5. Alessia
CHAPTER FIVE
ALESSIA
A fter rejecting my outfit four times, we finally left my apartment after I put on a pair of jeans and a low-cut shirt with black pumps. He complained that my shirt was too low, but when I told him to fuck off, he surprisingly just yanked me out the door. Regardless of how many times I said I didn’t want to go, he ignored every objection. My parents agreed to making this a two-month trial marriage. They promised me that if it ended in divorce, they’d do it quietly and no one would find out. While I’m not happy that I still have to marry the fucker, I am happy that they are agreeing to let me out of it in the end. I never wanted to get married just to get divorced, but for some reason, Astor and I marrying each other seems to be life or death to our parents.
I turn to him and he glances at me. “What?”
“You know my parents agreed to my two-month trial proposal, right?”
“Hm.”
“They said that after two months of dealing with you and your shitty ways, they’ll let me go free of you. I’m not happy I’ll have to add divorced on my impressive fucking resume, but at least I won’t have to deal with you anymore.”
He pulls the car over to the side of the road and I lean back against the glass as he turns his dark eyes to me. A chill runs down my spine and I unintentionally hold my breath. Astor has this darkness with him, this power that radiates off him. And right now he looks like he just snapped. It’s a power that demands attention, a power that shows that you don’t want to fuck with him. Too bad I’m just as powerful.
“Listen up, Alessia , since you’re so set on this two-month agreement, let me promise you something. I promise that when I’m done with you, you won’t remember who the fuck you are. I’ll spend every day making you wish that your father made you marry someone fifteen years older than you to use as their whore. I’ll spend every day making you wish that you were fucking dead instead of married to me. You think you hate me now? Oh, malyshka, you just wait. Now, shut the fuck up, your voice is giving me a headache.”
I’m completely dumbfounded. My body tenses at his words as they roll off his tongue. He doesn’t even give me a chance to respond before he’s jerking us back on the road. He thinks he’s won this one, but he has no idea that he’s met his fucking match.
Instead of going to the bar I wanted to earlier in the night, even if it was Astor’s bar, we went to his choice. The club we’re at is one of the most elite clubs around Redcrest. It takes knowing a lot of important people to get in here, so it doesn’t surprise me when Astor walks right to the front and is welcomed in. The bouncer looks at me and gives me a nod as I walk in behind Astor. Astor grabs my hand and the surprise doesn’t give me a chance to yank away before he’s pulling me deep into the club to the staircase that leads to the VIP section. I look around and note the bar at the end of the staircase. I’ll definitely be needing that . When we get to the top, we’re met with another security guard. Astor gives him a nod and he lifts the rope as I turn around and look at the bar again. Astor pulls me to the couch and all but throws me down onto it. I glare at him, but he ignores me. I haven’t said a word to him since he told me my voice was giving him a headache. Prick .
“Ast! Fucking finally, what the fuck took you so long?” He glances over at me and I push my head up, ignoring his stare. “Is that Alessia? Fuck, when’d she get so hot?” Astor punches Justin in his stomach and he laughs as he grabs his midsection.
“Fuck! It was a joke. Why is she here?” I zone in on their conversation, acting uninterested, when really I want to know why the fuck I’m here, too.
Astor pulls Justin close and whispers something in his ear. I take the opportunity to beeline for the bar. If he thinks I’m going to sit here and deal with him sober, he’s fucking stupid. The security guard glances at me and then to Astor, who still hasn’t noticed I’ve left.
“Lift the fucking rope before I knee you in the balls.”
He chuckles and shakes his head, lifting the rope. I glance over my shoulder and see Astor as he catches my backside walking down the steps. Justin hits his shoulder before he throws his head back and laughs.
I find a spot at the bar and wave down the bartender. “What can I get you?” he asks.
“Gin and tonic, please.” He nods at me and I turn around, placing my elbows on the counter as I watch everyone around me dancing to the beat.
“Here you go.” I grab the drink, taking a long swig of it. It burns my throat and I welcome the sensation when I feel a shadow hovering over me. I know it’s not Astor, because it doesn’t smell like him.
How pathetic is that, to know the scent of the man you claim to want nothing to do with? I turn around and face a tall man that I would probably be into if I weren’t so hung up on Astor, who I’m shocked hasn’t run after me yet.
“Now tell me, what is something as good looking as you doing at this bar alone?” I tilt my chin up and look past him towards the balcony. I make eye contact with Astor and grin when I see him gripping the railing so tight, that even in the darkness of the club I can see the strain.
“Who says I’m alone?” I retort. He chuckles and looks at the bartender with a nod.
“Let me get you a drink.” I open my mouth to object when a dark voice cuts in. “She already has a drink.”
I roll my eyes and turn towards the bar as Astor and the man sizes each other up.
“ Astor . I should’ve known,” the tall man replies.
“Yeah, Rex, you should’ve.” Astor grinds his teeth and looks at me as I throw the rest of my drink back, waving to the bartender for another. Rex walks off and Astor slides next to me, ordering himself a vodka. “Getting drunk, malyshka ?”
“Will you stop calling me that?” He glares at me before leaning in and whispering into my ear. His lips run across the bottom of my earlobe and a shiver crawls down my back.
“I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want to call you, get your drink and bring your ass back up the stairs, if I see you talking to anyone else—what I do to them will be on you.” He throws back his vodka and slams the glass down, as he walks away from me.
Game. Fucking. On.
“Did you see Astor tonight? Fuck, that’s a tree I still have yet to climb.”
“Oh, I climbed it and trust me, it’s worth every fucking splinter you’ll get.”
“He came with someone tonight, though; I think she’s the mafia princess. He was holding her fucking hand….what’s she got that I don’t?”
The girls in the bathroom start laughing and I inwardly roll my eyes. I can’t understand how he can tell me who I can and can’t talk to when he’s fucked half of the girls at Redcrest. I can’t even use the bathroom in the club without hearing about his dick.
I exit when I hear them leave, not wanting to show my face that I’m sure is a deep shade of red after hearing that. Looking at myself in the mirror, I’m confused about who's looking back at me. There’s no way I’m letting Astor push me around like he’s the ruler of me. I am my own person and always have been. I’ve made my own rules since I knew what rules were. And there’s no way that at twenty-two that I’m going to let him push me into a corner.
The music is intoxicating and my hips start to move to the beat as I wander onto the dance floor. Even though I can’t see him, I can feel his eyes on me. I know he’s probably grinding his teeth down into his gums at this point. He probably can’t believe I didn’t follow his orders .
The beat changes and I expertly move my hips side to side, throwing my hands up as I sway. I’ve always been a good dancer, and today, I’ve never been happier to be able to show that. I’m in my zone when a set of hands wrap around my waist.
I smile to myself, because I know it’s game time.