Chapter Five

                  Daphne 

I walked into the hall and immediately felt all eyes on me. Dad’s hand was intertwined with mine as he led me slowly towards the man standing on the platform, looking down at me with a grin. A chill ran down my spine. Applause rang out in the hall as I walked in.

So this is Dante. He was not what I expected. I expected a young mafia enforcer with a visible fighting physique but the man staring back at me was nothing like that. He was short, shorter than me maybe, his tuxe struggling to hold onto his protruding belly and he looked like my dad's age peer. 

I felt more disappointed than ever.

Some eyes in the hall were filled with pity, some with fear- masked with fake smiles. I surely didn’t enjoy being watched like a sheep being led to the slaughter house. I looked away from them and forced my focus on the man waiting at the altar for me.

I raised my gown a bit and walked up the altar, careful not to step on the dress. 

He kept a plastered grin on his face until I stood facing him on the altar and letting go of the dress. I didn’t smile. Couldn’t.

The applause died down and the priest beside us cleared his throat, then began speaking.

I clutched the flower bouquet in my hands tightly and heaved a sigh. My eyes darted around, trying to spot someone. I saw Calla, smiling at me with teary eyes. I smiled back, a reassuring kind. I needed it. 

“Dear beloved,” the priest began, “we are gathered here today to join Dante Romano and Daphne Antonio in holy matrimony before God and man. These beautiful people joined together as a couple is something to be happy about. Marriage is a sacred vow to spend your life with one person for all eternity and to stick with each other through thick and thin.” he said, taking the ring from the ring bearer who I figured out to be Dante’s best man.

I looked everywhere I could apart from Dante who I knew was looking at me intently. 

He turned slightly, taking the ring from the ring bearer and looking at me while slipping it on my ring finger. The ring was smaller than my finger, I wasn't surprised, I was sure he didn't care to make inquiries for my ring-finger size. 

I took the larger looking ring from the ring bearer pillow and stretched out my free hand. Dante slid his hand on mine, anxiously waiting for me to fix the ring and seal the deal. Everyone was. 

I hesitated. I'd never pictured marriage with anyone rather than Kilian, how was I going to go through with this? My breathing accelerated as my eyes darted across the crowd in faint hopes that Kilian would be seated amongst them with a reassuring smile on his face. Maybe I was stupid to have that thought, considering he had tried to force himself on me two nights ago- but a helpless girl could be delusionally hopeful, right?

Instead, my eyes met my Dad’s, noticing the heat in his stare directed towards me. I must have hesitated too much. 

I looked at Dante again and his annoyed expression told me, I had embarrassed him in front of the crowd. I quickly slid the ring into his ring finger and faked a smile. 

Another round of applause erupted in the hall and the priest quietened the crowd with a ‘thank you, thank you’. 

The priest continued, “ Do you, Dante Romano, take Daphne Antonio as your lawfully wedded wife…” 

“I do!”

“Do you, Daphne Antonio, take Dante Romano as your lawfully wedded husband…”

“I do.”

“I declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The expression on Dante’s face made my belly turn, I barely held myself from really throwing up in his face. The way he licked his chapped lips and poised like a fish, made me shiver slightly. His eyes glowed with lust, it was impossible to hide. I subconsciously took a step back when he tried to kiss me. 

Annoyed, he grabbed my arm roughly and yanked me forward, unbothered by the crowd. I winced as he crashed his lips on my skin. I had been fast enough to tilt my head away, causing his wet sloppy kiss to land on my cheek. 

The urge to wipe my face gnawed at me so much I couldn't help but bring the back of my hand to the spot and wipe the tingling feeling of saliva off. Dante glared at me but did nothing. His eyes promised future scoldings though- maybe more. I was scared for my life- Very scared.

The reception followed immediately after with ladies wearing half face masks swaying their hips and men rotating their crotch behind them as though they were in a night club. I sat far away, where I could see the entire room but only a few could see me. A glass of cognac was fixed in between my thumb and index finger. My gaze was steady at Dante who didn't seem to realize he was married. He stood behind a lady and bent her forward until her heavy butt was wiggling in the air, then he grounded his crotch on it. I scoffed and brought the liquor to my lips. Pathetic. 

To think my biological father gave me away to this kind of man was saddening. But I had chosen to accept my fate. Only for now of course. I had my plans. A plan I could only hope would work out, otherwise I would be doomed.

“You good?” The soothing voice of my step sister reached my ears. I looked up at her and smiled. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her red dress that housed her model-like curves perfectly. Calla has always been stunning.

“Well, yeah.”

“Your smile looks weary. I'll take that as a no.” She sat beside me and handed me my clutch. I looked inside: my phone and face wipes were still intact. I sighed. 

“Thank you.” That was all I could let out at the moment.

“I understand you are not happy but you can't continue drowning yourself in liquor. It's your wedding day.” 

“Yeah” was all I said before the priest who blessed the union earlier came strutting towards our seat. 

“Father Gustavo?” I called out, surprised that he showed up in the club-like reception going on. He was no longer in his priestly regalia. He and a loose tuxedo on. 

“Mrs Romano,” he acknowledged, oblivious to the fact that I was uncomfortable being called that name.

“Wild party right?” I asked. He nodded and sat opposite me and Calla. 

“Your husband…” he started but was cut short by the sound of a gunshot ringing in the reception hall. The noise in the hall came to a sudden stop, then came a shrill cry. It was from the woman Dante was grinding against earlier.   

I shot to my feet, wide eyes scanning the hall, chest heaving faster than it ever had.

“What’s happening!?” Calla inquired fearfully behind me. Only if I knew as well.

“Calla, get our parents out of here!” I screamed as I made my way towards the unknown.

The hall was thrown in disarray and within seconds, bodies pushed against each other trying to get out of the hall alive. It made it harder for me to push through the crowd. 

I suddenly stopped before a lifeless body. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes as recognition hit me. The immoral man I had just exchanged rings with earlier lay on the floor- eyes wide and unblinking, his white tuxedo covered in his own blood. A brief relief struck me.

I didn’t have to worry about being Dante’s possession any longer now that he was dead, but I was terrified. What was going on?

I collected myself and ran with others towards safety but suddenly, an arm halted my movement. I spun around to see a huge man in dark shades and a chip in his ear. 

He snatched my clutch and lifted me effortlessly, striding towards an empty room beside the hall. “Put me down! Who are you!?” I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to get away, at the same time clawing at the man's back, hitting him with all my strength, but he moved as though my efforts were invalid.

When he finally dropped me, I spun around and tried to steady my steps. My eyes fell on a familiar face. 

“Father Gustavo!” I exclaimed. My words came out louder than expected. Father Gustavo was shaking and he looked as though he would pee himself at any moment. His eyes were narrowed towards a specific direction. I followed his gaze.

Seated across us, legs spread like he owned the entire building, was a man. I squinted my eyes to take him in clearly. No way. My eyes were deceiving me right? Even though I had never seen him this clearly before, his physique and aura were engraved in my brains.

This was the man who saved me from Kilian two nights ago. The one that had briefly kept my company at the sea last night. The dangerous man I was warned about- who I was told killed his brother and fed off people's flesh. If one didn't know of the rumors, they would believe he was a breathtaking young man with virtue but Salvador was far from virtuous. 

Salvador looked extremely better than I had secretly imagined, but the faded scar running down one side of his face made him appear as intimidating as ever. My nerves folded.

The logical question surfaced in my head. What was he doing here?

As if he could hear the question in my head, he slowly rose and strode towards me. He was even taller than I remembered. I stepped back on instinct, scared. He stopped just before me, our bodies inches apart. And for a moment, we were both staring at each other. Seeing his face this closely, I had to mentally admit that I had never seen any man as gorgeous as Salvador before. 

But that was the least of my worries at the moment. “You…” I muttered, hoping he could start explaining himself.

Instead, he held my hands. My entire body shook. If this man could eat flesh as rumored, then I was basically his next victim for some reason I was yet to realize. A knot formed in my throat as I stared at his sapphire eyes. 

“Start.” He commanded. The priest immediately cleared his throat and started speaking. But I could barely hear him or comprehend what was going on. My ears were ringing too loud, everything was happening too fast, and nothing seemed to currently make sense. 

Why was he holding me? Why did he kill Dante? The endless questions in my head were starting to dizzy me out. I kept looking at him, unsure why. His lips moved a bit and closed again. His expressions softened. 

I was already on the verge of a panic attack when he hunched to my height level and whispered,

“It's okay, just say ‘I do’” That seemed to drag my senses back to the moment. I dragged my eyes from him and surveyed the room, Father Gustavo looked at me with pleading eyes as though his life lay on those two words- I do. 

I do what? Salvador saved me once, but for what? To kidnap me? Kill me? Everything about him screamed trouble and I wasn't going to dance to tunes just because he saved me once. 

But at the same time…another thought hovered, contrasting the latter. What if he was just trying to save me and this was just an act to help out? I didn’t waste my time dwelling on it. I would rather deal with Salvador than return to my father’s house.

My lips opened to speak and the words that slipped out of them surprised everyone in the room including me. 

“I do” my eyes widened, unable to believe I just said that. A mischievous satisfying smile crossed Salvador’s lips. I had never seen anything like it. 

“You may now… kiss the bride.” Father Gustavo almost stuttered as he said those words. I wondered if Salvador asked him to.

I watched in disbelief as his lips drew closer to mine, his warm minty breath fanning my face. Unlike how I had acted with Dante, I didn’t move. What the hell was wrong with me? Salvador was going to kiss me, and I wasn’t protesting.

My chest heaved deeply, heart beating faster than ever as his lips stopped just an inch away from mine. I swallowed. But instead of kissing my lips, his head moved up to place a kiss on my forehead. It felt impossibly soft- similar to a feather brushing my forehead, not nasty like Dante’s. For a moment, it felt like he cared.

“Can you walk?” He asked. The same question he asked when he saved me from my ex-boyfriend. I stood still unsure why my body was immovable. He didn’t wait for me to oblige. He lifted me in his arms and strode out the room towards the already empty reception hall and into the parking lot where a fleet of SUVs were packed neatly. 

We must have confused everyone else in that hall. But the truth is, even I…was confused.

He placed me in the back seat of one of the cars and sat beside me. The car roared to life and jerked forward. 

The situation suddenly dawned on me.

If I really go with someone as dangerous as Salvador, I might as well be as good as dead if his motive wasn’t to save me. What if my father owed him too? What if he was going to make me his puppet or kill me?

The more the thoughts came, the more I believed them. Fear racked my entire body, causing beads of sweat to slick down the sides of my face.

I should run away. Adrenaline forced my body to move, and before I realized what I was doing, I was pouncing on him, clawing, scratching while screaming “let me go!” simultaneously. His smirk widened as he enveloped me in his arms and whispered,

“Don’t get too bold now, butterfly. You are safe with me now.” The way he said those words….butterfly?

I scratched his wrists, trying to wrench free, but he seemed immune to pain or liked it. 

My struggles did more harm than good. A few scratches trailed my arm and I was the one who inflicted them on myself but the adrenaline rush in me dulled all sense of reasoning. 

“You are hurting yourself.” he said in a deeper voice. He then released one of his hands from gripping me and tried to reach into his pocket. I took that as an opportunity to claw at his eyes, but he dodged and my attempt failed. 

Before I could blink, he flipped me over and pinned me on the seat. I screamed, thinking he was going to kill me. But that was when he brought a white cloth and muffled my screams with it.

“You are harming yourself, butterfly. I’m sorry, I have no choice than to do this.” He didn’t sound sorry. My movements suddenly slowed and my hands fell limp at my sides as he released them.

The night had gotten darker, same as everything around me. I felt his hand stroking my hair softly. I hated the feeling of being babied by a dangerous man, but my eyes fluttered close. The last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me whole was his voice against my ear. 

“Dante shouldn't have touched you.” 

And the last thing I wished for? was to see his sapphire eyes again. I was damned.