HIS TRAPPED WIFE
Synopsis
“I bought you fair and square,” he replied, his voice cool and detached. “It’s none of your business what I have to gain from it.” “What do you mean? It’s none of my business?” I practically shouted at him. “My sister’s life is at stake here! You can’t just treat it like some kind of lottery game!” “I made you an offer, and you accepted it. Now you belong to me. End of story.” “Accepted it? Get down from that cloud, mister! I accepted nothing!” I yelled in despair. “You will, Miss Moore, because you don’t really have a choice here, now do you?” “You’re a monster,” I hissed at him. “How can you live with yourself knowing that you’re treating people like this?” “I don’t have to live with myself,” he said calmly. “I have enough money to buy my way out of anything. You’re nothing but a commodity,” he spat at me. “And you’ll do whatever I say.”
HIS TRAPPED WIFE Free Chapters
Chapter 1 - THAT IS A PROMISE! | HIS TRAPPED WIFE
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SIENNA.
As I pulled into my usual spot outside my art restoration office, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. There was nothing quite like the comfort of your own little corner of the world, especially when your work was your passion. Eagerly, I opened the car door and stepped out, ready to start on the tasks I had planned for today.
But my excitement was short-lived as I felt a sudden jolt from behind. I turned around to see a sleek, black sports car that had bumped into my vehicle. Unbelievably, it was Aiden Roberts who made his way out of the vehicle. The infamous billionaire known for his lavish lifestyle and arrogance.
Initially, he appeared to be entirely unaffected by the occurrence. Even though he was in my presence, he didn’t even bother to look my way, instead he muttered something into his phone. As I moved closer to him, I realized something was wrong. I had been carefully transporting a thousand-dollar work of art in my car, a rare and invaluable statue that I had been painstakingly creating for weeks. When I looked closer at the remains of my beloved artwork, I came to understand that it was stupid Aiden who had caused its destruction.
“You couldn’t even see where you were going, could you?” I asked, my voice rising in anger. “Do you have any idea what the value of that object is?”
When Aiden looked at me, his eyes seemed to convey a hint of boredom, showing he had no interest in what was happening.
“Who cares?” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s just a piece of art, right? You can make another one.”
His complete disregard of the situation drove me to a level of lividity that I had never experienced before. It filled me with anger at first, but soon my emotions changed to shock when Aiden finally took notice of the broken pieces of my artwork. The size of his eyes increased in recognition, and I saw a quick and powerful anger flicker across his face.
“This is from my personal collection!” he bellowed, pointing an accusatory finger in my direction. “What the hell are you doing with it? Are you some kind of thief?”
His sudden change in attitude surprised me.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.
“What the hell is this? Where did you get this statue from?” he asked in anger.
I looked at the piece of art that was already shattered.
“The museum curator brought the statue to me for restoration. I’m an art restorer, not a thief.”
“Don’t lie to me! You stole it from my collection, and now you’re trying to cover it up.” he shouted.
I couldn’t believe my ears. When the hell did I get into this mess?
“That’s not true! I stole nothing from you. As the statue needed repairs, I was transporting it in my car,” I explained, but it was like I was talking to a wall.
“Repairs? Don’t make me laugh! You’re just trying to save your own ass. I know you stole it, and I’m going to make sure you pay for it.”
“You’re being ridiculous. You crashed into my car, not the other way around. And now you’re trying to blame me for your mistake?” I snapped.
“I didn’t crash into your car! You’re the one who caused the accident. And now you’re trying to steal my statue on top of it all. Not to mention that because of your stupidity, my statue is broken. You will pay for it,” he yelled, taking out his phone.
“You’re delusional, mister! I stole nothing from you. I’m an art restorer, and I have the skills to repair your statue, that’s all.”
“You’re lying! I’m calling the police right now. You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.” he said and watched him call 911.
“No, wait! You don’t understand. This is all a misunderstanding…” I begged, as this asshole could get me into a lot of trouble.
“Save it for the judge. You’re going to jail, and I’m going to get my statue back.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said, throwing my arms in the air. “I’m not a thief, I’m an artist, a restorer. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t have to believe anything. The evidence speaks for itself. You have my statue in your car, and you were involved in an accident. It’s clear what happened here.”
“But it’s not what you think. You’re making a huge mistake.”
“No, you made the mistake of stealing from me. And now you’re going to pay for it.” he said, turning his back on me, talking already with the operator.
Aiden shocked me with his behavior. That guy was such a jerk. He didn’t bother to give me a chance to explain the situation and instead called the cops. It was beyond frustrating that even the police officers who came to the scene disregarded my opinion, making the matter even more complicated.
I mean, come on! I am an art restorer. It’s my job to take care of these precious objects. I would steal nothing. And yet, Aiden accused me of stealing a statue that he claimed belonged to him. However, what was surprising was that it had actually not been stolen. It was just a statue that was undergoing restoration in my studio.
I tried to explain all of this to Aiden, but he was so convinced that I had stolen from him he didn’t even listen to me. And then he had the audacity to call the cops! Can you believe that?
Despite expecting the police to listen to what I had to say when they arrived, they completely disregarded me and my opinion. With no actual proof to back up Aiden’s claim, they started treating me as if I was a criminal and questioning me. It was humiliating.
It took me many years of hard work and dedication to become an art restorer, and I take great pride in my job. And yet, because of Aiden’s stupidity and the police’s negligence, my reputation has been tarnished.
I was so angry right now. Aiden owed me an apology, and so did those police officers. They should have given me the benefit of the doubt and listened to what I had to say. But no, they just assumed the worst and treated me like a criminal. It was not fair, and I would not stand for it.
Two hours passed, hours in which I just stared at the bars of a cell thinking about how I got into this situation and about who got me into this shit.
I couldn’t believe my luck. There I was, sitting in a police station with bail already set on my head. How had I gotten myself into this mess? As I tried to make sense of the events of the previous hours, I tried to comprehend how I had arrived in this place.
It all began when the well-known businessman Aiden Roberts pointed the finger at me and claimed that I had stolen a valuable Egyptian statue that was in his possession. He was convinced that I had taken it, and he had enough money and power to make my life a living hell.
I did my best to explain to him I had no involvement in the statue’s disappearance, however, he was not willing to listen to me. It was his intention to use me as an example to show everyone that he was the one in control. Here I was, imprisoned in a jail cell, waiting for someone to come and post my bail.
Just as I was about to succumb to feelings of hopelessness, my best friend and business partner, Lauren, made her entrance. Seeing her again brought me a sense of relief, but I also felt ashamed for having to give her the news of what had happened.
“How the hell did you end up in jail?” she asked me, looking concerned.
“It’s all because of Aiden Roberts,” I replied bitterly. “He accused me of stealing that stupid statue of his.”
Lauren shook her head in disbelief.
“Aiden Roberts? I can’t believe that guy. He’s so greedy and narcissistic. He doesn’t care who he steps on as long as he gets what he wants.”
I nodded in agreement.
“He’s got so much money he could buy two countries, but he still feels the need to bully people around.”
Lauren was already pulling out her wallet to pay my bail.
“Let’s get you out of here,” she said. “We’ll deal with Aiden later.”
Having her beside me throughout the experience was something I was profoundly grateful for. I knew that with her help, I could fight back against Aiden’s accusations and clear my name. I refused to give him the satisfaction of a win and was determined not to let him get away with this.
I walked into the coffee shop with Lauren by my side, feeling relieved that she had bailed me out of the police station. It was a small, cozy café with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filling the air.
As we found a table, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about what had happened. I knew they had falsely accused me, but that they had arrested me still weighed heavily on my mind.
Lauren could sense my unease and asked me how I was feeling.
“Are you ok, love?” she asked in concern. “If you are thinking about what just happened, please stop. They did you an injustice,”
“I’m just glad to be out of there. Thank you so much for coming to get me.” I said.
She smiled reassuringly.
“Of course, I’m just glad I could help.”
I took a sip of my coffee and looked down at the table.
“Honestly, I’m still in shock. I can’t believe they thought I stole that statue. It was kind of mine to begin with. The museum entrusted it to me to restore it,” I cried in despair.
Lauren reached out and placed a hand on mine.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure this out.” She reassured me.
Despite the kindness of her words, I could not deny the feeling that my life was in a state of chaos and disorder. Dealing with the legal repercussions of being wrongly accused of theft was not only difficult, but the added stress of knowing that I would need to pay compensation for the valuable statue that was taken away by the police was an extra burden on top of that.
“And to make matters worse, the police took the statue as evidence, so I don’t even have it anymore.” I sighed heavily.
Lauren’s expression softened.
“That’s rough. But try not to worry about it too much. I’m sure things will sort themselves out, eventually.”
I gave a slight nod in response, thankful for her backing. Despite our conversation, I was still feeling a sense of apprehension and dread that seemed to be lodged deep in the center of my gut.
“I wonder how? Aiden Roberts is a powerful man. I won’t stand a chance,” I said.
“How much money are we talking about?” Lauren asked me and my stomach turned.
“Thousands of dollars, Laurie. I don’t have that kind of money!” I cried.
Lauren took some time to think about it.
“You could explain to them exactly what happened...” she said, taking a sip of coffee.
“And tell them what, Laurie? That the great gazillionaire Aiden Roberts hit me with his car and broke the statue in half? Also, when he saw it he remembered one was missing from his idiotic collection and thought to accuse me of stealing it. Wonderful explanation, I must say.”
“Yeah, not a good idea. Unfortunately, you have no choice but to do what honest people do. Work their ass out. And when you raise some of the money, you pay the museum. And so on…”
I found it hard to listen and accept what Lauren was saying, and even though I knew she was right, I felt a surge of anger inside me when I thought about how easily and comfortably Aiden Roberts could lay his head on the pillow to sleep every night.
“Or better yet. I hatch a revenge plan and make Aiden pay for every second of humiliation he put me through! That is a promise!”
Chapter 2 - SO, LEAVE! | HIS TRAPPED WIFE
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SIENNA
When I arrived at my restoration studio the following morning, it filled me with anticipation and excitement. Despite all the difficulties I encountered, I endeavored to put the incident out of my mind and summon up the courage to go speak to that museum.
But until that happened I had a lot of work to do, and I was ready for it. The first piece that was on order was a beautiful antique chair that had been in the Smith’s family for generations. Mrs. Smith told me it had a sentimental value attached to it, and it was my job to restore it to its former glory.
I cautiously raised the chair onto my workbench and inspected it with great care. The chair had already gone through some wear and tear and was no longer at its peak condition. Time had discolored, scratched, and worn down the wood. I was determined to put in the hard work and have patience to make this chair look as good as new.
I started by sanding down the wood to remove the scratches and reveal the natural grain. Then, I applied a fresh coat of stain and let it dry for a few hours. Once I finished that task, I then focused my attention on the upholstery. I carefully removed the old fabric, being mindful not to damage the delicate frame of the chair. Following that, I changed out the old springs with new ones and gave the chair a new upholstery.
The work was slow and required a great deal of attention to detail, but I was captivated by every second. As I ran my hands over the chair, I could almost feel it coming back to life. While I worked, I was constantly thinking of the family who had entrusted me with this invaluable piece of furniture. There was no question that they were counting on me to give my very best, and I was absolutely determined not to disappoint them in any way.
Then, a sound of what felt like someone pounding on my front door taking it down abruptly disrupted the quietness of the studio.
“I’m coming! Jeez! Don’t smash my door! This is my studio, for God’s sake!” I yelled out in surprise, quickly placing my utensils down onto the table. My day was going terribly when this someone kept on banging on the door until I eventually got there. "Seriously, knock it off!" I shouted from my studio.
Not even my clients bringing their artifacts in for restoration knocked so hard to break down my door. Was it an angry customer? Or maybe it was Aiden Roberts again who hadn't finished his venomous outburst on me. If it was him, he would just listen to my frustration!
I left my utensils on the workbench and with determined steps headed for the door.
“What is it?” I yelled with conviction, my voice getting higher.
This was clearly not the way of greeting someone but this person was getting on my nerves.
But I was the shocked one.
Jason Moore, founder of Jewel Inc. and my father, stood expressionless before me, dark bags visible beneath his eyes.
“Sienna…” he said barely in a whisper.
I acted impulsively and shut the door on him, not giving him the chance to speak another word.
If only I had been more prudent and not opened the door, that would have been the right thing to do. I should have taken the opportunity of my first punch and used it to render him unconscious. I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement as I walked back and forth in my studio, glancing at the various artifacts that were scattered around the room. After all the years that have passed, what could have possibly brought him back here? I had just barely got away from the looming presence of his shadow. My hand was shaking as I grasped my phone to dial Laurie’s number. During this challenging period of my life, she was the only one who could provide me with the support I needed to get through it. All the while I could hear him talking incessantly and hammering away.
“Sienna! Open the door! Open the damn door!” he screamed in anger. What the hell was he thinking? Who gave him the right to come to my workplace and shout like that?
He began to hit the door with an ever-increasing force until it was a thunderous pounding.
“Go away! I don’t know you! You are nothing to me!” I said through the door barely holding my tears. How could I not know him? He was my damn father!
My hands were shaking so hard I didn’t get the chance to call Laurie. She had her own problems. Why add another one?
“Sienna, please, open the door! I need to talk to you,” he said again.
“We have nothing to say to each other, so LEAVE!” I yelled.
His voice, this time was less forceful and more imploring. His lies would not take me in so easily. Not this time.
“Honey, it is not me I want to talk to you about. I know you are angry with me for leaving you and mom and Alicia… Please… this is about your sister, Sienna!”
My face grew taut as I felt my muscles tighten. Alicia. Was this a clever way of getting me to open the door or something else? I found it unbelievable he would have the temerity to use my little sister in order to manipulate me. Furthermore, it had been a long time since he had last seen me.
I had a conversation with Alicia two days prior and she seemed to be in good spirits. It appeared he has been up to his old tricks once more. All the lies he had told us throughout his life with us had been a complete fabrication.
“You’re trying to bluff! What about Alicia? She was fine when I spoke to her.”
Without realizing it, I opened the door during this time.
A look of immense relief spread over his face when he caught sight of my eyes.
“I am serious, Sienna. We really need to talk,” he said again, catching his breath.
“We can always talk here. What do you want? Talk! And be quick, I have other things to do then listen to you,” I commanded.
At one point in time, he would have felt proud of the ruthlessness of command I had given. Now it made me furious.
With no response coming, he suddenly found himself overcome with emotion and tears poured from his eyes.
I did not know it was going to happen, and it took me totally by surprise. As far as I could remember, I have never seen my father cry. His eyes had never grown accustomed to shedding tears, and his heart did not understand what compassion was. Money was the only thing he felt he had any power over, leaving him incapable of feeling anything else.
Despite my inquiries for an explanation, he was still crying, and I was still waiting for a response. I found my thoughts drifting back to my beloved sister. I reached for the collar of his ragged shirt. “Start talking, God damn it! What happened to her? Don’t just stand there, silent”!
I kept shaking him repeatedly until I was too exhausted to continue.
My heart was pounding as I stood in the doorway, feeling unsteady on my feet. He was undoubtedly a bastard, but he was also my father. I had a chance to take a better look at him, and it was clear that he was not in the best of shape. His hair, which was usually so perfectly put together, was in a state of disarray and I couldn’t resist the urge to look at his overly priced suit as if he had been sleeping in it. When I saw the suit, it surprised me to find out it was too big for him, and I suddenly realized he had shed some pounds.
I had always known Jason Moore for his strength and physical robustness. He had changed drastically since I last saw him and he was now just a shadow of the man I remembered.
Feeling a need to break away from the intensity of his gaze, I quickly diverted my attention to the incomplete chair in my studio. Another mistake. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would take advantage of my weaknesses, as he had so often done before. He had a tendency to forget or simply choose to ignore the fact that we were not his business partners. His inhumane actions caused a rift between us and drove us apart, even though we were family. He seemed to be stuck in a pattern and was doing the same thing yet again.
“Your sister is terribly sick, Sienna,” he said without hesitation.
“What? What did you just say? You are bluffing again!”
I tried to keep my sorrow inside and I barely breathed as I struggled to contain my emotions and words. There was a heavy feeling on my chest, making it hard to breathe, and my legs felt like they were made of stone.
“Alicia has stage two liver cancer and I don’t know what to do.”
He was motionless, yet his words echoed through the studio.
His words had such a powerful impact that I couldn’t tell if I was alive or not, if I was still breathing, or if I had just expired. A wave of tenderness washed over me for my sister. Was I meant to endure how many slaps?
It had been many years since my father had left us, without so much as a backward glance, and yet here he was, knocking on the door of the studio where I was working, just as if no time had passed at all, like an apparition from the past, delivering the news about Alicia.
“You are lying! You are fucking lying! Where is she? Take me to her!” I screamed in despair.
“I can’t…”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
I was feeling hopeless and struggling to find my own strength, but it was incredibly difficult. I was the only one feeling anxious and restless. He wasn’t. He simply stared at me as if his words had run dry and he had nothing more to say. “Why now? How long have you known?”
Even though I knew I was asking an excessive number of questions, I couldn’t help but notice more and more popping into my mind. I instantly put the blame on my father with no prior thought. “The entire situation is your fault! You, with your apathy and your money! Having enough money to even take a damn swim in them if you could be all that mattered to you. You are a shithole!”
I was so overwhelmed with pain that all I could do was shout, having no more tears left to cry. I blamed myself for feeling completely numb and disconnected from my emotions, all because of him.
“Sienna, honey… I need your help. Your sister needs your help,” he finally said, staring at me with his teary eyes.
“Do you need my support? What for? Adding to your spending? Well, I no longer possess anything. You already dealt with that. You’re not even concerned about her! Listen up, sir!” I yelled, barely able to control my rage. “I advise you to keep away from both her and me. Not to mention my mom. You have done enough harm as it is. I appreciate you telling me this and coming all the way to my work. Give me the hospital’s address where she is being treated and get the hell out of our lives! Leave us the hell alone,”
That my words did not affect him, yet he remained still in my doorway without making a single gesture was peculiar. What was so compelling that he could not bring himself to go? He went out of his way to come here and he wanted to share with me what he knew about my sister. Did he express any regret about what had happened?
“Your sister is dying, Sienna. We learned two weeks ago...”
His throat felt so closed up that he couldn’t utter a single word. It was a surreal moment for me when I saw my father, the one who was usually so confident and wealthy, unable to put two words together. This was absolutely ridiculous and completely outrageous.
“Two fucking weeks? Why are you knocking on my door now? She and I spoke yesterday. Why did she not inform me?” I asked once more, unable to believe that this was unfolding before us. I was completely apathetic towards him and had no emotion or care.
In my opinion, he could spend eternity in hell. I couldn’t care less.
“Sienna, there is a problem…”
“When there’s no problem with you?” I snapped.
“We haven’t yet… started the treatment. You know, chemo…”
“WHAT? Are you insane? What is wrong with you, Jason Moore?” I yelled from the top of my lungs. People could hear us, but I didn’t give a fuck.
“I am broke, Sienna! I have no money left!”