Blurred Lines 1: CHASE
Chapter 128

-Sofia-

As soon as Nikos was out of the room, I allowed my tears to stream. I sobbed like I had never done be

overing my face with my hand.

This was not what we planned. I don't want to believe Nikos, but if there was a sliver of truth in his revelations, the chances of Chase finding me was zilch. My hope was waning like a candlelight outside the house on a stormy night. How can he come and find me if he was in prison? And Derek... oh God. I hope Nikos was just bluffing.

Derek had survived wars and missions in a foreign land. I knew he wouldn't go out without a fight. And Elise with Chase behind bars, I am the only one she has. The thought of my daughter relying on my survival lit up my desire to fight anew. I need to gather myself together and think of a way to get out of here.

I can't marry that bastard!

My fear quickly morphed into anger. Slowly, Nikos' plan was sinking in. Chase would be devastated if

But I won't just sit here and let Nikos' plan succeed. There was only one man I wanted to marry, and if not yet.

nd I were married. It was revenge in its cruelest form.

't Chase, I'd rather die a painful death. I don't understand how Nikos' wicked mind conjured something like marrying me; at least I knew he wouldn't kill...

I wiped my face and did a body scan. My shoulder was wrapped in a white bandage. Lifting my hand to my forehead, another bandage was wrapped around it. I was dressed in a blue hospital gown, and a handcuff secured my right hand on the bed. Looking around the room, there was nothing I could use for my escape, not even spare clothing.

I don't know how to pick a handcuff's lock. That was my first problem, leaving me no choice but to war for Nikos' plan to roll. Surely he wouldn't marry me in a hospital bed, right?

Well, what if he just needed me to sign a paper?

Fuck! What am I gonna do?

I chewed my lower lip.

'Think, Sofia. This is not the end. This can't be.'

Deep in my rumbled state of mind, the door swung open, and a woman around my age dressed in a white crop top, belly button catching the fluorescent light, short leather skirt, and ankle boots walked in, a silver tray in her hands. She had golden hair, deep brown eyes, and a sneer on her lips.

"Oh, Sleeping Beauty's awake," she scoffed, disdain shining on her face.

She set the tray on the bedside table; the utensil cluttered against the silver tray. Snorting, she fixed table, haphazardly arranging the food she brought on top of it. Soup, some cut fruits, jello, and a glass of green juice.

I pulled at my cuffed hand. "Will you uncuff me?"

Her eyes met mine, brows creasing as she eyed the cuffs. "No funny business, princess," she warned. "I won't hesitate to break your hands. I don't give a shit if the Don favors you."

"Don?" I asked, brows arching. I was testing the water. A dangerous move, but I desperately need something to help me escape. Even just a sliver of information, anything at all.

She rolled her eyes. "Your husband-to-be." She gnawed her lip, contemplating. Releasing an exasperated sigh, she pulled the key from her skirt pocket and unlocked my cuffs. "I don't get it. Looking at you now, you don't meet his standards. You're not even his type." For someone who was meant to intimidate me, she sure talked a lot.

"Are you pertaining to Nikos?" I asked, eying the soup. My stomach rumbled. If I was to escape, I need something in my system apart from the IV injected in my arms.

She hummed a disgruntled yes. "He'd been warning us he'd get married soon. I actually thought he was bluffing, but voila, here you are!" her eyes thinned, stabbing me with a probing stare, pouty lip curving to a displeased smirk. "I don't know what he sees in you." I tilt my head to the side, setting down the soup. With the way she was speaking to me, jabbing insults each time she got, I doubted if this food wasn't poisoned or drugged. "You like him?"

She huffed, crossing her arms in her middle, her belly button piercing shimmering. "That's none of your business. Just eat the damn food!"

Like a child having a tantrum, she stomped around my bed and sank onto the seat Nikos vacated. She reached under the bedside table for a cooking magazine; Gordon Ramsey was on the cover, and she started flipping through the pages, almost reaping the leaves from the spine. Once she noticed I wasn't eating, she narrowed her eyes on me. Growling, she rose on her feet and reached for the soup, lifting a spoonful to her mouth. "Not poisoned." She reached for a slice of orange from the fruit bowl and bit on it. "Not poisoned." Then she took the glass of green juice and took a sip, grimacing. "Yuck! But I didn't poison your food."

Satisfied with her demonstration, I nodded and reached for the spoon, and ate my food.

She sighed every five seconds, making it hard to ignore her presence. She hated me or the thought of me marrying Nikos. Then, an idea sparked in my head.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Avery," she scoffed.

A few seconds ticked by.

"Avery," I reached for the napkin and wiped my mouth.

"What?!" she grunted, glaring at me.

"I am being held here against my will," I confessed. "And it seems that you have feelings for Nikos."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid. If you're gonna ask me to help you escape, that's not gonna happen. I love Nikos, but I love having my head over my shoulders, too."

I chewed my lower lip, searching Avery's eyes for any hint that I could coax her to my advantage. "You don't have to help me. We can make it look like I overpowered you and I escaped."

"Sofia... princess, let me give you a backdrop of who I am," she said pointedly. "I have a black belt in Jiu-jitsu, a sharpshooter, smarter than you," her eyes slide down my frame, "not to mention sexier than you, so stop persuading me to help you. Not gonna happen, and no one would believe someone like you overpowered me."

I pinned her with a sharp glare. "I have something you don't have," I dared say.

Her eyes slanted. "Go on then, tell me."

"I have a family, Avery. And a woman with a family is more dangerous than a Jiu-jitsu black belter and sharpshooter." Her lips pursed, gaze blazing with dismay. "You don't want me here; I don't want to be here. Much less marry Nikos. I have a daughter..." my voice broke, and a flicker of surprise crossed Avery's face. It got me thinking. If she was as good as she painted, then why was she left babysitting me? And why does she look surprised to hear I have a daughter?

"Anyway," I smiled at her, "it was worth the try."

While I resumed eating, I searched my brain for another way to escape.

Looking out the window, I recognized Mt. Irid's south side. We were close to the harbor. The distinct smell of ocean breeze permeates the air with each wind blow. My best guess was that we were somewhere in Oakwood Creek. I remember Chase mentioned that this was Loco's hideout before.

I finished the rest of my meal in silence. Avery also stopped releasing a heavy sigh every five seconds and focused on the magazine she was reading.

"Do you need to use the washroom before I cuff you again?" Avery asked, collecting the plates and utensils from the bed table.

"Yes, please," I said, slowly slipping out of bed.

My legs were wobbly, and I used the IV stand for leverage. The mirror in the bathroom reflected the state I was in. I had a black eye on the left side of my face, and a red spot slowly spread on the bandage around my head.

I faced Avery, who was leaning on the bathroom door frame. "Can I take a bath?"

She rolled her eyes and huffed, disappearing out of my sight, and came back with a bath towel and neatly folded fresh clothes. Setting them on the counter, she went to the bathtub and filled it with water. Apart from the sound of water loading the tub, the silence stretched between Avery and me until she broke it with a heavy sigh.

"Your daughter, how old is she?"

"She's turning five." I leaned on the sink counter while Avery settled on the tub's edge.

A heartstring snapped inside me, remembering how we parted the night of the attack in our mansion. Elise didn't want to go with Jose, but her young mind had to cope with the situation. I promised to find them the next day, that Chase and I will see her the next day.

Nikos didn't mention anything about Elise. I assumed Jose had made it safely to Chuck. "Do you know if Nikos has my daughter as well?"

A shift in Avery's demeanor was palpable. She didn't have that sneer she'd been posing since she walked inside the room. It's like I was speaking to another person. "There's no news about a child being held captive. Only you." She dropped her gaze to the floor. "I... I also had a daughter."

"Had?"

She nodded, gaze sliding towards the tiled wall, unseeing. "She's in a safer place now." Rising on her feet, she met my gaze.

"Do you need help with your clothes?" I shook my head 'no. "I'll be outside then."

Alone, I started peeling off the gown and inhaled sharply at the purple patches all over my body. A large bruise was on my torso, crawling from my left rib cage to my back. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on FindNovel.net. Visit FindNovel.net to read the complete chapters for free. I had an inkling I might have gained broken ribs from the car crash, but I didn't know to what extent. Once the pain medicine's effect wears off, this would feel like hell.

Pushing aside these thoughts, I cleaned up and changed into the clothes Avery provided. It was better than the hospital gown. A black shirt and sweats, along with underwear my size. Back inside the bedroom, Avery cleaned my wounds and changed my bandage. She also gave me pain pills and cuffed my wrist on the bed again.

"Do you know what time the wedding will take place?" I can't help but ask.

"The judge will be here by sundown," Avery said as the door opened.

A full-bearded man dressed in a leather jacket, black shirt, and jeans crowded the door. His eyes scanned Avery and me, lips pursing. "What's taking so long?"

"Have you seen what you fuckers did to her?" Avery growled back, her gaze blazing with annoyance. "Try being in her shoes. Let's see if you can move fast." "Don called for you," the guy huffed and slammed the door shut.

Avery shook her head and fixed my pillow, lowering the bed, so I lay flat on my back.

"Thanks," I murmured and frowned at her when she reached for my hand and slid a small metal from her palms to mine, her eyes piercing mine. She gave me the key.

"I'm sorry you had to be separated from your daughter," she smiled wistfully.

I swallowed hard, smiling gratefully at her. "Thank you."

She responded with a nod and walked towards the door. Grabbing the door knob, Avery looked over her shoulder and said, "good luck, Sofia."