𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃| ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱

I felt my heart rate speed up even more, the anger and fear mixing together in a perfect storm of emotions.

Keep calm.

"What kind of problem?" I asked, my jaw clenching in anger but my mind racing furiously to find a way to handle this situation.

He leaned forward, his eyes burning into mine with a cold, determined look.

"One that you don't want to find out about," he said, his voice so cold and menacing that I could feel my skin prickling with a sense of dread.

Is he threatening me?

I tried to maintain my composure, despite the growing feeling of panic inside me.

"How many rules are there?" I asked, hoping to glean any bit of info that might help me understand what I was dealing with.

Lorenzo leaned back in his chair, the coldness of his eyes piercing me like ice as he spoke.

"You will find out when the time comes," he simply replied. I felt a sudden rush of irritation, my irritation at his coldness and mystery boiling over.

"Well, it's pretty unfair that I don't know what I'm walking into here," I replied, my tone taking on a slightly irritated edge.

His response was still cold and detached, like he had no real passion or emotion behind anything he said.

"Life isn't fair, tesoro," he said simply. My anger flared even more at his condescending words, my fists clenching under the table.

"Don't call me that," I snapped, my voice sharper than it had been before.

Lorenzzo raised his eyebrows at my tone, a slight flicker of surprise quickly passing over his features before being replaced by another cold, hard stare.

"Oh? So now we're getting feisty, are we?" he asked, his voice cold and mocking.

I felt myself flushing at his words, the anger bubbling up higher inside me. "No, but I'm not going to just sit here and let you treat me like some kind of pet you can order around!" I snapped, my voice rising slightly.

Lorenzo's eyes darkened slightly, his coldness turning to a sinister fury as he leaned closer to me.

"I suggest you watch your tone." he warned me, his voice low and dangerous.

I could feel myself shrinking slightly under his gaze, the anger and fear mixing together inside me.

"Or what?" I managed to say, my voice still defiant in spite of the growing feeling of panic inside me.

Lorenzo stood up suddenly, grabbing my chin tightly in his hand and forcing me to look up at him.

His eyes were cold and calculating, the darkness within them burning like a flame. "You do not want to find out," he said, his words coming out like icy tendrils that sent a shiver down my spine.

I jerked my chin out of his grasp, rising up from my seat and grabbing my bag. "This was clearly a mistake," I said, my voice shaking with rage.

"You're a jerk, and I won't tolerate being treated like your personal puppet!" With that, I turned and stormed out and out the door, my heart racing and my mind swirling with anger.

I stormed out of the restaurant, practically stomping out to the parking lot as I muttered obscenities under my breath.

Fucker.

Lorenzo had no right to speak to me like that, and the fact that he thought he could treat me so bad made me furious.

As I reached my car, I threw myself into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind me, my body still shaking with anger.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, steadying breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts and throbbing heart.

Images of Lorenzo's cold, unfeeling eyes and his condescending smirk flashed through my mind, and I felt a fresh wave of anger wash over me all over again.

I slammed my fists down on the steering wheel, the anger overflowing inside of me.

I wanted to scream and shout and curse and punch something, but all I could do was sit there in the quiet solitude of my car with my anger boiling inside of me like a volcano.

I took another deep breath, trying to calm myself down enough to drive. My hands were shaking slightly as I turned the ignition and started the car, the revving of the engine echoing through the parking lot as I pulled out onto the road.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, the anger still coursing through me as I sped away from the restaurant, trying to put as much distance between myself and Lorenzo as possible.

Ugly bastard.

I picked up my phone and dialed Emory's number, putting her on speaker. As the phone rang, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Emory was my best friend, and I knew she would be just the person I needed to talk to right now.

"Hey," Emory's voice came through the speaker, sounding tired but cheerful.

"Hey," I replied, my voice still shaking slightly with anger. "I just had a... interesting evening."

There was a pause before Emory spoke again, her voice full of concern. "What happened? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I just had a date with Lorenzo, and let's just say it didn't go well." I said, my voice dripping with frustration. "He was so disrespectful, treating me like I was some kind of possession or something. It was like he didn't even see me as a person, just a tool to be used and manipulated."

Emory was quiet for a moment before speaking up again."That's messed up," she said, her voice laced with anger. "You deserve better than that."

I couldn't help but feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I continued. "I'm so frustrated. My parents expect me to marry Lorenzo because of our families, but I don't want to spend my life with someone who treats me like that."

"Is there a way you can get out of it?" Emory asked, her voice full of concern.

A wave of sadness washed over me as I shook my head. "I don't know," I said. "My parents are pretty set on this whole arranged marriage thing, and they don't seem to care about my feelings at all. It's like I'm just a piece of property to them, like I'm not even a real person."

"And to make matters worse, we're supposed to start looking at wedding dresses in two days," I said, my voice full of frustration and despair. "It's like they're just steamrolling over my protests like they don't even matter."

"Ugh, that's rough," Emory replied, her voice full of sympathy.

I felt a sense of hopelessness wash over me as I continued. "I just feel so alone in all of this. No one seems to understand or care how I feel. They just see it as my duty to marry Lorenzo and carry on the family name."

Emory's voice was gentle and soothing as she tried to offer some comfort. "Maybe Lorenzo will turn out to be your prince charming. You never know. You and him have just started knowing each other, give it time."

I couldn't help but scoff at her words. "Trust me, I know he's no prince charming. He's nothing but a monster, who cares only about himself."

Emory's voice grew sad and concerned as she heard the bitterness in my tone. "I'm so sorry you're going through this, Melanie. You don't deserve to be treated like that. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

Oh Emory.

I couldn't help but feel grateful for her support, but I knew that ultimately, this problem was mine to solve. "Thanks, Emory," I replied. "I'll figure something out."
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