The Longest Ride

°•°Prologue°•°

The heart was made to be broken.

-- Oscar Wilde

Irene's POV.

"You can't make the decision for me!" I yell looking away from Alex as tears threaten to gush out of my eyes.

"Don't you dare yell at me hun and I don't think you have a say when I take a decision for you!" Of course, I don't. I fucking let this happen.

My well-manicured nails start pricking at my scalp as I hold my head tight. I barely even know what I'm doing now. My life is falling apart right in front of me and I can't even do anything to stop the damage. Alex yelling at me wouldn't end up well and the last thing I want is him thinking that a good fuck could fix all this.

"Alex I can't do this. Please let me go..." my voice trails off as a sob escapes my lips and tear rolls down my cheek at the thought of marrying him while all my dreams slowly fade away.

Dreams are all I had to live for and now they're fading away.

"Irene, would you stop crying? What's wrong with marrying me? You're making me sound like a villain here,"

"Yes, you are the villain here!" I burst out and immediately regret it when I look at Alex. An evil smirk accessorizing his face which is a really bad sign.

He takes a step closer and I take one back as a tingle of fear runs down my spine. This is how he loves to see me. Suffering. Scared. Helpless. "Then that's how it'd be. You're marrying me either way and that's my decision. Got it?"

"You don't even love me or even care about me. All you care is about your pleasures and happiness. Why are you forcing me into a marriage where love doesn't even exist?"

I blink away the tears as he stares at me with his eyes red with anger. I don't care if this ends up with me getting hit but I needed answers. Alex is not going to give in and I know it since I've known him for years now. He and his dominant ways will never change. I've had enough of this shit with him and something inside me doesn't want me to just give in and I wouldn't.

"Who you are today is because of me. You're having a lavish life because of me. Your family is out of debt because of me. And now you just call me a villain?" His looks intimidating as ever and his voice as taunting as a knife. I take a step back, hitting the wall and he steps forward with an evil smirk plastered across his face. His hand rises up to caress my cheek and my heart starts beating faster.

Why am I not attempting to move away from him?

Maybe I'm just too scared of him but it's not just that. Something about him stops me from doing anything, he knows how to make me shut up. He's nothing but a controlling asshole. Why did I ever even expect to find him changing for me?

"Hmm, I see that I have an effect on you. Now tell me why don't you want to marry me?" His voice comes out at a whisper but clear enough for me to know that he's pissed off and angry.

"Mr. & Mrs. Williams are here to see you," A voice beyond the door calls. "We'll be there in a moment,"

Alex says with his eyes fixed on me. "We're not done yet, baby. Now go and clean yourself. I want to see you as if nothing happened in here,"

I just nod and he grabs my chin and kisses me. When I don't kiss him back, he tugs my hair making a sob escape my lips and I kiss him back before he starts making me cry even more. "Shh, don't cry. I don't like to see you cry,"

He wipes my tears while speaking and I look at him as if I'm looking at a wild animal in the zoo. That's probably because he seems like a psycho to me. He kisses my forehead, "I love you,"

Love? Love?! Is he even serious? Is this how he loves someone cause if it's going to be this way then I don't want him or his so-called love. He's nothing but a heartless asshole who doesn't care for other's feelings, not even his own family.

I watch him leave and let myself crumble down on the floor. Tears roll down my eyes as I think of how I'm trapped with this person. How didn't I see this coming? Alex is capable of doing anything and I underestimated him this time.

"Ms Vandermeer," the knock on the door brings me back to the present. I need to get dressed and get out of my room before Alex gets mad at me again.

"Give me ten minutes," I say in a low voice audible to the person while standing up. Wiping the tears off my face, I tie my hair into a loose bun. I unzip my dress as I walk towards the bathroom and stop abruptly in front of the mirror to look at myself.

This isn't me or at least who I wanted to be. Mascara marks down my cheeks, my hair looks like a mess and my neatly laundered dress is now crumpled up just like my heart.

Three years ago, I was forced to be a model because Alex wanted me in that field where I would get noticed and him being my boyfriend will help him get more exposure to his company. And just like that, I had to accept it like a fool because my family was in debt and I desperately wanted to help some really selfish people.

For me, all I ever wanted in life was a guy who loved me and a normal job to support my family. Now, I don't even believe in love cause it doesn't exist in the world I live in. My stepmom and dad showed their true colors when they sent me to Alex for a job so that they'd get money. When I met Alex at first I just thought I was working for him but within a year things changed, I had to take up modeling as my career forcefully because of him blackmailing me about ruining my family but then I still believed he'd love me someday like in the movies but who knew, that love is just something that doesn't exist in real life?

My phone starts ringing in a low volume, snapping me out of my thoughts and I run back to the bed and grab it before the music gets louder. "Hello?"

"Irene, have you been crying or something?" My eyes widen as I hear Mia's voice. She's been my best friend and the only friend I've had for a long time.

"Mia, I've tried reaching you for a week now!" I whisper shout over the phone through the new set of tears rolling down. As much as I want to talk to her and explain stuff right now, I'm running out of time. If I'm late then, Alex is most likely to come back and continue the torture.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm in Miami with Lucas. He sur-"

I cut her off and start talking, "I need some help from you,"

"Help for what Irene?" I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and take a deep breath before telling her what I've been planning on for a while.

"I need to get out of here."

~•~•~•~