When he saw me sitting on the couch beside my mum, he almost froze for a second but then his expression changed. I could see anger, disgust, betrayal, and hatred in his eyes. His jaw clenched and fists balled to his side. Soon he draped his arm around my sister's waist and looked me in the eye.

All I wanted to do was cry my eyes out and curl up on my bed. Hurt, I was deeply hurt, but I deserved every single bit of it. He looked gorgeous with his midnight black hair gelled away from his face, tanned skin, and magnificent grey eyes staring back at me. He was wearing an all-black Armani suit, standing tall at 6ft 3 with a sharp jawline, broad shoulders, and defined muscles. He had changed so much in these past 6 years. He came from being a sweet boy to being a strong, dangerous man who radiated power and authority. I could see a hint of tattoos on his little exposed tanned neck and his right hand. I wonder if he had inked all his upper torso. He walked in with his hands still on her waist but his eyes never left mine. Then I saw him smirk.

Both of them walked toward us. When they reached they took a seat on the couple's couch. Adriano draped his arm across her shoulder and stared at me with a smirk.

I sigh inwardly. This is just the beginning Alice. I told myself.

"Hey Alice, It's been a while. How have you been?" Jane questioned me.

"Me? Oh well, I am okay but you here my dear sister have changed so much. You look... rich" I said with a smirk.

"Well, that's because she is. She is going to be my wife and a part of my family. Of course, she is rich and beautiful. Unlike you, she has a beautiful heart too" Adriano spit his words in his deep, raspy voice with so much venom in them, that it took everything in me to hold onto my smirk.

"Wow!" I mumbled and was about to give him a sarcastic comment when my father said, "Alice if you want to be here to attend the wedding then you will have to behave and watch your tongue. I won't tolerate if you try to disrespect my family."

'My family'. He made it so clear that I was not included in 'his family' anymore.

"Aww! You look so adorable when you are all protective, dad" I clapped my hands and said with a smirk but he didn't stop glaring at me. I didn't want to have a fight within a few hours of meeting my family, so I sighed and said "okay I'll try my best not to disrespect you and 'your family'." I used two fingers of both my hands to make a double quotation mark.
"Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to go to sleep, the journey made me exhausted. Good night, don't let the bedbugs bite." I winked, waved, and then headed toward my room. I didn't know if I could've stayed there and heard them talk about me without breaking down. So I went to my room and curled up on my bed with silent tears falling from my eyes. I didn't know how long I cried as soon my eyes closed and I went to sleep.

*********

I woke up and adjusted my eyes to see around. It was a room dimly lit, with red lights and dirty, old walls, surrounded by a few unwashed, old black curtains which were torn in many places. I tried to get up but I couldn't, I looked up to see my hands were tied to the bed's headboard. I panicked and screamed but it was muffled by the cloth. I was so scared, I didn't know where I was and all I remembered was running from my house and going to meet him and then nothing as if my memory was erased.

I heard the door creak open. There stood a man in the shadows. All I could see was his dirty blond hair. I started hyperventilating due to fear. I didn't know who this man was and what he wanted from me.

"Well hello, gorgeous. How have you been?" He smirked and cooed in his deep voice. He had a thick Spanish accent. I could now clearly see him as he came out of the shadows. He was almost 6ft tall, with long blond hair and blue eyes. He looked like he was in his late 20s. Even though he was good-looking, all I could feel was fear while looking at him. It is indeed true that 'Appearances can be deceiving'

He came near me with a smirk on his face and sat beside me on the bed. I tried to shift away from him but wasn't able to do that due to my tied hands. He touched my face and I flinched from his touch. His smile widened at my actions. He wiped away my tears and then harshly grabbed my face to remove the cloth from my mouth. I gasped and he gave an evil chuckle.

"W-who a-are you? What d-do you w-w-want from me?" I stuttered pathetically while shivering due to fear.

"Oh sweetheart you'll soon know what I want from you and to answer your other question, my name is Rafael Rodriguez and I am the only one who will ask or say something here. You'll just have to obey me like a good girl and if you want to act stubborn", he paused and leaned near my ear and whispered, "then I'd love to play with you baby."

My eyes started watering again but I won't cry, I won't submit to him. "Let me go" I demanded.

He chuckled darkly and all of a sudden he held my jaw in a very tight grip, I was sure it was going to bruise, "You are in no position to demand so shut the fuck up" he growled. I wanted to flinch at his sudden increase in voice but I held myself back.

He started removing his shirt and my eyes widened in fear. "W-wh-what are you doing?"

"Oh! I am going to show you what I want from you" He said with a smirk and in a blink of an eye he was above me, putting all his weight on me, "Let's begin, shall we?" he said with his smirk still on his face. I screamed and started wriggling but it was of no use as my hands, and legs were tied and he had put all his weight on me.

"N-no, n-n-no! NO! GET OF ME! NOOO!" I screamed and cried but all he did was laugh.

"You can't do anything baby, I am the controller and the king here." And then he dipped his head down towards my neck and all I could do was scream. I continued screaming until my throat gave up. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door and the faint voice of someone calling me.

"Alice! Alice! Open the door! ALICE!"

I woke up from my ugly nightmare and gasped for air. My throat was dry due to screaming and I was sweating.

"ALICE!" Someone was banging on my door. I sighed and got up thinking about what to tell the person or people behind the door, who might have heard my screams.

I opened the door and saw the one person I least expected. "Adriano?"