Chapter 8 Sold to the Don #2
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes at him and cross my arms as I look out of the window.
After a second, he pulls back onto the road and continues driving.
My car is fully engulfed in flames. That should piss me off, but I think I’ll trust his reasoning.
People in this world don’t do random shit like that for no reason.
We are no more than a few hundred feet when an explosion rocks the vehicle. I gasp and turn around to see that it was my car that exploded. “What the fuck was that?!” I ask, nearly screaming at him.
“You’re welcome,” he smirks.
“Did my dad do that?” I ask after a long silence.
“Yes,” he says. “My intention was to get you away from him, knowing he was going to use you as a pawn somehow, but the only way to actually protect you would be to marry you. Making that deal just gave him a reason to be stupid and try to get me out of his way. I believe he knew you’d run so he rigged your car to explode.
Once you put it into drive again, it would have gone off.
I think his hope was that I would end up in the car or one of my men would be so that when it exploded, it got rid of you and whoever else was nearby. ”
“Why me?” I ask. “What the fuck did I do?”
“It’s not about what you did, Stella, it’s about what you didn’t do.
You didn’t want to be a part of his lifestyle.
You didn’t include yourself in the things that he did.
You didn’t put up with his bullshit. You’ve never blindly followed his lead, and you question everything.
You are a threat to him, so he wanted to get rid of you.
Your mom ran because, she too, was a threat but taking you would mean she’d get both of you killed. ”
“How do you know this?” I ask.
“Because I am the one who gave your mother a new identity,” he says. “Once I know that I have taken care of your father and any associates of his that might harm you, I will happily divorce you. Until then, you belong to me.”
“I don’t belong to anyone,” I grumble.
“Right now, you belong to me. Unless of course, you would rather belong to your father or one of his associates. Don’t think for a second that he won’t rape you like he’s done all the other girls,” he says seriously.
“What does that mean?” I ask. “To belong to you?”
“It means you sleep in my bed. You eat meals with me. You go where I go. In return for your cooperation, I will provide you with whatever you want or need.”
“Whatever I want?” I ask.
“As long as it does not endanger you, yes,” he says, but then pauses. “Or me... since there is a real possibility that you may try to kill me in my sleep.”
“I have nothing,” I say.
“I know. I have someone getting you some clothes and other basic stuff that you’ll need. Beyond that, just make me a list or I can just give you my card and you can have it delivered to the house.”
“Fine,” I sigh and lay my head back.
When we pull up to a gate, I open my eyes and sit up. “Is this your house?” I ask.
“Our house, and yes,” he says as he types in a code, letting the gate open. We drive through and park in front of a massive, gorgeous house.
“Is this the part where I get shackled in the basement?” I ask sarcastically when he opens my door.
“Is that your way of asking me to tie you up?” Marco asks as he unhooks my seat belt and pulls me out.
“I’m being serious,” I say, pulling away from him.
“No, Stella. I don’t want you to feel like a captive here,” he says. He is rigid in the way he talks. He wants me to trust him, but he is as comforting as a stone slab on a summer day in Georgia.
“I am a captive here, Marco,” I say, raising my voice. “Am I allowed to leave?”
“No,” he says. “Not without me.”
“Then I am a fucking captive. Call it whatever you want, but this is kidnapping. Good intentions mean shit if you have me isolated.”
“Let’s go inside,” he says dismissively.
“No,” I scoff. “You go do whatever you want, I’m not going in your home.”
“Stella, it’s late. Will you please come inside?” he asks, still with the same harsh tone.
“No,” I repeat. I walk up on the porch and sit on one of the oversized wicker patio chairs. “Go on inside, Marco. It’s getting late, remember?”
“Fine, you want to be a brat about it? Enjoy your evening. The door will be unlocked when you change your mind,” he says as he turns and walks into the house.
I don’t think he understands just how stubborn I am.
Most kids go through a phase where they say they are going to run away, and the parents sometimes will pretend to help them pack.
Well, my parents did that and I actually ran away.
It took them nearly four hours to find me asleep on a slide at a playground a mile away.
I will die on this porch before I go into that house.
He will either act like a normal human with emotions or I won’t go inside.
He acts like he has a stick up his ass. He is too high and mighty to stoop to acting like he gives a shit that he just kidnapped me.
Although, as a kidnapper, he is only going to see his reasoning.
I think what I am caught up on is he acts like he wants me to trust him but is offering zero compassion.
I pull my feet under me and lay my head on my arms as they rest on the arm of the chair.
He left the light on, probably to bother me, but it’s nice to have some light as the sun goes down.
As the temperature drops, I get cold. Instead of folding, I just pull my arms into my shirt and cross them over my chest before repositioning so I can rest my head. I fall asleep like this.
I feel weightless as I slowly wake up. It takes me a few seconds to realize I’m being carried. “I won,” I mumble.
“You’re a stubborn woman, Stella,” Marco says as he lays me down and pulls a blanket over my body. I am still shivering but the warmth surrounding me helps. Marco lays on the bed behind me and wraps his arms around me before pulling me closer.
“You’re warm,” I say.
“You’re not,” he says, kissing my shoulder.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” he asks. “Not letting you freeze to death?”
“Partly, but for showing emotion. All I wanted was for you to show that you care about my well-being, at least a little.”
“I don’t think the cops would like it if there was a dead body on my porch,” he says. I laugh and roll to face him.
“I thought you said it was our home?” I ask.
“It is our home,” he says as he brushes my hair from my face. “I know this is scary and I know I’m asking a lot of you, but please understand that I’m doing this to help you.”
“Why would he want to kill his own child?” I ask quietly.
“I don’t know,” he says. “I know you don’t want to be in this world that he has dragged you into, but we need to be able to coexist.”
“Does that include angrily fucking me in the woods or was that just a bonus?” I ask and he smirks.
“I didn’t intend for that to happen, but you seem to push all the right buttons,” he says.
“So, what now?” I ask.
“Now, you go to sleep,” he says. “Tomorrow, we can get you settled.” I nod and close my eyes. I’m too exhausted to fight with him. This isn’t how I imagined getting married, but I can at least make the most out of the time we will have together. That can start with being less of a bitch to him.
All day today I have been sorting through a hoard of clothes that Marco had some woman bring over.
They’re nice but more modest than I’m used to.
There are no dresses above the knee. Nothing shows anything below the collar bone.
I don’t know if that was Marco’s doing or hers.
She can dress in a short strapless dress and five-inch heels.
No doubt she’s trying to get his attention.
I am putting away these clothes, but I will definitely be ordering something that’s a bit more like me.
When I get done, I take the bags downstairs to throw them away before searching for Marco. He and that woman had disappeared about twenty minutes ago. I don’t know why I don’t like her but something about the way she looks at Marco pisses me off.
I go to open his office door and freeze when I hear moaning.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. When he said married, he apparently didn’t mean faithful.
Never mind that I have to sleep in the same bed with him and that I have to go wherever he goes.
I bet I won’t get the same privilege of fucking who I want.
I slowly open the door and find that Marco has the woman bent over his desk. They both have their back to me as he fucks her from behind. She is moaning and whimpering, just like I did in the woods. I suppose I should get checked for anything he may have given me.
I stand behind them as he pounds into her.
They don’t realize that I am watching. I am trying to decide if I am angry or not.
I didn’t want to be married to him, but I did promise to give it a real shot.
For all I know, this could be his girlfriend and I’m just some helpless woman he felt obligated to help.
Although, I still don't know why he decided to help me.
When Marco groans and pushes into her to come, I know what I’m going to do. I grab the handle and slam the door shut right as he is finishing. I want him to know that I saw it.