It is true that love cannot be forced, but it certainly can bloom in the most unlikely places.
Even in the mansion of the mysterious businessman, Hugh, who blackmails Zuri into staying with him.
Where am I? Zuri blinked at the bright light until her eyes adjusted. She was in a room. A cozy little room in a bed. Sunlight was straining in from somewhere, but a voice distracted her observations.
"You're awake," someone declared.
Her eyes slowly tracked the source of the voice. A young woman with sharp cheekbones and cool green eyes stared down at her. The stethoscope and scrubs gave away the woman's occupation.
"My name is Elle. I'm your nurse," the woman explained. "Now that you're up, I'm going to run a few quick tests."
While the woman checked her vitals, Zuri stayed perfectly still. She was too afraid to move. Her memories had returned, and, seeing as how a nurse was tending to her, the fire must have done some damage.
"Do me a favor and wiggle your fingers and toes," Elle ordered.
Zuri obeyed. Thankfully, every digit seemed to comply. The muscles in the nurse's face relaxed, relieving Zuri.
"How bad is it?" Zuri asked, unable to meet Elle's eyes.
"How bad is what?"
"My...body."
"Oh, your body will be fine," Elle assured her. "A few bruises and scrapes. One first degree burn on the side of your face. You were lucky."
"What happened? Do you know?"
"I don't know the details. Drew told me your house caught on fire and you were hurt trying to escape. That's all I know."
Frowning, Zuri thought about the implications of that. Either he didn't know what happened or he didn't trust the nurse enough to tell her. Those options weren't looking good.
"Where are we now?" she questioned, fingers roaming across the bed sheets tucked around her.
"A farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere," Elle replied with a disgruntled roll of her eyes. "Of all the places he could've taken you..."
"A farmhouse?"
"Yep. This farm has been in his family for generations."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Wait a minute. How does she know so much? Zuri's brows drew together as she looked the nurse over again. Elle still didn't look familiar.
"We...uh..." Elle released an embarrassed laugh. "Drew and I dated like a million years ago. That's how I know about him. I'm not a stalker or anything."
Sighing, Zuri closed her eyes. So I'm stuck in a farmhouse with a nurse who also happens to be Drew's ex? The same ex he lied to me about? Oh, God, just shoot me now.
"I see you two are getting along well," noted a familiar masculine voice.
Zuri's eyes flew open at the sound of Drew. He was standing just inside the doorway of the room. His solid, red button-up stood out against the cedar paneled wall behind him. Their gazes locked.
