Inaya's POV

I wake up to a splitting headache. I grab my forehead because of the painful throbbing.

I feel horrible... what happened...

I remember drinking that mango juice that Nick gave me and—"Oh my God!"

I look down at myself and sigh a breath of relief to see that my clothes are still intact. In fact, my hijab is still on too but how did I get on my bed?

Doesn't matter! What matters is that Nicholas intoxicated my drink. He crossed a line that he should've never crossed.

I'm hurt and angry.

After I freshen up in the washroom, I go downstairs.

"You're awake." Dominic says looking up from his phone.

I didn't even realize he was sitting there when I walked into the kitchen. He's usually never here so I don't ever expect him.

"We have to talk." He says, pulling out the chair beside him for me to sit.

I slowly make my way there and sit down.

I have to tell him what Nick did. I have to ask him about the picture. But I didn't know how to bring it up.

He gives me a glass of water and I gulp it down in one go.

He raises a brow realizing that I'm nervous.

"I examined the juice bottle on the counter last night. It ended up being alcohol and not drugs." He states. "Your system will clear up soon and I will kill the bastard who did this to you."

"It's done... no need for violence..." I try to recover some courage.

"No! Your drink was spiked in my house. Someone got through under my watch and did this to you knowing me very well. I won't let any motherfucker get away with this."

There's this awkward atmosphere surrounding us.

"It was Nick." I blurt out.

His expression starts off with confusion and goes straight to anger. "Are you fucking serious?"

I nod.

I tell him everything. Everything Nick said and how he left a bag of drinks and snacks on the counter. But... I leave out the picture part.

He runs his hands through his hair; he looks hurt.

He stands up but I grab his shoulder to stop him.

"Nick showed me something." My heart begins to beat faster. "A picture."

"A picture?" He sounds genuinely confused. "Of what?"

"You."

He still couldn't figure it out. Maybe he didn't do it. Maybe it was an old picture.

"It was you... you with someone else two nights ago..."

"That's impossible! I haven't looked at another fucking woman since proposing to you!" He's not angry, he's just upset.

Something inside of me just snaps. Maybe it was all those emotions I was holding in for months but I wanted to empty my system.

"But how do I believe you? How do I believe you knowing you've hurt me so many times?" My eyes instantly begin tearing. "You give me affections, you need me, you destroy me and it happens all over again."

"Inaya..."

"But do you want to know the funny part? My dumb heart would come running back to you anyways. It's becoming more and more impossible for me to piece myself together yet I still come back to you." I sniffle quietly. "You're like a drug, I never should've tasted but I did and now I can't stop. I can't turn away from you."

I softly hit his chest repeatedly, "Tell me what you want from me! Tell me what I should do because I'm falling apart... I can't... I don't think I can take it anymore..." I place my forehead on his chest.

"I wouldn't do that to you... not after what you said last night." His voice... he's in pain.

"What did I say last—ow!" The splitting headache comes back.

Suddenly, all the memories of last night comes flooding back in an instant.

You're handsome, you're hot. My, oh my, you're every girl's fantasy.

Do you want to only marry me because you want that one chance to sleep with me?

I'll still love you and I don't expect anything back but I don't like being hurt.

I hate how easily I fell in love with you but I know I wouldn't change it for the world...

Oh my God. I told him everything last night.

"Dominic..." I almost had no words.

"What? You don't love me? Last night was a fucking joke?"

"That's not it. I..." I didn't know what to say. This is so awkward. Was I actually that handsy last night?

I made him take his shirt off? Ya Allah!

He didn't even go further than what I did. He could've but he didn't.

He sighs. "I know what you're thinking and you're right. I'm a fucked up bastard. I'm bitter. I'm cold. I destroy everything I touch. I probably don't have the fucking ability to love. I'm the sole reason you're where you are and how you are."

He pushes me away from him. "You deserve better. Everyone knows it. Nick told me that. Caterina told me that. Angela told me that. My own fucking father told me that. But my selfish ass would never be able to give you away, not unless it's over my dead body."

There's a strain in his voice that he's trying really hard not to show. His eyes are hollow, yet filled with pain.

My heart clenches at his words. I was so busy thinking about how embarrassed I was about last night that I forgot to tell him that I meant it when I said I love him.

He turns around to walk away only to stop on his heels to face me again. "That picture, it could be true but I can't confirm. I was trying to tell you... I was drugged two nights ago by someone." His emphasis on someone means that he's already figured out who did it. "I woke up with no memories of what happened to me. Not a single fucking memory. What I did, I didn't do intentionally. But it doesn't matter if you believe me or not, now does it?"

He pushes a gun onto my hands. "Doesn't matter if last night was a lie or not, you're mine. And the only way you'll get away is if you kill me first."

His eyes are back to the expression he had when I first met him: cold, empty and emotionless.

My mouth goes dry. This could most definitely be a chance. I could escape, he trusts me enough for this.

Isn't this what I wanted since the beginning? To get him to trust me enough so I can find a way out? Well, here's my chance, handed to me on a silver platter.

The grip of the gun tightens in my hand. My heart pounding in my chest, my palms are sweaty. My hands are shaking uncontrollably.

The trembling hand that holds the gun reaches up and Dominic doesn't flinch until... until I point the gun to my own head.

- - -

A/N: guys, completely unrelated to this story but I have ideas for a new story 🤩. I was listening to the song Be My Mistake by The 1975 and I quickly did little notes for it.

Next Update: hopefully Saturday, January 11, 2020.

P.S. I have classes from Monday to Wednesday and Friday from 8 AM to 7 or 8ish PM (that's me spending almost 12 hours at school everyday omfg) so it's getting tougher to give exact dates! Please bear with me!