chapter 1: Love-Hate Relation

Ian

I was enjoying the scenery, which was why a satisfied smirk played on my lips as I looked at Spencer, who looked pitiful��pathetic, even��to the point I almost wanted to kill him completely so that I could end his suffering. But I was not remorseful; instead, I glided the sharp point of the blade I was holding across his throat, pressing it deeper and deeper as I went. Plenty drops of blood flowed, crisscrossing his pale skin.

"How does it feel to see the death in front of you, Spencer?" I whispered sternly, making sure to breathe into his bloodied ear, driving my knife deeper into his skin.

Spencer whimpered in response. The chains that held him captive in a metal chair jingled and rang out as his feet and hands struggled to fight the pain, muffled screams escaping his duct-taped mouth. I took the blade away, still smirking. I moved to yank the duct tape from his mouth to hear Spencer scream, but my brother, Steven, entered the torture chamber, interrupting me.

"Ian," Steven called out. "Autumn will be here in a minute."

I chuckled in response.

Autumn Emerson was the only woman I loved to see angry. She was the only daughter of the Emersons, who were remarkably close friends of my parents. They ran the Mafia Shadow, and Autumn was the leader. Autumn and I basically grew up together, but our bonding was anything but friendly. I enjoyed seeing fumes coming out of her ear.

Removing the knife from Spencer's throat, I placed it back in my pocket. Looking back at Spencer I said, "Your leader is almost here. I better go home so that she has to drive to the mansion alone and turn red in anger while I enjoy a cup of espresso peacefully."

Exiting the chamber, I put my hands in my pockets, whistling in delight as I go. I stopped when one of my men caught my eye.

"Throw Spencer in the dungeon," I ordered. The man nodded and disappeared down the hall to follow my orders. I continued sauntering towards the garage with Steven trailing behind me, steps lightening as I imagined Autumn's reactions.

What should I do to make her angrier? I questioned myself, a grin overtaking my lips.

"What are you gonna do with Autumn?" Steven asked as we got in my Bugatti La Voiture Noire.

I started driving towards the Beckett mansion. The image of Autumn's angry face as she glared at me with her green eyes, made me chuckle. Her pale skin would turn red in anger, just like her hair.

What am I going to do with her? Oh, you don't even wanna know half of it, my brother.

"You just want to make her angry, don't you?" Steven asked again. It seemed like he sensed my thoughts.

"Let's just wait for her," I replied and put on my Chopard sunglasses.

The drive towards the mansion was short; either from my excitement or not, I wasn��t sure. I sneaked to my room and changed into something a bit more presentable before proceeding downstairs to the living room. It was our family evening time, after all.

I took a seat on one of the sofas, grabbing a mug of espresso from the passing trolley as I went. I took a sip of it.

My sisters, Isabel, Lia, and Aubree were sitting with me, along with my brother, Steven. On our left side, our parents were talking to each other.

"So, how's everything going, Ian?" my dad, Simon Beckett, asked.

"Fine," I replied curtly.

"Honey, I and your father decided to go on a world tour," my mom, Ada Beckett, announced.

"When?" Aubree asked and shifted her gaze to Mom.

Aubree was one of the executives of the Silver. At thirty years old, she was quite efficient. She was my elder sister. Meanwhile, Steven was my right hand and the owner of all the Silver casinos. He ran the mafia's business by himself. He was twenty-three years old, just two years younger than me yet he earned his post in the gang.

Isabel didn't want to join the mafia, so she was currently focusing on the Becketts' Armament company. She was just two years older than me, but I loved bothering her. After all, she wasn't as scary as Aubree. Whereas, Lia was currently applying for colleges so she was

"So, we are going to leave after the party tonight. We just have to make one last announcement before we go." Dad looked at us as he asked, "How are the preparations for the party going?"

I glanced at Steven. He replied, "Everything is going smoothly, Dad."

"I can't wait for the party!" Mom beamed in excitement.

We couldn't throw a coronation party, so we prepared for a post-coronation party in the ballroom instead. It was supposed to be held tonight. Apparently, my parents wanted to make an important announcement at the party. When I asked about it, they said that I would get to know about it only during the party. I didn't ask further and decided to wait for the worst to happen.

Besides, I could sense Autumn��s presence.

"Ian Beckett!" the young woman's familiar voice echoed through the living room. I smirked and took another sip of my espresso.

I watched as Autumn entered the mansion, her green eyes blazing with fire. Her angry expression was making her springy red hair look even hotter. She was stomping straight towards me. It was my time to get entertained, and seeing her reaction, I was assured that it would be fun.

"Hello, Autumn," my mom greeted hesitantly and stood up, but Autumn didn't stop. She continued to approach me. Within a second, she had taken her gun out from her waistband and had pointed at me.

My siblings rolled their eyes. This was nothing new for them.

I was still sitting comfortably.

"You bloody human! Where is Spencer?" Autumn yelled.

Ignoring her loud voice, I took another sip from my cup. She pointed the muzzle at my forehead, throwing glares as sharp as daggers at me.

"I��I think you should calm down first, dear," Mom said as she patted her shoulder, making Autumn heave a sigh in anger.

"I'm sorry, Ada, but I need your son to release my bodyguard. When I reached the Silver base, I found my bodyguard locked up in the dungeons. Then I heard that Ian already left the place. I had to drive here!" Autumn complained, making me chuckle.

"Bodyguard?" Dad raised his brows at me in amusement.

"Just free Spencer," Autumn ordered me. She still had me at gunpoint. I stood up, the mug of my expresso still in my hand.

Arching an eyebrow, I inquired, "And why would I do that?"

"Because I said so!"

I shoved her gun away. "I ain��t one of your Shadow men." With that, I turned my back at her to leave for my room upstairs. A smile formed over my lips when I imagined the smoke that must have been fuming from her ears.

"I hate you, Ian Beckett!"

"The feeling is mutual, Autumn Emerson," I hollered back, then slammed the door of my room shut.

I ran a hand through my hair one last time after I prepared myself for the party, fixing my tux while admiring myself in the mirror. Sure that I was presentable enough, I headed towards the ballroom. I didn't know why I was wearing a tux. Mom told me to only wear what she had sent for me, so I had no options but to follow her. After all, who had the audacity to not listen to her? Even Dad becomes an ant in front of her.

"Everything is fine and perfect, Ian," Steven assured me, appearing in front of me. I nodded in return.

I asked curiously, "Did the Emersons come?"

A smirk took over his lips as he replied, "Her parents did, but Autumn didn't."

"Ian, come here," Mom called suddenly. I approached her only to meet the Emersons as well.

A song was playing softly in the background as I talked to my parents and to the Emersons, but my eyes were searching for Autumn. We attended her coronation party before. Shouldn��t she attend mine?

"Where is your daughter, Rosalie?" I inquired with full curiosity. All four pairs of eyes looked at me in amusement, including Autumn's mother, Rosalie.

"Why? Do you want to kidnap my daughter��s driver this time?" Rosalie Emerson said, resulting in all of them bursting into laughter.

"If you do something tonight, she will definitely pull the trigger today, Ian," Cruz Emerson, Autumn's dad, let out.

"Before she does that or before you do anything to make her irritated again, we will make the announcement and confirm everything first, okay?" said Dad.

I nodded at my dad's words. Before I could say something else, I felt the familiar sensation of having Autumn nearby. I could always feel it whenever she was close. My eyes traveled to the entrance of the ballroom.

She was indeed here.

Wearing a black strapless off-shoulder gown, she slowly took a step one by one. Her hair had been let down, reaching down to her chest. I would be lying if I said she didn't look like a real princess.

This girl always drives me crazy, but I will never stop bothering her. After all, this is my way of showing affection. I mumbled with a smirk, ��Let the drama begin.��