Marriage. No!

ARIEL

HE STARED AT ME WITH A FACE OF AMUSEMENT. I swear, if he came close to me, I'll spit on his face. Idiot.

How he grabbed that knife was still beyond me. It was too sharp to not have left him with a very bad cut.

I glanced at his hand, blood dripping from it from every single finger and falling on the ground. There was a puddle on the ground and I looked up at him. His gaze was now on my father and he wasn't showing any little sign of pain.

My eyes flickered to his chest where the knife stab remained, a cut, yes, but not deep enough to have killed him. Shit, it was just a little more.

"What do you want in exchange, D'Leonardo?" I heard my father ask and my head jerked up to hear what he would say.

He was only having a chance to answer, because Delano was still alive. Shame washed through my body in every corner, I had underestimated the guy. Who knew he would have seen past my mask and my fake sincerity? I was sincerely drunk....at the very least. The tipsiness was still in me, I might need more than mockery from Colt to wash it up. A hit from my father would do just that.

The handcuff biting my wrist was however enough to keep me from falling asleep for just a while. I tried to roll my shoulder to relieve the pain for some time. Delano glanced at me like I was going to run away soon and I gave him a bored look in return.

Fvcker.

"You know what? Why don't we switch this up to a celebration of two families?"

My gaze narrowed at him, same as my father. What the h*ll was D'Leonardo D'Caprico talking about?

"What exactly are you saying, Leonard?"

He placed his arm on Saint's shoulders, turning him away from the crowd who was so curious to knowing what they said. If I was not cuffed here, I would easily hear them.

Once again, my gaze flickered in a failed attempt to glare at Delano. I was disgusted by the feeling of icing and cake on my face and I could tell everyone was having a field time watching this, including Colt.

He smiled at him, showing the stupid set of 32 teeth I would love to knock out.....forever. I couldn't even smile back, knowing I'd been defeated. I was so proud I'd kill Delano. He couldn't be as hard as people thought him to be, but now, seeing his attitude, I did think it would be. Even Colt was able to kill him, it would need a different tactic and a better fight. He didn't fight me and that was what embarrassed me the most. All he had to block the sight of that table with his body, and I had to crash into it when he dodged. Perfectó.

"D'Leonardo, I'm not sure," My father glanced at me and turned back, whispering. That was the place my ears stopped working. The h*ck.

Someone stared at me from within the crowd as I rested my back boringly on the chair, waiting for 'the verdict.' Dying here was better than going back home to be sincere, and I knew I wasn't dying today.

My eyes found the person who was staring at me and I stared back, raising my brow and my lips until a merciless scowl filled my face. It was a kid.

A mafian kid.

Probably the first son of his family cause no one at that age should be allowed to attend a party like this, except for training, cos I did. My scowl softened as memories of my childhood filled my head and the first place, I had been handcuffed.

"You are pretty," he mouthed to me and I gulped, flustered.

"He's just a kid," Delano said behind me and I scoffed.

"I know. Their eyes are sharp."

"I meant he doesn't know what he is talking about," he threw me a glance as he walked off to meet the fathers who were still talking about things I didn't know.

"Release her, Colt." Saint said to Colt and he instantly got me off the handcuff, after grabbing the key from Delano.

"We've come to a decision." D'Leonardo announced like this was actually the main reason of the party instead of trust forming. "I won't announce to you why Ariel decided to kill Delano today. Think about it as stuff between two little kids."

Little?

Kids?

Ariel!?

My father actually put the blame on me. Nice try, old man. For what reason would I say I tried to kill Delano?

"We've decided to form a merger." He announced. My eyes almost bulged out if their sockets. They were planning to merge? How?

"We would kill the long seed of hatred between our Caprico and the Angelo family, through bonding. Ariel D'Angelo and Delano D'Caprico."

Murmurs filled the room but they were not as flustered as me. I'm going to marry the man I tried to kill? Delano didn't seem shocked, he didn't seem......anything. He showed no expression at all, nothing! Nothing!!

"I'm not marrying Delano!"

"I'm not interested in marrying you either, black witch."

Black witch!?

I was totally enraged this time around.

"That's right. If a woman dared to think she could kill The Viper, then let him own her." Someone shot an I opened my mouth to talk, but it went back close. It was an important person and saying a thing might earn me a bullet in my head without thinking.

"Dad, I can't. I can't get into marriage. Not now."

"Ariel!" He shot at me instantly and I blinked, blocking the tears from my eyes. Marriage was not part of my plan. There was no clause for that. It was going to destroy my life long plan. Everything I have worked for. Every. Single. Thing. Delano D'Caprico was not going to spoil it. I would rather attempt an assassination on him the second time.

But it seemed my father's mind was made up and D'Leonardo's mind too. I didn't have a choice. It didn't seem Delano had much either.

His mouth twisted as he stared at my angry face. I wanted to wipe the stupid smirk off his face.

"You. Cannot. Own. Me." I said, directly to his face.

"You can't refuse the marriage either, Kitten. We are stuck.... together."