Serena
Ardoria has maintained its streak of being a sight for sore eyes. Everything about it was homely, warm, and clean. If it weren't for the stress and unnecessary attention I usually felt whenever I visited, I wouldn't mind settling here someday.
It was evening, and the sun was slowly setting. I had brought out my phone from my small bag and raised it properly to get a good angle of it when I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"What a sight this is." I turned around to see Damien standing a few feet away, with an amused expression on his face. Almost immediately, beads of embarrassment washed over me, and I wasn't sure why.
Honestly, I didn't care enough about what people thought about me, but his aura made me want to always be seen as a prim and proper character, and I hated it.
He looked absolutely breathtaking in his black leather pants and a long-sleeved jacket that hid that delicious torso. He was a fucking work of art.
"What are you doing here?" I said, finally finding my voice.
"Well, that's rather sad. I thought you'd at least be excited to see your fiancé, considering our wedding is a couple of months away." The way the words rolled off his tongue made my stomach jump.
"You make it sound like it's something I should be looking forward to." He grinned, the same way he did the other day when he blatantly told my dad that he was going to be fucking his daughter for the first 365 days of their fake marriage.
I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was too stunned to speak, and my dad had looked so chill I wasn't sure why he didn't land deliberate blows on Damien's face.
Damien suddenly took a step forward, and on cue, I stepped back. There it was, the insane feeling that was present the day he visited us.
He stopped midway, his eyes suddenly full of coldness. He reached out faster than my gaze could capture and grabbed me. Before I could register what the fuck was happening, he pulled me away from where I stood and flipped me over, with his hands resting on my back.
I couldn't understand what was going on, the next thing I knew, he turned and brought out a gun from his jacket and fired it.
This immediately plunged passersby into a state of hysteria, and everyone was suddenly alert; some immediately lay on the floor in an attempt not to be caught by a stray bullet.
I was still on the ground trying to process the situation when he grabbed me again. "Stand up quickly."
I didn't have the time to ask him what the hell was going on, the voice inside my head, for once, screamed at me to listen. I stood up, and he held my hands tightly and immediately started running.
After running for what seemed like ages, a black car suddenly pulled up in front of us and the doors flew open.
"Get in," Damien said, urging me into the car and closing the door. We zoomed off.
I strained, trying to catch my breath before turning to scream at him, but his gaze was on me. He had an almost careful expression, not in a way that riled me up. There was something else in his eyes. Fear? Uncertainty? Concern?
"Are you okay?" he asked me, still looking at me with those beautiful green eyes. Focus, Serena, focus!
"Yes, yes, I am. But what the fuck was that?"
He paused before reaching for a black file that I only just noticed had been on the seat of the car. He pulled out a few files and scanned through them, then pulled out one. He took a deep breath before opening it.
They were pictures of me, doing regular things that regular people do. Intrigued, I picked them up and started going through them one after the other, and something that felt like nausea and fear strangled my insides.
These were not just ordinary pictures, they were pictures of me outside of Ardoria, in places I could have sworn nobody would have been able to find me.
I wanted to dismiss it as media speculation. I mean, I was a popular heiress and only daughter of one of the richest men in Ardoria, it only made sense that I'd have such attention.
I wanted to believe it. I really wanted to, but the feeling inside my stomach and the screaming voices inside my head said otherwise.
"Do these look familiar?" Damien asked, his question pulling me away from the reeling thoughts inside my head.
I nodded, and he seemed to grab that it would be a good idea to offer a fucking explanation as to how he got them.
"Your life is in danger, Serena. Your father believes that there are people after you, but he's still investigating. Initially, he thought it was a classic case of media manipulation, but one night, while you were out of the state, he was attacked. He said they were coming for you, and from every indication, they meant your inheritance.
There's someone out there who wants you dead, and whoever they are, they want what you have. Someone was about to shoot you back there, if I weren't there with you, you'd have been dead."
I stared at him in utter disbelief, and he seemed to guess the confusion running through my mind.
"It's the reason why your dad wants us to get married soon. That way, your inheritance is safe, and you also get extra protection for being my wife."
The car ran over a bump, and it jolted me back to reality. It was then I noticed we were not the only ones moving, there were four other cars that looked too identical. I figured they were Damien's escorts.
"How do you know this, and why didn't he tell me?"
"Because he wants you to live your life the way you want to, without worries or the fear of losing your inheritance."
I looked up at his face. His features were properly defined, and even at this very moment, forbidden thoughts were going through my head.
His lips looked so kissable, his jaw was tight, and his eyes were still laced with concern. Something about the worry on his face made all the fears and questions disappear.
I opened my mouth, and what came out wasn't anything I was expecting.
"Kiss me, Damien. I want you to kiss me. I want your lips on mine." His eyes darkened, and the throbbing between my legs only intensified.