^ Picture of Gabrielle ^
***
𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐄𝐑.
𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐍.
***
FIRST SAMPLE CHAPTER
***
The soft ray of sunlight hit my face as it slipped through the gaps of my balcony door. A gentle breeze gushed into the room, a content sigh escaping my lips as I hugged the blankets closer to my body, shielding the light from my eyes so I could fall back to sleep. However, that luxury was shortly taken away when my father tore the blanket from me, my body curling up to gather some warmth as this unexpected cold wind hit me.
"Rise and shine, Gabrielle. Get out of bed," my father ordered, and I groaned in response, grabbing the closest pillow next to me, and covering my face. I heard an exasperated sigh before the pillow was taken from my hold. "Come on, Gabrielle. You're going to be late for school. It's your senior year, for God's sake."
I cursed under my breath, reluctantly slipping out of bed, and scowling at my father, who didn't even flinch at my menacing gaze. I couldn't recall the last time I had seen the look of fear cross my father's face. He was part of the Russian Mafia and had dealt with situations far worse than a glare from his eighteen-year-old daughter. It had been almost seven years since my mother had died from lung cancer and this placed a strain on my relationship with my father. She was the light of the family, the one who brought us together but the day she left was only the beginning of my lonely teenage years. It had been the only time my father had cried. Nowadays, it would be extremely rare for me to see that.
"It's the last day before summer. Suck it up and say goodbye to your friends. Who knows when you'll see them next?" I didn't respond, as I watched my father stalk out of the room the second his phone rang.
It was only a matter of time until I was officially the leader of the Russian Mafia, but the thought still scared me to this day. I had been preparing for this moment all my life but even then, I doubted my ability to control one of the most powerful groups in the Underground. With a deep sigh, my hands ran over my face before I shuffled towards my closet, undressing out of my comfy loungewear into a soft white dress with the cutest heels I had bought only the other day.
It was my last day as a Senior; I might as well go out with a bang. I didn't spend too much time on my appearance, quickly tying my dark chestnut hair into a ponytail and powdering my face with a thin layer of makeup, brightening my green eyes that I had inherited from my mother with mascara. Taking a short glimpse in the mirror before I left the room, I pondered over how fast high school had gone by. In the blink of an eye, suddenly, I was thrown into another world where I couldn't be dependent on my peers or my teachers to guide me through the struggles of adulthood. Heading to college was scary, I didn't feel prepared, but I knew the moment wouldn't last because the second I graduated, my uncle would hand the reigns over to me. Growing up, the Mafia was all I really had. It was like a family business, and it was all I had ever known.
"Gabrielle, Quince is outside," Dad yelled, breaking the spell I was in and I hurried downstairs, nearly stumbling over my feet, before Quince began to list all the reasons why he hated giving me a lift. Number one being that I was always late.
Quince and I had been friends for as long as I could remember. I was only a little girl when we had first met, a girl who stubbornly refused to give him a juice box. Unlike most kids, Quince didn't cry to the teachers, instead he scowled and pulled out my braids until I gave him what he had wanted. I had known then that we'd be good friends. He was one of the few people that knew of me and my family being involved in the Mafia. As one of my oldest friends, Quince was practically family at this point.
I shouted goodbye before I left, not waiting for a response but it wasn't like I would get one. In the suburban outskirts of New York, my father and I lived in a large mansion that was heavily guarded with men and had acres of land around us which isolated us from everyone else. It had been our family home for almost over three decades until my relatives decided it was time for everyone to have their own space, but that decision came about when the constant arguing would almost always end with someone pulling out a gun. I grinned when I saw Quince, who annoyingly pressed down the horn which caused a bunch of birds to scatter in fear.
"You take forever, Gabrielle," he grunted, as I slipped into the passenger side of his sleek black Range that he was gifted for getting into one of the top colleges in America – he was one of the most intelligent people I knew, and I knew quite a lot of people. With shaggy light brown hair, circular framed glasses that reminded me of aviators, he crinkled his nose as I rolled my eyes at him.
"Please, you left extra early today. I didn't even take that long," I responded, as we set off to school one last time.
"Surprisingly."
Rolling my eyes, I shot him a smirk, "How was your date? You didn't message me last night so I'm assuming it was successful."
"I wouldn't quite say that" he winced. I arched an eyebrow at my best friend's sour expression. "Let's say, I won't be going out with her again."
"What did you do?"
Pursing his lips, Quince began to fill me in with all the details of his extremely tragic date and I couldn't help bursting out into peats of laughter. Whilst Quince spoke my attention shifted to outside, noting how the suburban roads transferred into busy highways. The air gushed into the car when the windows rolled down and I soaked in the warm summer heat. Music played in the background and as I listened to my best friend, I couldn't imagine how life could get any better than right now.
"You ate a worm?" My nose crinkled in disgust as he parked the car when we finally reached our destination. The school building was ancient but for some reason, I loved that because it gave it character and history. Quince, on the other hand, would never miss the moment to mention how ugly it was.
"Can't wait to never come back to this old place. It reminds of those derelict buildings we saw in Russia that one time," he shivered exaggeratedly, and I ignored him, grabbing my bag.
"Anyways, back to last night. Why would you eat a worm? How old are you? Five? And, it was to prove a point, right?"
"Yep, and may I say that the worm didn't even taste bad," Quince replied with a proud grin as I blinked, disgusted.
"You and your damn pride. I can't believe you." We got out of the Rover when Quince was finally done touching up his hair, my body instantly warming up as the sun beamed down on us. "And, it was for a girl?"
Quince laughed, throwing an arm over my shoulder as we trekked up the stairs to the building. "Babe, you know I bat for both teams."
"No shit," I snorted. "The other day, you were crushing over Aedan, that jock, and now a cheerleader. I must say, you have a type."
He didn't fight the stupid grin that appeared, as he sent a cheeky wink to a group of girls when we walked by. "Men are just easier to impress hence why I tend to date more of them."
"Clearly," I laughed. "Your longest relationship with a girl lasted five hours."
Quince scowled. "She was crazy. Why was it my fault that I don't know the different shades of pink? I'm not a bloody color wheel."
As always, he was a drama queen, but it was one of the things I loved most about him. Quince had known he was bisexual for almost half of our time as friends, but I've always suspected he'd actually known longer than that. He just didn't know how to tell me. But the day he did, I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of relief, as I realized the reason he'd been so distant wasn't because he didn't want to be friends, but rather because he didn't know how to tell me his biggest secret. Now, whenever we'd speak about it, he'd laugh and tease me at how stupid I was to think he'd ever stop being my friend.
"It sucks that we won't be able to hold a party this year," Quince groaned.
"I'm sorry. You know I would, especially since it's our Senior year, but Dad is hosting this extremely important event this week to honour his partnership with this man, so it wouldn't be possible."
He wrinkled his nose when the bell went off, signifying the beginning to our last day as Seniors. "I guess we should go."
Closing my locker, I smiled at my best friend. "Come on."
*
We held events quite frequently because my father was also a businessman, so it wasn't a surprise when I arrived home one day to find every inch of the mansion covered in dazzling decorations. Balloons, banners, pinwheels, and a dessert table already prepared for tonight's event. The house was unusually busy as it was often quite vacant, but I still felt lonely as the caterers walked by, avoiding my gaze, and murmuring a quiet greeting when they'd see me. It was annoying sometimes being the daughter of a man like my father; it frequently meant that people feared speaking to me in case they'd accidently say something which could insult me and this often meant I was left isolated and alone. Growing up wasn't easy, especially when I didn't have siblings.
Don't get me wrong, my family was large but the only people who I could confide in were my cousins, Xena and Chantelle; however, it wasn't easy seeing them as they were so busy with their lives and their own families. With a tight smile, I made my way up the spiral staircase and rushed to my bedroom, where I closed the door and exhaled a huge sigh of relief. Switching on my lights, the room illuminated the darkness that blanketed the room, streams of moonlight appearing through the closed cracks of my curtains. It was only when I dumped my bag onto my bed, did I notice the beautiful black dress laid neatly on the satin sheets with a box of jewellery besides it.
I smiled knowingly and gingerly touched the fabric, awing over how soft and pretty it was. I didn't waste a second as I swiftly changed into the dress, admiring myself in the full-length mirror. The gown was a pale gray with diamonds scattered across the expensive material and thin straps that showcased the stunning diamond necklace which was chosen out for me. As I neatly prepped my hair into a low bun with dark tendrils falling onto my shoulders, a short knock on my door broke my focus and my eyes shifted away from my vanity.
With a small smile, my father leaned against the door frame as I stood up, slipping into my heels. The look in his eyes was unreadable until he whispered, "That was your mother's. She had worn it to the very first event I had taken her to. I thought it was only fitting to give it to you as tonight would mark your first public appearance."
"I forgot that," I exhaled. For my own protection, my father would never allow me to attend these public events and I never questioned it. I had gone to so many other private events, far away from the tabloids, that these occasions were normal to me. Except, tonight would be different as people would finally see Gabrielle Carter, daughter of Alaric Carter. Not Gabrielle Carter, a somewhat regular eighteen-year-old girl.
"You look beautiful, dorogaya," he murmured gently, the endearment easing the tension from my shoulders.
"Thanks for the dress, Dad."
With one last longing look sent my way, my father disappeared down the hallway and left me standing in front of the mirror. I studied my reflection and saw a girl who'd been training for any dangerous scenario and realized my life was anything but amazing. I swallowed thickly when I saw the black ink of a Russian inscription which snaked up my neck from my shoulder blade, my constant reminder of the world I lived in. The thought terrified me but there were people out there who hated my father, who wanted to see his empire crumble.
So where did that leave me?
-
𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐄𝐑.
𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐍.
fariha.