Sienna's POV
The next day, I woke up slightly refreshed. My ass was sore but it was bearable at least. It was the first time in a long time that I had a full eight-hour sleep. Usually, I'd be up late binging some series that Selena recommended then get ready for work on four hours of sleep. How I survived those days were a mystery to me.
After talking to Charlie a bit and getting breakfast, I went straight back into Xander's room to lay on the bed. Of course, I was on my stomach. I watched Netflix from the large flatscreen that he had mounted on his wall.
Around 10 am, Sam came knocking on Xander's door and I opened up to let her in. She refused and told me to meet her in the study to start my "wife" training. She made it sound so serious.
When I went into the study, I sat behind the desk as she listed off the many things that we'd be doing throughout the year.
"I spoke to Xander and he's already assigned a weapons instructor to you."
"A weapons instructor?"
She nodded. "He's going to teach you how to aim and shoot a gun. As well as teach you the basics of handling a knife and what you should do to get out of a situation where you're handcuffed or tied up somewhere."
I nodded along slowly. "That's good to know."
"Today, we're going to start simple. You have to remember the five rules of the family by the time the session has ended. Do you remember any from when I told you yesterday?"
I pursed my lips as my mind flashed back to last night's incident. Sitting on my ass right now had me so irritated.
"Rule number 1, dead men tell no tales."
Sam nodded in approval. "Good. And that's?"
"Loyalty."
"Perfect. Anything else?"
No clue.
I shook my head and she nodded, taking out a small notebook and handing it to me. "Here's a small notebook that I bought. I wrote down the rules and a few other key things you should remember. Go over them and try to commit them to memory. If you have any questions, I'll be right here."
I opened the book curiously and peered inside. "Is that it? I just have to memorize these?"
"I'll also be telling you a bit about the Roscotto's history when you're done. Although, I can't tell you much until after the games are over."
"Why?"
"It's a safety precaution."
I nodded in understanding. It made sense. Anything could happen in a year. It was better to be cautious than not.
I turned my attention back to the notebook and browsed it intensely. Thinking back to Christina's hint about the games, my brows furrowed. Something that our guide said?
I hesitated as I glanced across at Sam, who sat comfortably on the sofa reading a book. Should I test it?
"Sam," I called out.
She looked up expectantly.
"How dangerous are the games exactly? You guys keep saying 'If we survive by the end of the year', does that entail anything specific?"
A knowing smile crept across her lips as she turned her attention back to her book. "Just follow the rules and you'll be alright."
I pursed my lips in thought. Follow the rules. Was this like their code of conduct or something?
I switched topics then. "Did you make any friends? Like, did you get to interact with any of the girls outside of going to social events? Were you trapped in the house?"
She shook her head. "Of course not. Don't worry. After the first game, you'll probably be given a lot more freedom. You can always visit the other girls or have them visit you as well. They don't restrict our movements completely. This is just a precaution until you've settled in."
"So I can go back to work?"
"No, you work for the family now."
"But I can go shopping, visit the bank, and all those other stuff?"
She shrugged. "If that's what you want, sure."
I relaxed a bit at that. I wasn't much of a going-out person but being trapped in a house wasn't my thing either. Sometimes, I found it refreshing to take a little walk or drive somewhere to clear my thoughts and relax.
I turned my attention back to the notebook and tried to engrave those rules into my mind. I had a feeling they were being emphasized for a reason.
Two hours into our session, a commotion was heard outside the door. Sam and I looked up curiously. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Sam lift her dress to reveal a holster that was snuggly holding a gun.
"What is it?" I whispered, my heart racing.
Don't tell me there was going to be a shootout. I just got here!
Sam shook her head as she stood and went to the door to listen to the sounds of people bustling about outside. I sat rooted in my seat, refusing to go anywhere near that door or that gun she clutched.
After a few minutes, she relaxed and released her gun, allowing her dress to fall back into place.
She turned to me and shrugged. "It's better safe than sorry. Seems like they're moving stuff in. I hear Xander."
Moving stuff in? I got up and went to open the door but was blocked by a wall of muscle. I looked up at Xander and then peered around him curiously. "What's going on?"
A smile tilted his lips as an arm snaked around my waist. With a little tug, I was snuggled into his arms as he bent and placed a kiss on my forehead.
"I got you some clothes."
"Clothes?" My voice was muffled as I spoke against his chest.
"Are your lessons over?" He asked as he peered into the room. Sam was putting away her stuff.
I turned around as she glanced at us with a smile and nodded. "I'll end things here. You two can go bond and make babies."
Xander chuckled. "You're smart, Sam."
My nose wrinkled at her words. Bond? Did he even know what that word mean?
Xander grabbed my hand and tugged me back to his room. I glanced at our intertwined fingers as a weird feeling grew in my chest.
Women were seen with clothing thrown over their shoulders, heading in and out of Xander's bedroom.
We entered the room and headed straight for the walk-in closet that was being transformed into a land of colors. Before, it was filled with a lot of black, white, and gray suits but now, that was only half of the closet. The other half had women clothing lining it, a mixture of colors to choose from, and shoes I never imagined buying with my paycheck lining the shelves.
I was in awe as I looked around.
"This is for me?" I asked.
Xander came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my body as we gazed at the bustling workers.
He nodded atop my head. "It's all yours. This is your home now as much as it is mine. You won't ever have to wish for anything, because I can give you everything."
My heartbeat spiked as his hand rested on my stomach, his finger lightly forming circles and sending tingles straight to my dripping cunt. I grabbed his hand to stop the movement and sucked in a sharp breath.
This was dangerous.
To allow myself to fall for a man like this?
I had to be on crack.
"However." he trailed off, cupping my chin and lifting my eyes to meet his serious ones. "No secrets between us. No lies. If this relationship is to work, you'd have to behave, Amorina. This isn't a matter of my pride or male ego. It's for your survival. You're in this life now whether you want it or not. The only way out is death, so if you want to live another day, trust me. I promise that I will protect you. The only one that could harm a single hair on your head is the one that's hugging you right now. No one else. That's my promise."
I frowned. The first half almost got me. I was this close to melting until he went and said that bullshit at the end. So basically, he was telling me the only person I had to worry about harming me was my own husband. Did that really mean that I was safe? If my own husband was the devil then who else could possibly bring me more pain than him?
I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather get harmed by others than have to deal with you."
He chuckled. "Be careful what you wish for. I'm still very dissatisfied with your behavior last night. In fact, I went out and got you a gift."
I looked up at him suspiciously. "The clothes aren't my gift?"
He raised an eyebrow. "The clothes are a necessity. You're rewarded when you do something good... or bad."
For some reason, I didn't have a good feeling about this 'gift'. I haven't done anything good to take note of recently. So I could only assume that my reward wasn't going to be something I liked.
I was right.
He took me back into his room and sat me on the bed. I looked on warily as he took out a few photos from his jacket and offered them to me.
I took them and quickly released them the moment my eyes took in their content. Horror could be seen on my face as I brought a trembling hand to my mouth to hold in my gasp.
"W-what did you do?" My voice trembled with emotion.
Xander bent and took up the photos to place them in my lap.
I turned my head away, refusing to look at them.
The only reason I managed to recognize the female in that photo was because of the normal-looking bracelet that adorned her wrist. Everything else was a mess. Blood was everywhere. Her stomach was burst open and I could faintly see a rat trying to climb out of it. Her hair was a knotted mess and her mouth was wide open as if stuck in a scream of her never-ending torture.
My heart raced as my body began to tremble in fear. That was a sight I didn't want to see.
Xander stood there and watched me calmly, gesturing toward the photos. "Since you guys seemed to be such close friends, I thought I'd tell you what happened to her."
I turned my glossy eyes to him and looked at the way he showed no remorse. "She betrayed our family. Not only did she try to contact the cops, but she also got a civilian involved and then attacked her husband. He's now in the hospital trying to reattach the dick that she sliced off. Do you think she deserved forgiveness? For her betrayal?"
My mouth was glued shut. I knew that if I opened it, nothing good would come out. Instead, I just sat there and stared at him with teary eyes. This was the man I should guard myself against. He was the epitome of heartlessness. There was no way he'd ever love me.
He brought a hand up to cup my head so that I laid it against him. He then patted it as if to comfort me and repeated his question.
"Do you think she deserved forgiveness, Sienna?"
"You're sick." Was the only thing I could mutter as the tears spilled down my face.
His body vibrated as he chuckled. "Then be my medicine."
I used my hand to swipe the pictures from my lap and watched as they floated to the floor. I couldn't get the image out of my head and I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain that she went through.
She didn't do anything wrong. She just wanted her life back. The one they forcefully took from her. She was innocent.
A sigh was heard as Xander lifted me with ease and sat down on the bed, placing me on his lap comfortably. I buried my head in his neck, refusing to let him see me this distraught. I'd hate to give him that satisfaction.
My voice was bitter as I mumbled. "Weren't you just saying that I needed to trust you? What should I trust exactly? Because right now, all I'm seeing is a monster that could never be the husband I want."
A kiss was placed on my exposed neck. "Good. Kill your expectations of me. This life isn't a good one, Amorina. I am not a lenient man but I'm trying to be. You may not see it but there are a lot of things that I don't allow that you're already stepping over completely. I chose you for a reason. As long as you don't betray me or this family, never would I put you in a situation like hers. No, let me rephrase that. If you were to betray me, I won't kill you. I'll simply break your legs and trap you in this room for the rest of your life. I will never lay a hand on you with the intention to kill."
He raised my head so that I was staring at him through my blurry vision. He frowned as he leaned in and kissed just under my eye where a tear dropped. I sniffled and wiped at my tears so that I could see him clearly.
His eyes showed such seriousness that my heart began to race again.
"I will always protect you, Sienna. I will always look for you. You are my wife and the person I chose to bear my children. Believe me when I say that you're more than just a toy to me. You're a companion I can shovel this muddy path we call life with. I'm not a nice man but I can do nice things if you'd let me. So trust me."
He leaned in and captured my lips in his, causing my heart to tremble as I opened my mouth and let him in, reaching my hand up to grasp his hair. The kiss deepened as our tongues battled and fought for dominance.
I could feel it. My resolve slowly weakening. I knew this was him feeding on my emotions at the moment. I knew it and yet I couldn't help the fact that I believed his words.
I believed this man that I met just two days ago.
We pulled away and I gasped for air, turning my head away in embarrassment.
Xander chuckled and said, "Well since we've gotten over the rough patches of our relationship. I've got some good news for you."
"What news?" I mumbled, still refusing to meet his eyes.
"Information on the first game was leaked."
My head snapped around so fast, I was surprised I didn't get whiplash.
"What!?"
~~~
Hey Everyone! I am still in the process of editing this story so I will be posting chapters as I edit. I will be posting 2 chapters every 2 days starting tomorrow. Enjoy!