Chapter 8 A Honeymoon Or A Trap?

• "We can have a three-day vacation in Maldives," he added.
• Hyperion's proposal was rather out of the blue that it took a bit of time for Shantala to process his words. She was sure that he did not really like her, especially that she managed to fool him during the wedding. But after a minute, she snorted.
• "You are kidding me, right? That is not really a honeymoon but a simple cover-up for whatever real intention you are hiding," she said.
• But even though she had the feeling that the mafia boss was planning something, she still walked in his direction to show that she was interested. She did not even hesitate to sit on his lap and put her arms around him before looking directly into his ever-alluring eyes.
• "So, what exactly are you planning, hm?" she asked.
• Just as he expected, Shantala knew that he was up to something. He smirked and clipped a few locks of her hair behind her ear before pulling her closer to him. Knowing that she was a woman whom he could just wrap around his thumb, the idea of breaking her somehow thrilled him.
• "It's a surprise," he whispered, hoping that she would shrivel in fear as he tightened his hold around her.
• But just like before, she did not react the way he wanted her to. Instead, she ran her fingers through his hair above his neck and bit his ear. Her sudden attack almost caught him off guard that he was so close to letting out a groan if only he did not bite down his lower lip.
• "I can't wait to see it," she whispered back as if she was so ready to see the surprise whether it was dangerous or not. And it seemed that biting him on the ear was not enough.
• She tilted her head and this time, before he could do anything to push her away, she gave him a few pecks on the neck. Even though he seemed stiff and unresponsive over her advances, Shantala knew that she had some power over him, especially that she could feel his thing bulging. She felt his hand grab her by the arm and was about to push her away but she held onto his collar and planted a kiss on his lips.
• His hold on her arm loosened so she took that chance to run her palm over his broad and lean chest without ever breaking the kiss. She was just confident that any time, her husband would totally give in.
• And she wasn't wrong. A little while later, Hyperion was unable to hold back that he held her behind her neck and deepened their kiss. She gave way just so he could be the one to take the lead but a sinister smile was formed on her lips as they broke their kiss to catch their breath.
• With their noses touching, they locked gazes before Shantala took the initiative to kiss him for the second time. Her hand slowly slid down from his chest to the bulge on his pants.
• "Shit," Hyperion cursed under his breath.
• And since he seemed so caught up in the moment, Shantala took that chance to stand and walk away from him. Standing at the foot of the staircase, she looked back at him with a grin.
• "Go and take care of that in the bathroom. I am not in the mood to give you any further service today," she snickered, feeling victorious for what she had done.
• As she ran towards their room, Hyperion could only kick the table out of frustration. He couldn't believe that he was just played by that woman when he thought he was the one gaining control. But then, his frustration vanished the very second his phone buzzed and showed the name of Stacey. He did not waste any more time and answered the call.
• "Hel..."
• He clenched his fist upon hearing the voice of his supposed-to-be wife. Just with that one word, he knew that she was crying.
• "Please, help me. I... I don't want to suffer anymore," Stacey added in between her sobs.
• It took all his strength to keep himself from throwing his phone across the room for being unable to help her right at that moment. He shut his eyes and leaned on his seat to keep his calm.
• "Stacey, I will save you from whoever did this to you. I assure you that the day after tomorrow, you will be here by my side," Hyperion responded.
• He was about to speak but the next thing he heard from the other side of the line was the muffled scream of Stacey as if someone just taped her mouth shut.
• "Like what we have planned, Hyperion. Bring us the money and you will have your woman. And come at the specified time, not a minute early or a minute late. If you fail to meet with us, then, this woman you treasure so much will drown to her death."
• Even before Hyperion could say another word, the caller hung up on him, leaving him frustrated. Slicking his hair back to calm his nerves, he let out a heavy sigh. He actually received a call that morning from Stacey's kidnappers, telling him to give them half a billion dollars in exchange for his lover's safety. They were also the ones who demanded that their transaction would happen in Maldives. His gaze, then, settled on top of the staircase where Shantala disappeared just a few minutes ago. Judging from her reaction upon mentioning Maldives a while back, it raised his suspicion about her being involved in this kidnapping incident.
• He did not really have any idea on how much Shantala had dug into just to know his background but every part of him just said that he must always stay on guard around her. Not only did she have a valid motive to kidnap her own sister for money but the way she showed her eagerness to go with him even though she knew something was up just convinced him that she was involved.
• Hyperion headed to his room where he found Shantala busy scrolling on her phone. Since it seemed that his wife was not aware of his presence, he slowly approached her to see what she was up to. However, just when he was a few steps away from her, she noticed him.
• She held her phone close to her chest and looked behind her.
• Shooting him a glare, she hissed, "Back off."
• "What are you hiding?" he casually responded.
• Shantala flipped her hair. "None of your business. If you want to continue where we left off a few minutes ago, sorry to burst your bubble but I am not in the mood to do it with you. I'm on my period so just watch porn."
• Hyperion rolled his eyes but still decided to go along with her joke.
• "So what if you are in your period? No one forbids anyone to have sex just because the other is bleeding."
• Shantala's disbelief of what she just heard rendered her speechless but the moment she was about to face Hyperion, he pushed her down on the bed.
• Not wanting to let her get away so easily like the last time, he pinned her wrists above her and hovered over her.
• "Are you being serious right now?" she scoffed. "Like I am seriously bleeding right on my vagina. You cannot possibly enjoy doing it with that slimy thing in it."
• Hyperion smirked. "It actually turns me on that I can do you the entire night."
• Shantala shivered at his words and shook her head to keep her dirty thoughts away from her mind. Even though she lied about being on her period, hearing those words straight from his mouth and even with a smirk plastered on his lips just shocked her. Wanting to get away from him, she prepared herself for a headbutt, however, before she could even do it, Hyperion snatched her phone away from her and immediately kept his distance.
• He was aiming at her phone all along to see what she had been up to. Smirking at her, he rushed to the bathroom and locked the door before Shantala could run after him.
• "What the fuck?! Give me my phone back!" she yelled on the other side of the door but Hyperion ignored her. “Are you a kid who plays this kind of prank?”
• He immediately turned it on and checked the messages only to see only three threads of messages. One was from her father, the other from Lance which he remembered Stacey saying that that was the name of their youngest sibling, and lastly, was from Stacey herself. He checked on the thread, hoping to find some solid evidence that would prove Shantala guilty but found nothing at all.
• He leaned on the door even though Shantala was continuously banging it like some kind of hungry wild animal.
• Returning his attention on the phone, what he saw were simply Shantala's countless messages to Stacey asking about her whereabouts and if she was doing okay, and that she should call her as soon as possible. The last time Stacey replied to her sister was the day before their wedding and nothing suspicious was found in their conversation. It was just Stacey nagging at her sister.
• The next thing he did was go to the gallery. He was once again hoping to find something suspicious that he could use to expose whatever his wife was hiding.
• "Hyperion!" Shantala yelled on top of her lungs as she banged the door for the nth time. "I will count to three and if you do not open this goddamn door, you will regret it!"
• But the mafia boss was not threatened at all so he simply brushed off her threat. Opening the gallery, he could not help but roll his eyes. The images that popped on the screen were pictures of Shantala's sister and brother. Even though some of the images were blurry and were taken at such bad angles, he couldn't believe that she still kept them instead of deleting them.
• "Three!" he heard her from the other side paired with another hit on the door.
• He still scrolled up to see if there was anything that he could actually use until he reached the end. With a creased forehead, he clicked on the only picture of Shantala where she was wearing a lacy white dress while holding the hand of the person who took the picture. Looking closely, he noticed the ring on her finger.
• "Two!"
• Hyperion took a few steps away from the door when Shantala's punch grew stronger compared to the first ones she landed. Still, he was assured that nothing would really happen so he continued to go over her phone. After sending that picture in his email, he went to the call logs to see who she had been in contact with.
• But just like what was in the messages, the names that appeared were her father, Lance, and Stacey wherein she was the one who initiated all the calls. He continued to scroll down to make sure that she received a call or dialed someone else's number. Just then, he saw an unregistered caller. He was about to memorize it but his attention shifted to the door when he heard something that broke.
• "One!"
• His finger accidentally pressed the Back button and what showed up on the screen was the latest search of Shantala on the internet. Hyperion took a glance at it with curiosity.
• "Best dating spots in Maldives," he muttered as his eyes scanned the pictures of beaches below the search box.
• Amused at what he had seen, he opened the door and was face to face with a raging Shantala whose glares could penetrate through him. But it seemed to have not mattered to the mafia at all and simply showed her the screen of her phone.
• "Really?" he teased and all she could do was snatch her phone away from him. "I never expected that you would be really into me."
• "Jerk." That was the only word that came out of her mouth before turning away from him and heading to the door.
• Just then, he noticed some red liquid on the floor that followed the path of his wife. That moment, he saw Shantala's hand bleeding before she shut the door.