After removing all my make-up and throwing on loose clothes, I comb my hair and hurriedly tie it into a bun before leaving the bedroom.

I immediately spot Leroy and Kelly in the garden, sitting on deckchairs by the pool while they smoke and drink champagne. I roll my eyes as Kelly starts laughing loudly. It almost seems like they got married today. I shake my head inwardly.

Why am I getting so upset?

It's not that I wish I was in her shoes, but rather a scratching of my pride and a nasty twinge that reminds me that I didn't marry the love of my life, but rather an enemy who doesn't even try to impress me in any way, even though he is now my husband.

Instead, he wants quid pro quos for what he called my demands. I guess it doesn't get more unromantic than that!

Cursing, I rub my forehead to calm my nerves. I can't believe I just thought of him becoming more romantic.

A sweet voice in my head reminds me that I am his wife now and should win his favor if I want to somehow have a nice life, but the other demonic voice berates me for being an idiot. I should try to run away as soon as possible, after all, marriage does not prevent me from escaping.

And I nod at the distorted voice, which perhaps belongs to the demon in me, but he is right.

Marriage does not prevent me from escaping.

Kelly's shrill laughter snaps me out of my thoughts and I wince slightly. It's hard to believe that Leroy can talk normally to others after all. I sigh and walk further into the conservatory when Kelly's gaze shoots to me.

She immediately leans back, lifting her leg in an obscene pose so that her angelic dress exposes her beautiful thighs, before letting an eyebrow shoot up. I avert my eyes as her smile loses its friendliness and appears more malicious.

Maybe I'm just imagining it...

Yang and the others are totally against me helping them at first, but I hardly let them talk to me and am already reaching for all the paper cups that were brought in afterward when the glasses were all dirty before I put them in the bin. In the end, I'm glad that so many people drank from the paper cups, otherwise we would have had to spend a long time washing up.

After about thirty minutes we are almost done and I have to admit that I have reached the end of my tether. The day has been far too long and my body is longing for a shower and bed. Soon, I mentally cheer myself up and look around again.

Estelle and Eva are just taking down the decorations and then it's just a matter of sweeping. It's just sad that all the flowers are being thrown away.

"You did a really good job," I hear Kelly's voice out of nowhere. We turn to her at the same time, the only difference being that the others have a friendly smile on their lips, while I merely avert my eyes, precisely because she is immediately eyeing me.

"Will you leave me alone with the bride for a moment, please?" she asks suddenly, which makes me sit up and take notice. She wants to talk to me?

The women hastily disappear while I pull myself together inside, put on a slight smile, and turn back to her. She almost scans me with her dark eyes, which appear to be onyx and slowly travel up from my feet until they return my gaze. I don't want to let the uncertainty show, but I can't help it and take a few steps back as she grins and moves closer to me until I feel the table against my backside and am forced to stop.

She stops in front of me, gently grabs my hand, and eyes my wedding ring. I swallow as she strokes the ring without lifting her eyes. There's a spark in her eyes that I can't interpret, but it makes me quite upset.

"How can anyone be so lucky in life?" she hisses softly but is probably speaking more to herself than to me. "I dreamed of marrying this man," she whispers suddenly, at which point my jaw literally drops open.

"And he marries a simple girl just to protect her from that bastard," she mutters grimly, tightening her grip on my hand. I stifle a hiss and instead merely grimace, trying to pull my hand from her grasp, but she doesn't let go.

"I'm going to make your life hell, bitch!" she hisses softly, her tear-filled eyes widening as I try to push her away, but she just knocks my other hand away, which slams hard against the table.

I bite my lower lip as pain shoots through my entire body, even though it was only my hand that slammed into the tabletop. I feel the tears tickling my eyes, but I'm just far too startled to react, not having expected her to throw something like that at me and even hurt me!

"Katrina?", Leroy's dark voice suddenly rings out, coming into the conservatory immediately afterward, but before that Kelly hastily removes herself, while I can't help a whimper as I stroke my hand, which has been hurt far too often by now.

"A word and I'll kill you in your sleep," she hisses, at which my heart stops for a few seconds before it starts beating again with increased speed.

"You've helped enough." Leroy stops beside me but looks at Kelly as he does so.

"I thought you went to bed?" he asks, confused, to which she begins to smile angelically and shrugs her shoulders sheepishly.

"I wanted to wish your charming wife a good night and then somehow we got into a brief conversation," she replies, throwing me an incredibly friendly smile. Stunned, I turn my head away.

What kind of person is this? How can someone be so wrong? So I was right. Kelly can't be trusted.

I wonder if I should tell Leroy what just happened.

He would never believe me, the way she acts around him. And even if he did, he probably wouldn't care. I swallow the lump and blink away the tears before jutting my chin.

No, I'm certainly not going to let Kelly treat me like shit too.

Maybe I can't do anything about Leroy, but I can definitely do something about Kelly and if she ever gets that nasty with me again, I'll react accordingly.

This time, though, you'll let her get away with it because the day has been long and you're too tired to argue now.

"Sleep well," Leroy's voice snaps me out of my thoughts before he nods at me. I look to Kelly again and meet her hateful gaze before hurriedly following him. Just away from that crazy woman...

"Sure, good night to you both," she grumbles darkly after us, which Leroy doesn't seem to hear anymore.

Once in the bedroom, Leroy immediately disappears up the stairs into the dressing room to change. I look around cautiously, ponder and sit down on the bed. I wonder if it would be right to talk to him again.

At least he was a bit more open to a conversation today, but again, it's quite late now and he's probably quite tired...

And when he's tired, he's sort of unpredictable.

"What are you thinking about?"

I wince as his voice unexpectedly shoots through my train of thought. Taken aback, I lift my head and look up at him. Dressed only in sleep pants, he leans against the banister, grips it tightly with his hands, and looks down at me questioningly.

"What's the point of me telling you? You wouldn't make sure the questions in my head were answered anyway. First, you'd probably want something in return," I reply, averting my gaze with a sigh. Where on earth have I put my pajamas?

"For some questions? Yeah, you'd have to do something for that as well. A little more honesty from you, for example, would be very beneficial to you."

"Honesty from me?" My voice drips with sarcasm. Irritated, I squint my eyes as he actually nods. I will never be able to understand this man!

"You lied to my family and made them think you were saving me from something that apparently only you know about. That was a lie, Leroy, because you like the idea of keeping me here and torturing me! But don't think I'll be a woman to you, you'll never be allowed to touch me, I swear...", I add angrily, but before I can finish my sentence he interrupts me.

"Does the name César say something to you? Don César?" With his arms folded and a sneer on his lips, he leans against the wall.

"No," I answer honestly, looking him firmly in the eye. He nods.

"I thought so. Don César is an old man, about in his late sixties. You were promised to this man. Of course, you're scared now, because you didn't know anything about it. He has something that belongs to me, so I took something that should belong to him. You. When I found out that I had kidnapped his intended, I decided not to kill you. Do you honestly think I would have left anyone else alive who caught me in the act like that? I would have killed you straight away," he explains, shrugging his shoulders as if to demonstrate that he really wouldn't care.

I am frozen, don't know what to think, and can't even take my eyes off him. I have been promised to an old man? How? And why? My parents had never had anything to do with the Mafia! Does the man even belong to the Mafia? How did Leroy find out, anyway?

"Do you regret that I married you now?"

"You're up to something. You did it for your own benefit, not to save me. Besides, I'm sure marriage wasn't necessary for that reason, that man couldn't have found me, after all, I'm locked up here," I mutter once I get my composure. Leroy nods. I am surprised, but cannot explain it to myself. I knew it, so why am I shocked by his agreement?

"I'm only doing everything because it's very convenient for me." He shrugs. "And yet, he could have found you. He could have found out where his little birdie suddenly is and then made me an offer I couldn't refuse to release you. That's how it works in the Mafia. I would have then passed you on to him. Your fate would have been harder if Don César had found you. Just imagine it; being raped by an old, shriveled, and violent man day in and day out until you tire of him and then he lets other men take you because César is known to find orgies very lustful."

Gasping, I hold my breath and lower my gaze, staring down at my feet in search of help, as if they could save me from all this. He's lying after all. It must just be a lie because my parents would never do such a thing to me!

"Hey, calm down," his voice snaps me out of my thoughts and stops me from hyperventilating. Out of glazed eyes, I return his gaze as he suddenly crouches down in front of me. I didn't even notice him coming down the stairs.

"I've prevented all that now." Pure malice surges in his eyes as he tilts his head.

"Why?", I whisper.

"Because I truly believe you were sent here by your father and you're going to tell me the truth now. Did your father send you?" His eyes darken, his gaze darkens. He comes so close to me until his breath brushes my cheek. Confused, I shake my head.

"No, my father would never do something like that. Even if he did have problems with the mafia because I've come to assume that since you keep saying he had something to do with my existence, he would never make me pay for it."

Leroy returns my gaze hard and unyielding. I don't force myself to blink or avert my gaze until he nods. He stands up and turns his back on me before shoving the shiny silver thing in his pocket, but I can already see it.

"Was that a pocket knife?", I gasp suppressed, and involuntarily scramble back into bed to get some distance. Leroy throws me a glance over his shoulder and stops.

"Would you have killed me now if I had lied?", I whisper filled with fear and swallow dryly.

"Yes, I would have."

His words make my blood run cold.

"And how are you sure I didn't lie?" What the hell, Rina? Do you want to die?!

"Eyes just can't lie," Leroy sighs and slowly walks back up the stairs.

"And did you lie?" I call after him before he can disappear into the dressing room again. My heart is beating up to my throat as I wait anxiously for an answer, which follows immediately.

"I have no reason to lie."

Sighing, I turn my head away and let him go this time. Deep down I knew he wasn't lying because it was also clear to me that he simply had no reason to. I think he would rather prefer me to know that he is doing me evil instead of good. I rub my forehead and lean back until I fall into bed, but jump up immediately as tiredness overcomes me.

No, I'm certainly not going to sleep in the same bed with him!

Since it would take too long to get a mattress, of which there must be plenty upstairs, I hastily throw the blanket and pillow on the floor and go to sleep before Leroy comes and chains me to the bed as he did once before.

The only stupid thing is that I couldn't find my sleeping clothes right away and now have to lie down in my jogging suit, but since I only put it on earlier, it's not dirty, so I can fall asleep relaxed.

Minutes later, his heavy footsteps sound again, getting closer and closer before they abruptly fall silent. Leroy must have spotted me on the floor, but makes no sound.

Hah!, I think to myself as he leaves the bedroom. Smiling, I snuggle into the blanket and close my eyes again.

Take that, asshole!

☼ ❅