Vengeful Matrimony | ✔️

Chapter 49

GISELLE

True to Marcello's words, food was brought in later that night by a middle-aged woman. By then, I was starving, but I had no plans to eat their food.

The woman offered me a soft smile, dropping the tray on the nightstand. "You should eat. You need to get back your strength."

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry," I lied, even as my gaze cut over to the tray.

"I cooked it myself. It wasn't poisoned or anything like that."

I turned to the other side, looking away from her. "I'm not taking chances."

"He did say you were going to be stubborn. Here. I have something for you."

"Why do you have that?" I asked, staring at the burner phone in her hand warily.

"Your husband gave it to me."

"Nicholas?"

She nodded. "Yes. He said to tell you he'll come get you tomorrow. He'll call you by ten sharp, so hang onto the phone."

"You're working for him?" All of this felt too good to be true. What if this was just another sick game Marcello was playing?

"Yes. I don't have much time to explain. Eat."

I took the phone out of her hand, hiding it in the space between the mattress and the headboard. "I can't eat if my hands are tied."

"I'll bring a guard in to take care of that."

She left the room, and a few minutes later, a buff guard walked in with a knife in his hand and a pile of clothes in the other.

"Boss said I could untie you."

I held my hands out to him, and his knife sliced through the zip tie around my wrist. He freed my ankles next, glaring down at me.

"Don't get any ideas. I have orders to knock you out if you pull a dumb stunt. Take a shower when you're done eating, and change into those pajamas."

"Thank you," I mumbled. I kept my eyes down, painting the picture of a defeated prisoner. It was best if he didn't think I was a threat. Then, he wouldn't have to knock me out or stick around in the room.

He slammed the door shut behind me, and shortly after, I heard the lock engage. With my hands free, I ate my dinner, keeping my eyes on the clock in the room. I still had fifteen minutes before the call.

I walked into the adjoined bathroom, taking the quickest shower of my life before I changed into the PJs. Right before I left the bathroom, I rinsed my mouth out with the mouthwash I found there.

I got back under the sheets with a minute left to spare, and that was when the phone buzzed in its hiding place.

I grinned, rolling onto my back. "I still had one minute left."

"I got tired of waiting," he grunted. "I see you got the phone."

"Yeah. How did you get her on your side?"

"Why don't you let me worry about all that? Tell me about your day."

I snorted. "I slept all day. I'm pretty sure your day was more interesting compared to mine."

"If you call trying to juggle all the shit happening at once interesting, then yeah, it's been pretty interesting."

My kidnap just had to be added to all the mess he had to deal with. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have left you all by yourself."

"Don't be stupid. Neither of us saw this coming. You're lucky you're not in front of me right now."

"Yeah? What would you have done?"

"Slap the shit out of you. Isn't it obvious?" He laughed, and there went my heart, doing that stupid squeezing thing. "How are your men?"

"Dead."

Guilt enveloped me instantly, dampening the lightness that had developed between us. "Including Adnan?"

Nicholas must have sensed the change in my voice because he said, "It's not your fault, Giselle. Adnan isn't dead. Just severely injured. He lost a lot of blood. He's still unconscious."

"Okay. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," he replied. He didn't sound fine at all.

"Nicholas..."

"I'm stressed out," he admitted. "Your disappearance isn't helping either."

"I already said I'm fine. Not even a single hair is out of place," I reassured him. "I think Marcello fears you."

"Doesn't make things any better," he grumbled. "I want you here."

My heart did that little squeezing thing again. Stupid heart. "Tomorrow. Everything will be back to normal by tomorrow."

"It will."

"Niko?"

"Yeah?"

"Take a deep breath and exhale."

"Is that supposed to help with something?" He sounded amused.

"Just do it." He did as I instructed. "Think of a happy memory and imagine you're there right now. What are you thinking about?"

"Last night," he replied without skipping a beat.

Heat spread across my cheek. "When we were..."

"Yeah." He chuckled. "And she's blushing. I can't believe you're the same woman who begs me to spank her pussy."

"Stop!" I hissed as the redness spread across my entire face.

"Or when you tremble until I suck your little clit into my mouth."

"I'll hang up right now," I threatened.

He burst into laughter. "Sorry. I'll behave. Anything else you want to tell me, wife?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep in that house without nightmares," I admitted, my voice tiny as I listened for movement outside the room.

The memory of Adnan's body slumped against the wall was permanently ingrained in my brain. Anytime I walked down those stairs, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop thinking of all the blood I saw, even though Adnan was still alive.

"I figured."

"You don't have to move out with me. I understand the house is where you have little memories with your mom." I'd never ask that of him. Especially now that I knew how deeply her death affected him.

"I'll make arrangements after I get you back safely. You'll go house hunting for us and pick out the one you like."

"But the house..."

"Fuck the house. I don't care about it. Plus, our security was breached. It means it's no longer safe to live there."

At the mention of the security being breached, a piece of information my brain had almost skimmed over returned. "They had an inside man."

"We figured..."

"No, Niko, I heard him. He let them in. He said he had to make it look like a break-in. He's the only conscious one. Didn't you meet a conscious guard when you got to the house?"

"Yes, but he was tied by... fanculo. Can I call you back in thirty, dolcezza? I need to take care of some shit here." Something crashed to the floor on his end, but I didn't question him about it. He probably knocked something to the floor in his haste to get the guard.

"Sure. I'll be waiting."