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Chapter 4: No choice

Aurora

Normally I would have stayed back and listened and see if I could find out who he was talking to that was so important that he had to ignore my calls but I was so mad at him that I didn’t think before barging him. He was the one who made me leave where I belonged to attend this ball and here he was nowhere to be found and on top of that he was ignoring my calls.

“Father…with all due respect I….” I paused abruptly the second I noticed the other person sitting at the other end of the balcony.

My brows dipped in a confused frown as I took in the man’s familiar features. Why does he look so familiar?

Judging by the look on his face, he also thought I looked familiar. “Is she your daughter?” He asked, his deep voice rumbling through the silence. That accent? That voice? Then it hit me. He was the same man from that night. The night we almost got into an accident. It was so dark that night that I couldn’t see his features properly. But now…

“Yes of course. She’s….”

“…what I want.” He cut in, interrupting father with an impassive look on his face. What he wants?! What the hell does he mean by that?

“Excuse me?” Dad stuttered, his gaze flickering between me and the stranger.

“Exactly. Excuse me?” I turned to the stranger planting my arms on my hips. It seems he wasn’t smart enough to take the advice I gave him the other day.

“You said I could have anything I want, did you not?” He arched a brow eyeing father with contempt as he clasped his hands together, ignoring me. “And I’m certain you don’t want to spend the rest of your life rotting in jail.” His eyelids drooped with indifference.

Spend the rest of his life in jail? “Father? What is he talking about?” I shifted my gaze to the obviously stunned man standing beside me.

“De Luca….” A wicked grin formed on his lips as a hint of fascination danced in his eyes. “…who would’ve thought you’d be keeping secrets from your very own daughter?” He pushed himself off the chair before clasping his hands behind his back.

“Father?” I called, my tone urgent as my gaze shifted between them.

“We’ll talk about this later Mia Cara,” He held his palm up before turning to face the man at the other end of the balcony. “Are you sure that’s what you want? Can’t you pick some other thing…or person? I can give you half of my….”

“I’m guessing you want to weasel out of our agreement…you better be ready to face the consequences.” He moved towards us, nodding his head towards me. “It’s either she becomes my slave or your whole empire goes down.”

“Slave?! Father?!” I exclaimed my eyes widening in horror as I processed the stranger’s words. “Father, what the hell is going on?” My voice trembled with indignation.

I watched as father’s face turned pale, his eyes darting between me and the stranger. I couldn’t believe it. Was he actually weighing his options? Was he thinking of letting this….man take me as his slave? What happened to being the Mafia Princess and the Donna of the De Luca Empire? And what agreement was he talking about? What did father do?

"Fine," Father’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "She'll do it." He said, his voice laced with defeat.

Did he just agree to make me someone else’s slave? Right in front of my very eyes?

"You can't be serious, Father!" I protested, my eyes flashing with anger and disgust. “Tell me you’re joking.”

I turned to the stranger whose expression still remained impassive as he locked eyes with me. “I’ll send for her tomorrow,” he said, his deep voice devoid of emotion. “Make sure she’s ready.” He said as I glared at him. “And make sure she isn’t late.”

With that, he turned walking towards the door before shutting it behind him without a backward glance. How could someone be so rude? And so mannerless?!

“Father?” I turned towards him as anger coursed through my veins. I was about to lash out when he held up his hand again repeating the same phrase he had used earlier with a long drawl.

"We'll talk about this later, Mia Cara."

I seethed with frustration as I watched him walk out, ignoring me. My jaw clenched as I stood there on the balcony fuming with rage. One minute I was demanding answers from my father and the next I was bound to a stranger as his slave. My eyes fluttered closed as I took in a deep breath. I could tell Father was also mad and I knew better than to push him when he was in this mood.

Throughout the ball, Father kept avoiding me, leaving me to navigate the crowds alone. And because of that, I ended up explaining to almost half of the crowd why we weren’t together. Well of course I didn’t tell them the truth. I also found myself searching for the stranger in the crowd so I could talk some sense into him but unfortunately for me, I couldn’t find him anywhere. And I also couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in my stomach. What had I gotten myself into? What had my father gotten me into?

When we finally returned home, I couldn't take the silence anymore. I followed my father to his study, determined to get answers.

"Father, we need to talk," I said, my voice firm as I shut the door behind me.

Father let out a long exasperated sigh, rubbing his temples. "I know, Cara. I…I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I thought I had everything under control."

"Control?" My voice rose. "You thought you had everything under control? That’s all you have to say? After selling me off to that stranger like some….some useless old artifact?"

Father's eyes flashed with warning, “Lower your voice when you’re talking to me?”

"What did he mean by 'slave'?” I pressed on, ignoring his words. “And why did he threaten to take your whole empire down…can he actually do that?"

“Father….” I moved closer when he didn’t speak. “Talk to me. Tell me that everything that happened on the balcony was some kind of joke and you’re not actually going to send me off to that stranger tomorrow.”

“That stranger you’re referring to is Leonardo D’Introno…one of the most powerful mafia bosses in the country, if not the most powerful…..”

“So why should I care if he’s a powerful mafia boss or a fucking retired teacher?”

“Aurora attento a come linguaggio,” he warned.

I rolled my eyes, folding my arms over my chest. “I don’t care who he is, father. I’m not going.”

“You are going because you don’t have a choice.” His expression hardened. “This is the only way we can protect the De Luca’s name and empire…”

“Is that all you care about?” I snapped. I knew my father cared about his image but I didn’t know he could go this far. “Your name and what the people think of you? You don’t care if he ends up killing me or selling me off to some….other person or even use my body to satisfy himself. You don’t care about me?” I narrowed my eyes as my mind raced with countless questions.

“I don’t even know what you did that got you into this mess in the first place but you’re willing to send me off just to cover up for it…”

“It’s okay Cara. I have a plan.”

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