The scent of freshly watered roses still clung to my fingers when I stepped back inside. My sandals were muddy, my dress a little wrinkled, but I didn't care. Gardening was the only place I felt calm, hidden from the chaos of the world my father ruled in silence, where the whispers of my family couldn't reach me. Out there, surrounded by blooms, I could almost pretend I belonged.
But the illusion shattered the moment I reached the doorway in the dining hall.
''marriage?'' My mother's voice rang with mock outrage. ''Away from home? A different country? She's only 19!'' My chest tightened. Marriage? A different country? My gaze darted from face to face searching for answers.
''Dad…what's going on?'' My voice trembled, but I forced the words out. Every eye turned to me. My sisters exchanged looks, feigning horror but a bit of jealousy. My mother clutched her pearls as though the thought was unbearable. And my father…he wore the perfect mask of reluctance. To anyone else, it might have looked like they were fighting for me
But I knew better.
They weren't horrified. They weren't shocked. Beneath the practiced expressions, I saw it, the glint of satisfaction, the small curl of relief, except my sisters who couldn't seem to take their eyes off the stranger. After 19 years of enduring the burden of me, the daughter too beautiful, too quiet, too…wrong with a darkness brewing inside, they were finally free.
And then there was him.
The Stanger in black silk, lounging at the head of the table like a wolf who had already cornered his prey. His gaze slid to me, deliberate, piercing, making my skin crawl and my heart pound in confusion. I wanted to shrink back, to stay silent, to remain the obedient daughter who never raised her voice. But the temper I always buried deep stirred restlessly, like the fire trapped beneath glass. One day, it whispered, I will not stay hidden.
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I know what you're thinking…your regular mafia fantasy, right? Well, you're not wrong. But not briefed enough. Because my life was about to turn into a living nightmare.
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His eyes never left me, sharp and merciless, as though he already knew something I didn't. And in that moment, I realized whatever decision was being made here tonight, it would change everything.