chapter 3

After dinner, I go to my bedroom and I lie down. I can hear Vixen yelling from upstairs. He's yelling so loud, I can make out every word he's saying.

"You're the one who wanted this, not me!"

"Yeah? Well she's MY fiancé. I don't give a shit!"

"Fuck off!"

"She's not yours, she's not yours, and she's not anyone else's, MINE, and I can do whatever the hell I please!"

And it keeps going from there. I cover my ears with a pillow to lessen the sound of his constant screaming and it worked like a charm.

The next morning, I wake up to the sound of someone calling my name. I know that voice all too well.

"Kyla, wake up." Vixen says, sounding pissed.

I sit up and I rub my eyes softly.

"What's going on? What time is it?" I ask.

"Get up and get dressed. I'm taking you to school." he says.

My eyes widen in surprise.

Last year, I finished high school, I got accepted into a university, but I couldn't go because my father wouldn't allow it. He said college was for girls who had brains and that I wasn't the lucky few of them. Why am I going now?

"I don't go to school." I respond.

"Well today you do. So get ready. I won't ask again." he says, irritated.

He turns around and I flinch softly at the slight movement. He stops and turns to look at me up and down, then he leaves. I exhale and I get up and I start to get dressed. I guess this is it.

I guess I'm going to school.

When I walk downstairs, I find a book-bag filled with books and other supplies and I look around before picking it up, smiling. Underneath it, sits a note.

Enjoy your first day, darling. ~ Daxine

"Thanks Daxine." I say quietly.

"Let's go." suddenly says Vixen, his deep voice making me jump.

He walks out in front of me and goes to his car, and I join him, getting in the passenger seat. On the way to the university, the ride's quiet until Vixen breaks the silence.

"I've taken notice to the fact that you're always flinching at me. Care to tell me why?" he says.

"No." I respond.

"I wasn't really asking." he says sternly.

I hesitate and he sighs and throws his head back.

"If you're going to be my wife I should know something about you." he says, looking over to me.

"I'm.... I'm not comfortable sharing it with you." I say, preparing for the worst.

Instead of the worst, I get a shoulder shrug and a "whatever.", and the ride continues silent until we reach the parking lot of the university.

"Let's go. I don't have all day. I need to go to work." he says tiredly.

I get out and we walk to the front office with my bags in my hand. We're greeted by a woman with a smile on her face and her hair tied up as she introduces us.

"Welcome to our university, what can I do for you?" she asks cheekily.

"Can you put her in?" Vixen asks, pointing to me.

"Has she put in an application here?" the woman asks.

Vixen stays quiet, giving me permission to speak.

"Um.. yes ma'am. I enrolled early, I did it my senior year, last year?" I say.

"Let me see here." she says, typing on her computer. "And what's your name, darling?" she asks me.

"Kyla. Kyla-"

"Augestine! Oh, it's a pleasure to have you here! I was so excited when you accepted our offer. You're a smart girl, we're happy to have you. I'll print off a schedule and put you in the system to go here. Thank you very much!" she says, shaking my hand.

"And from now on, she'll go by Kyla Reed." Vixen interjects.

The woman looks from him to me and smiles.

"No problem!" she says.

"I'll be here at 4:30. And don't keep me waiting. I'm not a patient man." he says.

I walk off and I take a look at my schedule. The first class I go to is Calculus, so I ask my way around and I eventually make it. I take a seat and a minute or two later, I hear someone whispering to me.

"Psst!" she signals. "Hey, you!" she whispers.

I look up and around until I see a girl waving at me.

"Did you need something?" I ask.

"Your name? Mine is Lyilah. Lyilah Standoff. I'm a first year. You?" she says, holding out her hand."

I take her hand and I shake it, smiling warmly at her.

"Kyla Augestine." I reply.

"Let me see your schedule." says Lyilah. I hand it to her and she smiles brightly. "We have all of the same classes! Wanna be friends?" she asks, raising her eyebrow at me.

"Sure. I'd like that." I say, smiling.

My phone pings with a text, so I open it and it's from Vixen.

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*All the Spanish I use in this book comes from g****e translate so if there are any errors that you recognize, kindly let me know. Thank you!*

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The first couple of minutes is Vixen cursing and mumbling under his breath. He sighs and looks over to me. "What happened?" he asks, still pissed.

"I don't know," I reply. "I was waiting for you outside and then that guy bumped into me and started touching me everywhere." I say reluctantly.

He doesn't say anything, he just keeps his eyes on the road, but I can see the anger building up inside him. He raises his fist and I could swear I made a whimpering sound. I turn away and I look at the window as Vixen gets quiet.

"Kyla." he says, his cold, hard mask still intact. I look at him, not saying anything, and he shifts in his seat, well aware of why I reacted that way. "Who did it?" he asks.

I look down at my hands and I don't reply.

"Was it those assholes at the university?" he asks, genuinely concerned. "Kyla?" he says, his fingers brushing against my arm. I jump at his contact and suddenly a tear falls from my eyes. "God." he says as I begin to cry.

I can tell he's not used to emotion.

"You don't have to tell me." he says. He looks back at the road and doesn't say anything the rest of the ride.

When we arrive at the house, Daxine sees me and hugs me. "How was your first day sweetheart?" she asks sincerely.

"A couple of frats tried getting in her panties in broad daylight and everyone around was gonna let it happen. How's that sound?" Vixen says, obviously still pissed.

"Oh honey. I'm so sorry. You're a very beautiful girl, but that shouldn't give them a reason to take advantage of you. I'm horribly sorry." Daxine sympathizes.

I give her a warm smile and I nod my head. I turn around to go upstairs and a loud voice interrupts me.

"When you walk in, you should always speak to the man of the house, girl." Vixen's dad, says.

I turn around to look at him. "I thought that was Vixen?" I say, confused.

His laughter booms throughout the house, making me jump slightly.

"Are you stupid? I'm the man of the house. How can Vixen marry someone so disrespectful?" he says, yelling as he grabs my arm.

"Finn." I hear Vixen say, as he walks up to his father.

"Where are your manners, Vixen?" his father replies, quickly letting me go.

"I won't have any until you have some for her. Let's not step too far out of line. Let's also not forget that you're the one who arranged this shit. I didn't choose this. No matter how bad I hate this situation, she's still my fiancé, and I demand that you treat her as such. If you call her out of her name or touch her again, I'll make sure you don't have a tongue or fingers to touch or say anything else again." he says with a menacing tone.

His father's embarrassed as he stands there. Vixen looks at me for a second and turn around and walks toward the door.

"I have a meeting to attend, vuelvo enseguida."

[ i'll be back. ] he says looking at his mother.

I turn around and I go upstairs to do my homework. Hours later, the maid comes upstairs to let me know dinner's ready and as we walk downstairs, we talk.

"What can I call you?" I ask.

"Just call me the maid." she says, carefully leading me downstairs.

"What's your name? I just want to refer to you as that. I don't want to be rude." I insist.

"It's quite alright ma'am." she replies.

"Please?" I ask again.

She looks at me and sighs.

"You can call me Cindy." she says.

"Cindy. Well thank you for taking care of me, Cindy." I say, making her blush.

I sit at the table and dinner isn't served yet so I look around and I see that Vixen isn't at the table. "Where's Vixen?" I ask.

"He's your husband, not ours." Finn says.

"Enough, Finn. Vixen's already warned you, and you know how he gets. He won't hesitate." Daxine says.

What does she mean "He won't hesitate" ? I grew up in a mafia too, and that doesn't sound too good.

"Could you go and get him, darling? The food's gonna be cold by the time he gets down here." Daxine says.

I look up and I hesitate for a second. Then I give her a warm smile.

"Sure." I say.

I get up and I go upstairs checking every room. I come across an office that I assume is his based off of its dark color. I walk in with a knock on the door and his head lifts from the paperwork he's doing on his desk. He looks at me and his eyebrow shoots up.

"What is it?" he asks, still holding his pen in his hand, looking up at me with an arched eyebrow.

"Daxine wanted me to come and get you. Dinner's ready." I say, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I'll be down in a second." he says, and puts his head down.

"She says she doesn't want the food to get cold." I say, trying to get him up.

He sighs and looks from me to his paper and then he stands, putting his pen down. "I'm coming." Vixen says.

I turn around and I start downstairs, feeling nervous as he walks behind me. When we arrive in the dining area, the maids start to serve dinner. I glance up at Vixen, whose sitting across from me and he's messing with the rings on his fingers as he bites his lip in thought. I want to ask him what he's thinking about as I sit there, but I don't as I sit back and start to eat my food. When dinner is finished, I join Daxine in the kitchen.

"What's the matter sweetie?" she asks as she washes a plate.

"Nothing, I just wanted to help." I admit, picking up a dirty dish to wash.

"That's very kind, but I can do this." she says, smiling.

"It's okay. I can help."

I start helping her wash dishes and before I know it, we're finished. I go up to my room and I shut the door behind me as I walk over to my bed. When I lie down, I check the time and it's 10 o'clock. I start to drift off and then I hear my door open. I lift my head and I push my hair behind my ears, focusing on the figure in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" Vixen voice comes, as I turn on my lamp.

"Yeah. Come in." I say, bringing my knees to my chest to make room for him.

He sits at the foot of my bed and fidgets with his rings, looking down at his hands. "Are you alright?" he asks, messing with his rings and avoiding eye contact..

I look up at him and I realize what he's talking about.

"I'm fine, it was nothing." I say.

"No, it was something. I didn't like that. Seeing my... a woman being harassed like that. I may be ruthless but I still care, especially about someone I'm supposed to be marrying in God knows how long."

He shifts and looks me in the eyes.

"That ever happens again, or if anything you don't like happens at school, or here at home, you let me know, okay? I'd like for you to be comfortable."

I nod my head. "Okay. I will." I say, a small smile showing on my lips. Vixen's eyes fixate on them for a moment, then he shakes his head and closes his eyes, getting up.

"Goodnight." he says, walking away.

"Goodnight, Vixen." I say, smiling as he closes my door.