The perfect age for marriage

AVA’S POV

After the grand walk-in of those men in tailored suits with their leader, Vincenzo, who had me on chokehold, not because of his handsomeness, but because of the aura emitting from him, everything changed.

It screamed danger so much that ice slashed down my spine at any given chance.

And his soulless eyes? It was everything I wasn’t.

Cold. Calm. Domineering. Dark and menacing.

I almost melted under his scrutinizing gaze and the second he turned on his heels and disappeared down the hallway, I was finally able to breathe again.

Carbon dioxide rushed out of my lungs and I inhaled oxygen back in.

My dad was still frozen beside me, sweat dripping down his forehead in drops.

“Papa.” My head whipped towards his direction once I was able to put myself together and I wrapped my hands around his arm. “Dad.”

The sound of my voice seemed to snap him out of his frozen thoughts and he looked up at me.

“He is gone.” I nodded, assuring him with a small smile on my lips.

Walter Morales might not be the best dad to me, but at the same time, he was still my dad at the end of the day.

He shrugged my hands around his arm off and walked away, dragging his feet against the tiled floor.

I knew how much he hated to be seen as weak. My dad hated showing his weakness to anyone, not even me, his daughter and my late Mom, who died years ago.

“Dad…..” I called, my voice trailing off as I watched him disappear down the hallway, heading to the hall where the party was still ongoing.

I chewed on my lower lips, plunging my fingers into my styled raven dark hair.

What was Dad discussing with a dangerous man like Vincenzo?

Yes. I knew absolutely nothing about that man who sent shivers slashing down my spine, but I could tell he wasn’t a good person.

I could feel it deep in my guts.

Reaching out to my purse, I grabbed my phone and turned it on, typing against the keyboard as I searched for the name ‘Vincenzo.’

As expected, thousands of people showed up on the screen with the same name. But among all, a tall huge man who looked exactly like the said Vincenzo who came over and shook my Dad to the core, caught my attention.

My fingers hovered over the screen and I pressed the information related to him.

Slowly, I read through the information and with every line of words about him, my heart began to hammer loudly in my chest and my eyes pooped widely with every sentence and words I read.

The headline of another gossip information read. ‘The eldest son of Rolando De Luca, Bratva of the Saints Clan, opened a huge security company just last week.’

I chewed on my lips even harder, reading and reading until I was able to gather as much information as I could.

And as I turned off my phone, an idea popped into my head in the form of revenge.

I swear, I would enjoy seeing him waver once he found out a hacker is trying to break into his company’s firewall.

“It seems it’s time to use my little hobby for something creative.” I smirked, tilting my head to the side as I made my way back to the party.

By the time I arrived at the hall, it was almost empty and Dad was nowhere to be seen.

“Ava!” Lily called, rushing towards me, her big round eyes filled with curiosity. She wanted me to fill her in on whatever discussion Dad had with Vincenzo De Luca.

“So, what did you find out?” She asked, clutching onto my arm.

“Dad owes the Russian Bratva a huge amount of money. They came for what he owed them.” I sighed, my eyes filled with worry.

“Omg! This is huge news!” Lily’s eyes widened and her lips parted. “But what about that huge hottie? What is his name? Does he work for the Russian Bratva?”

Her eyes twinkled with interest and I almost chuckled. 

Lily literally falls for every hot dude she meets either in good circumstances or bad ones.

“He is the Bratva’s first son, Vincenzo Salvatore De Luca.” My jaw ticked and my fingers dug into my palms, almost drawing out blood at the mention of his name.

“Oh my gosh! He is so hot!”

“Let’s go, Lily. I need to speak to Dad.” 

I walked past the dreamy girl, who wished she could have Vincenzo towering over her while whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

But she had no idea that the devil does none of that. 

He infiltrates pain and causes harm to others.

…………

It was past 10am the day after the party when I left my room after an hour of practicing ballet. 

I freshened up and made my way to Dad’s home office. I wasn’t able to speak to him last night as he was pretty shaken by the sudden visit of the Bratva’s eldest son.

But there was no way I could avoid this discussion. I had to ask him why he borrowed money from the Bratva and why he was unable to pay back when he had enough to host a grand party last night.

My steps faltered into a stop in front of the door to his home office and then I placed a soft knock on the door.

A few seconds later, his gruff voice filtered into my ear through the door. “Come in.”

I was in the office a second later, standing before my dad who sat behind a wooden mahogany desk.

His gaze lifted up at me and his brows creased.

“Dad..” I exhaled but he cut me off.

“Go straight to the point, Ava.”

“Why did you borrow money from the Bratva and why are you unable to pay back when you had enough to host a grand party last night?”

I’ve never confronted my dad before. I didn’t have the guts to but I needed to know. After all, I am his daughter.

“It’s none of your business.” He sneered, his gaze hardening.

“I need to know, Papa!” I stomp my feet on the ground.

“What benefits would knowing bring to you?” He slammed his hands against the mahogany wooden desk, making me flinch from the impact.

“Those people are dangerous! They could have you killed with just a snap of their fingers. Aren’t you aware?”

“I know and I have thought hard about it.” Dad exhaled, leaning back on his swivel chair, eyes up at me.

“I don’t have the money and interest to pay back, so I thought of something else,” His eyes roamed over my body, a small smile on his lips.

I swallowed, my breath ragged as I awaited his next words.

“I would give you up in exchange for the money I owed them.”

My heart lurched forward to my throat, choking me until my eyes turned red with tears.

And my heart stopped beating for what seemed like a second.

“What?” I couldn’t believe what I heard as a tear dropped down my eyes to my cheeks.

“Yes, Ava. You should know that one way or another, you’d be given off to an oldie or a mafia lord.”

 He smiled, baring his straight white teeth at me like he was high on something. 

Maybe a drug or cigarette, I had no idea.

“You’re twenty-three. The perfect age for marriage.”