Tatiana's POV

“Mmm! Mmm!” My screams were muffled by a warm cloth, and panic washed over me. What was going on?

Had I been kidnapped?!

Who were these people?

I struggled to break free from their hold, but it was futile. They gripped me like wounded prey and dragged me along with them.

I couldn't see where I was or who they were. All I could do was pray that nothing worse would happen.

Could it be they have mistaken me for Lena and kidnapped me?

"That's not good. If they request a favor from Eleanor, they will get nothing from her.”

“We are here. Inform the boss about it,” a female announced.

“Understood,” a calm voice replied, as footsteps surrounded me, retreating away.

“Mmmph!”

Let me go!

I screamed frantically, slamming my feet against the floor. My heart shook heavily as dreadful thoughts clouded my mind.

What has Lena done to deserve this kind of treatment? What if they kill me?

No, no, it's not that serious, Tatiana. They wouldn't kill you just like that. I'll tell them the truth, and I'm sure they will let me go away.

‘What if it doesn't work?’ A tiny voice chipped in my head, causing the hair at the back of my head to stand up.

“Mmmm!” I screamed, frantically.

“Ugh!” A voice groaned in annoyance. “The gag is no use… remove the mask and the cloth, Joyce.”

“Okay,” a female answered. I felt the space beside me shift, and soon after, the tightness around my face was released.

As my eyes squinted open, the first thing I saw was a pair of extremely polished shoes, as if the owner had spent a long time shining them.

“Lena,” Mr. Andrew's calm voice entered my ears. “Why did you run away?”

My eyes widened in shock, my teeth chattering as I slowly looked up to the speaker. And lo, and behold, it was Andrew Steele, my fake husband.

What was he doing here?

Did he stage a kidnapping?

“Did you kidnap me?” I asked, fear crawling through my skin. I would be damned if he turned out to be a psychopath!

The cruelty in his eyes softened, and he stepped forward, closing the distance between us.

“This isn't kidnapping, Lena,” he breathed out, the corner of his lips raised. “It's a surprise for your new home. Since you chose the hard way… I decided to give you the hard way.”

At that moment, the fear in my heart vanquished as anger took charge. “ Wait… you staged a kidnapping because I tried to escape?”

“Yeah?” he answered nonchalantly.

My stomach twisted as a sickly laughter escaped my lips, “Doesn't that make you mentally ill?”

My eyes locked on his face, searching for a crack in that infuriating smile. How I yearned to stand up and slap it off his face.

“Interesting.” He finally speaks. “You're an interesting one, Lena.”

I huffed in annoyance.

“I didn't expect your calm and docile character to change overnight,” he added, and the frown on my face wiped off.

Tatiana! How could you have forgotten yourself?

I bit my lips tightly until I tasted blood. What if he suspected a thing?

I almost bit my tongue as the thought crossed my mind. He has already noticed the change of character, there's no telling if he already suspects I am not Lena.

He would be very foolish if he still thinks I am her.

“But…” he said, turning towards me.

"When he asks, I'll answer truthfully,” I told myself.

“...I'm liking it. It will make our time together fun,” He finished, smiling at me.

What?

A huge question mark filled my mind, as all the answers I had formed to his questions vanished.

He chuckled, then turned to the man beside him. He whispered some things to him and the man left afterward.

Andrew walked towards me and then squatted in front of me. His face was only a few inches away from mine.

What was he trying to do?

“Mr. Andrew!” I tried speaking, but he cut me off rudely.

“Mrs. Steele.”

“Huh?” I asked, confused.

“You are married, Lena. Henceforth, your title is Steele and not Hartwell. You are my wife and not my worker, okay?”

“I—I know that I'm married to you, but—” I said, and again, he interrupted me.

“Save the buts for later, Lena. You can address me with anything you want, except Mr. Andrew or Mr. Steele. And the same goes for you, I won't address you as Mrs. Steele or Mrs. Lena…” He paused, a smile tugged on his lips.

“What's funny?” I asked. I noticed I've asked a lot of questions today.

He waved his hand, saying: “Nothing.”

“Nothing? You mean ‘nothing’ made you laugh?” I was confused.

He sighed softly, biting his lips. He glanced down at his watch, then said: “It looks like playtime is over. We have somewhere to be before deciding on our honeymoon, Lena.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, still tied to the chair.

He turned around: “We are paying my parents a visit. I'll fill you in on the details of our day there. You should be able to catch up.”

What?

“Hey, are you going to leave me here? What should I wear?!” I screamed, but he had already left the room.

Rich people and arrogance!

I stomped my feet against the floor.

“How can I untie these ropes? They are so tight. Oh? They got loose.” I gasped.

I quickly removed the rope and threw it away. At that moment, a knock sounded from the door and two ladies walked inside the room.

One of them had a clipboard in her hand, and the other was busy with her phone.

Who are these people?

“Mmm… Hello?”

They stopped and raised their heads up in my direction.

Just as they were about to speak, Andrew walked inside the room. He nodded at them as he brushed past them.

It didn't take long before he closed the gaps between us. I watched as he held my arm and pulled me toward me.

“Lena…” He whispered coldly. My palms broke in sweat as he spoke. “Today’s very important for the two of us. Do not mess it up like last time. Every member of the family will be present, and they might request ‘it’ again.”