Chapter 1

"Please, let me go." I begged.

I was knelt on a cold floor, my hands tied behind my back. I could feel warm air against my skin, I could smell exotic scents around me. Where was I?

I heard footsteps behind me and strange voices chattering all around me.

"Can you speak English?" A man asked.

"Yes."

"Sheikh Nasser, please let us deal with her your highness." another man said in English.

Sheikh Nasser, that was the name of the man who ruled Dubai. Was I in the ruler's palace?

"I can't believe you. Entering his highness's domain without permission is forbidden." The second man said.

"I sentence her to death!" Nasser ordered.

"What? No!" I cried out.

A few hours earlier,

"Freya, Freya wake up." Sakiko said.

"Mm.. What?" I asked waking up.

Me, Sakiko and Chisato were all sat on a plane.

"How long are you planning on sleeping anyway? We've landed in Dubai."

"What? Really?" I asked and sat up.

Dubai was a sprawling metropolis, the heart of foreign trade in the Middle East. It was an international hub for commerce and many corporations from all around the world.

Eisuke was building a hotel here, but that meant that he had to live here to help run it. I wasn't sure what that meant for us but he asked me to come and attend the opening of the hotel, we hadn't even discussed what it meant for our relationship. I wasn't sure if I could handle a long distance relationship, my life was in Japan. I had a job and friends there. I wasn't sure if this was going to be the end of mine and Eisuke's relationship.

Sakiko and Chisato were here to attend a staff seminar, only certain members of staff had been chosen to attend.

"I can't believe we're here! What should we do first?" Sakiko asked.

"We need to check in at the hotel first." I answered.

Once we left the airport, we went straight to Eisuke's new hotel.

"Oh my god! It's twice size of the one in Japan!" Sakiko said.

"And it's built on the ocean? I wasn't expecting that." Chisato said.

I could smell the sea all around us, the cool sea breeze felt so refreshing against my skin.

"Freya, your boyfriend must be loaded! May I ask, why are you still working? You could easily give up your job." Sakiko said.

I smiled "It's tempting but unfortunately, I love my job too much plus I'd just get bored. What would I do all day?"

"Go shopping, get makeovers, go to spas, invite your friends around for spas, shopping and makeovers. And preferably get your boyfriend to pay for the spa, shopping and makeover." She answered laughing.

"Let's take a picture" Chisato said.

I moved to stand next to them when I bumped into someone.

"Sorry." I said.

"You're beautiful... like an angel." It was a man.

"Umm... thank you?" I said, confused by his sudden outburst.

"Please become my wife." He said suddenly I felt him grab my hands.

"What? Ok look, I'm sorry but please go away." I said.

I stepped backwards and tried to pull my hands free but he held on tight.

"First you step on my clothes and now, you have embarrassed me! You will come with me, rude woman."

He tightened his grip and tried to drag me away.

"Get off me!" I shouted and tried to pull free.

"Stay away from her!" Someone shouted.

Someone then pulled me towards them by the shoulder. I instantly recognised their smell of their hair gel and their scent.

"Soryu?" I asked.

I heard the man mumble before I heard his running footsteps.

"Thank you." I said.

"You shouldn't wonder around alone, the laws are different here then back home." He said and pulled his arm away.

I shrugged "It wasn't my fault."

"Tch. All you do is get into trouble. This is why I can't take my eyes off you for a second." He said sounding annoyed.

"Why are you here anyway?" I asked.

"Wait Soryu. Don't just run off like that without me." Eisuke shouted.

I heard his heavy footsteps approaching as he ran towards us.

"Oh my god, it's Freya's rich boyfriend." I heard Chisato whisper to Sakiko.

"Why do you always get to go first and take all the glory, Eisuke? SO not fair." Ota said.

Baba and Kishi soon followed, I recognised Baba's perfume and Kishi smelt of cigarette smoke as always.

"Hello Freya." Eisuke said.

"What are you guys all doing here?" I asked.

I wasn't expecting to see them here, I was hoping to go sightseeing and explore the city with Chisato and Sakiko first.

"We're going to the grand opening next month, so we thought we'd have a little fun here before then." Baba said.

"Oh cool, I just didn't expect you guys to be here. Eisuke, you remember Chisato and Sakiko. Chisato and Sakiko, Eisuke, Ota, Baba, Soryu and Kishi." I said.

"You know all of the V. ?" Sakiko asked.

"Of course she does, she's been working in the penthouse." Chisato said.

"Nice to meet you, again." Baba said.

"A friend of Freya's is a friend of mine!" Ota beamed.

"It's nice to meet you all." Sakiko said nervously.

I could understand why they were both so nervous, these guys could be quite intimidating.

"Freya, let's go." Eisuke said.

He grabbed me by the hand and started to pull me along.

"I can walk by myself thank you." I snapped and pulled my hand free. "And besides, I'm with Chisato and Sakiko."

"It's ok Freya, you go on ahead. We'll meet you later." Sakiko said.

"Yeah, you haven't seen your boyfriend in ages. Go!" Chisato said.

They weren't helping.

"Well?" Eisuke asked impatiently.

I reluctantly followed him inside the hotel.

"What does the hotel look like? What kind of amenities does it have?" I asked.

"There's a casino, boutiques, gyms, spas. Every possible luxury is all right here." Eisuke said.

"Eisuke, you just brought her here to show off, didn't you?" Ota asked.

"I don't blame him. Her reactions are so cute and adorable." Baba said. "We came all the way here, let's go play."

"We should go check out the swimming pool, it's amazing." Ota suggested.

30 minutes later, we were all sat by the pool. It was apparently very big and faced out towards the ocean so it looked like the pool was part of the ocean.

Baba and Ota were playing around in the pool, I could hear them splashing around. I stayed on the loungers away from the water, I didn't want a repeat of last time. When I was in Japan, Baba tried to drop me into the pool and I nearly drowned. I couldn't swim and I was scared of the water.

I could hear Eisuke and Soryu talking amongst each other in a far corner.

Where was Kishi? I could smell cigarette smoke nearby.

I pushed my sun glasses down and looked around, I could make out a blurry figure sat not far from me on a lounger.

"Already slacking off?" I asked him.

"Who cares? I'm on vacation." He said.

"Aren't you always on vacation?" I asked with a smile.

"Don't be a smartass." He warned.

I heard him stood up, he walked towards the pool and splashed water at me.

"Hey!" I shouted and stood up.

I walked up to the pool and splashed water back. I made sure I wasn't close enough to fall in.

"Idiot! My cigarette!"

"Freya, be careful." Eisuke shouted.

I stood up and moved back to my lounger.

1 hour later, I was in my room getting changed out of my bikini. I was getting changed, my mobile rang.

"Hello?"

"How long does it take you to get changed?" Eisuke asked.

"Hey, some of us are visually challenged I'll have you know."

"Hurry up. We're having a soiree out in the desert nearby. I have a helicopter waiting for you up on the helipad. Get it in and get here."

"Wait, this hotel has a helipad?" I asked.

"Don't make me repeat myself, hurry up." He said and hung up before I could respond.

He was going to pay to speaking to me like that. For a moment, it felt like things were almost normal. But I couldn't help but think about where things were heading.

I walked through the hotel with my white cane but I got completely lost and ended up in the lobby.

"You look lost Freya." Someone said.

I didn't recognise the voice, it sounded like a man.

"Uh hi. I'm sorry, do I know you?" I asked.

"I'm Hikaru Aihara, I work here. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Freya Wells. I work in the Tokyo Tres of Spades in the spa."

"I know that. I just said your name, right?" He said.

"Oh yeah." I said.

"You look lost." He said.

"Uh yeah. I'm looking for the helipad." I said.

"Not many people request to go there. I'll take you there." He said.

"No it's ok, I can do it myself. Just give me directions." I said.

"I'm sure you could but this is a big hotel. You'll get lost. Just follow me." He said.

He sounded like quite a nice guy, he seemed young. Probably not much older than me.

"Ok fine, thanks." I said and started following him.

"You're friends with Mr Ichinomiya and the other V. right?" He asked as we walked side by side.

"Uh yeah. I'm Eisuke's girlfriend. I also give massages at the penthouse." I answered.

He stopped walking and I heard him press a button, a loud PING soon followed and we stepped inside an elevator.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked.

"Nothing." He mumbled.

The elevator took ages before it stopped.

"What floor we on?" I asked.

"The top floor." He said.

We stepped out of the elevator, turned left and walked down a long corridor.

"Go through the door and up the stairs, at the top of the stairs go through the door and you've reached the helipad." He said.

"Thank you."

As I continued walking I heard him murmur.

"Bye Alice."

Alice? As in the Mad Hatter's tea party, the code word for the auction? I thought only Eisuke and the others knew about the auction?

I finally reached the helipad and for the first time ever, I got into a helicopter but things took a horrible turn.

Before we reached our destination, the helicopter had engine trouble and had to make an emergency landing. On property that was owned by the ruler of Dubai. The moment we landed, we were jumped by the guards and taken to the palace.

"The sentence for trespassing is death. You will be executed at once." Nasser ordered.

"No please, we didn't know we were trespassing! Please!" I begged.

I was grabbed by my arms and dragged away.

"Get off me!" I shouted and tried to struggle free.

I then heard the sharp sound of footsteps coming towards me.

"Please wait, your highness." Someone said.

It was man, I didn't recognise the voice. Suddenly, the men loosen their grip on my arms.

"Are you from the Japanese embassy?" Nasser asked.

"Yes. I'm here to humbly apologise for this accident." The man said.

The Japanese embassy was here? But why? Why was he helping me?

"I can't believe you caused me so much trouble." He said sharply.

"Excuse me?" I said.

They spoke for a few minutes, and then Nasser stood before me."Hmp, I will spare your life. But you owe Ambassador Hishikura here!"

"Really? Thank you so much." I said and sighed with relief.

"But you'll have to spend life in prison." He said.

"What? My whole life?"

"You should be grateful you even have a life left." Hisikura said.

"Yeah but.. I might as well be dead."

"If you'd prefer, shall we switch it back to the death penalty?" He asked sounding oddly smug.

I was sure he was enjoying this, but why?

"Take her to the dungeons!" Nasser ordered.

"No please!" I begged as his guards grabbed me again.

"Silence, come quietly!" One of the guards snapped.

I then felt something cold pressed against my neck. Was it a knife? A sword?

"Please, don't be rough with her." A familiar voice said.

Eisuke?

I sighed with relief.

"You must have pretty good luck to crash land at the ruler of Dubai's palace, Freya." Baba said.

I glared at him, how dare he joke at a time like this!

"There is never a dull moment with her, that's for sure." Ota joked.

"I've never met someone who causes as much trouble as she does." Soryu said.

"That's why she never should have left the country." Kishi said.

If they had time to joke, why weren't they getting me out of here?!

"Who are you? How dare you enter my home without permission!" Nasser said.

"We do have permission. I'm Eisuke Ichinomiya, the owner of the Tres Spade hotel."

"Tres spades? Oh that hotel that was just built."

"It's not just any hotel. It will generate more money than any hotel you've ever laid eyes on." Eisuke bragged.

"And so what does the owner of this hotel have to do with this girl here?"

"She is one of my most trusted employees. She works in my penthouse." Eisuke answered. "And if you take her, I will shut down my new hotel."

Nasser didn't seem too affected by his statement.

"And I'll make it so that no Japanese company ever does business with Dubai again. I have the connections to make that happen." Eisuke continued.

"Then... I shall forgive her prison sentence this one time only." Nasser agreed. "But only under the condition that she works hard at the Tres spade in Dubai to repay my kindness."

"Very well." Eisuke agreed.

No! No! My life was in Japan, I had a job there.

"Ambassador Hishikura, I'm sure you understand. This involves diplomatic relations between Dubai and Japan now."

"I understand." Hishikura said "I'll keep her under surveillance as a representative of the Japanese government."

"Surveillance?" I asked.

How could this be happening?

I was finally released and we were allowed to leave the palace.

"Watch yourself Ichinomiya." Hishikura said as we left the palace.

"At least now I've paid my respects to his highness. This was merely entertainment before Tres Spade Dubai's opening." Eisuke said.

I sighed in disgust, I was almost killed, again! I was glad he could look past that fact so easily.

"I can't believe this little girl wasted my time." Hishikura said.

"Little girl?!" I shouted.

He then grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

"I don't know what's so special about you, but I'm going to be watching you, very carefully." He warned.

"Get your hands off me!" I shouted and pulled my arm free.

"There is no need for that." Eisuke said and put his arm around my shoulders. "She belongs to me, I'll take care of her accordingly, don't worry."

"You mean she's ours." Ota stated.

"Yeah." Baba agreed.

"I can't allow that, I have a responsibility as representative of the Japanese government to keep watch on her. You're demands don't hold water with me."

"Hmp, do as you like." Eisuke said uninterested.

"Freya, don't even think about letting down your guard inside of the hotel, you can't hide from me." He said in an almost threatening tone.

"Bring it on!" I replied.

We finally arrived back at the hotel in a limo, I hadn't said a word the whole way back.

"I can't believe I have to work here now."

"Well, at least you still work at Tres Spades. There's still that." Eisuke said.

"But I like being in Japan." I said.

"Stop complaining, it was necessary. But you can't be left here alone after what happened with the ruler of Dubai." He said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"You all can go home, I can take care of Freya." Baba said.

"I can't let you have all the fun Baba. It might be more exciting to have auctions here, don't you think?" Ota said.

"You guys are hopeless." Soryu said and shook his head.

"A long vacation huh? Can't say I got a problem with that." Kishi said.

"I don't think that's what it means, you old slacker." Ota said.

"Shut up, munchkin." Kishi snapped.

"Wait, so.." I began.

"We'll stay in Dubai with you." Eisuke said. "Heh. I never thought you'd be the one stringing us alone." He laughed.

I sigh angrily, so he got what he wanted after all. Me in Dubai with him. I couldn't help but wonder, was this Eisuke's plan just to get me under his thumb? He knew I'd most likely go back to Japan, but now I had to stay here.

"So now, you just need to pick where you live." He said.

"Well I guess I'll just stay in the staff apartments." I said.

"There's no need for you to live in the employee housing. Don't you think it was time to move in with your boyfriend?" He said.

He wanted me to move in with him?

"No one will bother you in my house. It will be just you and me." He said.

In normal circumstances, this would be amazing but right now, I was too overwhelmed.

"I'll be living in the Dubai ice dragon's branch office." Soryu said "Since you always seem to get in so much trouble, it'll be easier to protect you here. I'll call Inui and Samejima at once."

"I might open up a bar here. How'd you like to get drunk with me and enjoy Dubai?" Baba said. "But of course, the only thing I can ever get drunk on is you Freya."

I ignored his comment and didn't reply.

"No No. Freya is gonna live with me. I'll get a studio here and you can model for me." Ota said.

"Enough. I am going to spend the night with Chisato and Sakiko. I don't want to be bothered, I don't want to be called or contacted." I stated before I got out of the limo and marched to the hotel.

I had lost my sunglasses and white cane, I could just about make out the hotel entrance. I went to the lobby and another employee took me to the staff apartments where Chisato and Sakiko were staying.

They welcomed me with open arms. I told them what had happened.

"What am I going to do?" I asked.

Sakiko hugged me whilst Chisato got me a cup of tea.

"Can't you speak to the Japanese ambassador?" Chisato asked.

"He's part of the problem." I said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, look at like this way. At least you get the chance to work in the new hotel and you'll be living with your boyfriend. So it's not that bad." Sakiko said.

"I know but... I would have just liked the option." I grumbled and sipped my tea.

I had no choice, I had to just deal with the current situation and try to make the best of it. But at least Sakiko and Chisato would hopefully start working here to, which made everything slightly better.

We ordered room service and had a girlie night in, it had been ages since we had a good night in.

The next morning, I rang my parents and told them that I'd be working in Dubai for a couple of months. A limo then took me to a dock where I met Eisuke, and we got into a boat.