“It’s time, Isla. Your special day’s arrived,” Jules says reverently when she attaches my veil. I can feel the glitter-illusion soft tulle flow over my shoulders and down my lower back. My insides are calm and collected. No doubts enter my mind about today or my future.
The ornate room, with a large chandelier in the center, distributes its sparkle across the room upon all of us. The extensive room is furnished, with antiques I would normally drool over or. take hours upon hours to touch and memorize each piece of the carved walnut wood. But I don’t have time today. The antique dresser has my makeup and curlers spaced over it. My empty wedding dress bag is draped over the French Victorian, plush velvet wine-colored love settee. The pewter full-length mirror shimmers with the reflection of my maid of honor in her cerulean blue dress.
“Jules, you look absolutely stunning,” my voice soft and in awe of her beauty. “Every man out there will be begging Alex and me to introduce you to them, so be ready to be swamped.” A tear escapes the corner of my eye, thinking about the support Jules and Kameron have given me over the years.
Looking as striking as Jules, Kameron’s definitive red-streaked hair complements her indigo bridesmaid dress. She turns me around so she can put my most treasured possession on my neck, my Tiffany key necklace. Standing at the full-length mirror, I look at the Vera Wang gown. It’s an off-the-shoulder white with silver beads and lace design, offering a full skirt. I’m transformed. Free to live and be loved like a fairy princess. Next to Alex, that is what I am.
Jules and Kam are at either side of me. In a hushed tone, Jules says, “It’s time to go, Isla.” Jules leans in with a small kiss on my cheek. We walk out the expansive room, leaving the old Isla Winters behind.
Placing my arm into my brother’s waiting arm, I can’t hide the smile. I am about to be floating toward the person who makes me whole. Ed Sheerin’s “Thinking Out Aloud” gently filters through the air. I am lead by Benjamin around the corner, ready to walk the aisle into my new life.
People are watching Jules and Kameron saunter down the aisle carpeted in a rich wine-colored plush. When the attendees’ heads turn back to face me, I see many smiles.
I don’t recognize any of them…
My eyebrows knit together for a sheer moment. Confusion presenting itself. Why don’t I know any of these attendees?
Jules and Kameron make it to the end of the aisle. Watching Alex give a slight nod to each of them, it’s my turn to make the journey. Benjamin and I exchange glances. His relaxed smile explains everything, he is happy for me. Ready for me to take this step in my life.
I’m walking and walking. I’m being escorted to my future.
The aisle feels so long. I can see the shape of Alex’s blond hair and the perfect fitting black suit stretched over his muscular body. But the path is so extensive.
“Benjamin, faster, I need to be by his side, now,” I whisper to my brother.
No matter how fast I walk, the aisle seems to stretch further away.
With desperation, I pull on Benjamin’s arm. It’s like a metal rod with no give in it. His arm is solid and unmoving, linked through mine. His relaxed smile is gone, and a stoic robotic stiff face greets mine. It’s expressionless, staring straight down the endless path. My wild eyes dart back and forth to Ben and Alex. The guests are a hazy blur. I can’t see anyone’s face clearly.
My peony roses bouquet is getting heavy in my hand, so I drop them. Subtle pink petals disperse all over the carpet. My ears feel muffled as I try to reach Alex any way I can. My steps become frantic in the white six-inch heeled shoes I am wearing. I try taking long strides, as my infuriation grows, to provoke Benjamin to go faster. I’m kept in check though by the solid arm locking me to his limb. Ed Sheerin stops playing.
I stop.
Lifting my elbow, I try to heave my arm out of Benjamin’s, but his hold is too tight. Turning my face sideways to see what his problem is, it’s like I am stabbed with a hot poker into my heart.
Black, menacing, soulless eyes penetrate me. My arm is secured by Dimitri Sokolov…
He smiles with his perfectly white teeth as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. Screaming at the top of my lungs only seems to make him happier and he starts laughing when I yank on his arm.
“You are mine, Isla, only mine,” he states with confidence and dominance.
I won’t give up the struggle and battle. I kick his shins and my hands tear at his clothes to try to break away from him. Raging from inside, my veil and lacy dress swish from side to side when I beat his chest with my fists in a frenzy. The veil gets in the way of my sight. I grab the tulle, reefing it from my hair and, with it, the pins holding my cascading curls put in place by Kameron. I look and feel certifiably crazy.
My heart beats erratic. My throat tightens, and I struggle to breathe.
Strangled gasps leave me. My eyes bulge open from lack of air and I find myself tangled in my bed sheet. Sweat covers my skin. Moving my head from side to side, looking at my bedroom wardrobe and bed side table confirms that I am having that nightmare. The exact same one I have had each night since boarding the plane from Las Vegas back to Sydney. That was three days ago. Gone is the consuming dream about the many men using my body for their pleasures, replaced with Sokolov taunting me by owning me.
My thoughts were clear when I was put on the jet.
Alex is safe.
His loved ones are no longer exposed.
He won’t be disgraced or hurt by my family’s mistakes. Killing my father and protecting my family from knowing I was the driving force is my hell to live and no one else’s. I need to find inner strength to eradicate my life of its dirtiness so I can move on to a life I want to live. I need to accept the harsh reality that Alex will never want anything more to do with me but being brave enough to put a plan into action is failing me. My heart is splintered and lost without Alex’s power by my side.
I’ve written multiple messages to Alex, asking for forgiveness because I brought him into my world of pain and suffering. Including a Russian crime lord who would never let me go. Omitting truths, deceiving Alex because of my selfish needs, I want him to know I kept quiet because I wanted his strength and love so badly. Then there were the notes, professing how I need him, how we fit together, how he is my Heaven, but I haven’t sent one of them. He doesn’t deserve to be brought again into this existence and risk everything he has ever worked for. I can’t ask him to do that for me.
Jules, my best friend and colleague, the one who has kept me sane through my ordeals, checks up on me every few hours. She talks to me, putting my mental state back together again. I explained the full story to her about Las Vegas and Alex. Hearing the words out loud reminded me of what a disaster I created. It’s lucky J & I Events, our events management business, is quiet for the next few weeks with only preparation for small events to be completed. My mind isn’t up for work or talking to the public. I’m letting her down. But with the nightly visions and my body not caring and afraid to venture out, I am content to lay around the house. Shutting myself out from any evil plotting against me in the vast outside world.
Dimitri will be waiting for me to go back to him and make things right, if that is possible after my betrayal. It has to be…
I can’t imagine what he is waiting for.
I told Isla to trust me. To believe in me. Demanding that she could tell me anything. Because everything would be fine. That I would never leave her side.
And that’s precisely what I have done.
My first priority must be her safety.
Fuck… Ripping me apart is the knowledge that I told her to leave. The desperation and sadness in her eyes undid me, not her revelation about how Dimitri abused her. Christ… How has she survived through these ordeals? Keeping her family together and shielding herself at the same time?
Determination and strength…
I pray she stays strong enough to endure this hell. Until I rid this world of this evil and we can be one again. Where we belong.
My blood boiled through my veins listening to Isla divulge her darkest secrets. How she believes she drugged her father, causing him to crash his car that fateful night, killing himself. How she was left to pay off this bastard’s debts by becoming Sokolov’s property to use as he sees fit. For over six years this evil has been taking hold of my Sweetness’s body and soul. Isla dealing with it each and every day of her young twenty-four-year-old life. Alone. Without any where to turn. An inferno built inside me with each word spoken. I was on the verge of erupting. Understanding how men like Sokolov work, I knew I had to cease all communication and ties with Isla until I can work out how best to protect her.
Except holding her–comforting her—is all I want to do…
Telling her to leave was all I could manage before I crumpled in front of her, making her life even harder. My Sweetness must think that we are truly over so I can destroy the man behind her nightmares.
Seth reports back to me every few hours about Isla’s whereabouts and who is following her. She hasn’t left the apartment since she returned back to Australia and she hasn’t had any visitors either. He has made some of Dimitri’s men though, who have taken up residence in a van a few houses down from my Sweetness’s, changing occupants every morning and night.
Suspecting that her house and phone are wired with listening or video devices, I can’t chance contacting her until we have a solid plan.
Forty minutes after my soul left me in Caesars Palace, I stepped foot into my uncle’s Las Vegas office. From the outside it appeared I was entering a rundown office apartment. But inside the heavily secured main door, the offices were contemporary, with furniture that is all black. Security cameras everywhere blinking bright red lights capture every movement.
Striding into the office I see a light shining from above. I am reminded about how loyal this family is. I come face to face with my uncle sitting in a black leather chair. His eyes are like slits, concentrating on what one of the soldier’s is saying to him. Jared, Seth, and Liam are next to him, seated around the black marble table. One phone call is all it took to get this mighty force here. For Isla. I am proud to be a part of this family.
I sit in one of the spare chairs. The soldier talks and talks. I peer over the photos scattered over the table top. Zoning in on the figures in front of me, my patience is waning. The smug bastard’s face looking at me from every photo. I want to rip him to shreds for what he did to Isla. Tapping my foot under the table, my hands move the photos around and around. The soldier finally takes a long pause. I interrupt impatiently. “Fuck, guys, we need to finalize a plan now. We need to work out how I am going to stop Sokolov in his tracks and eradicate his existence.”
I take the opportunity to explain to everyone the brutality my Sweetness suffered for those long six years. Ten minutes later and we are all on the same page.
Sokolov will suffer.
He will be tortured.
He will ultimately die by my hands. I may not get my hands dirty often, but there’s no way in hell anyone will be ending his life but me. I want my eyes to be the last he sees before he goes to his maker.
Running through different plans, it’s approaching the seventy-two-hour mark since Isla left and it feels like we are nearly back at square one.
My hands cradle my head in between them. I am exhausted from running over scenarios that just won’t work. Most of us stayed in the office, sleeping only for a few brief hours. Exhaustion sets in and all of us need a break. I need to be near her. Not over the other side of the world.
“We have Kolton hacking into his computer system, finding every scrap of information we can about his businesses and acquaintances as we may be able to blackmail some of them for information. We have other family members putting into place connections that will be needed to bring down the Sokolov name internationally,” Liam speaks systematically, laying it out so we are all clear that things are happening, albeit at a slow pace.
It can’t be rushed… It has to be methodical, precise, and secret…
My uncle’s deep voice penetrates our tired ears. “The best thing you can do, Alex, is get yourself off Sokolov’s radar, go back to your everyday business, leave Isla alone, and let Seth be our eyes.” Directing his stare completely on me, “Nothing will happen to her. I promise you that. The men we have are the best, they know what they are doing, and they will keep Isla safe for the time being.” My uncle’s confident voice gives me hope that this mess will be sorted soon. “We all will be coming back to Sydney with you so we can act swiftly when the time comes. Believe me, Alex, it will come. Dimitri Sokolov won’t know what’s hit him.”
Commanding what I want in life, this will be no different…