Vow of Deception (Deception Trilogy, #1)

by Rina Kent

Invisibility is a powerful tool. In a city that harbors over eight million residents, it’s actually easy for someone like me to go unnoticed.

“Give me that bottle, Lia.” “No! And stop calling me Lia!”

I’ve never witnessed such a perfect physique before, but it’s not only about that. It’s the way he carries himself and the sheer confidence he exudes, even while naked.

My fake husband takes a sip of his own coffee—black like his soul—and

“Hide all you like, but I’ll eventually bring you out.”

He misses his mother and I miss my baby girl. We’re both two incomplete pieces who might have been brought together by fate. Or his asshole father.

“That’s two punishments.” My head jerks up to face Adrian. “But…for what?” “One for not learning the list Ogla gave you and the second for now.” I knew Ogla was his damn spy. “But I didn’t talk back just now.” “Defying me is equivalent to talking back. Not answering my questions warrants punishment, too.” “Maybe you should make me a fucking list like the mafia one so I can learn it and magically tiptoe around it.” “And that’s three.” “You can’t be fucking serious.” “Perfectly am. Four.” “I’m not allowed to talk at all?” I snap. “Not in that tone, no. Five.” “Just stop it, already, and admit that you’re a sick bastard who gets off on spanking me.” “Six.” I open my mouth to say something, but soon seal it shut, realizing that whatever I say will only worsen my state. Damn him. He rattles me so much that I keep playing into his hands and digging myself into a hole with him. The visceral nightmare I just experienced isn’t helping either. Ever since I woke up, I’ve been jumpy and disoriented, having little to no control over my reactions. “Go on, Lia.” Adrian’s calm yet threatening tone resonates in the air. “I’m very interested to see how far the number can go up.”

“You don’t seem to grasp the situation, so let me explain it to you for the last time, Lia. You’re my wife, my property, my thing. That means you walk the line I trace and make the decisions I allow. If I say you leave your will at the door, you do. If I say you will walk blindly into a well, you will. In my house, my word is law and my decisions are final. If you feel the need to defy me, by all means, do. I’ll enjoy every second of whipping you into submission.”

“You’re a masochist to my sadism, Lia.”

Thud. Thud. Thud. A gurgling sound echoes in the air as if someone is choking on their own blood. Or vomit. My eyes snap open. I’m immediately alert, my heart beating loudly as the scene materializes in front of me. Lia is thrashing in her sleep, her feet kicking in the air, and her body is heavy like a rock being thrown to the bottom of an ocean. Both of her hands are fisted so tightly that there’s a cut on her palm from her nails and droplets of blood color the white sheets in red. But that’s not what woke me up. It was the sound. The gurgling. The choking on her own saliva.