Say Yes

Simona Shara

Description

His story is like a roller coaster ride, where you never know what's around the corner. If you like stories like "After", be sure you will like novel "Say Yes" as well.

Luka is a humble, sheltered girl from Lithuania, oppressed by her older brother and sister while patiently fulfilling her parents’ demands. Unexpectedly, a student exchange program pulls her out of her home routine and sweeps her to America. Escaping her rigorous upbringing, Luka blossoms, discovering new friends and new experiences. Her hopeful outlook is sadly destroyed when she becomes the victim of rape while in Las Vegas.

Trying to move on, Luka starts an internship at one of the most prestigious companies in Chicago. On her first day, she is introduced to the son of the company’s head, Iden. Luka immediately recognizes Iden as the man who date-raped her in Vegas. At first, she is horrified and avoids all contact, until Iden reveals that they were both drugged as part of a blackmail plot.

To prevent a scandal, Luka and Iden enter into a fake engagement, but the line between façade and reality soon blurs, and Luka must decide whether she can trust Iden enough to love him. The lives of these two young people are now intertwined, but will violence, anger, and lies of the past become an insurmountable obstacle to their newly born feelings? Are Luka and Iden destined to be together or to destroy each other?

Sujets

• Romance contemporaine
• Fiction
• Love
• Romance
• Revenge
• Crime
• Jealousy
• Relationship
• Relationships

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 10 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665739795
• Langue: English

Extrait

SAY YES




SIMONA SHARA






Copyright © 2023 Simona Shara.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.



Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3977-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3978-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3979-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023904092



Archway Publishing rev. date: 03/30/2023



CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18

Epilogue
Acknowledgments



If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal
—1 Corinthians 1:13



JULY 28, 2018
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Tick … tock … tick … tock … tick … Second by second. Tick … tock … tick … Time appears to have slowed or even halted … I can feel my breathing, hear my heartbeat, and see the blood flowing through my veins. And that sound is stuck in my head: tick … tock … tick … It’s a clock, I realize through the fog.
His voice echoes off the walls.
It’s as if I have my eyes open, but I can’t see anything. Am I closing them? Extremely uncomfortable, hard, and cold. Is that me on the floor? I put my hand on the surface and think I’m lying on the tiles. Tick … tock … tick … tock …
I want to say something, but all I can do is gargle or imagine I’m gargling. I’m tired, and my eyelids are heavy. Maybe it’s one of those realistic dreams I have when I sleep and dream. Tick … tock … tick …
God, why are you so loud? And the darkness returns, floating, nauseous, and aching. Something is going on around me. I try to turn my head and move my arms. I’m not sure why I can’t, but it appears that my body is rising in the air and moving. Yes, it appears that I am flying. The darkness returns. I hear nothing, and everything flows out.
I open my eyes and look around at the movement. Do you talk to me? I see the outlines of a person, but the image is very faint. I take off again in the air and land on a stray cloud. It was so simple to leave. I close my eyes, desperate to sleep.
As the temperature drops, the sensations worsen. I touch the other person’s hot body. Oh my goodness, he’s naked. I try to move, but I’m immobile, like a stone. I finally open my eyes and see white teeth, dark, red eyes, and a collarbone tattoo. That solemn expression splits me in half. I want to cry and scream as if I’m tearing myself and humanity apart, but I can’t move.
I hear him sniffing and saying, “Beauty, do you like that?” He kisses my lips, my body, my breasts, and I lie helpless, crying silently. One stroke, two strokes, three strokes …
With a sniff in my ear, the rhythm accelerates steadily. There is a lot of pain, stinging, and burning there. No, no, no, no! I exclaim in my head. I cry and scream, “Please, help, someone!” My crotch hurts a lot, and I’m about to be overwhelmed by the horror I witnessed. And then there is darkness …
Again, that vexing tick … tock …
Let’s take a look. It’s bright outside. I’m half-dressed in a bed in a luxurious room. A strange man is lying on my stomach next to me. I stare at his features for a long time before returning to thoughts from the night before. We went out to have fun with my coworkers for the first time in three months. It was my birthday party, and I put on the most beautiful dress I’d ever worn. It was great fun. One club changed to another, and we danced to insanity. I drank another cosmopolitan and danced some more. Later, the bartender brought me another cocktail, but I said I didn’t order it. He pointed to a group of men and stated that it was their gift. My mind was disconnected after drinking that cocktail. I have no recollection of how I got here or where I am. The only memory I have is of being unable to move and being raped by this man. The resurrected memories make me shudder. I roll out of bed quietly, my crotch and thighs covered in dried blood, my panties ripped in half. In that place, I feel even more ashamed. I realize that my virginity is no longer with me—but not in the way I had hoped.
She is guilty herself.
I gather the last of my self-esteem, tidy up the dress, grab my shoes, and walk quietly to the door. I find myself in the hallway, which is just as luxurious as the room. I dash into the elevator and see how horrible I look. My big green eyes are even bigger and red, my pupils have widened, my mascara has run away, and my long, dark brown hair were plucked out from hair bun. My lips have been bitten, but the outline of my red lipstick is still visible. In places, my short silver gown is smeared with blood. I shake off the view and think, Luka, you are fantastic. What would Grandma have to say? “ What did you expect if you dressed like a whore ? You fall asleep as you lie down .” My father would probably kill me if he found out what disgrace I have brought upon our family.
The elevator enters the lobby. I stretch quietly. There are still some party lions and late casino visitors walking around. I’m still at Caesar’s Palace. We went the club to have some fun with the girls. I shudder as I approached the front door in the warm mist of dawn.
Yes, this is me: a raped young woman. I am Luka Ilgauskaitė, a fourth-year business management student from Vilnius University, and I have just turned twenty-three years old. Through the Erasmus program, I have been given an incredible opportunity to travel to America to continue my studies. Yeah, all that sounds pretty bad to me—and it doesn’t appear to be for me either.



CHAPTER
ONE
LUKA
“Luka, wake up. Some minutes after seven. You will be late for the first lecture!” Elle said.
Elle’s annoying voice drives me insane.
Eleonora, my best friend since kindergarten, is a green-eyed, red-haired, freckled, and very slender girl who flutters nonstop. My polar opposite. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives. My sister Agnes is sometimes envious of our friendship. We grew up together, went to kindergarten and school together, sat on the same bench, and lamented Elle’s never-ending first loves. At Vilnius University, I majored in business management, and Elle majored in in interior design. Elle’s parents are very wealthy, so she doesn’t have to study hard, but I am constantly worried about losing my scholarship. We applied for the Erasmus program at Elle’s urging, and we found ourselves in America. Elle traveled around the country for three months after we arrived, and I got a job in Las Vegas with other exchange students. We worked at the Bellagio, cleaning the hotel rooms after their frantic parties. I had to clean the sunken floor several times, but I was pleased with my efforts and the reward I received. Everything changed that night , but I kept quiet about it.
After that heinous incident, I no longer loved Las Vegas or my job. I no longer wanted to look at those happy and intoxicated faces. That morning, I decided to quit my job at the hotel and return to Chicago, and I found work at Old Vilnius, a Lithuanian restaurant.
“Elle, give me five minutes. My shift at the restaurant only ended four hours ago.” I was comforted despite the fact that I am mortally tired.
“Don’t be concerned. After all, I stated that you would have to give up overtime, and now you work nonstop. After all, we live in a dorm, you have a scholarship, and can afford to unwind.”
“OK, Eleonora. I’m getting up. You can be a lot like my mother at times.”
I really miss my mom. I long for Lithuania. I haven’t seen my parents, sister, or brother in more than six months. I’m not sure when I’ll see them again. I don’t have enough money to fly home whenever I want.
My parents, who are from the middle class, live in a small town in Western Lithuania. Living in a small town has its advantages and disadvantages. Everyone quickly finds out if someone dies, marries, makes trouble, or does something else. The local shops, the beauty salon where the same hairdresser has been working since I started walking, the post office, and the municipal building are the main tongue centers in the small town. Everyone knows each other well, friends and foes alike. In the event of a disaster, the entire town comes together and helps one another, but after a few weeks, everyone is alienated again. My parents own a small hor