A KISS BEFORE WAR

Isabella's POV

"This is Isabella Knight, she is the doctor that saved your life." The man dressed in a suit pointed towards my direction. My head was bent low, my entire body shivered in fear as I stood in front of the most dangerous man to ever exist. He sat on an armchair and his legs were crossed. His face was not visible because of how dark the office was, the only source of light was a little candle light by the corner of the room.

"Tell her to come closer." His deep voice rung out, his voice was laced with so much authority and command. Gabriel Santos was the most feared mafia lord to ever exist in Chicago. I never imagined a day would come when I would stand in front of the man who murdered my parents and seized my older brother as his captive. I felt anxious but at the same time, I felt like my revenge plan was taking a nice turn, I was the doctor who saved his life, I knew that he was going to treat me right because of how much he valued his life.

"Did you not hear the man, step closer!" One of the numerous men dressed in suits pushed me towards the direction of Gabriel Santos. I gulped a lump down my throat and took few steps closer. The saying "Keep your enemies closer" that was exactly what I planned to do with Gabriel Santos. Although it was a tough decision to choose to spare his life but I had chosen to do that just for the sake of my revenge.

As I attempted to take another step closer, Gabriel Santos suddenly yelled. "Wait." I was startled but I remained composure. I remained in my position and continued to bow my head at him. Gabriel Santos rose to his feet, his figure was towering, he was many feets taller than me, six feets approximately, he had a muscular physique and he gave the deadliest gaze.

Gabriel stepped into the light and revealed his face, unlike every other mafia lord who looked completely scary with scars and marks all over their faces, Gabriel was the opposite. He was handsome, I had to admit. He had heterochromic eyes, his left eye was grey in colour and his right eye was green in colour. It was beautiful. He had brown curly hair that fell across his shoulders and he had an expressionless gaze, one could never tell what he was thinking.

"Did you say Isabella Knight?" He arched a brow at me. I nodded my head in agreement and my heart began to race extremely fast. Perhaps did he know me? Asides the fact that I was a famous doctor around the country, it seemed like Gabriel knew me more than just my doctor title.

"Wow, isn't today my lucky day?" I watched a mischievous smirk grow on Gabriel's face. It scared me for the fact that he was happy to see me or should I say, excited? Gabriel had other plans of his own for me and I had to make sure they were not going to clash with mine.

"Lock her up." Gabriel suddenly commanded. My eyes widened in shock and my jaw dropped as his boys rushed towards me, they snatched me by the arm and slowly began to pull me out of the office. "What are you doing?" I yelled but I got no response. Gabriel's figure slowly began to fade from my eyes. "I am the doctor that saved your fucking life! You should be grateful to me!" I cried out bitterly. The boys led me into the dark hallways and before I could say anything more, i was pushed into a small room with only the candlelight as the source of light. What was with these people and using candles to see?

"Stay put for your own safety." One of the men snapped at me. He did not even wait for my reply, he shut the door close and i could slowly hear his footsteps fading away. I rose to my feet and rushed towards the door. I began to bang the door aggressively and yell. "Please help! All of this is a mistake! I saved his life!" I cried out but hours passed by and I got no response at all.

I was exhausted, famished and worried too. I felt like I had walked directly into a trap and there was no going back. Gabriel knew who I was, although it was quite shocking that he remembered. I mean it had been five years since he murdered my parents and three years since he held my brother captive.

I laid on the cold hard floor and I felt a drop of tear roll down my cheeks. Was this how my fate was about to end too? Was I going to end up like a prisoner too? I was in my thoughts that I had not realized that I had fallen into a deep sleep until I heard the prison doors open wide, I snapped my eyes open but I could not see who had stepped into the room because it was dark, the candle had gone off.

"Hey love." The familiar deep hoarse voice echoed in the room, it was no one other than Gabriel.

"Please you need to let me out, I saved your life and your boys told me you wanted to reward me in a way. All I want to ask is that you let my brother out of your captivity." I pleaded.

I got no response but I could slowly feel Gabriel's touch on my bare skin, his hands clutched my waist tight and pulled me closer to him. I could feel his hot breath tingling in my neck, giving me sweet sensations. I was sexually aroused just by his touch but I had to snap out of it.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I struggled to break free from his grip.

"You are mine now."

That was his last words before he forcefully smashed his lips against mine.

Isabella's POV

"Gabriel, stop!"

"YOU ARE MINE NOW!"

I snapped my eyes open and I began to pant in fear at the horrible nightmare I had. My entire body was soaked in sweat and the rays of sun radiating from the window shone across my face. I gulped a lump down my throat and sat upright. I looked over myself and that was when it suddenly clicked to me that none of that was a nightmare, they were just memories. Memories of everything that had transpired between I and Gabriel last night.

A drop of tears rolled down my cheeks as I recalled how Gabriel forcefully had sex with me last night, he kept yelling one thing that stuck like glue in memory. It was the fact that he kept claiming I belonged to him. It got me completely afraid. What had he meant by I was his?

The door to the small room suddenly opened wide and I hastily placed my hands over my chest to cover my naked body. Gabriel had aggressively ripped off my clothes last night and left me to sleep on the hard cold floor with no clothes on. I looked up to gaze at the culprit, it was an old lady dressed in a maiden outfit. She sighed heavily and smiled at me with a pitiful look directed at me. "Oh dear, you must be frightened." She rushed towards me with a towel clutched tight to her hands.

I bit my lower lip to stop myself from breaking down into tears but the look she gave me, it made me want to cry even more. I felt pathetic and the fact that I was naked made me feel like I had been stripped of my own dignity. It was hard to process.

"Let me help you. My name is Sandra and I am the head maiden of the Santos mansion." She introduced herself. I remaind quiet because I was reluctant about trusting anyone around here. Look what happened to me when I trusted Gabriel's boys. The story behind all of this was that Gabriel had gotten into a fatal accident and was rushed to the hospital where I worked, the moment I had set my eyes on him, I knew he was the one who killed my parents and took my brother as a captive, I could never forget his unique eyes.

I had the chance to kill him back at the hospital, Gabriel's life was in my hands for a brief moment yet I chose to save him because I wanted him to suffer the right way, I wanted him to slowly pay for his deeds but I planned to do all of that right after saving my brother.

After saving Gabriel, days later, his boys came around the hospital saying Gabriel wanted to honour the doctor who saved his life, I saw it as an opportunity to request for my brother's freedom but I was too stupid not to notice that I was indirectly walking into a trap.

I had blindly trusted Gabriel and his boys, now here I was, suffering for choosing to trust anyone.

"I know all of this is going to be hard for you to process darling but I need you to stay strong, I promise you that everything is going to be okay." The so called Sandra lady said, she paused to flash me a reassuring smile. Her hands reached for my shoulders and she rubbed them gently. It broke my heart entirely and at that point, I could no longer hold back the tears.

I allowed them flow down my cheeks as I broke into sobs. "I just want to go back home with my brother. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Oh dear." Sandra muttered. She went on her knees and pulled me into a tight embrace. Sandra allowed me to cry in her arms for what looked felt like hours when it was only just a few minutes. I felt better crying into her arms and afterwards, she helped me up my feet and wrapped a towel around my body.

"Now, let us get you cleaned up. Follow me." She said. I obeyed Sandra and she escorted me down the hallways. I got a lot of eyes staring at me from other staffs in the mansion, some of them made snickering noises while the others flashed me pitiful gazes.

Sandra led me into the elevator. We stopped at the third floor and she pointed at the first room on the left. "You can go in there, get dressed, clean up and meet me on the last floor, I will be up there waiting for you." Sandra said. I nodded my head in agreement at her and flashed her a grateful smile. "Thank you for helping me." I said in a low tone barely above a whisper.

Sandra waved at me and I watched her slowly disappear out of my sight. I hated to say this but as Sandra disappeared, I felt lonely and afraid. I felt like it was just me and Gabriel alone in the mansion regardless of the fact that there were several guards lurking around each floor.

I shrugged off the thought and did as Sandra had instructed. I showered and met some neat clothes already arranged for me on the bed. I changed into them and although they felt a bit too fitted but I did not have a choice, prisoners do not have choice.

I made my way to the last floor and just as she had explained, there was only one room on that floor. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. I stood by the door in shock, of course Sandra was there but so was the beast himself, Gabriel Santos.

I watched him hand a brown envelope to Sandra, she walked towards me and handed it over to me. I curiously ripped it open and read through the contents. It was a contract marriage proposal.

Two things about the proposal left me in utter shock.

One was for the fact that it was signed on my name, the other one was that the document was from five years ago.

In other words, the document legally meant I had signed a marriage proposal with Gabriel five years ago.

Isabella's POV

My hands kept shaking profusely as I clutched the piece of paper tight. My eyes scanned through it for the umpteenth time and I found it extremely hard to believe. Was my eyes playing tricks on me or was there another person with the name Isabella Knight? This was obviously forged because there was no way in hell that I would consciously sign a paper that would seal a marriage between I and Gabriel Santos. Most importantly, five years ago? Five years ago, I desperately wanted to kill Gabriel Santos so why would i agree to be his legal wife? What would i possibly earn from that?

"What is this supposed to mean?" I finally gathered courage to ask. Although my breathing was hitched and my hands were shaking in fear as I struggled to hold the paper tight. I snuck a glance at Gabriel, he had the same mischievous smirk from last night plastered on his face. I desperately wanted to smack that grin off his face and I was willing to take any open chances.

"It is exactly what you think it is. A contract marriage between you and I." He stated, I watched him settle down on the plush couch and cross his legs at my direction. I had to scoff in disbelief at him. Did he seriously think I was an illiterate? I was a doctor with many certificates, I could obviously tell that the paper was forged.

"I am not stupid, the signature was forged and soon enough, people will know find out that I am missing and come look for me. Your failed attempt at trying to keep as your prisoner in a legal way is quite pathetic." I snapped at him. I had not realized that I was slowly growing confidence and the worse of it all was that I could not explain where the confidence was coming from, all I knew was that it was surprisingly there. It was most likely my anger converting itself into confidence.

I watched Gabriel touch his chest in fake hurt. "Ouch, that hurt me." He muttered. He paused to clear his throat and rant. "Your mother and father signed that piece of paper years ago, they sold you to me five years ago and believe me when I say I paid a huge price to get you." Gabriel winked at me.

I gulped a lump down my throat and staggered backward in shock. The piece of paper slipped from my hand and fell right to the floor. I felt shivers run down my spine as I slowly processed everything, my parents had intentionally sold me to Gabriel five years ago? Before their death? But why? Why would they sell me off to their enemy? I found it hard to believe, I refused to let Gabriel manipulate me into thinking my parents were the bad guys in my little story.

"How stupid do you think I am to believe that?" I asked feigning confidence when deep down inside of me, I was completely breaking. I felt my heart shatter a million pieces as I realized that I was actually slowly starting to believe Gabriel's words. He scoffed at me and turned to Sandra with a poker face. "Ask Alessandro to bring the tape recorder immediately." He instructed and i watched Sandra scurry in fear at the sound of his voice. Every single person in this mansion lived under nothing but fear most especially at the sound of his voice. In less than a few minutes, a young looking man dressed in a grey suit walked into the room with Sandra besides him. I was guessing he was Alessandro.

What made Alessandro unique from the other boys under Gabriel was that Alessandro seemed fearless. He had a poker face on and his hands were tucked firmly into his suit pockets. He gave off this nonchalant aura as he handed Gabriel the tape recorder without even bothering to spare me a glance.

Gabriel slid the tape recorder on the floor and it landed right in front of me. I was hesitant about picking the tape recorder up but my curiosity got the best of me. I slowly picked it up and gazed at the year, five years ago truly.

I gulped a lump down my throat as I gently pressed the 'play' button. There was a shuffling noises for a brief moment before I heard a familiar feminine voice say. "Gabriel Santos, you have to spare her life at all cost...." I hastily pressed the 'pause' button as I felt tears slowly roll down my cheeks. I had been dying to hear mum's voice in a really long while, hearing her voice made my heart melt.

I clutched the tape recorder tight and broke down into sobs. It was embarrassing but I could not control it. I eventually pressed the button for play but this time, my father's voice had interrupted her harshly. "Just let him have her, that way we can escape this debt Clarissa, we can be safe." My dad said desperately.

I was still finding it hard to process all of that. What was going on? Why were they making a deal with Gabriel Santos? Why did Dad sound so desperate? And safety?

"Roman! You need to consider her too. At least let us make sure she is completely in safe hands. It is bad to sell our daughter off like that." My mum cried out. I felt my heart skip a beat, was it really true?

"Not to be rude or anything but you people need to make decision fast, I do not have all the time in the world." It was Gabriel's voice this time. I snuck a glance at him and he had a proud smirk plastered on his face.

"We have made our decision." Dad suddenly said.

"So are you willing to sell your only daughter to me in order to settle your debt?"

"Yes." Dad and mum chorused.