[A couple of hours later]
[Marino household, Garden]
Marco scoffed and sat beside his elder brother before taking the cigarette off his hand.
"She doesn't know what she is talking about." Marco looked at the sky. "She is just traumatised with what happened earlier."
Ricardo did not say anything. He grabbed the whiskey bottle he had brought with him and started gulping it down.
After a long pause, he said, "You know Elsa, she never does anything without thinking at least twice."
"This time is different." Marco frowned. "She is just scared."
"She knows better than anyone what will happen if this marriage doesn't take place." Ricardo looked at his brother. "Even you know what will happen."
"There is always a second option." Marco gritted his teeth.
"Then tell me the second option." Ricardo's voice was louder than before. "Give me an alternative to get everyone out of this fucked up situation safely and I swear I'll make it happen."
Marco did not say anything.
"Give me a fucking second option so that I can stop my sister from being pawned like this," he snapped again. "Tell me Marco, because I can't seem to think of any other fucking thing."
He was frustrated, angry and disappointed. Just like his younger brother, even he wasn't liking what was going to happen but he didn't have any choice. He felt helpless and hopeless which added to his frustration.
Taking the bottle off his hand, Marco gulped it down. He scrunched his eyebrows when the neat liquid burned his throat.
He knew Ricardo was right. There was no second option.
At the moment, they couldn't think of anything other than a marriage alliance between the Marino's and Fedorov's.
Running his fingers through his hair, Marco groaned. "This is so fucked up."
"I know, brother." Ricardo placed his hand on Marino's shoulder. "But we have to pull this through. We can't show Fedorov's vulnerability."
…..
The Marino's were the Italian mafia who had ruled over Elisberg city for years. Their business didn't just surround the city but the entire country.
They were an active part of the dark underworld where they dealt with illegal ammunition, drugs, assassination and much more.
They owned one of the three elite clubs in the city, The Casinova.
Their real estate and hotel businesses were upfront to hide all the dirt they worked with.
While everyone feared them, there was only one family who dared to challenge them and always kept the Marino men on their toes, the Fedorov's.
The thing between the Fedorov's and the Marinos went way back in history. The two families hated each other to their guts and never missed a single opportunity to drag each other down.
They were always ready to slit each other's throats. But this time it was different.
They were forced to make a compromise and keep the hatred they harboured for decades aside. Because if they didn't, both the families were bound to doom.
…..
[Elsa's Room]
Curling herself in a ball, Elsa hugged her knees and trembled. She squeezed her eyes shut. The flashes of what had happened a few hours ago made her heart clench.
'Always stay safe, Princess.'
Karlo's last words echoed in her ears. Tears streamed down her cheeks as grief enveloped her heart again.
The pain. The Agony. The loss. It was too much for her to handle.
Karlo Dominic was like her second father. He treated her like his own and had always loved and cherished her. He had worked for the Marino family for more than three decades. He was very close to Enzo Marino and was considered family.
Karlo was Enzo Marino's right hand man who had always stood by his side through thick and thin.
As Elsa was lost in the whirlwind of horrific thoughts and images, someone knocked at the door.
"I am coming in." The person from the other side announced before stepping in.
When she saw who it was, her heart clenched as guilt engulfed her.
"Gabriel—" Elsa lowered her. She couldn't look at him.
Without saying anything, Gabriel sat next to her as she continued to sob in silence.
"It wasn't your fault." He looked at her and placed his hand on her back. "I would have done the same thing if it was me."
Gabriel was Karlo Dominic's son. He was also Ricardo's best friend. He had grown up with the Marino siblings.
Just like the two brother's, even Gabriel loved and cherished Elsa. She was the sister he never had.
Elsa looked at him with teary eyes as she pounced in his embrace. "I couldn't save him. I am sorry."
"Hey—" He frowned and wrapped his arms around her. "It wasn't your fault. No one knew this would happen."
She pulled away and vigorously shook her head. "If I would have just stayed at home—"
"Elsa—" Gabriel interrupted her. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself. It's not your fault, it wasn't anybody's fault. They tricked us into this."
Elsa buried her face in his chest and sobbed. He was right. The Greco's played one of their dirty tricks again and tried to kill her.
Yes, their target was her, not Karlo Dominic. But he died protecting her. He took the bullet which was meant for her.
She looked at Gabriel again. "D-Do you blame me?" Her voice was shaking. She was afraid to hear the answer.
"What? Of course not." Gabriel pulled her in his embrace again. "Don't say such things."
He kissed the top of her head. "The only people we are to blame are the Greco's for trying to harm you and that Fedorov guy."
The Greco's didn't only try to kill Elsa Marino. Their other target was the youngest son of the Fedorov family, Justin Fedorov.
….
After putting Elsa down to sleep, Gabriel stepped out of the room.
"Gab—" Ricardo approached him and put his hand on his shoulder. "I am so sorry for your loss. This shouldn't have happened."
The last string holding him together shattered into tiny pieces when he saw his best friend.
Gabriel hugged him and as he sobbed in the grief of his father who was his everything.
Ever since his mom died when he was only three months old, Karlo had raised him on his own. He had trained him to be who he was today.
Losing him was like losing a part of his heart, the part which made him feel secure and strong.
Ricardo hugged him back and closed his eyes as a tear trickled down his cheek. "They will not get away with this."
"I know." Gabriel pulled away. His eyes were filled with rage just like Ricardo's. "He is going to pay for what he has done today."
"He will brother, he will." Ricardo assured him. The Greco's were not getting away with it.
But getting the Greco's down wasn't something they could do all by themselves. They needed more power, more force, someone like the Fedorov's.
...
[Next Day]
Elsa stood by her uncle Karlo's grave. The sky was covered with gray clouds and had started to pour.
She squatted in front of him and placed a white rose on his grave. The wind gushed through her but she couldn't care less.
The funeral was over. He was gone but the feeling of him being there still lingered around her.
"I'll always miss you," she muttered. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Someone placed a bunch of yellow roses on the grave and stood beside her.
At first, Elsa did not pay any attention to him but when the man shielded her with the black umbrella he was holding, she looked at him.
Desmond Fedorov, was standing beside her with a stern look on his face.
He was dressed in an all black tailored suit. His defined jawline clenched, making it more prominent. He had his other hand tucked inside his pocket while the one held the umbrella.
Elsa wiped her tears and stood up.
Desmond did not say anything and neither did she. Both of them kept standing in front of the grave in silence.
They both knew what their fate was. They both knew they would end up getting married in a couple of weeks or so.
They did not even know each other. In fact, this was the first time Elsa was seeing him closely.
It was weird but both of them knew what they had to do and what was bound to happen.
…..
[In a distance]
"Thank you for coming," Enzo Marino looked at Henry Fedorov, Desmond's father.
In response, Henry nodded. He then looked at Gabriel. "I am sorry for your loss."
Gabriel nodded. "He is in a better place now."
"I am sure he is."
Marco, who was standing beside his father, scoffed before storming away. But he didn't forget to glare at the other two Fedorov brothers who were standing beside their father.
"Marco, you need to stop acting this way." Ricardo couldn't help but chide his brother.
"They are not supposed to be here," Marco frowned. "Why did dad invite them?"
"We had to be seen together like a family," Gabriel was the one who answered. "Uncle Enzo and I mutually decided that inviting them to dad's funeral would be a good start."
"You agreed to this?" Marco frowned. "This is supposed to be a mourning day for our family not some welcome party for the fucking Fedorov's."
"Language, Marco," Ricardo frowned. He understood the hatred he had for the Fedorov's. In fact, he shared a mutual feeling but they had to put the feelings aside and act civil with them.
Marco was about to retort when Justin Fedorov, the youngest member of the Fedorov family approached them.
"I hope I am not intruding."
Marco was about to snap at him when his eyes landed on his injured arm. This is when he realized that Justin was also attacked that day along with Elsa and Karlo.
Ignoring Marco's murderous glare, Justin looked at Gabriel. "I am sorry for your loss."
Pausing for a while, he added, "Karlo saved my life too."
…..
After a few minutes, Elsa turned around and walked away. She didn't look at Desmond and neither did he. There was an unspoken awkwardness between them which made her feel uncomfortable.
In the distance, she saw her brothers talking to someone. When she looked closely, she recognised who it was.
Justin Fedorov, the person who had escaped death yesterday just like her.
Her eyes landed on his left bandaged arm. She remembered him being shot in the crossfire.
Just then she felt someone's presence behind her again.
When she looked at him, their eyes met.
Desmond's light brown eyes pierced into hers. His gaze made her feel flustered.
Without saying anything, he handed her the umbrella he was holding before walking towards his father.
Elsa wanted to thank him but he was already gone.
She sighed as she watched him leave. How were they supposed to spend their lives together when it was hard for them to even start a courtesy conversation?
This made her wonder if this marriage would ever work. Not that she had any expectations from it.
Arranged marriages in their world were very common. Sometimes it turned out to be a blissful one just like her father and mother but most of the time, it turned out to be miserable.
The strong feeling of her marriage turning out to be more on the miserable part, Elsa's heart clenched. She wasn't a romantic but she hadn't envisioned her marriage to be a misery.
But now that there was a chance of it happening, she had no other choice but to stay strong.
Showing a Fedorov her weakness was a mistake Elsa would never commit.
…..
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT