Capture My Fiancé (A Dark Mafia Arranged Marriage Romance)

08

EMILIA

The cabin was unnervingly quiet, except for the soft rustle of leaves outside. I checked my phone—12 midnight. Time seemed to drag slower out here. I had already texted Mamá, telling her I was staying over at my cousin's place for the night. 

If she had any clue about what I'd really done... well, she'd probably have disowned me on the spot. Or worse, killed me.

I sat on a monoblock chair across from Valentino, my legs bouncing with nervous energy as I stared at his still form. Every nerve in my body was tight, buzzing with a mix of fear, adrenaline, and something I couldn't quite name. My heart hadn't stopped pounding since I'd dragged him in here, still struggling with the absurdity of what I'd done.

In front of me, the man I'd kidnapped—kidnapped—was bound to a chair, unconscious, looking disturbingly calm for someone who had just been chloroformed and tied up in an abandoned cabin. 

Valentino had barely moved in the forty minutes since I'd brought him here. I reached for the cigarette I'd lit earlier, my third one since we'd arrived. I'd found a pack stashed in the glove compartment of my SUV, a leftover from a time when stress and nicotine were my only companions.

God, when did I become such a chain-smoker again?

Each drag felt like I was trying to smoke away the tension that twisted in my gut. But it wasn't helping. Nothing was. The cabin's dim, eerie light only added to the suffocating weight pressing down on me, reminding me that I had no idea what came next. The plan had gotten me this far—dragging him here, tying him up, making sure he stayed out long enough for me to... well, what?

I hadn't thought this far ahead.

The idea had seemed almost straightforward when I'd planned it—scare him, make him back out of the engagement, take control of my life. But now, face-to-face with reality, I was drawing blanks. 

What was I going to say to him when he woke up? 

Should I threaten him? 

Pretend to be more dangerous than I actually was?

I blew out another cloud of smoke, trying to calm my racing thoughts. The chloroform had knocked him out for the entire drive, but I had no idea how long he'd stay unconscious. Every little twitch or shift from his body made my pulse quicken, a reminder that at any moment, he could wake up.

My eyes flicked back to him. The only sounds in the cabin were the occasional creaks of the old wooden floor. Yet my mind was screaming with all the what ifs I hadn't considered.

Then, as if on cue, I saw it—a flutter. His eyelids twitched slightly, a subtle movement that sent a jolt of panic through me. My cigarette trembled in my hand as I watched, wide-eyed, waiting for the inevitable.

Valentino's breathing deepened, his fingers flexing ever so slightly. He was waking up.

My heart leapt into my throat, and panic surged through me in a wave so strong I could barely think. What am I supposed to do now? I wasn't ready for this. I hadn't rehearsed this part—how was I going to talk to him? Keep him calm? Or worse, what if he wasn't calm at all?

I wanted to kick myself. Forty-five minutes here, and I still hadn't come up with a real plan. I had only thought about the kidnapping itself, never what I'd do after. 

Maybe I could try to talk to him... reason with him? But who was I kidding? Valentino wasn't the type of man you reasoned with. He was dangerous, powerful, and now, he was going to wake up and find himself tied to a chair in the middle of nowhere.