She looked around and realized she was naked under the covers, and the worst part, this wasn’t the room she had slept in.
Her breathing quickened.
Then she noticed the thin tube running from her arm.
An IV was attached to her wrist, the clear line leading to a bag hanging beside the bed.
“What the hell?” Livy stared at the IV in disbelief.
She tugged instinctively at her cuff, but the movement only made the metal bite into her skin.
“Help!” she shouted.
“Somebody?” Her voice echoed through the room.
She looked around desperately, trying to figure out where she was and why she was naked.
Then the door opened.
She was almost relieved to see Antonio walking in.
He was wearing a black shirt, slightly unbuttoned at the front.
“What did you do to me?” she demanded, her voice trembling.
“You passed out,” he said calmly.
“All night.” “What?” “You got feverish, when I was bringing you here.” “Where is here?” “My penthouse.” He walked toward the bed and checked the IV bag.
Then he took out the key and opened the cuffs.
Livy immediately rubbed her sore wrist.
“Why did you chain me to the bed?” she asked.
“To keep you from pulling the IV out, in your sleep.” He picked up the glass sitting on the bedside table.
A small piece of ice remained inside.
He held it toward her.
“Suck on this.” Livy stared at him.
“Excuse me?” “Suck it, you had a bad reaction to the sedative I gave you.
I am sorry I didn’t know you were allergic.” Livy stared at him.
“You gave me a sedative?” He nodded.
She turned her face away.
“Suck it yourself.
I want to speak with my mother.” “Soon.” “Please.” Her voice cracked.
“Just let me go.” He shook his head.
“That’s not going to happen.” “You don’t understand, my mother is in danger.” “She’s under witness protection, she’s perfectly safe.” Antonio walked toward the window and looked out over the city.
“I have some business to take care of today.
I need you to stay here and get some rest.” He turned back to her.
“If you need anything, ask Dominic.
He will be in the house.” Then he walked out, leaving her alone.
Livy stared at the closed door for several seconds.
She tried to remain strong, but the fear, exhaustion, and confusion finally became too much.
She pulled the covers around herself and began to cry.
She remained in bed for the rest of the day.
Whatever sedative Antonio had given her had left her weak, and she barely had the energy to move.
That same day…
In the VIP lounge of the Espino club, Antonio sat back in the armchair.
Princess Chloe stood across from him with her arms tightly crossed over her chest.
“You wanted to talk with me, so here we are,” he said, gesturing lazily with a wave of his hand for her to begin.
“What do you want?” “Considering our future relationship,” Chloe started, “I believe we should be able to talk openly.” Antonio raised a single eyebrow.
“Our future relationship?” Chloe narrowed her eyes with growing impatience.
Why was he acting like he didn’t understand?
Did he really want her to spell it out for him?
Fine.
“We are engaged,” she snapped.
“But word reaching me right now is that, you just married someone else.
What the fuck, Antonio?
What are you planning on doing with me?” Antonio didn’t blink at her outburst.
“Who told you?” “Does that matter?” “It does to me.” Chloe let out a bitter laugh.
“If you think I am going to sit around and play the fool while you make a mockery of me and my family, then you are mistaken.” Antonio leaned back in his chair.
“Be careful, Chloe.
You are forgetting your place.” “My place?” she repeated incredulously.
“I am your fiancée.
And now I don’t even know what that means.” “You will get what was agreed upon when the time comes.
Right now, I’m just solving a temporary problem.” Chloe stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?” Antonio said nothing.
Her eyes dropped to his hand, and her expression changed when she noticed the wedding ring.
“You are actually wearing it.” Antonio glanced down at the ring.
“You expect me to stand here and pretend I am still your future wife when you are walking around wearing another woman’s wedding ring?” “Don’t make a scene.
This does not change our arrangement.” “It changes everything,” Chloe snapped.
“My father agreed to this marriage because it would unite our families.
Everyone knows about our engagement.
Do you have any idea how humiliating this will be if people find out?” “People will only find out, if you tell them.” “That is not the point.” Chloe’s face twisted with anger.
“I am supposed to be your wife in three months.
Before you humiliate me, I’m going to put a bullet between that woman’s eyes.” Antonio stood immediately.
His expression changed, and the calmness in his eyes disappeared.
He crossed the distance between them and caught her by the throat.
“Don’t you ever make such threats around me.” Chloe’s hands flew to his wrist as she struggled to breathe.
“If you hurt her,” Antonio said quietly, “I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life.
Do you understand me?” Chloe nodded frantically.
Antonio released her, and she stumbled backward, coughing as she struggled to catch her breath.
She watched him in shocked silence.
Something about his reaction unsettled her.
I It was not simply that he had threatened her.
It was the fact that, for the first time, she had seen how seriously he was willing to protect some random woman.
Suddenly, there was a knock, and a neatly dressed man walked in with a woman behind him.
”I brought entertainment,” the man announced with a smooth smile.
“Just the way you like them.” The woman stepped into the light and let her silk robe slide off her shoulders, letting it pool around her ankles to reveal she was wearing nothing but string panties.