The world filled with light as the sun made its place in the sky, and people started their busy day. But even though the world was now bright, the room was still filled with darkness as the heavy, thick curtain refused to let even a single bit of sunlight into the room through the window.
The only source of light in the room was the lamplight from the bedside tables, making the room dimly lit.
Isabella woke up feeling hot. There was some heat engulfing her. Her eyes were still shut as she tried to gather her senses. She tried to move, but she couldn't. Something heavy was on top of her, and she wondered why her blanket was so heavy.
She also figured out that she was completely naked. And that made her confused, as she was not someone who slept naked. She tried to get away from the heat, but she couldn't do that either, as something was holding her down.
This little movement made her feel pain in her back. There was soreness between her thighs, and her whole body was sore as well. She felt like she had been hit by a truck.
Isabella wondered why her body was sore. The soreness between her thighs was as if she had had the best sex. As the heavy confusion and unconsciousness slowly disappeared, Isabella's heart stopped beating.
It was not as if she had had sex, but she really did have sex. She lost her virginity last night.
Panic rose to the ball of her throat, and her eyes shot open. As she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar room with a man in bed. What she thought was a heavy blanket was actually his arm around her, and the heat was him.
Her memories were concealing the face of the man she had slept with. And she couldn't look at the man's face to find out, since he was behind her back. Isabella's heart was beating fast, not knowing what to do.
She slowly grabbed the man's hand and, with great difficulty, removed it from her. She sat up carefully, as her back was hurting like hell. She released a deep breath and slowly looked at her side to find the man.
Isabella's eyes widened, and her heart thundered loudly with fear as she saw the face of the man she slept with. She instantly closed her eyes, hoping, praying, and begging for it all to be nothing but a horrible nightmare.
But instead of that, the memories of last night became more and more clear in her mind, making a tear slide down her cheek.
She opened her eyes and looked at her naked body, which was covered with numerous bruises. She swallowed and looked at him.
Nicholas Costa was lying beside her and was sleeping peacefully. She slept with the mafia king. She slept with the man she was supposed to stay far away from.
She couldn't even blame everything on him, as she clearly remembered that she was the one who approached him, and she was the one who begged for that. What did she do?
She also couldn't deny the truth that he saved her last night. If it weren't for him, she would have been raped. He saved her from that. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought he was. Maybe he was a good person under his cruel mask.
That thought of hers came to a halt right away as she remembered the note from six months ago. A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled specific lines from that note.
"Take it as advice, sweetheart; don't approach me again. Because if we meet again, I will have you. I will shackle you withme."
Fear crept into her, and her heart caught in her throat. No. What was she thinking? How could she think like that? How could she forget the note?
That note alone was proof of who he really was. He was the cruelest human on earth. Many thoughts ran through her mind, making her head a mess.
How could she forget that advice? She promised to stay away from him, but instead, she served herself to him on a silver plate. She made a mistake. A huge mistake.
What would happen now? He said he would shackle her. Who knew what cruel things he would do to her? Maybe he would destroy her. Just thinking about it alone made a shiver run down her spine.
Isabella swallowed hard and tried to calm herself down. No, she just couldn't stay there and wait for him to destroy her. She needed to leave quickly. She needed to leave before he woke up.
"I need to run away," Isabella whispered.
She, without wasting any time, got down from the bed as silently as possible. She whimpered in pain when she stood up. The pain in her back was too much. Redness crept into her cheeks as she remembered how he didn't let her go until dawn.
Isabella shook her head and hurriedly put on her clothes. With a last glance at him, she opened the door and ran as fast as possible. She bit her lips to stop herself from whimpering, as she could still feel him deep inside her with each step.
She avoided everyone and ran outside the club. To her luck, a taxi was in front of the club. She quickly got inside the taxi and hurriedly muttered the address. The driver started driving toward her best friend's house.
She remembered what happened last night. She heard Angela's last words in haziness. But she still believed her. She was holding onto the last hope that maybe she had misunderstood her and heard her wrong in her state.
Her friend wouldn't have done that. That was why she was going to her friend's house first. To solve the misunderstanding. She needed to solve it before anything else, or else she would lose her mind.
The driver stopped the car before the building. She paid and rushed to Angela's house. She clicked the password, as she already knew it, and stepped inside the apartment.
She didn't find Angela in the living room, so she went inside her bedroom. She heard Angela's voice from the bathroom, and she was about to go inside but stopped in her tracks when she heard her name.
"Isabella deserved it. She always pretends to be upright and good, but she is actually a bitch. I never wanted to be her friend to begin with. The only reason I was with her was because she was loaded." Angela uttered to her friend on the phone, making Isabella freeze on her spot and her face pale.
"She dared to seduce the man I like. Massimo was supposed to be mine, but he fell for her. She must have seduced him. That's why I did it. I sent her to a perverted prostitute. There is no way he will still like her after he gets to know that she slept with a prostitute. He will be mine. And I hope she went through hell last night." Angela muttered, laughing evilly.
Tears streamed down Isabella's eyes, and she put her hand on her mouth to stop her sobs. A feeling of betrayal crept into her. She couldn't believe what she had heard.
She trusted her. She thought they were best friends. But their friendship was nothing but a lie. And she did such a horrible thing to her just for a man?
In a second, rage filled Isabella's heart. She wanted to go inside and confront Angela. But she stopped herself, as her body ache was killing her, and her mind was a mess.
In her state, she wouldn't be able to do anything to her. Instead, she might hurt her. But she would confront her later.
Isabella decided to go home and gather herself first. She would later make her pay for what she had done to her. She had ruined her, and she would do it to her too. She would make sure she paid double for it.
Isabella, without making any noise, left the apartment and grabbed a taxi to her home. She closed her eyes, not knowing what to do. She was in a bigger problem. Angela tried to make her sleep with a prostitute, but she ended up sleeping with the mafia king.
She might have run away from there, but what if he came after her? Her heart trembled with fear of what would happen if he caught her. What would she do, then?
Before she could dwell more on her thought, the taxi came to a halt, and the driver exclaimed in horror,
"Oh my gosh!"
Isabella frowned and opened her eyes to find out what was wrong. She looked outside, and in a moment, her eyes widened, and her heartbeat stopped. Isabella's body froze as she stared at the flame that was engulfing her house. Her brain was buzzing.
A loud explosion sound echoed in the air, making Isabella come back to her senses. She hurriedly got out of the taxi and ran toward her house, screaming,
"Mom, Dad, brother."
Before she could get near her house, her neighbours stopped her. She tried to break free, but they held her tightly. They were saying something to her, but she didn't hear anything as their voice was muted. The fire brigades were trying to put out the fire, but it wasn't working.
Isabella broke free from their hold, but before she could run, another explosion occurred, making her stagger back. The explosion announced to everyone that no soul was alive inside the house as the flame consumed them.
Isabella collapsed on the ground like a puppet as she saw the burning house. Her ears were ringing, and her mind was blank. She fell into a trance, and the world around her seemed to have stopped moving.
Isabella was getting choked up; a lump formed in her throat. Nothing came out of her.
No words, no tears, not even a single whimper.
Her lifeless eyes were the only ones that knew her suffering.
Dark clouds made their appearance in the sky as if to match her emotions. And soon they started crying instead of her, trying to console her.
Isabella stared at the flames as they refused to go down, even in the heavy rain, and was determined to take her parents away from her.
Isabella sat there numbly, getting soaked in the rain, as her life turned upside down in a few hours.
The day that was supposed to be beautiful became dreadful. The day that was supposed to be a beautiful birthday turned into a mournful one. A tragic day that took everything from her.