6. -5-
Nina
Nervousness clutched my insides as I awaited my father in his office.
He left home early, so I followed him to work, determined to ask him one last time to cancel the wedding.
I didn’t put any makeup on my face, refusing to cover the marks Sonny left.
And I also planned to show my dad the bruises on my torso.
My ribs hurt like hell, and I only hoped they weren’t broken. Tonight was too important to let pain ruin my plan.
“Hello, Dad,” I greeted him instantly as the glass door opened and he walked in, followed by Ignatio, the faithful assistant who had worked for Grandpa before.
“Hello, sweetheart. What are you doing here?” He swiftly walked around his desk and joined me before the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Lucas told me yesterday that you’re attending the party tonight. Shouldn’t you be stuck in the middle of beauty procedures?”
“I need to talk to you first,” I said, glancing at Ignatio, who discreetly disappeared outside.
“About?” Dad lifted a brow when I exhaled and moved the hair behind my ear, uncovering the tiny purple bruises on my jaw. He blinked at me, confusion written in his hard features before they lit up with realization.
“What the hell happened, Nina?” His strong voice bounced off the walls, resonating through the spacious office. The thread of hope in his tone made me think he would stop the marriage nonsense he’d started.
“Sonny Carlile attacked me,” I whispered, holding his gaze. But what I saw made my heart freeze. Disbelief flashed across my father’s dark brown eyes before hardening into anger.
“Seriously, Nina?” he hissed, his voice sharper than a knife. “What the hell is wrong with you!”
“With me?” I yelled, frantically opening the buttons on my blouse to reveal my abdomen. “Look what he did to me!”
Dad’s eyes zoomed in on the bruises, but his expression didn’t change. He stared at me like I was an alien, like he saw me for the first time and had no idea what I wanted from him.
“You don’t believe me,” I whispered, my fingers trembling as I held my blouse. I felt exposed, vulnerable, not just physically, but mentally, too. I showed him my suffering, my humiliation, yet instead of protecting me, as every father should, he chose to ignore it.
“How can I believe you when every time I needed something from you, something miraculously happened so you were stripped of your responsibilities?” he retorted, the disappointment in his eyes slashing through my soul.
“Broken bones, pierced thigh, stitches on your forehead,” he recited only a fraction of the injuries I suffered on the training grounds.
“Horse attack, infection that almost killed you, and don’t forget about the car crash! ”
“Those were all accidents!” I opposed, barely stopping the tears from falling. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. He didn’t need to know that he was shattering my heart into pieces.
“Yeah, silently supported by your grandfather,” he pointed out angrily.
“You need to wake up, Nina! Giovanni isn’t here anymore to defend your bratiness or save you from your obligations!
” Dad’s voice rose dangerously high, piercing my eardrums. My head buzzed with the surge of emotions, and his yelling only intensified the helplessness seeping into my bones.
“He got you into this! Everything would’ve been okay if he just wasn’t a fucking greedy asshole! ”
“And you’re different?” I shouted, covering my shaking body. I knew it was a terrible idea to show him the bruises, but a tiny part of me believed that he had some protective, fatherly instinct.
“I’m fighting for our lives, Nina!” He slammed his hand on his desk, like he did often when he needed to vent his frustration.
I never witnessed him hurting anyone. I wasn’t sure if he knew how to use a gun.
He loathed the mafia world, but now he didn’t have a choice.
As the heir, it was his job to keep his family safe.
I understood it. I really did, but he should care about me first, before anybody else. And he refused. That hurt the most.
“No! You’re sacrificing mine to save yours,” I snapped, and with that said, I stomped away. There was no reason to stay and fight a losing battle. Dad yelled at me to return. He even called security to stop me, but I knew how to escape the building unnoticed.
Grandpa had trained me for moments like this. He taught me to observe, stay patient, and keep my head when everyone else panicked. But his plan crumbled.
First, Sonny would never leave me to rule. He wanted my money, influence, and position. He made it clear yesterday. My status was the only thing that mattered to him. At least, I had hope he wouldn’t kill me. But it surely wouldn’t stop him from destroying me.
And second, training was nothing like a real fight. My focus was split between Sonny and Dorian, and my entire plan depended on coincidence and charm. Grandpa wouldn’t have approved.
He often instilled in me that I had to know my opponent, uncover his weaknesses, and use them correctly.
Yet I didn’t have much time. Lucas found everything possible on Dorian Zhumagulov, but even when the information kept me intrigued, they were useless.
I needed him to marry me, not to perform surgery.
“Fuck, be serious,” I whispered under my breath, combing my long hair before the ornamental mirror in my room.
I didn’t need Dorian to marry me; I wanted him to.
I was dying to be his wife, knowing he would belong only to me.
I dreamed of spending romantic evenings with him when he would ask about my day and massage my feet.
We would eat delicious food and enjoy each other’s company.
Or we would attend a noble, pompous party and he would show me off with pride.
I would smile at the envious faces who would whisper behind my back about what a lucky bitch I was.
Those fantasies consumed me ever since I fell asleep surrounded by Dorian’s pictures.
I knew my obsession grew to unhealthy proportions, but I couldn’t stop.
I downloaded his photos to my phone, followed him on social media, and for the first time in my life woke up at four in the morning just to watch him run.
Two bodyguards were with him, so approaching him was impossible, but I at least saw him. It soothed me, calmed me down, and I couldn’t wait to meet him at the party.
“Hello, hello!”
My friend Andrea’s voice cut through my daydreaming, and I looked at her in the mirror. She ran to me, hugging me from behind while Dahlia, my other friend, closed the door.
“I’m so happy you called us,” Andrea said, squeezing me for dear life. Her short red hair tickled my cheek, and her hazel eyes gleamed with excitement. “We’ll transform you into the hottest chick at the event.”
“That’s a promise.” Dahlia smiled, putting down the huge black bags.
She stood on my other side, kissing my cheek.
Her long blonde hair was tied in a messy bun on top of her head, underlining her high cheekbones and grass-green eyes.
“Lucas told us there is a man in the picture. You’ll blind him, baby. ”
I sighed. Of course, he couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. Still, they were the best in their field, and would surely fulfill my makeup and hair expectations. My dream man wouldn’t be able to resist me. Tonight would be a breakthrough. I could feel it in my bones.