Twenty Five Years Later..."I wouldn't call it a bad idea. Stupid yes but bad, no. So are you in or what?" I narrowed my eyes at Chris. We met in an interesting way. He  pretended to be a bodyguard sent by the St Patrick Group just to get away from his father. It seems that is a plan we have in common; to get away from our parents. "I think I will I have an answer after this party." "Well Mr Bale, after you." He gestured to the open doors leading into the wedding reception. "Those men don't look pleased. They will probably carry you into the party if you take a second longer." "It wouldn't be the first time." I laughed. The only reason I'm here is because my mother sent her bodyguards to get me. They always manhandle me because I put up a fight. But today, I fully complied. I don't need to be embarrassed in front of people by being carried in like a c

Marianna's POVPreparations have been on going all week and today is the day. The day has come. There is excitement in the air! Giovanni Balotelli's only child is getting engaged to a wealthy man. I can't express the excitement a bride to be should feel  This excitement that everyone around me is feeling, hasn't rubbed off on me. In it's place, anxiety. I feel plenty of that and my heart is heavy. Court is supposed to come for me tonight. She says she has a plan but when did Court ever have a plan? Often she wings it and it mostly ends badly. She's the kind to plan at that moment when something needs to be done. I can't believe my freedom rests in her hands!I stayed by the window of my bedroom in the red dress watching out for some sort of a sign. Where is she? Did she change her mind? I hope not!"Marianna, stop trying to figure out an escape plan. You're not getting away from this.""

Helena's POVAlexander Christos. He's one of those people who leave a mark too significant to forget or get over. Twenty five years of not seeing him yet his memory feels like yesterday. It feels like the day he met Nate, held him and then left us. It's so fresh in my memory I relive it every second. It's not the good memories I remember. It's the painful one where he walked away and it hurt like hell. Nathaniel has never met him; at least not at an age he would remember Alexander. No one has ever mentioned him. Castle and I agreed not to. Yet even with all that distance between them, he turned out almost like him. I find it haunting to be around Nathaniel sometimes. His company was enjoyable when he was just a boy. He was easy to raise. He had an abundance of opinions but he was agreeable to my methods. When he became a man, he became difficult. He does what he wants, when he wants. Alexand

Christopher's POV"Who is the brunette?" Both of turned out heads to look at the French royal in the back seat. It's not my first time being a chauffeur to some royal. I have done that in my efforts to get away from the Major. Everytime he has sent a bodyguard to do a job in another country, I take their place. It's a amazing what a little blackmail can do. I'll go anywhere even to Timbuktu just to run away from the Major. All this just to get away from my father. He's a bully! But this time, I'm not the Royal's bodyguard or chauffeur. He's Frank's friend. He ditched his bodyguards earlier in the day and we have been tourists since then. "Which one?" Frank inquired. It better not be Marianna. Men are preying on her innocence. There's a measure of naivety in her brown eyes. It's like someone seeing the world for the first time after being sheltered all her life. She

Nathan's POV"You were not drowning, were you?"A crooked smile settled on my face. I stood beside the man looking at the menu written on a chalkboard by the side of the food truck. My mother never eats street food. Everything she eats is either made by a gourmet chef or is from a five start hotel and nothing less. It's humbling to see a man like Alexander Christos buying food from a food truck surrounded by commoners. There's a high end restaurant across the street but he's here instead. A simple cap, a v-neck t-shirt, pants and a pair of sneakers seem to be his favorite look. He doesn't stand out but he blends in well till he's hard to notice. It makes me wonder how many times I have walked past him and probably never noticed him. "Nope.""I swear if you were a child I would discipline you." He glared at me. He expressed so much with that one gaze. What kind of father would he have be