Chapter 3

Elara Voss

Elara picked her fork up gently, making sure it made no sound when she picked the salmon she never wanted, on the plate. Her stomach turned with uncertainty as her eyes watched the man kept yelling at the restaurant's waitress, who kept apologizing million times.

But he kept berating her for the "undercooked" filet. He’d gained quite the attention from most people in the restaurant. A few of them even had their phones angled not so discreetly.

Elara tried to act like it wasn’t any of her business, but heat crawled up neck anyway.

This was supposed to be a quiet lunch. A chance for her and Alex Valenti to “connect” before the wedding fitting that afternoon. Instead, the air around them was tensed and if she had dreaded getting married before, she hated it now. She had thought him to be the nice gentleman like he portrayed at the gala but she should've known better.

The said man sat across her, posture perfect, suit immaculate with no ounce of mistake in the ironing. He hadn’t said a word since the yelling started. He just continued his meal like the chaos happening around him was none of his concern.

Not that it was hers.

“You’re staring,” he said quietly, without looking at her.

“I’m not.”

“You are.” He set his knife down with precision. “It’s beneath us to gawk.”

She forced her eyes back to her plate.

Beneath us.

The phrase landed like a cuff. Us. As if they were already one unit. As if there was a ring on her finger had fused them together already. She hated the 'Us'.

The waitress finally escaped to the kitchen, cheeks flushed. The man grumbled something about “service these days” and sat back down. Conversations resumed in the restaurant.

Elara exhaled, but the knot in her chest didn’t loosen. Without the noise, the awkwardness between the two became more obvious.

Alex reached across the table, fingers brushing hers. She jerked her hand away immediately “You look tired.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not eating.”

She pushed a bite around her plate. “Not hungry.”

He studied her for a moment, then signaled for the check without asking if she was finished. Always efficient. Always in control. It should have been reassuring. Instead it felt like she is escaping her father's cage just to get bound in another.

“We have the fitting at three,” he glanced at his phone. “Mother insisted on La Perla for the undergarments. Tradition, apparently.”

Elara’s fork stilled. Tradition. Code for another layer of expectation. She’d spent her life performing—quiet daughter, obedient heir....Now the role was fiancée. Soon wife. And soon, the Don's wife.

When was it ever going to be her choice?.

The chair scraped back as she stood up, lifting her handbag from the table. He offered his arm and she took it because refusing in public would've start questions she didn’t want to answer. Outside, the Vienna autumn air was still a bit sharp. His driver was already waiting in front of the restaurant, the car door already opened.

In the backseat, Alex’s phone buzzed. He answered immediately, not bothering to excuse himself.

Not like it bothered her.

Elara stared out the tinted window, watching the city slide past. She had no anticipation for the wedding dress or the wedding itself. She had no choice in it either — it was picked by Alex's mother. Everything down to the hall was chosen by her and Elara had no right to object because apparently, it was 'the' tradition in their family.

" I told you not to let anything stand out!! How come they noticed?". Alex voice had her turning to him and the first thing she noticed was how pissed he looked " I expected a meticulous job from you,Lious. You just had to fuck every single thing up, don't you ". He yelled into the phone " No, no, no. Don't do anything. Don't do shit. I'll be there in 5 minute ". he cut the call and without facing the worried Elara, he ordered the driver to stop the car.

" You drive Elara back home". he pointed to the driver before turning to address her " We'll have reschedule the appointment. Don't worry, Lucas will drive you home safely". with that, he stepped out of the car. No apology, no reassurance, just....left.

Elara blinked, staring at the now empty space.

She knew he truly had an emergency from his phonecall but he could've at least apologize, right?

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the smooth sound of the engine and she relaxed back into the chair.

At least, the fitting got pushed back a bit, right?

She closed her eyes, finally able to relax but the feeling did not last long.

" What the...." the sound of screeching tire pierced her ear and before she could prepare herself, she was swung from her seat and her head met with back of the passenger seat harshly.

Distorted, she raised her head slowly, feeling a wet liquid trickled down from her forehead " What happened". she asked the driver.

" We.....we.... we've been ambushed, Miss Voss".

Before she could reply or even make sense of his words, a knock came on her window side and she shakingly looked in the direction.

She let out a scream as her eyes met face to face with the barrel of a gun. The masked man on the other side of the car gestured her to open the door or he'll shoot.

" Uhmm....Lucas...by chance...is the window glasses....bullet proof?".

" No. But don't worry ma'am . I'm trained for situations like this. I can—". a loud 'bang' shot filled the air and for a moment, everything was calm... silent.

And then " Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh".

Elara pressed her back to the seat of the car in absolute horror. The man that had been driving her and Alex around was staring at her with lifeless eyes, blood gushing out from the hole in his head.

The car door was yanked opened, somehow and before she could even try to resist, the gun bottom was slammed on her head.

Dark dots circled around her vision and she felt hands on her, dragging her out of the car before she blanked out.