Alyssa's POV:

It was dark, where am I, then I remembered I was in Miami, my head was dizzy and somewhere in my mind there was a silent ache,

you know the ache you can't pin down, it exists but not exist at the same time, paradoxical in nature, I was lying on my front,

I nuzzled deep in my scented pillow, wait I don't have a scented pillow, I slowly lifted my head up, the side lamp was on, my side one,

I saw Ricardo sleeping, his hair messed up, his coat lying on the ground, his tie hanging loose around his collar,his hand on my waist, wait what,

I tried to move away, but it felt like it was plastered there with cement, why is he so near to me, well I know he is my FIANCE but I didn't sign up for sharing the same bed plus we were just fighting in the plane, I groaned frustratingly,

"let go", I murmured to myself, "stop disturbing me", he said in his sleepy voice and pulled me closer, my head was on his chest once again, "Ricardo this is not funny",

"you should be happy I am tired, I had other things in mind for you", he said huskily, I gulped, yes Alyssa that's why he brought you here, so he can do whatever he wants, why did you say yes. oh yeah you didn't,

"you can't do this to me", "shush Alyssa sleep" he gently rubbed my back, releasing fireworks in my body, "stop",

"you want me to stop then sleep", and squeezed me more in his grip, admit it Alyssa he won this fight, let him be,
my anger started to deflate, my eyes were getting droopy, oh well *Come sleep O sleep certain knot of peace*

Morning:

I woke up to see the bed empty, I got up and yawned, rubbed my eyes, in front of me I saw him again the same way we met, his bare back, he had taken a shower and was texting someone,

what is with these Crawford men, why do I always meet their sexy backs first, I smiled a bit when I remembered the memory attached to this certain statement,

stopped reminiscing right before a tornado of sadness take me in, Ricardo was so engrossed in typing, his back was quite admirable, I saw his suit on the sofa minus the pant, he was wearing it,

"where you going?", and like the memory replayed itself again, he turned, his R.C ink flashing first in my eyes, his stare was on me,

"work", he said firmly while observing me, "you brought me here just to see you go to work, thank you Ricardo yes I believe you now, you do work", I said in sarcasm while getting off my bed, he half smiled,

"I always admired your weird humor", I fake smiled, "thank you", I started knotting my hair, "don't", I stopped abruptly, he was gazing, he gulped,

"let them fall", I raised my right eyebrow and let go my hair, they fell perfectly on my back, flawlessly that is, Ricardo's reaction said it all, both have a weird thing for my hair, he came forward,

"you can visit your friends and later I will pick you up for dinner", he suggested, his gray eyes were soul piercing, like he was reading my mind, well he was being nice to me so I will be nice too,

"okay", I said calmly, he kissed my forehead, "great", he stated and backed off, picked up his shirt and started to wear it,
soon we had breakfast together, he was calm, we did small talk, he even smiled two three times and then he was off to work,

I was in my room, "hey Maddy!"  "hey Alyssa how ya doing babe", "well what are you doing right now", "well I am off to a brunch with some friends, you wanna join", "I don't know",

"Come on Alyssa don't be a party pooper, please for me", "Okay only because I love you", "Yes! I love you more", we laughed,

"wait" "what?", "attire", "it's a brunch Alyssa, not too formal, just wear a pretty dress or something", "Okay", "I will send you the address or do you want me to pick you up",

"No it's okay, my driver will drop me", "okay great", "great bye see you soon", with that we ended our conversation,
I chose a cream color knee length dress and let my golden locks fall,

I was ready, Maddy had messaged me the address and I was off to my destination right after it,

well car ride was quiet, I was reminiscing back to the good old times, when I came to Miami and met my friends, I can't wait to meet Maddy.

The brunch was located in some high class hotel, I was escorted by a guy, who said he was the manager and was especially waiting for me,

I followed, I was escorted to a huge hall room with sandy brown colored drapery, polished cream colored flooring, it was not that crowded, the perfect amount, as I entered I was crushed in a hug,

"Oh I miss you so much", "me too", I murmured in her hair, I heard laughter,

"let the poor girl go Madeline", a woman said, her voice laced with amusement, she let me go, I breathed freely after the cute torture,

"Alyssa this is Courtney, Abigail, Melissa",  well coined name for well defined women, all three were gorgeous, the one stood out was none other than Courtney the goddess with tanned skin, long legs, perfect smile, our pretty brunette,

the other two were blondes, with pretty much the same qualities, "Hi I am Alyssa so nice to meet you", "my my darling you are gorgeous",

she said seductively or I thought she was rather being, but later I discovered it was the effect of her raspy voice, I blushed a bit, she laughed,

"you are beautiful yourself well all three of you", I complimented politely, "enough with the compliments, let's talk", I saw the two getting alarmed and whispered something in Courtney's ears,

her eyes were fixed on a target and with a simple nod she flew away with her angels, I on the other hand was pulled to the brunch table to be fed by Mama bear, she almost fed me everything, my mouth was full,

"Maddy stop what will the hospital write on my report, Cause of death freaky best friend's feeding techniques", I joked while gulping a cheese stuffed cookie, yes weird right, but delicious as hell,

"shush Alyssa look how thin you have gotten, gotta eat babe if you wanna survive this war", she reasoned with me and gave me a small cute nugget in the shape of a fish. I smiled at that,

"look how cute it is", "yes now eat it", "Maddy when are you gonna eat, believe me everything on this table is finished by me, no fair", I huffed,  she pinched my cheek and mouthed cute, I smiled childishly,

"Alyssa there I am eating too", she placed a really small piece of cheese ball, "Na ah you are not getting away this easily, I am gonna feed you like you fed me", and with that my torture started, we were laughing and talking while devouring food, believe me I ate alot, now we got up,,

"I look like I am pregnant", I confessed while checking myself in the mirror, she got on her knees in front of me and placed her ear on my stomach,

"it says mama", she said in her baby voice,, I laughed, "I thought it would say cheese cheese", she laughed hard, two women passed us,

"how many months?", they smiled, "two" Maddy said innocently, they nodded and smiled, then left, we both laughed after it,, "Maddy you are insane", "I know", she smirked,,

we went to the bar, I didn't drink, I ordered a juice, Maddy herself agreed because Mason doesn't like it when Maddy drinks when he is not around, cute Papa bear, we were laughing,

then I felt a shift in Maddy's mood, "Let's go somewhere else Alyssa", "why?", I asked, she was looking behind me, then I heard heels, "Maddy look who I found", I turned and froze,

there stood Karma himself dressed in a tailored black suit, hair gelled back, his eyes landed on me and it felt like someone punched me in the face,

I saw her hand on his arm, massaging it slowly, making me uncomfortable by every stroke, he has such a huge affect on me,

I removed my gaze to the ground, where it actually belongs,"Carlos meet Alyssa she lives in San Francisco", she said while introducing me, I smiled to her,

"I know her", he said firmly, his tone was hard, I gulped, "you do?", she asked looking at me, "we were in school together", I said normally, she smiled,

"oh", "yeah well we will see you guys later"Maddy said while grabbing my hand, but Courtney stopped her in mid way, "Maddy can't you share your friend with us, come sit at our table, we are your friends too you know", she pouted,

I was staring at Maddy she gave me a look, I knew Carlos was glaring hard, his stare boring holes in my face, I just considered to ignore him while he is standing so close to me,

this will do, "um", Maddy said while looking at me, "Please", now she asked me, I nodded, she was so nice to me, well when she finds out about me and Carlos, she will bury me alive,

She smiled widely and hugged me, "thank you darling", she grabbed his arm again and they both like a couple guided us to our location,

"I am sorry I didn't know he was here", Maddy whispered, "It's okay, he is Karma he is everywhere", I responded, we settled in our places, I saw the other two blondes sitting with other boys, they were talking,

so four two seater sofas were placed in a square manner in between was a table with a beautiful antique vase in maroon, I quite liked it,

We had to sit in front of the lovebird couple, great, they all started talking I listened with my masterful fake smile plastered on my face,

ignoring the devil man sitting in front of me, whenever I diverted my gaze at them, I felt pain, she was sometimes whispering sweet lovey dovey things in his ear, sometimes biting his ear lobe, wild woman,

sometimes caressing his arm, all this while I was burning, it was pure torture, and I could see Carlos didn't mind it at all, I think he was enjoying my misery,

wish he could just kill me this instant than slowly torture me with flirting with another women, it was ruthless. my throat was burning so was my heart,

my eyes were welling up, I tried to be strong, Maddy placed her hand on my thigh, I smiled to her, I know he was satisfied, but his torture was not complete, he slowly grabbed her face and kissed her while massaging her jawline,

her hands seductively grazing his back then traveling to his chest then under his buttoned open shirt, It was all happening in front of me,

I stood up, he stopped kissing her and diverted his gaze to me, observing me, I was calm yet dying from the inside, "Maddy I have to go I have a dinner date with my Fiance", his smile vanished like it never existed, now you know how I feel Carlos, it hurts right,

well you deserve it after this little stunt you pulled on me mercilessly, she stood up,

"okay love you, do you want me to walk with you", she asked while hugging, I had my best poker face on, he couldn't read me even if he was well qualified in that field, "No, bye guys", we said our goodbyes, I ignored the brute, and departed,

I lied, my dinner date was few hours away, I just ran away, I couldn't face it, the kiss was like a back stab, I am a human being too, I can't survive that much hate,

I am just an ordinary girl with an ordinary heart, I can't survive that vile sorcery, it was complete torture, I had ordered the driver to take me back to my hotel, my tears were falling like rain on my deserted dress, I was so insulted today, he walked on me like I was a carpet, I can't face the Wrath of a Crawford, I am weak,

Hotel:
I was in my room, I heard steps, I saw Ricardo approaching a little pissed, "why weren't you answering one of my calls?", he demanded an answer, I was looking down, his gaze diverted to my packed bags,

"what is this?", he asked rather angrily, I stood up, "Ricardo I can't do this, I want to leave, I will not come again in your life, I will vanish like I never existed, please just let me leave, you can marry someone else who will appreciate you not take you for granted like me,

you deserve happiness, love, everything. I can't give you that, please have mercy", I pleaded while looking down,

I was too afraid to look him in the eyes, soon I felt pain, he grabbed my arms hardly, almost crushing my bones, his eyes filled with anger and rage, I gulped, I tried to untangle myself from his hold but it was no use, I was trapped for good,

"Ricardo you are hurting me", "listen to me Alyssa", my gaze trapped in his, "I am done playing the good guy, I am fucking tired of it and your freaking attitude", he roared, I almost jumped,

"From now on you will listen to me, alright, you are going to marry me and that's final, I want no arguments about it ever", "Ricardo",I pleaded,

"shut up and listen to me and do not ever interrupt me when I am talking, we will do a contract marriage for one year and after that you can vanish or do what ever you desire I don't give a damn about it, just pretend for one year until I get the company then you are free", he said in a low voice

what is wrong with this guy, "I tried to be nice but you are too stubborn and I don't tolerate haughtiness, just play with me for one year and get your freedom", he stated rudely,

and let go off me with a jerk, I massaged my arms, he came closer, "don't try running away, I will catch you and don't tell anyone about it not even your friends and especially Carlos, if you do I am gonna torture you your entire pathetic life, believe me I will", he hissed in my ear and disappeared,

I cried while sitting on the bed, then I stopped, just one year of torture then I will go away forever, I wiped my tears away, he came back and sat beside me, he offered me a pen and some papers, "sign it", he demanded, I signed them with out protest, he took them back, read them and with that he was gone,

now I was Mrs Crawford, I always dreamed of that name but I didn't know it would become a nightmare one day, for one year I have to play house with Ricardo,

I knew this man was devoid of soul both are, they are carved out of something inhumane, something vicious they have an empty rib cage, and I am trapped in it,

"I have announced it to my parents that I married you here in Miami they are a little disappointed but they send their blessings", he stated normally while drinking champagne, he was leaning against the door,

"okay", I whispered, "create some romantic story for your friends and our family", he said while sipping, this man has no decency, no heart, no humanity, he doesn't mind any of it at all, "I will" I said normally,

I later went to change, I had marks on my arms, his hold was really tight on me, I came out and saw Ricardo stretched gracefully on the bed,

"I am not sharing bed with you", I said firmly, he was observing me, "but why, I thought we could have our honeymoon tonight", he said normally my eyes shot up in horror, he smirked,

"relax I am joking, well I can assure you, you are safe", I got relaxed, "tonight", I was staring at him, "Ricardo I am serious",

"you don't have to sleep with me just share a bed with me like a pretend wife", he stated, I stood there gazing he was silent, I moved and flopped next to him, placed a pillow in between,

"you think this pillow can protect you from me", he asked while raising his eye brow, I was getting quite uncomfortable,

"I know it won't, I just placed it to set boundaries", I said firmly, trying to act tough, he smirked, and settled himself comfortably beside me, I did the same, "good night Alyssa"  "good night",

O God please help me get through this, stuck between two tornadoes.

*** **** ****** ******
Hey loves, How ya doing
:D yes Alyssa is married :(

Her challenges never end do they :D
Poor little sweet heart

Carlos you brute, what about Ricardo the devil :p

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Xoxo Thegirlinthegreycoat