Chapter 1

Anna pov

I don't know why I said yes to marriage when Damon asked me. Damon Fratello is the leader of Cosa Nostra and my cousin. He is the strongest capo I have ever seen.

When he asked if I would marry Alex Ricco, the brother of Bratava Capo Dante I said yes.

I was already 20 and I knew that if I waited more than this I don't think I am ever gonna get married and leave here. Most of my cousins were either married or engaged at my age.

I was an exception only because my parents were dead, so there was no one who could arrange my marriage other than Damon. Who had other important things to work on at that time, rather than looking for a guy to marry me, which gave me a little extra time than other women.

But it came to an end when a war broke out between Cosa Nostra and the American mafia which made Cosa Nostra seek out Bratava for help and which eventually led to me marrying Alex, which scared me.

It was not marriage that scared me but the wedding night because of the deed that I had to perform on that night. The thought of getting close to a man makes my skin crawl. I still can't forget the night when my stepfather came to my room and raped me.

My mother was dead at that time, my sister and I were under his guardianship which made it all easy and convenient for him. He knew that there was no one for me and my sister to rely on to protect us. We were alone and could never tell this to anyone for fear of being killed. I

Because in our world a woman is of no value if she isn't a virgin. That's what gave him power over us to continue his horrible deeds till Damon shot him. And I can not be more grateful for that.

I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn't hear my sister Bianca calling me. She was married to Lorenzo, one of the captains of Cosa Nostra. They love each other wholeheartedly.

Seeing their love for each other always makes me think ‘What did I do to deserve such pain and hurt?’.

Bianca knows about the rape but I made her promise not to tell anyone about it. If people knew what happened to me they would blame me. That's the way it is, it's always women's fault.

She was pleading with me to not get married.

"Anna, don't do it, you know bratava, they are the worst. They torture women by making them sex slaves please don't do this, those brothers are cruel and brutal. They don't have a single bone of kindness and mercy in them. Please, I'll ask Lorenzo to talk to Damon''. Bianca said.

At this point, I was above caring about all these. The only thing I wanted was to go away from here, from all the pain.

I knew maybe I was trading one hell for another but I was beyond caring about these things. Because at this point I became the person who believed ignorance is bliss.

At least I will be away from this house which was a constant reminder of all the dark memories that took place here which was the major reason for all the nightmares and sleepless nights.

Maybe my life will be different after marriage, maybe my husband won't want to do anything with me, maybe he will let me live my life in peace alone, maybe I will only be a wife in appearance to him and we can lead our life separately in private. Or maybe he will kill me and that will finally free me from these pathetic excuse of a life. These all 'maybe' were my hopes.

I said "You know what will happen if I say no, Damon will find someone else for me. I don't know when but he will, so why not now at least I know how dangerous Alex Ricco is"

"Now let's get ready," I said, biting my lips so Bianca doesn't hear me cracking a sob. Because I know that Alex will most probably kill me on our wedding night when he finds out that I am not what was promised, that I am not a virgin. And that will end my miserable life of no importance.

********

In the evening when I came down to our living room I was mesmerized. Every corner of our villa was decorated. It was so beautiful that for a minute I didn't recognize our living room.

But even this beauty was not able to keep my eyes on it for long as they were busy stealing glances at my soon-to-be husband who was talking with Dante and Damon at the bar.

When he looked around his eyes caught mine for a second making my breath hitch before I quickly averted my gaze away from him.

For a moment I felt my body come alive with sensation when we made eye contact. It was like a spark was ignited but it drowned down the moment reality sunken when I heard the whispers around me about how people feel pity for the sacrificial lamb who was going to the bratava beast for alliance and peace.

I was trying hard to stay strong and not let these words about my husband's cruelty affect me when the reason for my worries himself came towards me.

Alex came and stood in front of me with his eyes resting on my face. I was looking at my hands to avoid his cool intimidating gaze which was making me feel small. It took all my efforts to not shrink under his hard gaze.

Because in reality, all I wanted was to run and hide somewhere, away from him, away from this world, of which I didn't want any part.

After a moment I realized that I was still looking down without acknowledging his presence, which could be seen as ignorance or disrespect.

And I don't think he would appreciate either of them as he was someone who was used to getting attention from every person present in the room.

But I think he was also used to people not looking him in the eye while interacting because of his dangerous aura. And I knew that because his mere presence near me was making me shiver.

I didn't want to make him angry by giving the impression of ignoring him, which I was not, so I looked up and met his eyes as a gesture of acknowledgement while fidgeting with my fingers in nervousness.

I stopped playing with my fingers when he took my left hand and placed

something on, it was a ring.

Not some Gordy ring but a beautiful ring. For a moment, I forgot he was touching my hand when I looked at that beautiful ring adorning my finger but when the realization of him holding my hand dawned on me I quickly removed my hand from his. He noticed my sudden jerky moment but didn't say anything.

Just as my fear of being close to the opposite gender started to rise, my sister intervened. She said something but I was so scared I didn't hear a thing.

I only came to my senses when Bianca pulled me away from Alex then only did I realize that I was frozen from fear and was now walking with my sister.

After that, everything was blurred. I don't know what Damon was announcing, I only came to my senses when I heard that the wedding was after two days.

I thought I was going to have a panic attack from all the events around me. So I ran to my room in need of some shield from the world as I refused to let anyone witness me at my vulnerable and weak moment.

Even if I could die in a few days I demand to die with dignity. I don't want people to know how broke I am from inside. So I ran towards my room and locked the door.

I sat against the door as I started counting my breath while whispering and chanting "You're fine".

That's when I felt some kind of relief but it didn't last longer because just then someone knocked on my bedroom door.

I wiped my face and went to unlock the door. I opened the door and saw Alex standing there in all his glory. He was saying something but I was not in my senses to hear anything.

When he grabbed my hand, I came to realize that I zoned out.

He was saying "Look I know everything is going fast but don't worry Chicago is really good and you will not face any problems there".

I just nodded and felt him tightening his hold on my hand, not painful but firm. I was feeling uncomfortable but didn't say anything.

"Words," Alex said.

"Huh..." I asked as I didn't understand what he meant.

"I expect words when I ask a question, Understood," he said.

"Y...yes" I answered immediately, not wanting to make him angry.

Then he said something that made my heart stop for a moment. "We are going to Chicago the next morning after our wedding night so pack all your belongings" With that he gave me one last glance and left.

The moment I closed my door the strength in my legs gave out. I sat on the floor with tears streaming down my face.

I don't know for how long I sat there thinking about how he was going to kill me on our wedding night.