Prisioner In Your Arms

Nicole didn’t plan on making things so easy for Bruno. For years, she had to pay for something she didn’t do, while he wouldn’t even listen to her. She remembered how he would enjoy her body and then reject and humiliate her in the worst way possible.

She would savor his caresses and his passion, making him believe that she had fallen for his charms. But when they reunited, she would test his luck, see if he had truly changed and was willing to do anything to win her love. He would have to prove it; she didn’t want to fall into his trap and be imprisoned once again, that terrified her.

“What are you thinking about?” Bruno said, approaching her from behind and planting a kiss on her shoulder while rubbing her back. She, lost in her thoughts, stood on the terrace and smiled.

“I was thinking that you were right. The view from here is truly beautiful,” she lied, not wanting to start an argument. She knew they would if she expressed her true thoughts.

“The view I have from here is the best,” he said flirtatiously. “I love you.”

Nicole heard what he said perfectly well, but she pretended not to, distancing herself from him. She turned around, entered the room, and poured herself a drink.

Bruno felt hurt by being ignored.

“I see you’ve developed a taste for wine,” he remarked.

“I used to avoid it. You rarely saw me drink,” she replied.

“That’s right. Leandro and I used to have a glass every afternoon while we chatted,” she couldn’t help but sigh as she said it.

At that moment, the wrinkle on Bruno’s forehead became even more pronounced. Nicole could tell he was very upset.

“Did you have to mention Leandro?”

“Just hearing that name would drive him crazy.”

“He is a very important part of my life, and always will be, and you have to understand that. No one has ever treated me the way he has.” She sighed again.

“Do you love him?” It was a question I had wanted to ask for a long time.

“How do you think I could love him? He is my brother, I have a special affection for him. He was there for me when I needed someone to support me, he even was with me when my son was born.” Nicole became agitated at that question, which seemed stupid to her.

“I would have been there, but you didn’t allow me. I would have liked to welcome my son into this world.”

“You know very well why I did it, I don’t have to repeat it to you. I could list a long list of reasons I had for doing it.”

Bruno chose to stay silent, there was too much pain in Nicole’s words. He poured himself a drink, then he approached her and kissed her. Nicole moved away from him and went into the bathroom, leaving the door open. Bruno understood the message, he smiled maliciously, entered the bathroom, and found her naked. He did the same, throwing his clothes aside, the bathtub was filling up, they both got in.

Bruno got in the water, lying on his back. Nicole opened her legs to sit on top of him, kissing him passionately. Bruno loved this new side of her as a determined woman.

She traced his neck with her lips, while caressing him with her hands, after joining their bodies, she began to move rhythmically. Bruno observed her, every movement she made caused him infinite pleasure, her expressions showed that she was also enjoying it, with her he felt complete, thousands of electric shocks ran through his body.

Later, feeling satisfied from their desires, they left the bathroom. Bruno took off the towel around his waist, put on some pants and a t-shirt, Nicole put on a robe she found among the clothes Bruno had asked an employee to leave in the cabin.

When they went to bed, they fell asleep right away. In the morning, Bruno woke up and Nicole was not by his side, he thought she would be in the bathroom, he waited for a while, but seeing that she didn’t come out, he got up to look for her. The bathroom was empty, he looked on the terrace, she wasn’t there either. He went outside and saw that the car was gone.

“Damn it!”

He returned to bed and found a note on the pillow.

“I’m deeply sorry, but I can’t allow myself to fall in love with you again until I’m certain that you have truly changed. I don’t want to expose myself to being hurt once more. I’ve asked Dante to come pick you up, and tomorrow I’ll deliver your car to the company.”

“Damn it, Nicole! When will you understand that I love you?” He was desperate, never expecting her to leave him stranded in that place.

Dante arrived shortly after.

“Little brother, you’ve been left high and dry,” he exclaimed, laughing.

“You find joy in what Nicole has done to me. I know you’re always on her side,” he replied, annoyed.

“I believe Nicole loves you, but she’ll make you pay dearly for everything you’ve done. If I were you, I’d hurry up and win her over. She has a long list of suitors behind her.”

“I’ll never allow her to be with another man. I’ll take care of that,” he replied, furrowing his brow. Just the thought of it made him furious.

They returned to the city in Dante’s car, and Bruno wanted to go to Nicole’s house, but his brother didn’t allow it.

“You have to give her space. Don’t harass her, or you’ll push her further away.”

“I want her by my side, along with my son. I’ve wasted too much time. Sometimes I think life is too short, and we’re squandering it.”

“I agree with you. I’m happy. I have Sophie with me, and we’re getting married soon. I want God’s blessing when my child is born. By the way, I was thinking, you divorced Nicole legally, but in the eyes of God, you’re still married.”

Bruno smiled; Dante was right. In the eyes of God and the church, Nicole and he were still husband and wife.

“I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. We’re still married,” he said, laughing. Dante shook his head as he watched him.

The next day, when they arrived at the company, Nicole was already there. Bruno was in a very good mood, and she entered his office while he hummed a tune.

“Wow, you’re in a great mood,” she remarked.

“It’s surprising that he wasn’t furious and didn’t confront me,” she thought.

“Yes, I am,” he replied, smiling.

“Here are the keys to your car,” she said, extending her hand to hand them over.

As he took the keys, he squeezed Nicole’s hand tightly.

“We’re still married. You’re still my wife,” he told her, looking into her eyes.

“That’s not true. Your lawyer has sent me the divorce papers. I am a free woman,” she replied.

Bruno pulled out the ecclesiastical marriage certificate.

“You see, in the eyes of God, we’re still married. You’re still my wife, whether you like it or not.”

“I’ll request the annulment of our marriage immediately. I have witnesses of what has happened. If they speak up, I’ll be granted the annulment right away,” she replied furiously. Why did that man always have to have his way?

“Don’t you dare, Nicole Williams,” he said, raising his voice as he stood up from his chair.

“See, you haven’t changed. You’re still the same caveman,” she retorted, turning around and storming out of the office. Alizza was in the hallway, and when she saw Nicole, she approached her.

“Here, you should put this around your neck,” Alizza said, extending a pashmina to her. Nicole looked at her puzzled.

“Why do you think I should do that?”

“I think you should look at your neck in front of a mirror,” Alizza made strange gestures as she spoke.

Nicole hurriedly entered her office and stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. She did as Alizza suggested and observed large red marks along her neck.

“Bruno Leone, you will pay for this,” she said, feeling frustrated and angry. In her rush, she hadn’t noticed the marks, and she was sure Bruno had done it intentionally.

She stormed out, furious, and entered Bruno’s office once again without knocking.

“What do you think you’re doing marking me like that?” Her breathing was heavy.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize when I made those marks. You know, in the heat of passion, I lose control, and these things happen,” he feigned ignorance.

“You’re a cynic. You marked me as if I were cattle.”

“Cattle? Ha, ha, ha, that’s a good one.”

“It’s not funny, Bruno. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Santi, and today I rushed to drop him off at school. I didn’t notice. Alizza was the one who told me. It’s embarrassing. No wonder my classmates were whispering in the hallways. You’ve gone too far, Leone.”

“You can do the same to me if it will make you feel better,” he said, lowering the collar of his shirt to expose his neck.

“Are you sure?” Nicole smiled maliciously. She had no intention of letting the opportunity for revenge slip away.

“Absolutely.”

She approached him, pressed her mouth against his neck, and started sucking while counting.

“One, two, three, four. Four love bites, just like the ones you gave me.”

She tried to pull away, but Bruno stopped her. He was breathing heavily.

He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her. At first, she responded to the kiss, but then she pushed him away.

“No, not here. We could be seen,” she exclaimed, concerned.

“So what? Everyone knows we’re married and have a child,” he replied.

“That’s not the image I want to portray. I have a son, I think you understand,” she said.

She stormed out, still furious. Bruno placed his hand on his neck, right where she had sucked. He sighed and returned to his place behind the desk.

“Next time, you won’t run away from me, Nicole Williams. I assure you, you won’t,” he said, smiling maliciously. He immediately imagined several possible scenarios where he would make her pay in his own way.

His shirt was slightly open, exposing the love bites that Nicole had left.

Alizza entered a little later. She hadn’t had the chance to apologize yet. Bruno found that girl really annoying. She did everything except work; instead, she seemed to wander around the offices. He regretted accepting her as his assistant. He would have to talk to his father to see how he could relocate her to one of their other companies. There was something about her that made him distrustful, and after what had happened at the beach house, he already considered her a problem.