Chapter 3 - Shattered Illusions.

              'Thunder rumbling, castles crumbling, I am trying to hold on, God knows that I tried, seeing the bright side but I'm not blind anymore'

                                                                                                                                                        ~ Katy Perry

Isabella's P.O.V.

"Hell no, homes, the girl is like my little sister, for Christ's sake"

Fuck.

That's one sentence that no woman EVER wants to hear from a man who she considers the love of her life and I can honestly say with my full fucking chest that the pain I'm currently feeling is one that I've never felt before in my life.

I know this may sound dramatic but it's the truth.

If you've ever felt the heartbreak and raw pain from your first love like most people in this world have then you'll know exactly how I feel right now and how it feels like my heart is breaking into millions of irreparable pieces.

If only I knew beforehand that the pain I was currently feeling was gonna get worse because I would've walked away right now if I did.

"Fuck guys, I just wanna live my life"

Santiago groaned in frustration.

"I wanna party, I wanna travel the world and get a taste of all of the different cultures out there, if you know what I mean"

He said sounding smug as I groaned in disgust because I knew that he wasn't talking about food when he was making this statement.

"I wanna fuck different people every day and I wanna have freaking fun for crying out loud but I can't do any of that when I've got my goddamn stalker tied to my ass for the rest of my life"

Stalker.

That's the second or third time he's called me this now and I can't help but to feel confused and also hurt about being labelled as one.

Santiago and I grew up together, our families have always been closer than close and our friend group is also the same group of people as well.

Yes, we go to the same school but I didn't pick this school because Santiago goes there, I picked it because my papa wanted me to because he wanted me to attend college with my brothers which I thought was a good idea at the time because despite my hatred for my step-mama, I love and idolise Xander and Vito and I also love and idolise my twin brother Xavier as well, so I agreed with my papa for once.

There's also the fact that all of my girlfriends also go to this school and Santiago going there was just a bonus for me, so all in all, it was the best option for me but now I'm not so sure.

Santiago and I have always ran in the same circles ever since we were kids, so how the hell am I stalking him?.

If anyone's stalking him, it's Maria Vasquez, the slutty daughter of one of my father's capos who has been obsessed with Santiago and has followed him around like a horny little bitch in heat ever since he took her virginity three years ago.

How do I know he took it? I'm sure you're asking yourselves.

Well, I know because Maria couldn't resist bragging about it the next day at school and she even claimed to be his girl which he wholeheartedly denied but he didn't deny the claim that they'd had sex.

Anyway, just when I thought the pain in my chest couldn't get any worse, my brothers decided to twist the knife in even further to make sure my heart remained broken and shattered.

"Fuck, my life is officially over, thanks to the old man...cheers to Giuseppe DiMarco, the asshole has ruined fucking my life"

Santiago said dramatically whilst downing his glass of whiskey as I groaned.

Urgh!!, what a jerk.

If anyone's an asshole, it's you jackass, not my sweet, beautiful nonno.

I thought to myself whilst rolling my eyes.

"Hold on a second, ese, maybe he hasn't ruined your life"

"Oh, come on Vito, you were there when nonno told me about the deal they'd made"

Santiago said in exasperation.

"They're forcing me to marry a fucking child and they want me to impregnate Izzy within a year of us getting married so that we can provide an heir and solidify, not only the next Don but also the next generation as well and if I don't, then I can kiss goodbye to becoming the next Godfather of the Kings Of Anarchy which is my goddamn birthright and something I've worked my ass off for, so please explain to me how my life isn't over and done with, Vito?"

Wait, what?.

My breath hitched at the boat load of information Santiago has just dropped on us.

They want me to marry Santiago and have his baby within a year of us getting married.

Is this some kind of joke?.

"Well, think about it for a second, homes"

Vito said with excitement in his tone.

"When nonno made the announcement, he didn't say that you had to be faithful to Isabella once you guys are married, he just said that you had to marry her and have sex with her at least once so that you can get her pregnant and provide our mafia with the next heir...they never said anything about you being an attentive and faithful husband and they certainly didn't say anything about you only having sex with just your wife and nobody else for the rest of your life"

"So?...what's your point, brother?"

Santiago asks in a bored tone.

"My point is that you can have the best of both worlds if you marry Isabella, Santi"

"How so?"

He asks confused.

"Well, if you marry Isabella, then you not only get your birthright and heir but you also get a stay at home wife who will happily cook and clean for you and will do whatever you want her to do without much prompting, not to mention, that you'll also have a submissive little wife who will literally bend over backwards and let you piss in her pretty little mouth if you commanded her to because that's how much she loves you and would do anything to make you happy"

What the hell, Vito?.

"And while you've got a submissive little wifey at home, holding down the fort and looking after your kids, you're free and clear to do whatever you want, brother...you can go out and party and fuck all of the pussy that you want and nobody, not even our little sister can say or do anything about it because like I said, she loves you so much and wouldn't want to do anything that could make her lose you"

"Vito's got a point, Santi, none of the men in our organisation are expected to be faithful to their wives and Izzy knows this"

Xander says as tears trailed down my cheek.

"So, you guys think I should take advantage of your sisters feelings for me and use her to get what I want whilst still living the life off a playboy?"

"Yep"

Xander and Vito said in unison.

"But what about Bella?"

"What about her?"

Xander asked with a scoff.

"Look Santiago, Isabella loves you, she always has and she always will"

Xander says nonchalantly.

"She loves you so much that she'd literally do anything that you'd ask of her...hell, the girl is such a doormat for you that you could bring home a different woman every single night and fuck them right in front of her in your marital bed and she'd still forgive you and make you breakfast in the morning whilst still being blissfully happy and madly in love with you"

Wow.

Is that what they truly think of me?.

Do they think that I'm so in love with this bastard that I'd let him walk all over me like that?.

Well, the jokes on these three dipshits because I'd never let that happen.

"You guys have got a point...maybe marrying Isabella isn't such a bad idea after all"

Santiago said with a smirk as I felt bile rise up in my throat.

God, he's such an asshole.

He's a hot asshole but he's still an asshole, nonetheless.

"That's our future Don"

Vito said sounding proud.

"How about a toast, eh? to our future Don, Santiago Reyes and our blissfully ignorant and incredibly beautiful future Donna, Isabella Reyes, I hope you both have a long and happy marriage together"

Xander said and the guys laughed whilst clinking their glasses together as I felt myself going numb and hollow.

Not wanting to hear any more of their bullshit, I slowly let out a breath and quietly walked away from the room.

I then headed back downstairs feeling sad and broken but just when I thought I couldn't feel any more pain or heartbreak, I overheard a group of girls talking and my steps came to a halt when I heard my name being mentioned.

"Wait, you're Santiago Reyes girl?"

"Yes, I am"

Maria Vasquez said sounding smug.

"But what about that DiMarco chick?"

"Yeah, I heard Santiago and Isabella were secretly a thing and that they're planning to get married after graduation"

So everyone knew about my upcoming nuptials except for me? that's nice to know.

"Pfft, as if...my Santi doesn't even like Isabella, in fact, he told me one night in bed that he doesn't think she's the biological daughter of Don Christian and our late Donna Valentina because they're good looking, whereas Izzy's fat and ugly and hasn't inherited any of the DiMarco genes"

What the fuck?.

Are they being serious right now?.

I thought to myself as fresh tears filled my eyes.

"So, you're gonna be the new Donna of the Kings Of Anarchy mafia when Santi takes over?"

"Of course I am, bitch, I mean, who the hell else is he gonna make his Donna? do you think he'll make that fat wench his Donna?"

Maria asked and the girls laughed as I walked away and this time, I made a quick exit towards the front door and just kept walking.

I didn't care that I was miles away from home, I just wanted to get away from this stupid house filled with god awful people.

I knew I should've stayed home tonight.