Rapine 2: Ravished by the Billionaire (The Trophy Wife) (29 page)

I gasp as all my emotions come up to my throat.
I can’t hold back my emotions any longer. I let out hysterical cries.

“Don’t worry, he’s dead now
.” He grins, satisfied.

I can’t wrap my head around it. He can’t be dead. It feels like just a few moments
ago Julian was holding my hand.

A
flood of tears escape and run down my cheeks. All I can hear above my own wailing is Derek’s laughter. He is happy. This enrages me more than anything else. I want to fight him like Julian did, tear his arms off, rip off his head.

Derek
stops laughing and strides up to me, grabbing my arm.

I can’t
hold back my emotions any longer, all my anger bursts. “I hate you!” I explode. I pull away my arm from his grip. “I don’t want to go with you.” All my logic vanishes as my anger takes a strong hold over me. “You cheated, you fucking cheated,” I shout.

Derek grabs my arm
. “You’re a liar,” he hisses into my ear. “Either way, you’re mine. You’re coming with me.”

“No!
I hate you. I don’t want to go with you, let me go,” I scream, my anger overwhelming me.

I glanc
e over at Julian and let out more hysterical cries. Seeing Julian, a man who I love so much, lying in a pool of blood, is the most heart-crushing feeling in the world.

“Shut up,” Derek places a hand o
ver my mouth, muffling my cries and he grips my arm tightly.

“You lied,” Derek growls. “You really fell for Julian,
didn’t you, you fucking bitch,” Derek snaps, gripping my arm painfully hard. “All this time, I thought you were saying the things you were saying because Julian was manipulating you, but now the truth comes out.”

I can’t take my eyes off Julian, can’
t stop myself from crying. I can’t handle the heart-breaking pain I feel as I see him lying motionless on the ground.
Please God don’t let him be dead.
I recall when Julian shot those two men in Rome and he told me if he really wanted to kill them he would do it a different way. A small glimmer of hope lights up inside me.

Derek
wraps his arm around my chest—his pistol crosses over my chest, holding me tight.

“Julian,” I try to say but the only sound that escapes my lips is a frightened whimper.

“He’s gone now,” Derek whispers. “He’s gone, sweetheart. It’s just you and me.” His engorged muscles choke my neck.

“Let me go,” I scream,
trying to push myself out of Derek’s strong grip with all my strength but failing. “I hate you. You’re a fucking cheater!”

“You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not,”
Derek growls. I feel him apply his finger to a specific pressure point on my neck.
Not again
. I drift into unconsciousness.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE

I blink my eyes open and look around the familiar master bedroom. My throat constricts. That brutal fight wasn’t just a nightmare.

I sit up in bed.
Oh my God, this can’t be happening.
I’m in Derek’s bedroom. My eyes widen as the image of Derek shooting Julian flashes through my mind. The worst thing is not knowing if he is dead or alive but my only source of hope are Julian’s words,
if I really wanted to kill someone I would do it a different way
. I look down at my ring finger—my wedding ring from Julian is gone.

I scoot back down,
laying on my back, cover the sheets over my head, and let out hysterical cries. I release all my emotions and cry louder than I’ve ever cried in my life.

I am overwhelmed by pain and rage, screaming and crying at the top o
f my lungs. Derek has me back, but all I can think about is strangling him. That’s how much I hate him now.

S
uddenly, panic overwhelms me and I touch my belly.
What should I tell Derek? Should I even tell Derek?
What will he do if he finds out I’m pregnant with Julian’s baby?
The worst of thoughts rush into my mind, warning me not to tell him. I saw Derek’s wrath toward Julian during the fight and I can only imagine the wrath he would have if he found out about the baby, probably deciding to terminate it.

After crying for a long time and thinking about everything that’s happened,
the one question that baffles me is: How did Derek find me?

I finally
force myself to get out of bed. My mind is aimless, not sure what I will do next. I decide to a shower. I let loose more tears in the shower.

I get out of the shower and glance into the bathroom mirror. My eyes are
bright red and my hair is a mess but I don’t have the strength or will left in me to fix myself up.

I sulk out of the washroom and
walk over to the walk in closet.
Wow, all my clothing and heels are still here.
My thoughts flash to my previous life with Derek—so much has happened since then.

Maybe, what Julian did appeared wrong at first. Most would say that Julian is a criminal but
I know he’s far from that. Everything that Julian did made sense. He never forced himself on me when he kept me captive. I fell for him. It was my decision to be with him. Everything that Julian did was fine in the end.

I decide to get dressed
. I put on the first dress that I randomly grab. I gaze around at the closet that represents the life I once lived. More tears flow down my cheeks.

I
come out of the walk in closet, take a deep breath and come out of the bedroom. I need answers—I need to talk to Derek.

I gaze into each room of the penthouse suite, recalling my previous life with Derek. I sulk as images of our past together rush through my head.

I am startled when I find Derek in his home office—he always left early in the morning to go to work and came back late.

When he senses my presence he look
s up from his laptop. He notices my baffled facial expression. “I decided to work from home for a while until my personal matters are settled,” he explains.

My heart tightens with pain as I glance at the man whom I used to love who has shot the man I now love.

I examine his bruised up face from the fight. His lips have a purplish tinge to it. The rest of his face and neck has red, black, and purple bruises.

“I hate you, I fucking hate you,” I scream, unable to control the pain that I feel.

Derek’
s lips compress and he frowns. “I will do everything in my power to make you love me again,” he replies calmly, his eyes challenging me.

“I will never love you again,” I blast.

“You’re fucking mine and you always will be,” he responds.

“No, I’m not. I love Julian. I have the right to make a decision about who I choose to be with,” I shout.

“Julian is dead,” he growls harshly, his eyes burning into mine.

I shake my head
no
. My heart clenches. I don’t want to accept that he is dead.

“
You know that you can’t get away from me. I’ll always know where you are,” Derek says quietly.

I widen my eyes. “How?”

“I had a tracking chip implanted inside you so I know where you are at all times. That way nothing can ever happen to you and I can always find you.”

H
e gazes at my face, waiting for my reaction.

“But when?” I gasp, shocked.

“Right after we got engaged,” he explains.

I let this new information sink into my mind.
Fury begins to stir inside me.

“How?” I shout, irritated and furious.

“I hired someone to come in while you were asleep, give you an anesthetic and had the chip implanted.”

“Without my consent? How could you?” I shout, my chest tightening. What angers me most is that it was done without my permission, whereas Julian respectfully asked for my permission.

Derek’s eyes soften. “I only did it to protect you. I’m sure you understand.”

“
No, I don’t understand because it was done without my permission,” I growl.

Another though
t pops up in my head and I feel my face heat up in irritation. “You knew where I was all this time and you didn’t come and get me until now?”

“Yes darling
, but I knew the only way I could get you back is to fight Julian once again—that was the only way.” Derek looks thoughtful and melancholy. “You know how embarrassing it was for me to lose you? I couldn’t function for days after I lost you. I was determined to get you back. All these years I’ve neglected my martial arts training to advance financially. Therefore, I returned to my training when I lost you. I’ve been training seven days a week, for three to four hours per day.”

Derek fucking cheated and
even though Derek was preparing for the fight he still lost!
Julian will always be better in my mind.

“You cheated,” I roar.

Derek looks extremely offended, his lips compress, and he gives me a cold stare.

“I just don’t understand one thing,” I
mutter, curiosity consuming me and all my other emotions being put on hold. “Why didn’t you notify the authorities?”

“No matter how much I love you and wa
nted to get you back, going to the authorities would make me an utter failure. I was determined to get you back myself. To fight Julian, man-to-man, and win you back.”

I
frown. “You catered to your ego. It felt like you didn’t care and you never emailed me back!”

“I know darling, but
you’re here now, that’s what’s important.”

“No,
it’s too late,” I whisper, tears running down my face.

Derek get
s up from his desk, approaching me cautiously.

I stand there frozen, still unable to make sense of it all, my head spinning.

Derek cups my face in both hands and gazes into my eyes.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t come and get you sooner, but you’re with me again, isn’t that what you wa
nt?” Derek searches my face and waits for a response.

I don’t move, I don’t respond.
I am confused, frightened, and angry all at once. I don’t know my next step—this all happened so fast.

Derek pulls me into his arms
and hugs me tightly. “I’ll never let you go again, I promise, and I will protect you with all my power.”

I listen to his heartbeat as I am pressed up against his chest and feel his arms tightly gripped around me.
I am numb and lifeless for a moment, unable to react.

Derek pull
s me back, holding me at arm’s length, scrutinizing me. I let loose more tears which Derek wipes away. “I love you so much,” he whispers.

Suddenly, all my emotions resurface and I push D
erek away with all my strength. “Don’t touch me,” I growl.
Why does he act like everything is back to normal?
Anger and pain burns through me.

A flood of t
ears pour from my face as I quickly turn my back and stride away toward the master bedroom. I know that I can’t run or hide from him as he has a tracking device inside me. My only solace is the master bedroom. I need to think things through.

I come into the master bedroom and close the door.
I aimlessly wander to the edge of the bed and sit down as tears stream down my cheeks.

Thoughts rush t
hrough my head like a torrent.
What am I supposed to do?
I’m being treated like nothing more than “property.” Although Julian has also implanted me, it was with my consent. I can never forgive Derek for implanting me without my permission.
Is Julian still alive?
I need to find out. That’s all that matters to me at this point.

A
hopeful thought occurs to me. I stand up, wipe away my tears, and wander into the walk in closet. I search through every single one of my purses, looking for my old phone, the one given to me by Derek.

After searching through every single one of my purses, leaving a big messy pile of purses in the middle of the walk in closet, I still haven’t found my phone.

I go searching for Derek again and find him in his office, tapping at his laptop.

“I want my phone back,
” I demand.

Derek eyes me distrustfully. “Why’s that?”

I remain silent, thinking of a good explanation, gazing at Derek’s suspicious face.

“I’m with you now
, I understand that,” I respond carefully. “I’d like to contact my friends, I miss them, that’s all.”

Derek frowns as he considers my request for a while. “You can have your phone back as long as you tell
your friends that you are back with me.”

I nod my head eagerly.

He retrieves my phone from a drawer in his office desk and approaches me. “I’m watching you Cheryl. I have full control over you, so don’t try anything you will later regret,” he warns as he hands me back my phone.

I nod my head in agreement and prance
back into the master bedroom. I tap at the screen, logging onto my email account.
Surely, Derek can’t read my emails, can he?

I loo
k through my emails and spot an email from an unknown sender. I open it up and as I read through it, I nearly burst into tears of joy—I’ve never felt so thankful in my entire life.

I read a
simple, short email from Julian.

I’m alive. Don’t worry, I know where you are. I’m coming to get you. This time I will kill Derek for what he did and make sure it’s the last time.

D
elete this message as soon as you get it. Once you delete it also make sure to permanently delete it from your email trash file.

Love Julian.

I smile broadly and more tears of joy flow down my cheeks. I quickly delete the message and again delete it from my trash file. I close my email down and power up my phone’s web browser. I Google:
Is it physically possible to survive bullet wounds?
I smile even broader when I read the responses I find.