Husband With Benefits
Chapter 772: What Do You Mean?

Chapter 772: What Do You Mean?

"Good morning, Your Highness. Wakey, wakey."

Dora’s brow furrowed at the absurd voice echoing through her mind. Who on earth was speaking to her like this, as if she were some useless damsel in distress? The words and the tone, grated on her nerves, dragging her further from the fog of sleepiness. Slowly, she realized that she wasn’t being awakened but something else.

Her senses began to sharpen, and it dawned on her that she wasn’t asleep—or if she was, it wasn’t in a bed. Her body ached as if she’d been in an uncomfortable position for too long. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it struck her. The last thing she remembered was talking to Evana when she’d been suddenly called away. The memory was hazy, but the details were sharp enough to stir her from the remnants of her stupor.

Her eyes snapped open, and she blinked against the dim light. Panic surged through her as she realized she was indeed ’asleep’ in a chair—but worse, she was bound to it. Thick ropes dug into her wrists, securing her hands to the chair’s arms, while a rough cloth was tied tightly around her mouth, stifling any sound she might make. Her heart pounded in her chest as she came to a terrifying realisation, that she had been kidnapped.

She shuddered. How had this happened? She’d been in her hotel, going down by the elevator... How did the person get past her security and the hotel’s security? And then she hadn’t even realized that she was in danger when her instincts were usually on point.

How had she ended up here? She forced herself to concentrate, pushing aside the rising panic. The last thing she could clearly recall was that conversation with Evana.

Somehow, Evana had learnt of Kael hiding Anna and not coming clean to her, as well as not doing anything against his master. Evana insisted that something like this might end up being a problem in their relationship as she’d been like that... and if he remained uncertain, he might end up hurting her the way Evana had hurt Lucien.

Though she’d been willing to fight and defend her relationship, Evana’s words had struck her. She would have been blindsided in Anna’s matter if not for Rafe sharing his doubts. And though she understood that Kael had been bound by a promise, it would not bode well.

And that is when she’d been called away by Tasha. So, probably because she’d been lost in the conversation, that she hadn’t realized that something was amiss. But even so, just how careless had she been to not even remember even struggling or knowing where she’d been kidnapped.

As she closed her eyes, she remembered getting into the elevator, and smiling passingly at the waitress standing there with a covered trolley on the side, a cloche on the top. She stilled. It was the waitress.... she’d been on the top floor so if the waitress hac come from below, then she should have gotten off at her floor or not at all. Then, the next thing she remembered was a sudden, overwhelming sense of dizziness.

She had felt weightless, her limbs going numb as if the world had tilted on its axis. Her eyelids had grown impossibly heavy, and she had struggled to keep them open, but it had been a losing battle. Truthfully, it had been no battle since she hadn’t even had a thought to struggle before everything had gone black.

She struggled now, against the bonds, but the ropes held firm, biting into her skin even more when she struggled. "Good morning, princess."

The voice echoed in the room and she looked around, but then laughter echoed in the room," There is no point in looking around, Princess. I am too far away from you. So, how does it feel to have your hands tied?"

"Who are you?" Dora managed to mumble through the gag, her words muffled but still clear enough to convey her demand. She needed to know who had taken her and why. What did they want? Money? Information? Revenge? A thousand possibilities raced through her mind as she tried to wonder what it could be. She’d been kidnapped once in the past, by her father’s assistant. But unexpectedly, the man had simply left her with Olivia without even realizing how Olivia was not on his side.

But this was a woman. And kidnapping her could have some dire consequences this time, considering her position.

The woman laughed, a cruel, mocking sound that echoed off the walls. "Oh, sweet Princess," she crooned, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "you don’t need to know who I am. That little detail is irrelevant. What you need to know is that I’m very thankful to you. Thanks to your cooperation in getting kidnapped, I’m about to make a tidy sum. What a perfect little toy you’ve turned out to be."

Look at you struggle! You are doing nothing but hurting yourself. Don’t struggle too much," the woman continued, her voice almost casual. "Those ropes are quite sturdy. You won’t be getting free anytime soon. But don’t feel too bad about it. This is all for a good cause, after all."

"You really don’t remember me, do you?" the woman asked, her tone suddenly colder, more focused. "I suppose that’s not surprising. But me? I haven’t forgotten. Not for a second. So you should know this: if you hadn’t meddled in my life, if you hadn’t created trouble for me, I wouldn’t have been forced to take such drastic measures. You’re the reason I’m in this mess, so it’s only fitting that you’re the one to pay the price."

"Anyway, it is only a few hours more. I’ve already contacted the prince and he is arranging the money. So, treat these next few hours as a staycation. I’ll get my money, and maybe then, I can finally start over. I hope you don’t mind my hospitality too much. It isn’t too much but should suffice for you."

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