Page 29 of Kidnapped Prisoner By the Bratva
This man stole my freedom, stole my future, and stole my life. Yet, in his book, he was the hero who saved the damsel in distress. What a joke! I’d always blame him for all the bad things that had happened to me so far. It was his fault.
If he hadn’t kidnapped or at least let me go after he realized that I was innocent, none of this would’ve happened. I would have returned quietly to my boring life, minding my own goddamn business. I hadn’t seen any of their faces then, so it shouldn’t have been such a big deal.
He could have just given me a strict warning. But no, he chose to keep me in this hellhole to prove he had to do it. Locking me up here put my life at risk, and even now, I still don’t know if I was the real target during that attack.
Now, he thought making me his wife was the best form of damage control. How delusional could a man be?
“Do you, Wren Maddox…” the priest’s voice cut through my thoughts like a knife, “…take this man, Valarian Tarasov, to be your lawfully wedded husband…?”
My heart sank deeper into my chest, my eyes flicking up to face him. What if I said no? What would happen to me?Would he kill me himself for embarrassing him in front of his staff? Would he feed me to his hounds? What exactly was he going to do?
Uh…I honestly don’t think we wanna find out. So do not do anything. Stop, Wren Maddox,said that voice of fear.
It’s quite unfortunate what’s happening right now. But saying no would make things worse. Make the right choice here, Wren,said the other voice.
Being a Tarasov wife might not be half as bad as you think. The man’s powerful, wealthy—not to mention…hot. If there’s one good thing that could come out of this union, it would be time. Enough time to strategize and come up with either of these two: an escape plan or an adaptation plan.
For the first time, that voice of fear had a valid point.
I got lost in my head that it took the conspicuous clearing of the priest’s throat to get my attention. Snapping back to the present, I realized all eyes were on me, waiting for my response.
My gaze met with Val’s, and after a moment of hesitation, I answered, “I do.”
The priest turned and faced Val, repeating the same vows to him. His response was sharp and immediate.
“With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
And that was it. That was how I officially became my kidnapper’s wife. What an unexpected turn of events.
No kiss to seal the marriage. No rings were exchanged. No celebration. Just a scattered round of applause from people with flat expressions on their faces.
This was the worst wedding ever!
Val signed a document, and I did too, sealing the fate I never chose with black ink. He lingered for a moment, but didn’t say a word, even though his gaze was pinned on me. My headwas bowed to hide the tears stinging my eyes and the pain etched on my face.
One by one, the guests left the room in silence. And shortly after the priest stepped out the door, Val did the same, leaving me all by myself.
Alone at the makeshift altar, I let the tears flow. My hand flew to my chest, and I sank to my knees as I cried like a child. I wished that the ground would open up and swallow me whole. My heart ached, my pulse raced, and uncontrollable tears streamed down my cheeks.
I’d never felt so much pain before, and the worst part was that I was going through all this alone. I had no one to talk to. No one to console me.
It hurt.
It hurt so much that I could barely breathe. This was not how I planned my life; it wasn’t the future I envisioned for myself. But I guess this was my reality now.
Crying wouldn’t solve anything, nor would blaming Val. Life had decided my fate, and now it was up to me to either accept it or not.
Cry it all out tonight, Wren. Shed all those tears, and embrace the pain until it no longer hurts. And when you’re healed…we’ll start planning.
I wasn’t sure what voice that was, but it was right, and I intended to do just that.
Chapter 12 – Val
She hated me with every fiber of her being. But that’s okay. I was used to being labeled a monster anyway, not that I wasn’t one. I was every bit of the demon people thought I was. Unapologetically so.
Her frown and anger didn’t bother me much. All that mattered was that she was safe and out of real danger. Maybe someday she’ll understand that I did this for her. But for now, I’d have to accept that she blamed me for every bad thing that’s happened to her since our paths crossed.
A couple of weeks had passed, and we barely spoke to each other. Despite being a couple now, we still slept in separate bedrooms. Her choice, not mine. Wren decided she loved her room so much and would rather stay there than share a bed with me.
