MARRIED ACCIDENTALLY

CHAPTER 14

Ann’s POV

The ringing starts again, making me grind my teeth in frustration.

Ryan never called after he broke things up with me. I left numerous voicemails for him, but he never did.

He never showed up when I needed him or his assistance.

And now he is calling me nonstop.
For an instant, I want to assume that Ryan must have felt something when he saw me with Vince. It's obvious he appears jealous, and I want to celebrate that.

But I can't.

Not when I have my doubts.

Not when Tessa is nowhere to be found.

Not when seeing him again has brought back the pain and hurt I have been harboring for weeks.

When the ringing won't stop, I grab the phone and glue it to my ears, waiting for a sound from the other end.

But the silence sends rage through my veins.

“Why the hell do you keep calling?!” I yell into the phone.

Blocking him was the right decision. But I was too hurt and too emotional when I unblocked him, thinking we could talk through this and I would be able to make him see reasons not to go ahead with that marriage of convenience.

Now, I regret my actions.

“Ann, calm down…”

“Don't tell me to calm down. What the hell do you want? Are you tired of your bride already?”

“No!” His reply comes back sharply, making pain slice through me. “I am calling to confirm something. I heard you two are married. When did that happen? How did you even meet a man like Vincete?”

“That is none of your f***ing business!” I thunder loudly, pacing to and fro, unable to sit still with the anger bubbling inside of me.

I hear him sigh. “Annette, I am calling for your benefit. Vince is not a man you should be with. Do you even know who he is? How can you be with such a dangerous man? If this is meant to spite me, then I think this is a bad idea. Before he hurts you, leave immediately.”

I halt.

Hurt me?

“Are you there? Ann?!”

“How dare you?!” I am on the verge of crying. “Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can dump me and come back to counsel me over who to be with or not? No one advised you to let go of that princess of yours when you decided to marry her instead. So f**king get out of my life!”

“Ann, I know Vince. Getting married to Clara also means venturing into the family business, and I tell you it is extremely dangerous. Please believe me, and I promise never to call you again. Vincete is…Vince…”

Even though I am dying to hear what he has to say, I cut him short quickly. “I know the man I married, Ryan. He's not sly like you. He is no coward who would back out of an agreement like you did. He loves me dearly, and I do too. You should be curious about how we met, and if I wasn't with him before you left, you jerk!"

With that said, I hang up and slouch onto the soft sofa beside my bed.

Vincete is what? Will he hurt me? Why?

I can't let Ryan think this is also a thing of convenience like his own. I can't give him the impression that I knew little of Vince before we got married.

My hands tremble as my curiosity begins to mount heavily.

I was probably right. I was right about my doubts and suspicions.

He looked dangerous and intimidating from the start, but I decided to ignore it. I found a gun, and I also decided to look past it.

What more will I find if I search?

Is he really a dangerous man like everyone wants me to believe? What sort? Is he pretending to be nice to me just to hurt me eventually? Why? What have I done?

What about his mother and the arranged marriage he is trying to get out of? Will he hurt me when he has achieved his aim?

A knock interrupts my thoughts, and I jerk up to see Christiana peeping in.

“Can I come in?” She demands with a smile on her face.

Realizing Ryan might try to call me again, I nod at Christiana and grab the phone to block his ass.

“The girls are here to move your things.” Christiana’s voice reaches my ear, making me glance up at her.

Vince instructed them to move my stuff. I was going to talk to him about that earlier but I couldn't.

Without a word, I nod in agreement, and they get to work. Feeling uncomfortable and uneasy with the news about Vincete, I stroll out and move to the living room.

Should I call Vince? He might be busy. When he gets back from work, should I confront him about this news? Will he tell me?

If he wanted to, he would have done it the second he made it clear that he wanted us to remain in the marriage. He would have done that when I asked him to tell me about himself.

I meant I wanted to know everything.

Isabel also mentioned that I knew nothing about him. Ryan can't be bluffing there. He knows something. Isabel does too.

Should I ask her instead of Ryan and Vince?

Remembering how she glared at me coldly at the party last night, I decide that will be a bad idea. She might probably laugh me in the face for such a question. And that means she won.

I don't know how long I have been standing until Christiana appears again, with her usual smile.

“Are you done?” I ask her, and she nods.

“Yes.”

"Thank you," I say before I sit down and consider what else to do.

Now that Vince and I are sharing a room, I can access that room whenever I want.

Even now.

But I already found a gun in there, and I am sure he wouldn't hide anything else now that we will be sharing a room.

Should I still search the bedroom?

As I stand up to climb the staircase to the bedroom where I will be sleeping from now on, an idea suddenly comes to me.

The girls are gone.

They must be in the kitchen already.

The next place to look for evidence of who he really is is his home office, if we rule out the bedroom.

I turn around slowly to be sure no one is in sight before heading quickly towards the office, hoping it won't be locked.

When I get to the door, I turn the doorknob but it won't budge.

Disappointment fills my insides.

I should have known it would be locked. Firstly, it's his personal workspace, and secondly, it could potentially serve as his hiding spot.

Without hesitation, I rush back to the bedroom, hoping to find a key to open the office door.

The key should be there.

I rush to the drawer where I found the gun the previous time, but everything in there has already been cleared.

The gun is missing.

Wow, really? Does he know that I was snooping around? Are there hidden cameras in the house?

My heart jolts forward.

Cameras? Who the hell is Vincete?

With a mixture of dread and panic, I drag my leg forward towards the closet. I ignore the loud pounding of my heart and drag it open, only to find my clothes neatly arranged there instead of Vince's.

I blink in confusion.

Where are his clothes?

I twirl around to see the walk-in closet I didn't see the other time I was here. Perhaps my haste to find something contributed to my confusion.

Slowly, I head towards the walk-in closet, just in time for a ringing sound to stop me.

It brings me to a stop in front of another drawer.

I drag it open to see a small phone ringing with the name “Dante” flashing on the screen.

I pick it up, wondering who this is and why he has a small phone at home when my eyes fall on a key.

My heartbeat increases as I carelessly drop the phone and pick up the key before rushing out of the room.

I pray this is it.

Within a minute, I am standing in front of his office door once more with the key in between my right hand.

When I insert it to open the door, it turns, and relief washes through my existence.

Yes!

I push it open quietly before heading in and closing it behind me. Everything is the same, just like they were this morning when I was here.

Where do I search? Should I go look at the drawers? It is possible there is nothing in there except for his numerous office papers and files.
Where do I search then?

I continue walking around the office, undecided on where to begin my search in the big office, when I see a door.

Is there a bathroom here?

In curiosity, I walk to the door and push it open to see it isn't a bathroom. It looks like a store with a wooden staircase leading somewhere.

With a sour feeling spreading through my stomach, I turn back once more to look around the office.

If Vince is dangerous, as they all say, then this is dangerous too. I shouldn't be doing this but I can't help it.

If he can't tell me who he is, then I should find out for myself.

A knot forms in my throat as I take the first step. The more steps I take lead me to another round of curved stairs, making the knot in my throat pull tighter.

What happens if someone sees me going in? What if I find someone in there? What if Vince finds out? What will he do?

Against the impulse to turn around and run, I walk till I get to the landing, where I see a vast room with the staircase above it covering the door I took.

What is this place?

Dread gnaws at my heart when I see a big table with a black cloth covering it. What the hell is that?

Slowly, I inch forward until I am directly in front of the table. With shaky hands, I peel the cover away to reveal the different sorts of weaponry on it.

I jerk backward, shock and horror racing down my spine.