Chapter 3: One step ahead

ALEJANDRO

The little one was quite optimistic and fiesty but it’s a shame that I had to crush all her hopes into pieces.

She was no match for me. I could see through all her schemes and all her escape plans.

I was always one step ahead of her, no matter what.

I knew she had plans of trying to escape immediately the plane lands, and I was going to make that impossible for her. I already informed my guards to be alert around her and to not let her out of their sight.

Any one who fails or defiles me, would face grim consequences.

They do not call me the devil for no reason.

My head turned to the peaceful, sleepy Lucia, and I shook my head.

How could she sleep so peacefully in this situation? One minute she was all over the place, kicking and cursing at me for taking her away from her weakling of a boyfriend, who has been cheating on her, the next she is sleeping peacefully like she has no care in the world.

I smirked.

The plane landed shortly after, and I gave her a gentle tap.

“Let’s go, we have arrived” she snuggled closer into the plane’s seat, and shoved my hands away “nooo…just a few minutes”

A chuckle escaped my lips, and I quickly composed myself.

“Did you just laugh at me?” Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she asked.

“No” I replied coldly, and stood up.

“Yes you did” she said as she did the same. She leaned closer to me “maybe you are not as scary as you try to appear?”

I grinned inwardly. She definitely didn’t know who I was. She didn’t know why I was called the devil.

I decided not to move further with the conversation and just walk away silently.

She followed behind me, and just before we exited the plane, I locked eyes on my guards.

A swift nod from them let me know that they understood my gaze.

We got out of the plane, and I began to stroll to the car waiting at the airport for us.

As we got close, I suddenly heard shuffling and ruffling at the back. Before I turned, I already guessed what was happening.

And I was right, it was just as I predicted.

She tried to escape again. One of my guards grabbed her by her hands and shoved her back.

“Let me go stupid fool!” She tried to hit and kick her way out of his grasp, but he didn’t budge.

“I’m not going anywhere with you! I’m getting out of here, you dumbass” she cursed.

I grinned. I would like to see her try.

I strolled lazily towards her and leaned closer to her face “i’d like to see you try little one”

Her eyes darkened, and her teeth clenched tightly, almost as if it was going to shatter into pieces from the force.

“Stop calling me little one, bastard!” She spat on my face.

My eyes closed shut as I heard gasps from my guards.

Fuck!

Anger slipped through my veins at that minute. Did she just spit on me? How disrespectful.

My hands moved to my face as I wiped her saliva off my face.

My eyes burned with rage, and I wanted to just take her with my bare hands and shove her face first to the floor. But I held it back.

I don’t hit women.

But I scare them, and that was what I was going to do.

I inched closer, and swiftly brought out my gun from my pocket. I placed the gun directly on her forehead.

“Now listen” her eyes grew wide, as I spoke calmly.

“You will do as I say little one, or you are going to get a bullet stuck in your head in seconds, hear me?”

“And don’t think I'm bluffing. They don’t call me the devil for no reason” I pushed the gun further into her head.

“Do you understand?” I asked coldly.

A tear slipped from her eyes followed by a nod, and I released the gun slowly from her head.

Good, just what I wanted.

I signaled my guards to release her and they did. Her legs gave in, and she slumped down to the floor.

Her body, still shaking from fear.

I turned around and began to walk towards the car.

“Follow me Lucia, i won’t ask again”

She stood up almost immediately, and trailed behind me. I could hear her rasp breath from my back, and I couldn't help the smirk that appeared on my face.

She was all so feisty and fearless, but now, she looked so scared.

I got into the car, and she did the same.

The driver started the engine, and we were on our way to my estate in Sicily.

A message popped up on my phone when we were a few minutes away from home. I picked up my phone and glanced through.

It was a message from my son.

‘Dad, what the hell are you talking about? What marriage? I’m not getting married to some random girl i have never seen before’

I stared at the message for a few seconds, and dropped it.

He has no choice in this. He listens to my rules and decisions and I know what is best for him.

I turned to Lucia’s side to find her already staring at me.

My eyes lurked on her coldly.

“Can I have my phone?” She asked.

“No,” I replied simply.

“What? Why?” She frowned.

“Because i said so”

I had confiscated her phone just before we boarded the plane, and I had no plans of returning it to her any time soon.

She could use it as a means to escape and I didn't want that.

“Well how am I going to attend my classes? Since I can't attend college physically, I might just attend online classes. I need my phone”

I ignored her, and faced the road.

“Can you not hear me?”

I didn’t say anything.

She soon got tired of talking, and kept quiet.

We arrived at my estate ten minutes later, and we were greeted by my trusted butler, Miguel.

“Welcome Don Alejandro” he greeted me, and turned to Lucia.

“Welcome Ms….”

“Lucia” she responded coldly.

“Welcome Ms. Lucia”

“Miguel. Take her to one of the guest rooms, that is where she will stay until the wedding” I instructed him.

Lucia turned to stare at me with a stone filled gaze, her eyes filled with hatred.

“I hate you…” she muttered and then she started to walk away.

I didn’t care. She was going to get married to Carlos, whether she liked it or not.

Almost immediately as she was walking towards the entrance of the building, Carlos stomped out, rage emanating from his eyes.

He couldn’t even bother to spare a glance at Lucia.

“What the fuck dad?” Was the first thing he said when he got closer to me.

“Why would you make a decision without me? What do you mean by marriage?” He asked, furious.

I sighed and pointed at the stunned Lucia who was standing a few inches away from us “won’t you like to greet your wife Carlos? She just came from a long journey”

“What wife?”

“I’m not his wife!”

They both uttered at the same time, and I almost laughed.

Lucia stomped off, while the butler followed behind her.

Then Carlos faced me, still angry.

“Dad, this doesn’t make sense. You can’t choose a wife for me. I’m old enough to make my own decisions. I’m twenty five” he said, trying to convince me.

“You didn’t want to make a decision faster, so I made one for you. You are wasting time Carlos. Who’s going to take care of my empire when I'm gone? You have to get married now, and bear a son. That is the only way you will be fully recognized in the mafia world” I calmly told him.

This didn’t seem to shake him, as he shook his head “but dad, i barely know her”

“You can start getting to know her now. You have a month before the wedding”

“No…I don't want to marry her. I have someone I love. I have someone I want to get married to” he moved closer.

I scoffed. If it was the person, the both of us had in mind, then he was just spitting a load of crap.

“Who?” I asked, like I didn’t already know who he was going to talk about. Like I hadn’t already done a background check on her, and found out that she had an entire family already.

A husband, with two kids.

“Valerie, dad. I love her”

Yeah, I was right. It was her. The woman who had been lying to him all along.

I sighed. I didn’t want to tell him about what I found out yet. It would shatter him, so I just ignored him.

“You will do as i say Carlos and that is final”

I walked away from him, and did not heed to his calls when he called me.

I wanted what was best for my son, and I would do everything I could to make him fully recognized as a true son of his father in the mafia clan.