“Na, it’s not that. Besides, I already fed what was left of Jamieson to those fat mothafuckas. Now, let’s go,” Buddha said that shit like it was just another ordinary day. Guiding me away from our wedding guests, Buddha stopped by his father.
“We’ll be right back. I just need about fifteen minutes alone with my wife,” he gave a sly smile as he patted his father on his shoulder. Tomasso smiled at his son before we made our way to the back door.
“Where are you taking me?” I was beginning to get worried. I did not fully trust this man. He was a fucking lunatic. Once we were away from the eyes of everyone, Buddha released my hand. My question went unanswered, so I stopped walking. Buddha paused and looked back at me.
“You love being fucking defiant,” he said calmly, shoving his hands inside his pants pocket as he glared at me.
“Why can’t you tell me where we’re going, Buddha?” He narrowed his eyes at me before taking one step closer.
“Do you seriously think I’m going to do what? Harm you on our wedding day, Dior? Don’t you think the perfect time to end your life would have been when you pulled that little stunt in the middle of thenotte, petardo(night, firecracker)?”
“Then, why won’t you tell me?” I asked.
“Because it’s a surprise. Now, trust me,” Buddha said, with his hand outstretched so I could take it. I looked down at it and knew trust was the last thing I had in this man. Against my better judgment, I placed my hand in his.
Buddha led us straight out of the main house to his Bugatti parked out front. Opening the door for me, I gathered my dress and sat down. Hopping behind the wheel, he started his car and drove off. My curiosity deepened further when he headed back to his house.
I snuck a peek at him as he drove. His face was stoic as he concentrated. I couldn’t help but admire how handsome he looked. I bit back a smile when I thought about my best friend Mia. I wondered what she would say if I could tell her right now that I got married to the handsome stranger who had interrupted me on the night we went speed dating. I felt sad in a way because even though this marriage was fake, I still wished the people I loved could be here.
“Why is Lorenzo standing guard at the front door?” I asked when we pulled up to the house, and I saw Lorenzo there. I could have sworn we left him back at the wedding reception with everyone else.
“Wait here,” Buddha said, switching off the engine. I sat and watched him approach Lorenzo. They spoke briefly before Buddha disappeared inside, leaving Lorenzo at the door.
“Jesus, what is this?” I began to feel panic rising in my throat. What if he planned to lock me away again and have Lorenzo stand guard? I didn’t care what I had to do, but I wasn’t about to let that happen without a fight.
I nervously toyed with my dress as I waited to see what was about to happen. A few minutes later, Buddha came out of the house, walked right by Lorenzo, and up to my door.
“Get out,” he ordered me, opening the door and holding it so I could comply. Quietly, I emerged from the car and stood waiting for my next instructions.
“Listen up,” Buddha held my shoulders, forcing me to face him. “Be very mindful of what you say when you go in there. Act as though we’re happy and you’re exactly where you wanna be. Do you understand me?” I frowned, perplexed at what was going on. However, I decided to just roll with it; I was in no mood to mouth off to him.
“Ok,” was all that I could say.
“Go ahead and go on inside. I’ll be out here,” Buddha said, reaching inside his pants pocket as he pulled out a pack of Davidoff cigarettes. Leaning casually against the door, he lit the end and inhaled. Tipping his head back, he blew out white smoke in the air.
Walking away from Buddha, I made my way to where Lorenzo was standing. Once I walked up the steps and toward him, he opened the front door.
“Congratulations on your marriage,petardo(firecracker),” Lorenzo said, giving me a wide smile. I couldn’t help but return his gesture and smiled back.
“Thank you, Lorenzo,” I said, stepping inside Buddha’s home. Lotus immediately ran up to greet me. I was no longer taken aback by the retriever and looked down at her as I rubbed behind her ear.
“Even though you snitched on me the other night after I was trying to escape, you still want us to be friends,” I was so focused on Lotus that I had no clue there were others in the living room.
“Oh…my…goodness! Dior!” Hearing that all too familiar voice, I looked up in disbelief. Sure enough, it was Mia, and she was standing in Buddha’s living room. Not only was my best friend here, but my sister was too.
“What, wait, what?” Tears flowed freely from my eyes as I stumbled over Lotus in an effort to get to the people I thought of every day since being kidnapped.
“Dior, where have you been?” Chanel asked, as both she and Mia came running over to me.
“What the fuck? What the actual hell! How did you two get here?” I grabbed them both into a bear hug, never wanting to let go.
“Some man named Buddha called me yesterday, asking if I knew you,” I pulled away reluctantly when I heard what Mia said.
“Buddha?” I asked incredulously. She nodded her head as she looked at me, perplexed as to why I was wearing a wedding dress.
“Yeah, he promised me that you were safe and asked if I wanted to see you. Then he said, if I could get in touch with Chanel, he’d bring us to you. I thought it was some sick prank call, but he assured me that it wasn’t. He sent me this picture as proof,” Mia took her phone out of her back pocket and found a pic of me sleeping. My head was resting peacefully on Buddha’s chest; his face was cut out of the photo.
“I know you fucking lying,” I muttered, taking the phone as I stared at the photo. When in the hell did he take this? I studied my sleeping face and the fact that I seemed so relaxed sleeping in Buddha’s arms.
