"I'm what?!" Celeste looks at her best friend with wide eyes.  "I'm not getting engaged.  Especially not today.  What the heck.  Who the hell told you I'm getting engaged?"

Celeste's mom started to become uncomfortable and was fidgeting.

Asha was exhausted from running "I heard... your dad... talking... on the phone... about..." she says each word while gasping for air. 

"Heard him talking about what? What was he saying? TELL ME!" Celeste was getting impatient.

"Let's not talk about this now.  You have no time. You have to get ready for—" her mom was panicking.

Celeste stopped her mom mid-sentence, "You knew about this? What's happening? MOMMM TELL ME THIS INSTANCE."

Both the girls have their eyes on her.  Her mom takes a deep breathe, "Yes, Asha's correct. You're getting engaged today.  Your father and I thought it's better if it was done earlier rather than later.  I'm sure the man your father chose is good for you."

Celeste's voice cracked, "Good for me?  How do you know if he's good for me?  Have you ever seem him?  Do you know anything about him?  Do you even know his name?" She was at the verge of tears. She was trying everything possible in order to not cry. 

Her mom ignored her questions, "Celestina, I'm sorry, but in this type of family, things like this is bound to happen.  You know this, I know this, and everyone that belongs to families like ours knows this.  Once a decision is made by your father, there's no going back. " She starts heading towards the door.  "Please start getting ready and look nice.  Guests are going to start arriving soon." And left the room without looking at Celeste.

Celeste stood there, speechless.  Her tears sprang free. She put her hands on her face and cried because that's all she could do.

My own parents are giving me away.  Just like that.

Asha didn't know what to say or how to make her best friend feel better because there wasn't a single thing to say that could make her feel better about an engagement she never knew was happening.  So all she did was hug her best friend as tightly as possible.

Asha put a finger under Celeste's chin and lifted her head, "Hey, you could always say no to the marriage, right?  I'm sure your parents love you enough to respect your decisions."

Celeste gave a small sad laugh.  "My dad would never, ever change his decision.  He's doing this because he gets something out of it for himself, I know it."

"Maybe the guy's cute.  That makes everything better, right?" Asha said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"If he's a 50 year old man, i'm jumping off the terrace." Celeste said giving a small smile. Both the girls laughed with all they had, not knowing how badly things are going to change in the next few hours.

One thing Celeste knew for sure though, that the moment she puts on that ring, she will be screwed and also that her life was about to become a living hell.

---------------------------------------------------------

"YOU CAN'T CATCH USSSSSSSSSS!!!" Asha was running around the house, holding Celeste's favourite autographed Justin Bieber t-shirt.  And Celeste's sister, Beatrice was running holding her favourite Bangtan Boys sweatshirt.

"BOTH OF YOU NEED TO GIVE ME BACK MY STUFF. PLEASE. OH MY GOD. DON'T MESS WITH IT. PLEASE." Celeste was screaming trying to catch up.  "That's not fair.  How am i suppose to chase two people at once. JUST GIVE ME BACK MY STUFF."

Beatrice and Asha both accidentally ran into someone while running.  Asha looks up and she gasps.  He was pretty tall with dark hair and light blue eyes.  He has a built body which could be seen through the outlines of his suit and his jawline is sharp.  Asha and Beatrice were visibly drooling.  There was also a guy standing beside him with similar features. Except he had greenish grey eyes and looked a bit younger.

Asha snaps out of her trance and starts stuttering "I-uh, i'm sorry.  I didn't see you there.  I, um. Sorry..."

He reaches out and grabs both the t-shirt and the sweatshirt, which makes Beatrice jump.

Celeste comes running in, "GUYS, CAN YOU PLEASE GI—" and shuts her mouth when she realized that they have a situation.

Beatrice and Asha quickly walked back to Celeste and stood behind her.

Asha whispers to Celeste, "Both of them are hella eye candy material.  Do you know them?"

Celeste shakes her head, still unable to take her eyes away from the older looking male.  Oddly, he was staring back at her too.

"Good luck getting your stuff back, sis" Beatrice whispers.

Celeste breaks their little staring contest and walks up to them even though her legs felt like jelly.  While walking up to them all she could think was: What the hell do I say? Can I please have my stuff back? or Do I just wait for him to give it back.  Oh my God, I'm still in my pyjamas.  This is great, just great.  I'm about to have a mental breakdown.

She finally stopped in front of him and asked, "Could I please have my things back?" She could snatch it back but he looked too intimidating for her to just take it and leave.

First, he examined what he was holding and smirked. Then he asked her, "What's your name?"

She looked a bit confused but answered, "Celestina.  Now could you please give me my things back?"

"Aren't you a bit too old for Justin Bieber? and what the hell is a 'BTS'? he asked with that smirk still plastered on his face.  The guy that came along with him was trying really hard not to laugh.

Celeste was really good at not reacting to such things.  With a straight face, she asked again, "Could I please have my things back?"

He ignored her, "Oh, where are my manners.  My name is Luca, Luca Battaglia." 

At the sound of his name, Celeste's and Beatrice's eyes widened.  Asha was confused as hell.

Celeste's expression had satisfied Luca.  He liked to be feared.  And Celeste's expression had fear written all over it.

Celeste and Beatrice knew his name really well.  He's one of the most feared man in the world of Mafia.  Rumour has it that he can crush a man's skull with the palm of his hands.  He is known to have killed four people at once at the age of 12 and that was only his first time.  Just the thought that alone would send shivers down anyones spines.  He has killed Lord knows how many more countless people; some innocent, some not so innocent.  The horrifying stories about this man just goes on and on.  But this was the first time the sisters have seen his face.

"And this right here is my brother, Dante Battaglia." he said pointing at the man that was standing beside him.

Dante nods in our direction.  Celeste saw him trying to get a glimpse of Asha. 

Asha was a sight to take in.  She has dark hair and deep brown eyes.  Her tan skin always has a natural glowing effect and she always has her head up high.  She's an American and Indian mix.  Sometimes, Celeste felt very self-conscious around her.  She's really a breathe taking view.  It's not surpising that Dante can't keep his eyes off of her. 

Asha and Celeste met in High School.  Celeste forced her parents to put her in a public High School because private school wasn't for her.  Private schools made her feel uneasy because the kids were part of rich ganglords.  After a lot of persuading, her parents allowed her to start her freshmen year of high school in a public high school.  Celeste wasn't the type to make friends.  She was quiet and didn't socialize much.  Once in English class, they were paired up together and their ship sailed from there.  They just clicked, two of the most opposite type of people are now best friends.  Asha doesn't come from a fancy rich family.  She lives a pretty normal life.  But when Celeste couldn't lie to Asha anymore about her family, she told her what her family does for a living, Asha didn't react to it like it was something terrifying.  She oddly thought it was interesting.  Oh yeah, she's a bit crazy sometimes, which explains her reaction to Celestina's family business.

Celeste's father was walking by them and stopped to look at what was going between the two parties.  "Oh, Luca, Dante.  What a surprise.  I wasn't expecting you two until later this evening." He also didn't realize his daughter was in pyjamas.

"We were close-by already so we decided to drop by earlier. And Luca here was getting a bit anxious about what his future wife looks like."  Dante says smirking.

Luca gave Dante a hard elbow in the stomach.

The three girls' jaws drop.  Their expressions were pretty visible.  It couldn't be him... thought Celeste.

"Well, since you're here, make yourselves comfortable.  We are going to be related soon enough, might as well make yourselves at home. "  Celeste's father takes Celeste by the hand and brings her closer, "And this is my oldest daughter.  Your father must've shown you a picture of her already."

Celeste looks at her father unable to hide the shock.  "What picture? He's already seen a picture of me?"

Her father gives her the stern look.  "And the one over there," pointing at Beatrice "is my youngest daughter, Beatrice.  The one beside her is Celestina's close friend, Asha."

Luca hasn't taken his eyes off of Celeste.  He's watching her and by Celeste's horror, all she could see in his eyes are possessiveness towards her.  And that one look sent chills through her body.  She doesn't know if anyone can see it or not but she's scared out of her wits.

All Luca can think of when looking at Celeste was Mine. All Mine.

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How do you like it so far?

I know y'all are waiting for the fluffy parts but you're gonna have to wait because I need to make sure to progress the story properly. hehe. Don't hate me. ):

I might have a few errors (like present tense and past tense mix up and etc) but bear with me.  It's because i switch from my computer to my phone a lot so I get confused. LOL.

Note: BTS (also known as Bangtan Boys) is a Korean pop group.  Check them out of you like. They're dope.  I thought I'd put a hint of myself in the story. haha. ;)

Please vote and comment and stuff :)

See you next time, my kittens. 🐱