Amara stared at Dominic in shock.
Yes, this side of him shouldn’t be a surprise, she expected it, he's called THE BLACK KING for a reason. But somehow, seeing it this close made her stomach turn. Still, she composed herself. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t break. She stood her ground. Her uncle might have thrown her to this man like an offering, but one thing she was sure of .. Dominic wouldn’t dare touch her anyhow. Not when their marriage was the only thing holding peace between the two strongest families in the underworld, and that’s why she will not leave with fear around him or walk around a shell just the way she has been living with her uncle.. "You can't just do what you want with me, You can’t do me anyhow" Amara said, her voice steady. "You know one call to my uncle and this whole arrangement crashes. It won’t be fair to the Romanos too. Just leave me alone… while we both keep the peace, and the underworld atmosphere changes.” She said and tried not to show any fear. But her palms were sweaty already. Dominic took one slow step back from her. Then he stood still. He just looked at her. For almost two full minutes. No movement. No words. Then..suddenly, he burst into laughter. Not a normal laugh. A deep, horrible one that shook his chest. The kind of laugh that would scare even grown men. He held his stomach as he laughed harder, like he just heard the funniest joke of his life. Even the sound of it made Amara’s legs weak. She stood still, blinking fast, trying not to show how much her heart was racing, and wondering what’s funny. Then, just as sudden as it started, Dominic stopped. He dragged in a deep breath, wiped his eyes slightly, then stepped close to her again. Close enough to touch. He reached out and slowly straightened her hair with his fingers. “Marriage…” he said slowly, his voice low and cold. “Brings peace… to the underworld…” He chuckled softly and tilted her jaw with his finger, forcing her to look up at him. “This marriage?” he said again. Then he smiled faintly. “Little pigeon.” Amara’s heart jumped. “I don’t like peace,” Dominic whispered. “And I’m still after your uncle’s throat. So don’t trigger him to his death… unless you want to mourn a corpse.” He dropped his hand, turned around, and walked out of the room without another word. Amara suddenly felt shivering and collapsed to her knees immediately. Her whole body was shaking. She almost peed on herself. The tension in the room was like standing in front of a lion that was trying hard not to bite. If there was anything she had been holding onto… any small hope… it was that Dominic didn’t know how wicked her uncle had been to her. And because of that, she thought he would at least treat her gently to keep the peace. But now? His voice still echoed in her chest. "Cut his throat." ********* Dominic was already in his office, seated behind the large glass desk, going through some files when Scorpion walked in, holding a black tablet in one hand. “There’s something you need to see,” Scorpion said. Dominic looked up briefly. “Talk.” Scorpion dropped the tablet in front of him and tapped play. The screen showed footage of Amara uncle - Mario, loading packages into a truck, shaking hands with a known foreign drug dealer. The location was somewhere in the South. A big deal. Dominic’s jaw clenched immediately. That familiar anger started to burn in his chest. He stood up slowly, his hand still gripping the edge of the table. It wasn’t even about the drugs alone. It was Mario’s greed. His recklessness, and that’s why he can’t stop hating him. That had always been one of the major cracks between the two factions. Mario kept pulling shady drug deals, while Dominic had made it clear from the start .. no hard drugs, no children involved, no unnecessary heat, teaching underages how to use weapons and play dirty games. This… was betrayal. Without wasting time, Dominic picked up his phone and dialed Mario directly. The call rang once. Twice. Then Mario picked up. “Dominico mio!...My in-law” Mario said lazily in his usual joking tone, voice slightly slurred. Dominic could hear soft music playing in the background. A woman giggled. There was a sound of lips smacking. Then a sharp inhale. He was smoking. “Why are you still pushing drugs?” Dominic said coldly, straight to the point. “We had an agreement, Mario. No more deals.” “Relax, bossman,” Mario replied. “It’s the last batch. Already on queue. It won’t happen again.” His tone was light, unserious..like he was talking about pizza, not cartel-level drug deals. In the background, the lady giving him a massage giggled again. Dominic’s face tightened. “I’m warning you. Amara is here now,” he said. “Don’t put her life on the line because of your bullshit.” There was a pause. Then Mario laughed. “Bro,” he said, voice low and amused. “Fuck her p*ssy for two nights, you won’t even think about putting her in the game, She’s not a weapon you can use to threaten me.” Dominic didn’t say anything. “We’re cool, yeah? Trust me, that’s just the last batch” Mario added, then hung up. The line went dead. Dominic stared at the phone in his hand, his knuckles turning white. His heart pounded hard with rage, but he swallowed it. If he let himself explode now, it could trigger a war .. and even though he claimed not to like peace, Amara was here. And that changed things. His hand dropped to the table. Then his mind, without warning, flashed to her face. He remembered the faint bruise he saw under her eye earlier. He stared at the tablet screen again, but this time he wasn’t seeing Mario anymore. He was seeing Amara. That small curve of her mouth when she spoke back at him. The way her shoulders shook slightly when she thought he’d hurt her. Dominic exhaled heavily and turned his back to the window, arms crossed tightly across his chest. He hated distractions. But now she is becoming one. “Can I leave?” Scorpion asked….. ****** “Will you say something, bitch?!” Mario’s voice screamed. Amara's tears dropped, yet she smiled faintly. Of course, Mario had called to rant..angry that she wasn’t moving fast enough, angry that Dominic seemed to have any form of control over his life. “I can’t sit back and watch that bastard dictate how I run my empire,” he continued. “You better fix this. Make things easy for me. Stop acting like you’ve got a choice.” Amara didn’t say a word. Her eyes remained fixed on the floor as the phone rested by her ear. “You hear me, Amara?” he pressed. “I know how to deal with disobedience.” Amara's lips trembled. She slowly raised the phone, holding it tighter. “You can’t push me anymore,” she said, voice low but firm. Mario tried to speak, but she cut him off. “Thanks for giving me another option. I’m already in another hell, and at least here, I get to choose how I suffer.” He went quiet. “If you want peace, learn to treat me better,” she added, then ended the call without another word. The phone slipped from her fingers. She sat at the entrance of her door, eyes still red, chest rising heavily. A second later, a loud scream burst from her lips. She leaned forward, crying into her arms as her whole body shook. ****** At the other end, Mario kept staring at his phone like Amara just spoke to him, he just couldn't believe it. The way she talked back kept ringing in his head. His eyes stayed on the screen for a few more seconds, then he threw the phone into the air out of anger. Bianca walked in at that moment and caught it before it hit the ground. “I’ve told you, stop spoiling things that don’t have blood,” she said, holding the phone. Mario didn’t reply. “What happened?” she asked. “That girl..Amara. Can you imagine the nerve?” He went on and explained.. Bianca scoffed. “Should I sneak her out and reset her…a quick factory reset will fix her?” Mario stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then he asked, “You know her size?” “As how?” Bianca asked, confused. “Buy her fine clothes, shoes, all those girly things. Send it to her.” “Why, Dad?” she asked, shocked. “We need her on our side. Let her see us differently.” Bianca wanted to talk, but the way Mario glanced at her, she just nodded and left.Dominic was walking so fast down the corridor. His steps were sharp and heavy. Scorpion followed from behind, but he couldn’t even keep up.When Dominic reached the door to his private office inside the empire, he opened it and stepped inside without even looking back at Scorpion. Then, he slammed the door right on his face.The loud bang of the door echoed through the hall. Scorpion stood outside, surprised, rubbing his hand where the door hit him.Inside the office, Dominic was pacing back and forth like he was trying to figure something out. His mind kept going back to one thought..why does she look so much like an angel? You wouldn’t believe he actually said that word in his head.That anger inside him grew. Without thinking, he hit his head hard against the wall. Once. Twice. Three times.He clenched his fists and pushed himself away from the wall. Then, without hesitation, he went straight to his desk and used his hands to scatter everything on it. Papers, files, pens..all flyin
Every last Saturday of the month, Dominic always went out for a long bike ride, alone. It was the only thing that ever gave him peace.But not today.This time, he didn’t go near the empire, and didn't ride. Instead, he checked into a hotel downtown and stayed there, away from everything. Mario had pissed him off again. He just found out the man was still trying to bargain for some illegal weapons from overseas, even after his so-called drug deal last batch, Though Dominic has managed to shut down the deal.Dominic had crushed the entire operation, but just knowing Mario’s blood would sleep under the same roof as him tonight made his skin crawl. If Amara crossed him even slightly, he knew himself..he might just snap, and pull a trigger on her forehead. And tonight, he wasn’t ready for drama.He needed silence. A break.The hotel room was dim, curtains drawn. He was sitting at the edge of the bed when the girl he had called in for the night walked out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet,
Amara stared at Dominic in shock.Yes, this side of him shouldn’t be a surprise, she expected it, he's called THE BLACK KING for a reason. But somehow, seeing it this close made her stomach turn. Still, she composed herself. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t break.She stood her ground.Her uncle might have thrown her to this man like an offering, but one thing she was sure of .. Dominic wouldn’t dare touch her anyhow. Not when their marriage was the only thing holding peace between the two strongest families in the underworld, and that’s why she will not leave with fear around him or walk around a shell just the way she has been living with her uncle.."You can't just do what you want with me, You can’t do me anyhow" Amara said, her voice steady. "You know one call to my uncle and this whole arrangement crashes. It won’t be fair to the Romanos too. Just leave me alone… while we both keep the peace, and the underworld atmosphere changes.”She said and tried not to show any fear. But her p
Amara turned and started walking back to her room in a hurry.“I said, who is that?” Dominic’s voice echoed again.She paused, cleared her throat, then slowly turned to face him. Dominic had already tied his robe, but the two ladies beside him didn’t even bother to cover up. They stood there, completely naked, without shame.Dominic had that strong, hard face on.“And what the hell are you looking for?” he asked coldly.“Hey, please don’t give me that strong face,” Amara said sharply, almost raising her voice, trust me she doesn’t know what pushed her to say that. Even Dominic looked surprised.“I just got lost around the house,” she added, folding her arms. “I didn’t mean to see anything.”She turned to walk away, then turned back again.“I pronounce you husband and wife..that’s what the priest said. Emphasis on husband. So please, learn your role, and not… this.”With that, she flipped her hair to the side and walked off without looking back.The two naked ladies just stared at her,
The priest finally pronounced them husband and wife.Before anyone could say anything else, Dominic placed his hand on Amara’s arm and turned her gently toward the church crowd. He raised her hand and waved it, making her follow his lead like a doll.“It’s a joke when killers also have their place in God’s house,” Amara thought as she stared blankly at the sea of faces. “Well… we have a merciful God.”They were about to turn away when the priest spoke again.“Wait,” he said, smiling wide. “You haven’t kissed your bride.”Amara stiffened slightly.But Dominic didn’t flinch, Instead, he turned slowly to look at Scorpion.Scorpion knew what that meant. He had been told ahead of time, Dominic didn’t want a kiss. Not even a fake one.Scorpion gave a slight nod and shifted his eyes to the second priest standing behind the main one. The second priest leaned forward and whispered quickly.The main priest looked confused for a second, then adjusted the microphone and cleared his throat.“Ah, y
DOMINIC“So, is that everything about her?” Dominic asked, not looking up from the file on his desk.Scorpion..real name Raymond..stood across from him, arms crossed behind his back. People in the underworld feared him too, not just because of the way he killed, but because of the man he served. Everyone called him Scorpion because his sting was always silent… but deadly.“Yes, boss,” Scorpion replied. “That’s everything we could find.Amara is just Nineteen years old, No training, looks decent and harmless, But there’s something off.”Dominic raised a brow. “Off, how?”“She interfered in an execution. Tried to save the target Bianca Leone was supposed to kill. No weapon, no plan… she just reacted. Out of emotion.”Dominic leaned back in his chair. “So, she’s foolish.”“Maybe,” Scorpion said. “Or maybe she’s just… not like them.”Dominic looked up, waiting.“She was in medical school,” Scorpion continued. “Dropped out after her parents died. she wanted to be a doctor. “Interesting, Sh