Taming Mr. Cold and Arrogant novel Chapter 2

"Yes ma'am, I'm single and he's neither my ex nor my boyfriend, and that's never going to happen. I'll choose to die rather than seeing myself with him." I looked into her eyes to see what her reaction would be if I told her the truth. "He tried to rape me six years ago."

"Oh, my holy Christ!" her eyes widened in shock and I just gave her a sad smile.

"Tell me what happened, Sophia. I promise to help you." Mrs Kelley said full of determination.

I smiled bitterly, lowering my head. We're now back in the mall and inside the restaurant. It's been a long time since I kept this secret. I haven't let anyone know about this since I started living in California. Well, except for my college friend, Rian.

I felt a hand over my hand which was resting on top of the table.

"I can be your mother, Sophia. I know half of your story about your mom and your dad, but you haven't told me about this story of yours. You can share everything with me."

Mrs Sonia Kelley, one of my students in my Zumba class. We've known each other for two years, and she's one of my loyal clients who always recommend me and my dance studio to all of her friends and colleagues. She's been like a mother to me ever since and knows all my sacrifices regarding my career. She's also one of our sponsors whenever we have an international dance competition.

I looked at her and took a long, deep breath before I started telling her about this horrible past of my life in Bologna Italy.

"Joseph De Luca was my ex-fiance. I was just eighteen years old when my father's company suffered from a financial crisis, and he doesn't know what to do back then. Until one day, he talked to me and told me that I was already engaged to a certain Joseph De Luca. I didn't even know that man. I asked him why, and he told me it's for my future.

And then one day, I overheard my father talking to his guest in the living room. They were talking about the money that his guest transferred to my father's account. He said I had to prepare for our wedding, and for me and his son become close to each other, they bought the vacant house and lot a few blocks from our house.

When I first met Joseph, I immediately felt there was something wrong with the way he was looking at me. But when I told my father about my observation, he said it wasn't true and Joseph was a nice and perfect man to be my husband. But I didn't believe him, so I tried to do some research about Joseph, with the help of my cousin. And then I found out that he was a computer science graduate, and the most shocking news to me that time was that I also found out that he's a drug addict, uses and sells drugs."

"Did you inform your father about that?" she asked with a horrified expression.

"Yes, I told him. I even showed him the research I did, but he just shouted at me and told me not to believe in fake news!"

"Fake news? But it's no longer fake news when you have evidence."

"Yup, I told him that, but he didn't believe me. Instead, he continued to sign the contract. And one day, I decided to talk to my future husband. I wanted to talk to him and beg to cancel the wedding. I went to their house. And Layla, their maid, was the one who opened the door for me. I asked her about Joseph and she pointed to his room. But before I could take a step, she grabbed my hand and told me to be careful if I intend to talk to Joseph in his room. I was confused at first, but I just nodded at her.

And the scene that came to my sight, shocked not just my eyes but my whole body. I confirmed my research with my own eyes. He's inside of his room with his two friends and they were using drugs. He's sniffing the silver foil while his friend was held a lighter in his hand. And when they saw me watching them, I ran to the door and went downstairs. We almost played hide and seek. I shouted for help and Layla came running from the kitchen, but with Joseph's glare she turned her back on us."

I blinked to control the tears but I failed. Because it already rolled down my face before I could wipe them.

"What about their other maids? The guards or someone inside the house? Didn't they help you or didn't they hear you when you screamed for help?"

"There weren't any people in their house at that time except  Layla and a guard at the gate, and I don't know why?"

"So, what happened after that? What did he and his friends do to you?"

"They pulled me back to his room and pushed me to the bed. He ordered his friends to go home because he said he just wanted me for himself. I screamed for help as I tried to push him but he was so strong. He ripped my blouse, my skirt and my underwear. I begged him to stop, but he didn't listen. He said I was his fiancee and I was going to be his wife, so it was his right to take what was his."

"But you're not yet married!"

"He didn't listen even though I told him to wait until the night of our wedding, he continued to undress me. And he was about to get himself inside me when we heard a knock on the door and it was soon opened. Because of his extreme lust and he was still high on drugs, maybe he hadn't noticed that he hadn't locked the door. It's Layla, I saw how her face turned shocked to pale due to nervousness.

I was crying and asking for help, but with Joseph's glare and shout, she turned away after saying that my father and Mr De Luca had arrived and were waiting for him in the living room. She looked at me before she disappeared and I get it, that's the only thing she can do to help me. And since Joseph was still distracted, I used it as an opportunity. I used all my strength to push him ang kicked him in the balls. I also tried slapping him with my diamond ring which was facing my palm, and it only landed on his neck, but it still created a deep cut on it.

I ran outside the room and downstairs, not bothering that I was just wearing a ripped skirt and piece of blouse. My father and Mr De Luca were both shocked when they saw me running downstairs. My father immediately wrapped me in his jacket and asked me what had happened and what I was doing upstairs, but before I could speak, I heard Joseph's footsteps behind me and he told the opposite of the story. That it was I who forced myself to him because of the money!