Secret Switch

Mia

“You can't run away from your responsibilities , from your fate , you can't change what's already decided from the moment you were born " 

The words my dad said earlier in the day echoed in my ears again.

As I was packing my stuff in the middle of the night planning to run far away . I am not running away from my responsibility or fate , in fact till the day before yesterday my fate was not to be forced in some betrothal made by my grandpa with the world's most dangerous , cold and powerful man , I have ever seen in my life .

Dante Romano , even the most powerful and richest people fear him.  I once heard that his single stare is enough to leave  you frozen at your place and send shivers down your spine.

 Well, I didn't believe them that much until I encountered him myself . When he looked dead in my pupils and said  break the marriage arrangements and that he is not interested in any of this. 

I won't lie putting aside his charming and ridiculously handsome face with an even ridiculously hot body and a smartass brain  . 

That man is terrifying he walk , talk , breathe , slit open's a man neck and do literally every single fucking thing in a steady and controlled manner , with an undercurrent of danger warning for those who are foolish enough to cross him , cause then it's their death sentence .

That is who Dante Romano is , he has a nickname of a predator . I can't even look straight in his eyes, not even for a second , no one can . 

I am so scared of him that even a scared word seems light in front of his aura , that is how much power he holds. 

Maybe one of the reasons why my grandfather wants me to marry him. Our family is rich but in  other powerful and rich families ours are not that powerful . 

At first the Mancini and Romano families were equal . 

That was when the betrothal was made , set up by our grandfather's , but within a few years the Romano family escalated in power and success , and the Mancini family got less powerful.

But the promised betrothal between the families for continuing their friendship and peace , stayed which is why I am here now . 

Since I was unable to get the betrothal  cancelled by talking to my father , my only option was to go and talk to my grandfather directly , which I am not brave enough to do . Especially when this is the only way for the Mancini family to gain more power and status.

And the last option is to ask Dante for the help that is technically not even an option .

Just by listening or thinking about that man gives me goosebumps, what more telling him that I can't cancel this marriage and he has to do something , when he said especially to cancel this marriage no matter what it takes. I can't even think about the outcomes . 

So well I have practically zero choice left than running away from home . 

As I was moving my clothes from here to there a box suddenly catched my attention. I remember the box as one of my treasures I hold dear to my heart.

 I opened it caressing the picture of me and my granny. My vision got blurry and without realising the tears started to escape my eyes , I loved her so much . 

I was so happy while living with her before she passed away a few weeks back and I have to shift with my parents. When I used to live with her she taught me many things and told stories about India where she used to live before she shifted to New York , married grandpa and had my mom . 

I moved in with her when I was ten after getting an admission in a nearby highschool and nearly begging my parents to let me live a few years peacefully with her .

Well at first it was because I wanted to escape the bullying of my cousins , but then I grew up liking it there . 

Liking the small bickering with her about how I should be more strong and brave and not so naive.

Liking the relaxation when she massage my head telling me about her and grandpa.

Liking when I tease her about grandpa and she gets shy , I miss her , I miss those days. If only she wouldn't have fallen sick and died , I would have been still with her laughing happily rather than tearing apart and running away .

I fastly wiped my tears away, took one photo of us together and packed it with my other stuff. A few moments ago I had no idea where I was going to go but after seeing granny's picture I knew exactly where I was gonna run away to .

Sneaking through your room window which is on the second floor is not easy.  I threw my bags down thanks to the grass and flowers. 

It didn't make much of a noise. " God please, I still have many things to see before dying , please don't let me fall down from here.” I begged God before I looked down again with a fearful look and thoughts covering my mind. 

Taking a deep breath and checking that the rope was strong enough for the last time , I finally courage myself to climb down slowly - slowly wishing for it to not be my last day on earth . 

Thankfully soon my feet  touched the ground safely , with a long sigh I picked up my luggage. After looking back at my house I finally catched a cab and went straight to the airport .

“Hello mam , what can I help you with?”  

The sweet receptionist asked as I walked towards the reception of the airport. 

" I would like to get a ticket " I replied "To where mam ?”

" To India , Delhi " I said , yes I will go to India. I always wanted to go there with my granny , but it's fine that she is always with me .

I looked down from the plain as it boarded clouds and light covering the whole view. I soon drifted in my dreams after a hectic of a few days , hoping to have a better start when I wake up . 

" Shit , fuck you stupid bitch . What else a huge mistake you can make , to literally give your family a clue on a platter of where you are.” 

I shouted at myself and at my stupidity to switch on my phone the first thing after I landed in India and received a flood of messages and missed calls from my family .

Which stupid idiot of a person switches on their phone after running away from their home knowing that their family is more than capable to track it in minutes.

I fastly discarded the SIM from my phone , going to the nearest shop outside the airport. I bought a new SIM and inserted it in my phone , opening up the maps and finding my way to the hotel I booked . As I was going towards my hotel something caught my eyes .

" Excuse me , how much is this rabbit plushie? '' 

I asked the salesman , I don't know why but he looked at me several times before answering the question , maybe I am too beautiful . " It's usually two thousand rupees but since you look new here I will give you in thousands rupees."

OMG he is so nice I googled the amount and it was only eleven dollars. I handed him the money and was about to leave when another woman from behind stopped me  "What happened mam is something wrong? " I asked her. The first question that came to my mind was what did I do wrong ? 

" Nothing Ms but just so you know , that is not the actual price , it's a foreigner or rich people price.” I looked at her confused and looked like she picked up on my confused face so he again explained. 

“It's only two hundred rupees which is only two dollars , you looked new and rich so that's why he raised the price , you should get your money back.” 

What that sales man fooled me , now I know why he was looking at me , cause he knew I am not from here and easy to fool , but I am not gonna get fooled. 

I went back to him and asked for my money back , well I didn't think it would be easy but he handed back my money pretty easily , huh .

I soon found my hotel and checked in my room , dropping my body on the soft bed. Wow, I almost got fooled by that salesman. 

Thanks to that lady I got my money back , I should be more careful or else I will end up being robbed. It's ok granny taught me many things , from tomorrow onwards I will act less foreigner and more like a local , yes .

I was so busy encouraging myself that I didn't even realise someone was knocking on the door. Fuck that shit startled me .

 Who is this don't tell me I already got caught by my family. I grabbed the nearest lamp and was ready to fight with my trembling legs when I heard .

" Room service mam , the food you ordered is here." Shit I totally forgot about it , fastly opening up the door I set my food  on the table and thanked him and closed the door . 

Ok I didn't get caught not yet , it's scary to run away from a house man. My worries went away when my stomach growled with hunger , for now let's eat some food .

I had my food , also showered and got freshen up , wearing some new clothes. I got all ready to explore, I have never been so excited before. 

Stepping out of the hotel I started exploring new places , the ones my granny used to tell me about. The markets here are so crowded like I never saw such a huge crowded market before and you know what , it's fun while shopping and bargaining a little like a local. I got things at a very nice price.

I was having an amazing time , when I suddenly saw something .

I forgot to breathe for a second , and froze at my place when I saw some bodyguards. Not just any bodyguards, they have the mark of the infinite snake on their uniforms. They are the special guards that are trained specially and the only person who runs the  company with them is one and only ..........................

Dante Romano , these bodyguards work for him and the only explanation of why they are here is simple. They are here for me and just now they are coming towards me .

 I want to run but my legs are not moving. Finally they did. I ran at full speed like my life depends on how fast I run. 

I knew it that mistake of switch oning my phone will be the reason to get me caught , but the only thing I am not understanding is my the fuck Dante send his man for. Didn't he wanted to end this marriage then why the fuck he is finding me?  

" Run faster bastard or you'll die through your boss 's hands." One of them shouted. I don't know where to go , where to run , I am just running with everything I got. 

And when I thought I would now be able to lose their sights. 

Fuck , I tripped more like bumped into someone. "Ouch , are you blind?" 

That person shouted. I was about to apologise and run again . When I saw her. I was left in shock and horror at what I was looking at. That girl looked exactly like me .