Bound to My Ex-husband's Deadly Rival

One minute I was being discarded by my husband, and the next, I was married to his brother...on my way to what he called our new home. I kept my eyes fixed on the window as the car pulled into the house, the heavy gates parting to reveal what lay beyond. A massive black stone fortress rose before me, towering into the sky. Its sharp edges softened by sleek, intricate designs, it looked like one of those ultra-modern mansions you only saw in glossy magazines. One glance was enough to know it cost a fortune. The car came to a halt and a suited man, built like he was bouncer walked towards the car and opened the door for me. Fancy. "The boss asked me to take you to your room....come with me," he said, as he led me into the house, and then to my room. "The butler will come and get you in few hours," the man said as he turned to leave. The walls in the room were brown, the worst colour possible. A soft scent of vanilla filled the air l, and my shoulders dropped as I inhaled deeply, savouring the sweet scent. Dorian got me a vanilla scented perfume once when we were dating, and I kept the empty bottle for so long, preserving the memory. I sighed as memories of him and Alexis came to my mind. I laid down on the bed, doom scrolling on my phone as the time passed by. After several hours, I went into the shower to freshen up a bit and then got out, changing into a robe when the sound of a knock came in through the door. I swiftly tied the robe tight and walked towards the door, opening it up. It was Axel.... in a satin shirt unbuttoned halfway, with matching satin trousers. His long black lashes framed those enchanting gray eyes, lips soft and moisturised. How can someone always look this majestic? I straightened my shoulders, and spoke. "We need to talk." "We sure do, get dressed, we're having dinner together," he said and just walked off, hands in his pocket. I shut the door and threw on a joggers and sweatshirt, before leaving the room. Another man came to guide me to the dinning room, different from the one who brought me to my room. I wonder why he has so many men in his house. The man opened the door to the dining room, and I could see so many different foods lined up on the table, the sweet aroma of baked food and roast chicken filling the air. I hadn't eaten anything for the entire day and my mouth was watering to have a taste of the food, but that wasn't my main priority right now. Axel was seated at the head of the dining table, and I took two seats from him, so I wouldn't be too close or too far. Two ladies stood on opposite sides of the table, head faced down. From their clothes I could tell they were maids. He gestured for the man who escorted me in to leave and then clapped twice. Making the two women walk towards the table and serve food on our plates. And when they were done, he motioned for them to leave. "I'm guessing you have a lot to say." He said, eyes fixated on his food, fork in one hand, knife on the other, dissecting the chicken breast. "I don't want to be in this marriage," I said, but he didn't react, his attention didn't falter from the food. "I want to leave," I said in an even stronger tone. "We both know that's not happening," It was obvious he wasn't interested in having this conversation. "Then what am I supposed to do?" "Elara I'm trying to help you," he finally lifted his face from his food and looked at me. How was he so laid back about this? Seeing his smug look and knowing that how I was feeling didn't mean anything to him made my blood boil. "You're trying to help me? By using me? By forcing your decisions on me? By dictating my life for me?" I yelled at him. "We both know that's not the case." "But it is, you're just as pathetic as Dorian....ready to take advantage of anyone and use people like they're a tool to get whatever you want. You might even be worse than him....at least he didn't force me into a marriage I didn't want." He slammed both hands on the table, the sound exploding through the room so loud it shook me to my core. His jaw clenched hard, veins straining, and the rage in his eyes was so vicious it froze me on the spot. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. My body screamed at me to run, but his gaze held me captive, like chains I couldn't break. Then he spoke, his voice low, dangerous, "Don't you ever compare me to my brother." The words crawled over my skin in chills. I was terrified,shaken to my bones. But no. He wasn't going to see it. He wasn't going to smell the fear clawing at me. I pushed the food away and stormed out of the dining room, running straight to my room and shut the door as I bawled my eyes out. I divorced one controlling, manipulative and self absorbed monster and got tricked into a marriage with another one. I have to run. As much as I knew Axel could help me get back what Dorian stole from me and get my revenge, I knew I couldn't do this. I grabbed my phone and scanned the closet for a jacket and swiftly grabbed one. I tied my hair up and ran towards the window. His men won't let me leave if I try to escape through the door. Goosebumps grew on my skin as I opened the window and I couldn't tell if it was because of the chill of the cold air or because the window was hundreds of feet in the air. I looked over to the areas surrounding the house and it was all greenery and trees, even if I made it out of the house, how far could I go? I shut the window, pacing back and forth in the room when a knock came from the door and I immediately knew it was him. "Go away!" I yelled, still staring at the door. I didn't hear his footsteps leaving, so I knew he was still there. "I said go aw.......?" "Elara, it's me," I gasped the moment his voice hit my ears. How did he find me? I sped to the door and opened it up. "Cyrus," I called out, a smile slowly forming on my lips as I collapsed into his arms and he pulled me in for a warm hug. "It's so good to know you're okay, I'm really sorry about Dorian.....and Alexis," he said, before pulling away. "You don't have to apologise, they both betrayed the two of us." Cyrus and Alexis had been in a relationship for years, and we've all been really good friends, that's until Alexis decided to ditch us. "How did you know I was here? How did you even get here?" I asked him. "Axel contacted me." he said, he peeped on both sides of the hallway before following me into the room and he shut the door behind us and locked it. "Why would he contact you?" I'm the only person Axel needs, so why would he contact Cyrus and ask him to come here. "He said you had a hard time adjusting," "Adjusting to what?" "He told me about the marriage..... it sounded crazy at first, but trust me, it's best if you take advantage of it and go along with his plan, I mean, in a few months when you've both gotten what you want, you can go your separate ways." "But we don't have to get married to work together," I protested. "It's all part of his plan.....Elara, he's really powerful and you know that. He's not going to let you end the marriage." Was I imagining things or was Cyrus starting to sound like he was on Axel's side. "So what are you saying?" I asked, even when I already knew the direction this was going. "Stay." Cyrus said, he softly placed his hand on my cheek, his ocean blue eyes locked on mine, with his ever convincing handsome face. "He brought you here to convince me, didn't he?" I said, slowly accepting defeat. "Elara this marriage is more beneficial to you, but he doesn't know that.......there are a lot of things you don't know, about Axel. The only way to get more information is to stay as close to him as possible. I did my own research on him immediately he contacted me, and I found something." "What are you talking about? Get more information about what? What did you find?" Cyrus looked at the door, like he didn't want someone to walk in on us, even when we both knew the door was locked, and I knew there and then that he was about to say something BIG. "They didn't die in a boat accident," he whispered softly. "What do you mean?" My voice broke halfway. "Your parents didn't die in a boat accident, they're alive......and Axel is responsible for what happened to them."