Act like my wife

37. Angelus

Thank you for being patient.

Veronica's Point of View

I awoke to the sound of the morning bell. It was at the crack of dawn, everywhere was still a bit dark but I could hear the roosters crowing. My body jittered when the cool gentle wind hit my skin, caressing me like a lover. Where are you Patrizio, I miss you with all my heart and my body. I miss the smell of your cologne mixed with your aftershave, I miss the way you kiss me all over my body.

The morning bells continued to chime at a soothing pace, bringing to everyone's notice what time it was.. since I had no watch or a phone, my guess would be 6 o'clock.

The ringing stopped, and was followed by the voice of a catholic priest megaphoned throughout the vicinity—as he recited the Angelus. His voice was calming like the early morning breeze, it stirred up feelings of nostalgia wrapped in a blanket of peacefulness. This was the beginning of my second day in this hell hole. Another day of being locked up without any reason. I have no idea who those men are, or why they brought me and Tessy here, but I had a feeling that we would find out soon.

Tessy's gentle snores beside me brought me back to the reality of this dirty prison. The walls were peeling off and the bed was squeaky loud. The only things that were in order were the iron bars at the window and the newly installed iron doors. In fact, I don't think anyone has lived here in years. I was irritated by the situation of the room, maybe it was the pregnancy, but the smell of this entire place made me nauseous. I was super uncomfortable and found it hard to sleep on this sad excuse for a bed. I'm just glad Tessy can find some comfort, she had been sleeping soundly for hours now.

Our children were being kept in a room down the hallway, despite our plea, those vile men refused to let them stay here with us. I can't help but feel guilty about everything, I just hope that Patrizio can find us soon enough. On second thoughts, I am so sick and tired of being his damsel in distress! I'll be the hero for a change although I'm in my last trimester and the chances of me running faster than a slug is quite slim.

I shut my eyes as the priest finished the last part of the prayer. His voice sounds so far away yet so near. I wonder how close the church is from here. As soon as the prayer ended, I said in a low puff... 'if I'm going to die here, then I'm glad I get to spend my last days listening to that.'

Memories from the day we were captured flashed through my mind and I opened my eyes to escape the horror; After our driver was shot, the scary men forced us out of the limo and into their van. I recognized one of them as someone who used to work for Patrizio. He refused to tell me where he was taking us, or why. They gagged us and covered our faces with bags, then they brought us here. I doubt if we're still in Madrid, the drive was way too long. Maybe we are somewhere in the outskirts, and I say this because I keep hearing goats bleating nonstop in the distance. We might be on a farm or in a rural area, or both.

Tessy moved beside me and I looked down to see her fully awake. She pushed herself off the dusty washed-out mattress, the bed cried for help under her weight, and the metal bedframe squeaked miserably.

"Fuck me" She cussed under her breath as she placed her left hand on her shoulder and started to massage her neck and shoulder muscles. "This bed fucking hurts, I prefer the fucking floor"

I sighed. "Hmm, that's if the rats don't feast on your flesh"

She groaned. "Ugh, I totally forgot about those stupid rodents"

"Sorry," I whispered and brought my hands to her shoulder to help.

She pushed my hands away. "It's fine. Just find a way to get us out of this mess you put us in. My kids and I didn't ask for this, we're not gonna die because of you and your boyfriend!" She turned the other way, avoiding my gaze.

"Tessy, that ain't fair. How is this my fault?"

She faced me abruptly. Her eyes were puffy with dark circles and her breath smelled of the trashy food they fed us last night. With a raised voice, she retorted. "Between the both of us, who has more connection to the damn mafia?!"

I looked down defeated. Of course, she is right, why would men like these kidnap a group of women and children for no reason? I looked back up to her. "Just have faith in Patrizio, he will get us out of this—"

She got up from the bed and stood with her hands folded on her chest. "You have proven to me time and time again that you will always make my life worse. You're bad news Niks, and I'll make sure I keep my family away from you!"

I felt a sharp pain in my belly but I ignored it, her words hurt me more. "Tess, think about what you're saying...I never knew this would happen. But I promise you we'll get out of this"

"Oh really?" She asked in disbelief.

I nodded, still pushing back the pain.

"Then why aren't the kids here with us? Can you do something about that?!" I looked down in shame and shook my head in the negative. She scoffed... "Exactly. You are useless." She returned to the bed and went back to sleep facing the other way, but I knew she wasn't sleeping.

It broke my heart to hear her talk like that to me, but maybe she is right... With the kinds of men I have been associated with, I'm nothing but a danger to be around. If only I knew who ordered our kidnapping so I could plead with him to let us go. It's been two days since we've been locked in here, but I have not had the chance to see their boss, whoever he is...