Inaya's POV

I keep staring at the ring. The way it sparkles in the sun like a night sky with millions of stars glittering.

His forever.

I would bring up the Islamic marriage but I have to take it one step at a time. Not everything can go the way I force it. I have to go with the flow. I'm sure proposing in itself was something that took a lot of effort for Dominic to do.

"Inaya!" A screeching comes from downstairs.

I jump off of the bed and run down the stairs. "Caterina?!"

"Ahhhhhhh!" She screams.

I quickly grab her hand, checking her for wounds. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?"

"You're marrying Dominic?!" She yells.

I quickly settle on the floor. My heart was racing so fast. "Caterina! You can't give me a heart attack like that!"

"What do you mean?! You're giving me a heart attack. You know how mad I was when I had to hear it from Dominic?"

"I couldn't tell you because I don't have a phone. I told Dominic to tell you to come over... why did he tell you that himself?" I frown.

"Because he's a narcissistic bastard. He had the most smug smile on his face when he told me." She huffs. "Wait, you're engaged. Show me the ring!"

She grabs my left hand and tilts it back and forth to see the ring sparkle.

"This is gorgeous. How did he choose this himself?" Caterina says more to herself than me. "Never mind that... you're marrying Dominic? My sweet princess is marrying that man?"

I look down on the floor at my feet expecting Cat to have a full blown breakdown. I was waiting for her to lecture me.

"Hey... look at me." She holds both my hands. "I'm so happy for you! All those years you said you'll never find someone because no one wants you, life proved you wrong."

Tears stung my eyes.

"I know you thought I'd yell at you because Dominic wouldn't be someone I could see you with but I can tell he cares for you. I know you care for him. You found the one, Inaya, even if it is my douchebag of a cousin." She giggles. "I'm so proud of you. Hell, I'm even proud of Dominic for scoring such an amazing woman!"

"Caterina!" I throw my arms around her, giving her a snug hug. I start sobbing uncontrollably because she's right. I never thought I'd reach this milestone in my life.

"Inaya, don't cry! You'll make me cry!" She pats my back to comfort me.

"I love him, Caterina. I'm insanely in love with him, I might just go crazy." I whisper as I rest my head on her shoulder.

Caterina goes on to tell me Dominic has asked us to start planning the wedding but the thing is, I don't know if I want a wedding.

If anything, a small wedding would be nice. But knowing that he's Italian... we'll probably need a big wedding.

• • •

Again, I don't see Dominic for about two to three days. He disappears without telling me and it never settles right with me.

I feel like now that we're engaged, he should at least leave a note saying he's going and doesn't know when he'll be back.

Suddenly, Nicholas storms through the doors. "You're fucking marrying Dominic?"

I jump up. My God, everyone keeps scaring me.

"I am..."

"Why? Why would any woman with a sense of logic do that?" He's incredibly angry.

I was slightly hurt by the comment. "Because... because I..."

"What? You love him?" He scoffs. "I thought you were smarter than this. Are you sure you love Dominic? It isn't just your mind playing games because he's manipulative?"

"Nick, why are you acting like this?" I frown.

He should be happy for his brother. Dominic deserves some happiness too.

Nick lets out a dark chuckle. He reaches into to his pocket and I slowly back away from instinct.

"Don't worry, it's not a weapon. I'm not Dominic." He says as he pulls out his phone. "He hasn't been home in a few days, has he?"

I furrow my brows. Where is he going with this?

I shake my head in response.

He starts clicking and making swiping gestures on his phone. Then, he places the phone in my hand.

"This is what your beloved fiancé is up to after he finished his business deal the other day." He says. "This was a day after he proposed to you, no?" His tone is filled with mockery.

My eyes widen at the picture. My heart drops to my stomach.

The picture shows up relaxed on a couch, with naked woman sitting on his lap while his hand is on her bare bum, while his other hand is on her chest.

I feel sick. I feel so sick.

My whole world comes crashing down again. I stumble backwards as my head begins spinning. Nick grabs my wrist to stop me from falling over.

Tears quickly begin spilling down my face. "I'm... I don't believe this."

Nick rolls his eyes. "What's there not to believe? There's pictures as proof. Hell, there's even videos."

"I don't want to hear it! I want to hear it from Dominic before anything." I argue.

"You're hopeless, Princess." He sighs. "That man is not someone you can marry and spend the rest of your life with. He's player, a sex-addict. He needs to whore around every 5 minutes!"

"That's your brother, Nicholas!" I snap. "He raised you and this is how you speak of him?"

My heart feels like it's been ripped into a million pieces but even then, Nicholas can't talk about Dominic with such disrespect.

That man stepped up to raise him when their parents wouldn't. I'm sure Nick is the only person Dominic shows any bit of love to. Dominic would die for his brother and that's a well-known fact in the whole gang.

Sure, I appreciate him telling me about what I have the right to know but there's a much more respectful way of delivering the news; without disrespecting Dominic as a brother.

"You're crazy! Absolutely insane for supporting him after this. You deserve better, Inaya." He says a bit more softly.

I cover my ears. "I don't want to hear it, not until I hear it from Dominic myself." I quietly start sobbing. "Please... please just leave me alone..."

He sighs. "I'm leaving some things for you to eat and drink." He places a plastic bag on the counter.

Once I hear the click from the door that confirms Nick has left, I drop to the floor.

The sobs escaping my lips are now loud whimpers.

It feels like I jumped into a garden of cactuses. The sharp needles of the plant is puncturing a million holes into my heart. My whole body aches from the pain. I couldn't breathe, my body feels like it's shutting down and there's nothing I could do to stop it.

"He wouldn't do this to me... he couldn't... not after he..." I stare at my ring.

But he can, I know he's capable of it because of how he is. I know how obsessed he is with the idea of lust. I know his impulses always win over his logic when it comes to women. Then, why wouldn't I believe Nicholas?

Nick has always wanted the best for me. He's been an absolute gentleman since day 1, then why am I doubting his words?

He wouldn't lie. Especially because of how angry that must have made him. I'm sure he said all those hateful things because he was angry at Dominic's actions.

But I still couldn't. I wanted to hear it from the man himself. I wanted to hear it from Dominic.

After a couple of hours of crying to myself, my mouth feels so dry that it feels like sandpaper. I grab the drink from the bag Nick left me.

It's mango juice, my favourite.

Once I douse the drink down, there's a cooling sensation as it rolls down my throat. There's some sort of a bitter aftertaste though... that's weird. It sort of stung my throat a little afterwards.

I look at the bottle, it looks like a normal bottle. However, when I look inside the bottle, there's a little bit of residue of something else.

I shrug my shoulders. "I'm overthinking everything. It's probably just some leftover residue from the juice."

However, 15 minutes later, I started to feel a little drowsy, my tongue feels numb and my words slurring. I couldn't keep my balance and my vision kept blurring.

Oh my God, Nick spiked my drink.

- - -

A/N: Nick, sis, relax-

Also, how y'all feeling about the whole WW3 situation? 💀

Next Update: Monday, January 6, 2020.