Bonded: A game of hate, love, and obsession

Chapter Four

ANDREA'S POV

It's been one week and a few days since I last saw or heard anything from Leonardo or any of the men that tortured me that night and three days since I had been locked up in this room. The room was an empty one with a drawer, small foam, chair, and a very few other things in it.

“Good morning, Miss Andrea. I hope you slept well, my dear,” she greeted with a broad and excited smile.

“Good morning, Mrs Cordelia. I did, and please, just call me Andrea,” I begged for the one millionth time.

She just rolled her eyes and chuckled before setting down the tray of food in her hands. She was so dedicated to not just feeding me, but doing it at the right time, just the way my mum did before she went mad. She was also the one who saw to it that my wounds were healing quickly.

“Your breakfast is ready, as you can see. I hope you enjoy it.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs Cordelia. You're really a good woman, and I'm grateful to have crossed paths with you in this house,” I returned her smile in its most genuine form.

She opened her mouth to speak but got interrupted when the door creaked open, revealing one of the men that tortured me and a pretty young lady. From how she looked, I could obviously tell that she meant no harm, but the man behind her… I wasn't so sure since he kept a mean face.

“She is here to take your body measurements,” he announced simply while the lady gestured for me to stand.

I did without a fight and turned to Mrs Cordelia the moment both of them were done and left the room.

“What does she need it for?”

“Mr Leonardo is in the best position to tell you, and I trust that he will at the right time,” she answered simply.

Of course, everyone in the mansion worshipped the bastard billionaire and would never tell me what I truly needed to know about him. I slumped back to the small foam and ate without saying a word to her. It remained that way the next day, except that I refused to eat all the things she served me.

The door finally creaked open after a day and a half, and I had gotten my hopes all up, thinking that it was Cordelia, but to my dismay, it was Leonardo.

“I received a report that you've been starving yourself for more than a complete day.”

“It's cute how you even listen to reports about me. At least it shows that you're still human”

“You know you'd be long dead if not for the nature of this situation, and just for your information, I didn't come here to show pity on you. I have an event tonight, and you're going to be attending. Your dress will come in shortly from now, and you'll be properly dressed for the event –”

“I am not going anywhere with you, Leonardo Rodriguez. Don't you have any shame at all?”

“You don't have a choice. You'll be coming with me, and you will be attending the event as my wife. I believe you're already a good actress, and I don't have to go through the stress of teaching you to comply with everything your husband says, do I?”

“You're a lunatic,” I spat.

“I don't enjoy the sight of you, nor do I derive pleasure in your presence, so act accordingly. The very men in whose presence you insulted me will also be at the event, and they'll need you to take back everything you said in the restaurant. I won't ask twice that you act accordingly.”

He left without even waiting for my response, and of course, he didn't need to voice out what he was going to do if I didn't play by his rules. I sighed heavily, finally regretting all I said in the restaurant. If I knew it was going to put my mother in the line, I would have waited for a better time to strike than then.

Shortly, the same lady that took my measurements came in alongside a few young girls. While she helped me to dress, the others did my makeup. They were all moving like robots and didn't say a word to me until they were done. Unfortunately, the room didn't have a mirror, so there was no way for me to see what I looked like after they had left.

“Mr Leonardo is waiting downstairs,” Mrs Cordelia announced quietly.

“I haven't set my feet outside this room since he abducted me, so how does he expect me to find my way to him?”

“I can take you to him.”

“Thank you.”

The drive was a very quiet one. Neither Leonardo nor I uttered a word to each other, but I sure stole a few glances at him through the rear-view mirror. He wasn’t looking, he wasn't paying attention, he wasn't even focused on anything… ‘The deal is obviously more important to him than your petty existence,’ a voice in my head spoke, so I sighed and let it slide.

He never mentioned to me that it was an open field event until it was my turn to get down from the car. A middle-aged man approached us immediately, and since Leonardo wasn't rude to him, I assumed him to be a business partner or a man of the same class as Leonardo.

The paparazzi were storming towards our direction with their cameras and mic, throwing all manner of questions. However, Leonardo didn't flinch. His bodyguards stopped them from getting any closer to us while I followed Leonardo's lead. This man was something.

“Keep your eyes straight. You are only here to get this deal sealed already. David will take you home shortly after your job here is done,” he stated.

Now that he made the reason for my presence clear, I had no interest in everything else that was going on. What was the use since everyone here would be a milder or worse version of Leonardo? Being bonded to him was already enough, and I didn't want to associate with anyone in his circle.

“I'm glad you were able to make it,” a man greeted Leonardo, claiming my attention.

“It's an honour,” Leonardo shook his hand before he directed us to an elegant building. He led us into a hall where there were few men, including the man that greeted Leonardo when we arrived. They looked like VIPs or something of that nature since they were clearly given preferential treatment from the crowd outside.

“Andrea Morgan… Rodriguez,” I said politely when the man extended his hand for me to shake. He averted his gaze from me to Leonardo questioningly before he cleared his throat. He signalled for a set of people to come over. There were about five of them now, including himself.

“Call me Miller,” he smiled at me warmly before stepping back briefly.

“Alright everyone. This is Andrea Rodriguez, my wife and Andrea,” he turned to me, “Meet Christopher, my lawyer, Mr Miller, Mr Gilbert, and Mr Jones. Hopefully, they'll officially become business partners with me by the end of the night. Finally, Mr. Mark, here is their lawyer,” he introduced them to me.

I waved slightly in the air and cringed a little from the eerie silence in the room. They looked at each other in subtle shock before meeting Leonardo's blank gaze. Wow. They obviously didn't see that coming.

They shook my hand politely before walking further into a quiet and formally decorated room where we all sat. Leonardo only wanted the deal to be sealed as quickly as possible, so he began a conversation, and they followed.

“When you called her your partner, we weren't expecting her to be your wife” Mr Gilbert finally voiced what must be going through their minds.

“She is, and I believe she has a lot to say,” he changed the topic immediately.

“My husband, Leonardo, told me how important you three really are to him, and it wasn't in any way my wish to harm his reputation before any of you in the restaurant. I deeply and sincerely apologise for it and be rest assured that none of what I said was true. It was only an unresolved misunderstanding as of then, but everything is rectified now,” I apologised with every convincing remorse I was able to fake.

“Your husband assured us that everything was only a result of a misunderstanding, and we're glad that you just said the same thing as him. Please try not to repeat what you did back there. It will not have a good impact on any of our reputations,” Mr Miller pleaded.

“Sure, it'll never happen again.”

I watched as Leonardo let out a sigh of relief before the lawyers in their midst exchanged documents for them to sign and seal the deal before me. I excused myself to get some fresh air outside, and for the first time, Leonardo wasn't bothered by what I wanted to do.

I met the large crowd outside and decided to walk back to the car. It was strange. Leonardo's bodyguards were nowhere to be seen. Everything had just turned so silent until I felt a sharp and throbbing pain at my back. I felt myself collide to the floor before giving in slowly to darkness. Thick black darkness.