Strong-willed, badass and bounded by the chains of an arranged marriage, Isabela Arias dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.
Being sold to the Italian mafia wasn't exactly on Isabela's to do list...
As she's forced to navigate the r...
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All my life, I've searched for freedom. The soothing melody of rustling falling leaves and sticks fills the air as I lie on the wooden bench. Water sprinkles down the endless stream, creating a perfect sound to fall asleep to. Pitter-patter until it joins the large body of water on the bottom. My hands roam the rustic frames of the bench, tugging on the jagged piece. The little made-up game of tug and pull for my entertainment ends in destruction.
The wooden piece yanks at my flesh, ripping a wide gaping seam down my finger. I swallow a whimper before immediately sitting up and sucking on the wound. My hopes fail me — blood trails down my finger like a puddle left by a slimy snail. Better my finger than my ankle, I suppose.
Using my teeth, I rip through a layer of my flowery, extremely matted dress to patch up the wound. It stings as I tightly wrap the fabric around the slit to apply pressure. I might not be a doctor, but I indulge in a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy. Mika loved to watch that show for some reason.
I exhale, craning my neck to face the illuminating snow-white stars flying through the darkness like my last shred of sanity. Last time I was here, Mika was already waiting, throwing pennies into the water fountain. It's less terrifying to run away when you have someone other than yourself to rely on, especially after what happened with Diablo.
That's how I ended up in this situation, to begin with-- sold for a fudging dowry. What is this? The eighteenth century? Only ten million too. If anything, I'm worth over a billion, but apparently, girls are still considered as property. Days like this make me wonder how things would've been if I had never run away from Daddy.
Yeah, he made my life a fudging nightmare, but I knew how to deal with it. Damien is an entirely different story. I can't go back to him. I rather drown myself in this fountain. But I have no idea where to go from here. Mika always had a plan-- I just followed. Mika knew Italian. She brought the board passes; she flirted her way with the landlord for a cheaper lease.
I was a liability.
Yet Mika always made sure I was okay.
I wonder if she spent the last few months looking for me. A shred of me hoped she moved on without a care in the world, but the other part hoped someone cared enough to search for me. Daddy didn't. Even when he made it seem if I left, it would be the end of me. My brothers try to keep me from hanging out with boys, but don't bother to search for me when I'm gone. A shame, really. I thought family was everything we had.
The musical of nature's instruments is spoiled by the sounds of my growling stomach. Damn it. I didn't want to waste any more money on food until I had an idea of what to do next. The rumbling grows larger than life, echoing in my ears as if I was in an empty, blank room. Since I was horrified at having Damien's black Amex card for any longer, I took out three thousand and gave it to a random man on the street.
I wasn't entirely sure they were tailing me because of the card.
For a moment, I thought Damien had a chip put inside me. I wouldn't put it past him. But I haven't seen his capos since yesterday, so that's a win in my books. I need to save as much as possible. Shoot. I don't want to imagine how much a last-minute flight to New York will cost.
