfully at the ashtray before walking towards a drawer at the far end of the study room.

This is a perfect time to run off and lock myself up in my bedroom till today is over but the curiosity of finding out what the contract is about is forcing me to stay back.

He bends over a drawer, and after a while, he straightens up and begins to walk in my direction with a file in his hand.

He extends it towards me, saying nothing to give me a clue of what is inside.

I hastily take the file, fueled by curiosity.

I tear the folder open and flip through the pages, stopping at a page that catches my attention.

"365 days as Don Nikolai Rider's bride?" I mutter and look at him.

"Yes…" he steps closer, his hands in his pockets.

He brings out one of his hands and part my hair slowly, causing shivers to rush down my spine.

"For 365 days, you will be my bride and obey the rules that I set for our marriage in the contract," he smiles, and my heart sinks.

He bends to my height, our noses brushing against each other.

"Do you agree to that, mi amor?" He whispers and the file falls from my trembling hand.