Kidnapped to love

chapter 14

Crystal sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes drifting to the window. It had been days since Dimitri had taken her. She missed her home, her family, the normalcy of her life. Despite everything, he made it strangely easy to forget—his flirtatious games, his teasing smiles, the way he always seemed to know what she was thinking before she even said a word.

Days passed like this, with Dimitri always finding ways to distract her, whether it was with his playful taunts, little gestures, or just the fact that he was always there. It was almost comforting in a way, even if she hated to admit it.

Then one day, he handed her a phone.

Her heart skipped a beat, hope rising in her chest.

Dimitri chuckled, shaking his head. "No calls, doll. Don’t get too excited."

Her face fell. "What’s the point then?"

"It has internet," he said, watching her closely. "You won’t get bored in my absence now."

She sighed but took the phone anyway. It wasn’t much, but at least it was something. Still, no matter how much she tried to distract herself with it, home was always on her mind. She asked Dimitri again and again to let her go, but he just brushed her off, playing his usual games, acting as if she wasn’t serious.

.....

She heard the door unlock. Assuming it was Dimitri, she didn’t bother to look up. But instead, it was a maid standing there.

"Mam, sir is calling you," the maid said softly.

Crystal looked up in surprise. "Me?"

"Yes, mam. He’s in the kitchen."

Crystal frowned. "Tell him I’m not hungry."

The maid looked nervous, her hands fidgeting. "Mam, he will get mad if you don’t come."

Crystal shrugged. "So be it. I don’t care."

Just then, a voice came from the maid’s phone. "Doll, better be here."

Crystal’s eyes narrowed as she realized Dimitri was listening. Of course, he’d know she was going to say no. She rolled her eyes and begrudgingly made her way toward the kitchen.

As she entered, her breath caught for a moment. Dimitri was there, wearing a crisp white shirt with black pants, his sleeves rolled up, looking annoyingly handsome. But what really caught her off guard was the kitchen apron he wore over his clothes.

He noticed her staring and grinned. "Falling in love all over again?" he teased, his smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

She snapped out of her daze, rolling her eyes. "You wish."

"Done admiring or do you need more time?" he asked, pulling her back to reality with a smirk that was pure mischief.

She crossed her arms, still trying to keep her cool. "What are you doing?"

"What your boyfriend should know how to do."

She blinked, confused. "What?"

"Learning to cook," he said with a wink.

Crystal suddenly remembered that night when she was drunk and teasingly told him to learn to cook for her. He had been  promised to think about it.

"You really remembered that?" she asked, stepping closer, genuinely surprised.

"Of course. You told me to learn, so here I am , let's learn cooking together ."

"I was joking!" she protested. " also I don’t even like cooking—I only like eating."

He raised an eyebrow. "You want a boyfriend who can cook ,i want a girlfriend who  help me in cooking , if she expecting me to  cook for her "

"Then go find one," she shot back with a teasing smile.

"Not funny," he replied, pulling her closer. "Come on, let’s make something."

" I'm not your girlfriend " she said .

He just looked at her with serious face.

She groaned but gave in. "Fine. What are we making?"

Dimitri gestured toward his tablet, where a list of recipes was displayed. "We’ll decide together."

Crystal eyed the screen skeptically. "You think we can actually do this?"

He grinned. "We will. Trust me, doll."

She scrolled through the dishes, her eyes lighting up at the sight of something spicy. "I want something with a kick," she said.

"Then spicy it is," he agreed. After a brief debate, they settled on making spicy pasta. Dimitri showed her the recipe on the tablet and handed it to her.

"Here," he said, smirking. "You read the instructions, and I’ll do the cooking."

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "You really trust me to read?"

"Do I have a choice?" he teased.

They got to work, or at least they tried. As Crystal read the instructions, Dimitri began gathering ingredients, but it quickly turned into chaos. Crystal skipped a step by accident, and Dimitri almost added way too much salt.

"No, no, wait!" she exclaimed, rushing to stop him. "I think I missed something. Let’s start over."

Dimitri laughed, shaking his head. "You’re terrible at this."

"Oh, like you’re any better!" she shot back, both of them grinning despite the mess they were making.

Eventually, Dimitri took over reading the recipe, and Crystal tried her hand at cooking. The two of them worked together, clumsily chopping vegetables and boiling pasta, laughing the entire time. There were a few mishaps—Dimitri almost burned the sauce, and Crystal spilled water everywhere—but they were having too much fun to care.

Finally, after what felt like hours, they managed to finish the dish. Dimitri proudly brought the plate over to the dining table and served her.

"Moment of truth," he said, watching her as she took a bite.

Crystal chewed slowly, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh my God," she said, not believing how good it tasted. "Is it really that bad?" Dimitri asked, looking concerned.

Without a word, she handed him a spoonful. "Taste it yourself."

He did, and his eyes lit up with excitement. "No way," he said. "We actually made this?"

They both burst into laughter, hugging each other in celebration. "One of the best pastas I’ve ever eaten," Crystal admitted, still amazed.

"Exactly," Dimitri said, grinning. "We make a good team."

As they sat down to eat, Crystal couldn’t help but feel a strange warmth spreading through her chest. For a moment, she forgot about everything else—her kidnapping, her worries about home. Right now, it was just her and Dimitri, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

And Dimitri? He couldn’t stop smiling, watching her laugh and savor each bite. It was moments like this that made it all worth it.