The golden lights of Dubai blurred past Annah's
eyes through the tinted windows of the luxury car. She sat stiffly in the plush leather seat, heart pounding as the desert air kissed the skyline. This wasn't the freedom she'd hoped for this was another prison. A golden cage wrapped in silk and silence.
Alex's mansion loomed like a beast. Larger than Valentino's. Colder too. Security men lined the gate like statues, their faces blank and unreadable. Annah gripped the edge of her dress as the car stopped. She turned her head to Alex. He gave her a slow, unreadable smirk.
"Welcome to your new home," he said smoothly, voice wrapped in seduction but his eyes, those eyes were dead cold.
Annah didn't reply. Her voice had become a prisoner of fear.
Inside, the mansion was a spectacle. Crystal chandeliers, gold-plated staircases, white floors polished like mirrors. But it wasn't beauty ,it was vanity.
She was led to a private room by two women, both silent, obedient like shadows. The room was exquisite. A four-poster bed, velvet curtains, an ensuite bathroom with rose-scented everything. But it didn't feel like hers. Nothing here was hers. Not even herself.
Later that night, Alex entered her room without knocking.
"Stand up."
Annah stood, heart racing.
He circled her slowly like a predator, inspecting a prize.
"You're prettier than I imagined," he murmured. "But I don't care for obedience. I like…resistance. It excites me."
She shivered.
That was the first night.
And it was only the beginning.
Every day was a performance. Every night was a punishment.
Alex played mind games. He gave her gifts ,diamond earrings, silk gowns, shoes that sparkled like stars. Then he tore them off in fits of rage or passion. He'd throw wine across the room if she didn't smile right. He'd bruise her wrist, then kiss it. He made love like a war no tenderness, no consent, just dominance.
Annah began to forget what her laughter sounded like.
She lost weight.
She rarely spoke.
And worst of all, she hated herself for still dreaming of Valentino.
Why didn't he come for her?
Did he believe the lies Arik told?
Was she really that easy to throw away?
Sometimes she'd cry in the shower, hands over her mouth so no one heard. Her reflection became a stranger haunted eyes, hollow cheeks, a beauty dimmed by pain.
One morning, while walking in the private garden Alex never visited, she saw a folded paper under the stone bench. Her fingers trembled as she picked it up.
"I know where you are. Stay strong. I'm coming. V."
Her breath caught in her throat. Valentino.
Tears blurred her eyes. Her knees gave out and she fell to the grass, clutching the note to her chest like a lifeline.
He hadn't forgotten her.
He knew.
He was coming.
It wasn't long before Alex noticed the change.
"You've been smiling lately," he said one night, narrowing his eyes as she quietly ate her dinner. "Why?"
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"You're lying."
That night, he didn't touch her.
He beat her instead.
Bruises bloomed on her back, shoulders, thighs. She bit her lip until it bled, refusing to scream.
The next morning, she couldn't get out of bed.
Alex stood over her, eyes wild. "If you think anyone will save you, you're wrong. No one touches what's mine."
But he was wrong.
Because someone had touched what was his.
That night, the mansion erupted in chaos.
Gunshots cracked through the air like fireworks.
Screams echoed from the halls. Furniture shattered. Guards fell like dominoes.
Annah, weak but alert, crawled to the window and saw them ,Valentino's men in sleek black suits, faces cold, precise, and efficient.
She covered her mouth. He came.
He really came.
Her door burst open.
And there he was.
Valentino.
Blood on his shirt. Fury in his eyes.
But when he saw her bruised, broken, beautiful his heart split open.
"Annah…" he whispered, falling to his knees beside her.
She sobbed into his chest, clinging to him like air.
"I thought you believed her… Arik lied… I"
"I know," he said, voice raw. "I was a fool. But I'm never letting you go again."
He carried her out like a bride, through smoke and chaos, as the mansion behind them burned.
Back in the States, she stayed in his penthouse while doctors cared for her injuries.
Valentino didn't sleep for days.
He watched over her like a guardian angel, feeding her, brushing her hair, whispering apologies she didn't know she needed.
He fired Arik.
Then exposed her.
It turned out Arik had seduced another one of the slaves, manipulated her into backing up her lies. Valentino made sure the world knew. Videos leaked. Voices were heard. Arik was done.
One by one, Annah's enemies fell.
One by one, she stood taller again.
🌹 And Love Returned
Weeks passed.
Annah healed.
She smiled again.
And Valentino… he didn't try to own her anymore. He only loved her.
He apologized. He listened. He waited.
Then one day, on a rooftop under stars…
He knelt down and offered her a silver ring shaped like a crown.
"I didn't just fall in love with you, Annah. You saved me. I want you beside me not as a slave, but as my queen."
Her heart swelled.
"Yes," she whispered.
And the city lights danced below them.
But a new future was just beginning.