CHIARA
(Age Thirteen)
(Ezekiel's age: 23)
"See! You are looking so beautiful, Lili." I made her stand in front of the mirror once I was done doing her makeup and hair.
It was her prom day and Silvio was accompanying her as her date.
I know they are just best friends but if they don't marry each other in the future, I am suing them.
I had straightened her usually wavy dark hair and did some eye makeup to highlight her black eyes and even applied maroon lipstick to complement her tanned skin.
"I am a little nervous." She bit her lips.
"Shut up. Let's go find my brother now, hmm? He is going to go crazy after seeing you."
She blushed and followed me out of the room. "I am sure he doesn't care about how I am looking. He is just doing me a favour."
"Believe me, this is not a favour. He cares about you. A lot."
She didn't reply to that and quietly followed me upstairs to Silvio's room.
I told her to wait outside and I entered the room where everyone was already present. Silvio, Marcelo, Cyrus and Ezekiel.
I didn't even bother to spare that asshole a glance but only a second later, a tennis ball whirled right past me and hit the door.
My head snapped to him. "You!"
"Oops." He smirked.
"Ezekiel," Marcelo warned him and he rolled his eyes.
"Do you need something, Chiara?" Cyrus was quick to divert my attention.
"Oh, right. Everyone close your eyes now."
"What for?" Marcelo asked.
"For Lilith's entrance! When I tell you to open your eyes then only you all do, okay?"
"Okay." They all agreed collectively.
Squealing, I went out and grabbed her hand. "Ready?"
"No. Maybe this is a bad idea--"
Lilith was a simple, plain girl, nothing extraordinary in her features but she was pretty in her own way but she was damn insecure about herself and I plan on removing those insecurities tonight.
"Ugh, Lili, please. Just trust me."
I dragged her inside where everyone had closed their eyes.
"Okay, everyone, open your eyes!" I finally announced.
The moment Silvio looked at her, the bouquet from his hand fell down on the floor with a thud.
Lilith might not be the most beautiful girl in the world but my brother looked at her as if she was. As if only she existed.
He came out of the daze when Ezekiel let out a low whistle for her.
I cut a glance at him where he sat on the bed. Why the hell is he whistling? I didn't like the idea of him finding Lilith beautiful, it irritated me for no reason at all.
Ezekiel doesn't miss any chance of annoying me or troubling me, pulling pranks and whatnot. And I don't hold back either. I love to trouble him but whenever I think about him getting himself a girlfriend, I feel weird. I feel as if he will forget me as soon as another girl will enter his life.
Which is ridiculous. I shook my head and forced those weird thoughts away just as Cyrus dramatically placed his palm over his heart, his eyes drooping as if he was dizzy. "Someone hold me, I am falling." And he slumped back as Marcelo held him by his shoulders.
"Looking gorgeous, Lilith." Marcelo smiled at her.
Lilith smiled widely as if not believing them and covered her mouth with her hand. "Um...thank you, everyone."
"See, I told you that you are looking beautiful," I said happily. "Well, I did your makeup after all."
Lilith shot me a grateful smile and then looked at Silvio again.
Now everyone's attention turned to him as he stood there dumbfounded.
Cyrus subtly bent down to pick up the bouquet and shoved it back in his hand and whispered something to him,
"Hey, Ezekiel, didn't you say that Dad was calling us back home for dinner tonight?" Cyrus spoke.
Ezekiel looked confused but one glance between Cyrus and Silvio and he nodded. "Right."
He got up and started to walk out.
"I have to...take a walk," Marcelo murmured and excused himself.
I stood there confused. What is going on?
Just as Ezekiel walked past me, he grabbed me by my elbow and dragged me out followed by Cyrus and Marcelo.
Cyrus and Marcelo walked away, going downstairs and I yanked myself out of Ezekiel's hold. "Why did everyone leave so abruptly?"
His eyes--which always fascinated me were hard and striking like the bark of tree centuries old yet with honey dripping from them--fixed me with a blank stare. "Are you stupid by choice or is it by birth?"
I hated how my mind sometimes agree on how handsome he is with his dark hair which is shorter on the sides and longer on the top, a strand of it falling over his forehead. His sharp and chiselled jawline was graced with dark stubble.
What the hell? I came out of that weird trance and shot him a glare. "Did you just call me stupid? You are the stupid one, not me, asshole!"
He took a step closer, towering over me with his height of 6'3, making me step back. "Is that so?"
"Yes. You are stupid and an asshole, Eeel."
His left eye twitched on hearing me call him Eeel, it always irritates him. He opened his mouth to argue with me but then shook his head, sighing. "I am not in the mood for this today. Go away."
"Why? You couldn't make a sacrifice to Satan today? Is that why you are so...off?"
Something akin to amusement passed his face and he cocked his head. "Hmm, you are right. But I think I found my sacrifice for today. Satan will be happy to have his minion finally." He reached out to grab me but I ducked under his arm and ran down the stairs.
And the sound of his laughter floated behind me.
.
.
.
While Silvio and Lilith were at the prom, everyone settled around the dining table for dinner.
Uncle, his wife, Lorelei, Cyrus, Marcelo, Mom, Dad and Ezekiel who sat opposite me.
I was particularly happy and excited for tomorrow because there was this guy in my class whom I find really cute and I was going to ask him out finally. My first-ever date. I was quite confident, I mean there was no reason for him to refuse me.
Dad sat beside me and said to him excitedly since I tell him everything, "I might be going on a date tomorrow."
My voice was loud enough for everyone to hear and a hush fell over the room, all eyes turning to me as they all paused eating.
Ezekiel's jaw clenched, his eyes down on his plate and he suddenly stood up and left the room.
"The food is delicious", Marcelo muttered with a tight smile, getting up, "But I am out of here."
"Me too." Cyrus agreed and followed him out.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Dad cleared his throat. "You can't go on a date."
"But why?"
"Because your future husband is already decided and you are supposed to be loyal to him."
"What?"
"We thought that it would be better to tell you this when you are a bit grown up and I think you are now mature enough to understand this."
"Wait. I don't understand. I am kind of already engaged?" I stared at him in disbelief.
Dad nodded slowly.
"But to whom?"
This time Uncle said, "Ezekiel."
It took me a few seconds to understand. Ezekiel? As in that asshole? I let out a hysterical laugh. "What kind of a joke is this? It's not funny."
"The contract was signed when you were five months old, Chiara. You will be getting married a month after your eighteenth birthday. Everything's already decided."
Tears welled in my eyes. "This is not fair." I glanced around at others. "And everyone knew about it?"
Mom nodded.
Ezekiel knows already. They all know and no one tried to stop it.
Crowded with all those thoughts, I stood up and left the room.
.
.
.
It was late at night as I sat on the bench out in the garden, lost in my thoughts.
I heard some footsteps and a moment later, Dad sat down beside me. "I am sorry, princess. But a contract has been signed and I won't go back on my words."
"Why?" I gritted out. "For what reason was it signed?"
With a sigh, Dad narrated to me the whole story behind it.
When he was done, I frowned at him. "I don't understand. Why were you so desperate to find me a husband?"
"When you were born...I was diagnosed with blood cancer."
My eyes widened slightly and he stared ahead, a distant look in his eyes. "I was afraid that I won't be there for you when you will grow up."
"You are a true heir to my empire, Chiara and if one day you decide that you want the reigns to it then you can fight for it. Your brothers love you but at that time, I wasn't sure. Ambition is a dangerous thing, I was afraid that in the future, they might think that you are a threat to their inheritance and they might try to hurt you."
"So I just wanted to find someone for you, someone whom you could rely on, someone who could keep you safe. I know Marcelo and Silvio love you a lot and they will not hurt you but at that time, I wasn't sure what they will be like once they will grow up."
"Ezekiel's a good guy, he is brave, determined and kind-hearted. When I first saw him, I saw those qualities in him and a glimpse of my older self."
"He hates me," I murmured.
"No, he doesn't. He troubles you, yes but don't you trouble him too? He does care for you, Chiara. I have seen him do that even when you were younger, he doesn't even like seeing you cry. He agreed to almost everything you said."
"But he is so much older than me."
"It's just ten years. He will be good to you." Dad wiped away my tears. "I couldn't have found a better guy for you and there's nothing that I can do to change the contract."
"Where did you get this ridiculous idea anyway? Like who does that?"
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. "Do you think I built this whole empire on my own?"
"Um, yes."
"That's not true. You wanna know the whole story? Do you know how I met your mother?"
I nodded eagerly.
His features hardened and he stared at the ground. "I was born in Italy in extreme poverty, the only child to my parents. Sometimes we couldn't even afford a single meal a day."
"When I was twelve, my parents sold me off for money." He chuckled humorlessly.
I bit back a gasp. What the hell?
"I was brought to America and I somehow managed to fight my way out of that hellhole. I used to do small jobs to survive and I eventually found a job at a huge mansion."
He glanced at me and smiled softly. "It was your grandfather's house. And I used to clean your mom's room on a daily basis."
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
"I didn't have a very good education but I was smart for my age so when one day, she wasn't in her room, I found some of her notebooks on her desk. She was trying to solve a problem but failing over and over again."
"So just out of curiosity, I solved it and managed to get the answer. She caught me at that moment. I was afraid that she might complain about me touching her stuff, instead, she offered me a bargain."
This time the smile on his face was genuine. "She said that if I did her homework every day, she will give me money, chocolates and any other thing that I ask for."
"Did you agree?" I asked curiously.
"Of course, I did. I was desperate for those little things. But within a few days, instead of just doing her homework, I started to teach her and we slowly became friends."
"Her father was kind enough to get me enrolled in the same school as hers. As I grew up, he started to trust me and got me trained as one of his assassins, making me the best."
"So Mom and you were friends like Silvio and Lilith?"
"Yes. We enjoyed our time together. We both were twenty-two when her father called me to his office and offered me her hand in marriage."
Wow, okay.
"And...?"
He chuckled. "I was surprised but I respected him so I agreed. We got married within a week and fell in love eventually."
"That's so cute," I commented.
He sighed. "Her father expired a month later. He already knew that he didn't have much time left, that's why he made me marry her so that she would have someone to rely on, someone to care for her. And it turned out, in his will, he left his whole empire to my name."
"I didn't build this empire, I just inherited it and expanded it but I am grateful to him. He gave me a life."
"When I was diagnosed with cancer, I understood what he must have felt like knowing that his daughter might not have anyone for her. I was scared, Chiara. I made a hasty decision. I know you will hate me for it but I can't do anything about it now."
"You are to marry Ezekiel and that's final."
He stroked my hair, giving me a sad smile.
"Okay", I whispered, "I'll marry him. But don't be surprised if I end up killing him."
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I have written a chapter on Alessandro and Ariella's wedding night which according to me is quite sweet so let me know if you all will be interested in reading that.
I will publish it as a bonus chapter at the end of the book.