Chapter 7: Mariana's Pov

“Give me a fucking name goddamnit!” He yells and I wrap my arms around him, holding him in a tight hug.

“Just let it go, Dad. But for what it’s worth, his name is Caleb.”

I make a mental note to remind my mother to provide a Caleb for my father because I sure as hell know that this man will not let this fly without getting rid of the made up sex offender.

My father—the great Matteo Messina Denaro—tightens his grip on me, mumbling words into my ear like a mantra. “I’m so sorry, princess, I’ll make him pay. I promise to make him pay for hurting my little girl.”

I nod against his chest, a string of pain and guilt tugging at my heart but I quickly push it to the back of my mind, reminding myself that this lie is a necessary procedure for the mission ahead.

“I want to ask a favor, papá.”

“Whatever you need, firecracker.”

I swallow on nothing, loathing the words that are about to leave my mouth. “I’ve decided to get married to Mr. Vastlav.”

Father freezes, gently pushing me away from him, his eyes locking down heavily on mine with his brows furrowed.

“No,” he sterns, scoffing disbelievingly. “Do you even know him? Do you know who the man you want to sign your life away to truly is? Is he putting you up to this?”

I shake my head. “No papá, he’s not. I can always get to know him better in the future once we’re married. He cannot be all that bad and I like him. He’s very handsome,” I pout playfully,

My father’s brows pull into a furrow, a frown etching his face for a moment. I shrug, thinning my lips into a smile, making funny faces at him until he’s unable to keep up with his frown. Father chuckles amusingly, causing me to smile in content.

“I wouldn’t want you to marry into any Russian crime family, especially not the Vastlav’s. We have bad blood and I’m yet to know what Alexandr’s true motives are for wanting to initiate an alliance with us.”

“So his name is Alexandr?” I chuckle shyly. “His name is so pretty.”

Father grimaces. “Are you even listening to me, Mariana?”

“I am. I’ll get to know him better, plus, this is good right? He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our relationship if he marries me. I’ll stand like a middle man preventing any lurking disagreements from escalating. Everyone will be happy and satisfied at the end.”

Silence.

“Come on, father!” I grumble. “Don’t be like this, old man. Let me do this, please. I just want to feel like I’m doing something for this family.”

“You have nothing to prove to nobody in this family, baby, but give me some time to think on it, hmm? For now, I and your uncles will have to pay Caleb a visit.”

I clap my hands giddily. “It’s a yes?!”

He grumbles under his breath. “It’s an I’ll think about it.”

“It’s a fucking yes! Take that, Mariano!” I beam, clapping my hands and chuckling at the unamused look on my father's face, “I’m so going to rub it on Mariano’s face.”

“Language, firecracker!” Father warns as he walks away.

I wait until his back disappears completely before slouching down on the couch begrudgingly, my happiness morphing into regret.

This decision of mine is certainly a mistake and I do hope that mother has what it takes to get me out of this mess when it escalates.

. . .

“Hi,” a thick voice echo from the right of me.

I whip my head to the side, smirking as my eyes slowly rake Alexandr’s body from head to toe and back.

“Hi. Please sit.” I reply, gesturing to him with my hand. He plops down dangerously close to me, an amused scoff falling loose from his lips, causing my brows to shoot up.

“Do you ever get tired of drinking? Are you an alcoholic? And where’s the cup that I’m supposed to drink this with?”

I chuckle. “No. No. And there’s no cup. Just drink directly from the bottle if you’re interested.”

His face scrunches up and he regards me intently as holds the bottle up, contemplating his options.

“It’s really not that bad, just try it.” I urge and he hums, his lips twitching at the corners as though he’s holding in a smile.

He clears his throat and mutters, “I guess I should just imagine myself kissing those luscious lips of yours. Makes the experience more enjoyable, wouldn’t you agree? Firecracker?”

Okay.

He’s not half as bad as I thought.

We might actually get along so well.

With parted lips, I watch as his throat bobs with each gulp of the liquid. I lick my lips discreetly but his eyes are quick to catch my action, causing him to chuckle.

“You do realize that eavesdropping on other people’s conversation is sort of rude, do you not, Mr. Vastlav?”

He grips my chin gently, lifting my face up whilst leaning in until our faces are less than an inch apart. “Alex. Just call me Alex.” He whispers, his hot breath fanning my face and his lips moving ghostly against mine.

I murmur on a hushed tone, “Alex. . .”

“Firecracker?” He calls out my name on a whisper as he buries his head into the crook of my neck, inhaling a deep breath and exhaling shakily. I hum a response. “I really don’t give two fucks about what is rude and what is not.”

“Oh. . .” I choke out.

“You shouldn’t marry me, ” he deadpans, flicking my chin off his fingers, relaxing his back with a sigh.

“What?”

“You shouldn’t marry me, I’m not a very good man.”

I scoff amusingly. “I beg to differ.”

Soft laughter bubbles out of him, excitement as well as confusion dancing in his dangerously silver orbs. “You know the story you told your father about that man? Caleb was it?” I hum. “I’m way worse than him.”

Except Caleb is not a real person.

I smile mischievously, “bad people don’t say that they’re bad, haven’t you heard?”

A chuckle rumbles against his throat. “You’re right, I’m not exactly bad myself but there’s a bad side of me that is too dark to behold. The darkness that comes with that part of me will have you melting away until you question your own existence. Run before it becomes too late, Mariana.”

Snatching the bottle from his hand, I wrap my lips around the opening, throwing my head back as I loudly gulp down the burning liquid all the while urging my brain to decipher every word that has come out of his mouth so far.

You might be bad, Alexandr, but I’m worse and I certainly don’t have a say in the matter. I’ve already accepted this mission and it’ll be cowardly to go back on my word.

I scoff. “I think I’ll chance my luck.”

“They’ll be no luck to chance sweetheart.” He retorts and I chuckle, cringing at his words.

Clearing my throat, I declare, “I’ll marry the fuck out of you, Alex, and I don’t care about what you think you are. There’s not a single person in this world without a dark side, so, I think I can handle yours as well as I handle mine.”

His eyebrows furrow, eyes narrowing as he regards me. Unnerving silence ensues between us, chests heaving, eyes burning into each other and faces inching close with each passing second.

His hard stare undoes me and I squirm, gulping nervously. My lips part and I exhale a breath, immediately capturing my bottom lip between my teeth.

He groans frustratedly, his head thrown back and his hands balled into fists. His eyes as heavy hooded and lust filled as they are find mine through his lashes. My breath catches in my throat at the desperate longing in them.

He declares. “Fuck this.”