MARCELO

When I regained consciousness and found myself in some basement or shit all alone, my first thought was about Orla.

She better be safe.

I was tied to a chair, quite similar to how Orla was tied earlier, minus the gag.

My face ached from where Julian had punched and kicked and I could taste the dried blood on my lips.

I tried to loosen the ropes around my wrists but it was of no use.

The room wasn't very big and I could see some torture devices hanging from the walls.

I heard some footsteps echoing outside the door and my eyes narrowed at it.

Whoever it is, they won't get to live once I get out of here.

I had already made up my mind of torturing them so imagine my surprise when my future father-in-law walked in through that door.

He looked satisfied on seeing me all tied up but all I could think of was if he captured me, then where the fuck is Orla?

"You see..." He spoke dramatically. "...this was the plan all along. Defeat that common enemy and then defeat you. But you made the first part quite easy by handling it yourself."

This was the plan all along?

All along?

Did she know about it?

Betrayal slammed into me with full force until my vision turned red and I couldn't breathe properly.

But she told me she loved me. Was that a lie?

Jackson walked closer to me, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Now, Marcelo, either you give up your empire willingly or I take it by force. It's your choice."

I didn't give a fuck about what he was saying. It was only Orla's words that were echoing in my mind. 'I love you.'

"What? No reply?"

I didn't even have the energy to glare at him as he grabbed my chin to make me look at him.

I need to see her.

To find out the truth.

As if on cue, the door was slammed open and she walked in herself. Jackson turned around to glare at her. "What are you doing here?"

Her eyes met mine, her gaze softening before she glanced at her father with a determined look on her face. "You can have a talk with him later. First I need to settle something with him."

"What?" Jackson questioned, his eyes narrowing at her.

"Dad, I need to make him pay for what he did to me."

What did I do to her other than worshipping her?

Jackson shot me a glare before focusing on her. "Did he touch you, Orla?"

I scoffed mentally.

"That's between him and me, just give me ten minutes, dad. And oh, Mr Smith is upstairs looking for you."

"It's dangerous to leave you alone with him."

She lifted her hand to show him a remote which had some kind of a red button on it. "I have this. If anything goes wrong, I will alert you."

Jackson looked unsure but nodded anyway and walked out of the room.

Her shoulders relaxed as soon as we were alone and she peeked out of the door before locking it.

"No." She whispered. "Don't look at me like that, please."

She rushed over to me and started to untie me. "No. I didn't betray you. I swear I had no idea about all this."

Is this a lie too?

"Please, Marcelo. You have to believe me." She kept saying as she untied the ropes from around wrists and then around my body and kneeled in front of me.

"Please..." She murmured. "I had no idea."

She continued to explain how she called her dad because she only remembered his phone number.

"I never thought he would do that to you. I am just trying to act along all this but I am going to get you out of here."

When I continued to stare at her with a blank look, she held my face in between her palms and pulled me closer to rest her forehead on mine.

"I love you." She said softly. "You have to believe me. I would never hurt you. I love you, Marcelo."

It was as if those three words cracked through all the hurt and lies that were fogging up my mind and cleared everything.

She loves me.

I exhaled shakily and fisted her hair. I whispered against her lips, "Say that again."

"I love you, Marcelo. I love you so much. You have to believe me."

I crushed my lips to hers, wanting to feel her closer and pulled her into my lap.

"I love you." She kept whispering in between the kiss.

And I kissed her harder, our tongues tangling together making her moan softly.

Before we could lose ourselves further in the kiss, I pulled back. My hands still fisted her hair and she still held my face close to hers.

I pressed a lingering kiss on her mouth. "I love you too."

She leaned back, surprised. "You do?"

"Of course I fucking do." I stroked the corner of her mouth.

A small, sad smile touched her lips. "Does that mean you believe me?"

I trust this woman with my life. I gave her my heart and she showed me love. I would be damn to not believe her.

I nodded. "Yes."

She sighed. "Thank God. Now listen to me."

She got off my lap and helped me stand up and spoke in a low voice, "I have already contacted Cyrus and explained everything. They are waiting for you outside."

"Outside?"

"Yes. There's this back door that will lead out into the woods, it's not very dense, just run straight and you will reach the end of it. I sent Cyrus to that location, he is waiting there for you."

Not once did she mention anything about herself so I pulled her close. "I am not leaving without you."

She pressed her face into my chest. "If I leave then dad will come after us. Let me stay here and manage this situation."

"Capturing me is already an act of war, Orla."

She glanced up at me. "Are you going to...hurt him?"

"I have every intention of doing that."

Her face fell so I added, "But if you say, I won't do anything."

"I...I don't really love him but I don't want him to be hurt either. I don't want this war, Marcelo."

I nodded. "I won't hurt him. But if I run away, he will come after me anyway."

"I won't let him. Just trust me this time, Marcelo. Let me handle this."

"I can't leave you here."

"Believe me, I don't wanna stay here either but..." She hugged me firmly. "...I'll have to. I can manage this. Just let me."

I gripped her chin, lifting her face. "Why the fuck are you so stubborn?"

She smiled softly. "Trust me, please. Just go home and take care of yourself. I might not be able to contact you for some time so please don't freak out." She cut a glance towards the door. "We don't have much time, dad might return at any moment."

"Aren't there cameras here?"

"They are hacked for some time."

"You did that?"

"No. I bribed the person responsible for all the cameras for it."

"How the fuck did you bribe them?"

She smiled sheepishly. "With the promise of some good time."

I glowered at her and she added quickly, "I am not going to do that obviously. Just go now."

"How are you going to make your dad believe that I ran away?"

"I have planned everything already." She chewed on her lips. "It starts with me alerting him with this button. So, you only have a minute of head start."

"When you step out this door, you will find a staircase leading upstairs on your right. Take it and you will reach a door. The passcode is 2893. It will lead you out, just go straight."

"Any guards outside?"

"None. But just in case you need it..." She reached into her bra and pulled out a pistol and handed it to me.

I gave her a pointed look and she said, "What? It was the only place to hide it."

Fuck. I can't leave her behind. But I'll have to.

Damn it.

I kissed quickly and kept it short, needing one last taste before I leave.

Then I kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I love you too. Now, go." She pushed me in the direction of the door.

"You better be safe, Orla and come back to me soon or I will raise hell to get you back, your father be damned," I warned her.

"Give me a week's time at least." She requested.

A week without any contact? I might just go insane but if that week will ensure our future then so it will be.

"Fine." I gritted out. "And don't you dare bribe another man like that."

"I wouldn't dare. You are the only man I want."

Giving her one last long look, I finally stepped out of the door.

Chapter written and published on: 18/3/23