Valentina

"It's a hundred degrees outside." Nico pointed towards the well-lit sun outside the window that made everyone perspire. "Why are you wearing a scarf like a muffler?"

I could feel the intensity of his stare burning me as I continued writing. The accounts were being transferred from us to the Moralez and I was ensuring everything went smoothly. It was crucial for the plan- my plan- for the businesses to be merged.

Nico stayed back to help me instead of returning to Spain to conduct his business. Although that's the justification he told everyone, I knew the real reason. Before my wedding, we fought and have barely spoken since. Though Nicolas was a tough man, with me, he was never able to continue the fight. Making up was always his thing.

Checking the ledger, I ignored his comment. However, he decided to press on the matter till I cracked.

"Talk to me, dammit." He waited, towering over me and casting a shadow on the books I ran my finger through.

"I wanted to feel warm."

He moved closer, his cold palm landed over my forehead. Not a doctor, yet he tried to play one. His other hand took my wrist to check the pulse while I sat still, awaiting his diagnosis.

"You don't have a fever," he said, eyebrows bridging upwards.

"Ohh, really. And here I thought, I was gonna die of a spiked temperature." I laughed off his concern, concentrating on the ledger in front of me.

The scarf wasn't for any warmth. It was to hide the war scars; ones which Antonio and I inflicted upon each other. The collateral damage due to an arranged marriage.

Nico's hand travelled across my neck, unwrapping the scarf. He was faster than me. Before I could protest or far from it, hold back his hand, he stood witness to the bruises I meticulously tried to hide.

"Who did this to you?" His voice spiked with rage, heat radiated off his body. I'd never witnessed an angry Nicolas before and after today, I never wanted to either. He was always the calm-headed man while I was the hothead, the messed-up woman in the family.

Today, our roles reversed.

Witnessing me assaulted by a man who vowed to protect me was too much for Nico's fragile heart. Before my words could pacify his reddened face, his fluttering nostrils or his heaving chest, he walked out of the room, teeth-gritting so loud, I felt bad for his dentures.

Pacing behind him, my hoarse voice couldn't get any louder, trying to tame the galloping horse.

Nico dashed towards the hallway leading to Antonio's study. Wooden carvings of ancient Mayan and Hindu gods decorated the face of the door. Its brass handles were darker even under the tiny chandelier than hung near the door.

Fisting his hand, Nico drummed at it. "Open you, goddammit." Louder and louder, the thumping resonated along with his guttural voice.

The doors creaked open. Seated behind the heavier structure was the man I was forced to call my husband. Alejandro stood guard at the door, peering at Nico who resembled like he ran a marathon. Nico panted while speaking, words fumbling around like he suddenly morphed into a baby.

"I need to... to see him... Antonio."

Alejandro looked over his shoulders, taking permission before turning back and flinging open the door completely. He moved back to reveal Antonio's silhouette that sat at the far end of the room under a dim-lit table light.

Walking in, Nico paced towards the side where Antonio sat. I stood at the edge of the entrance, a mute spectator to the play that unfolded. Alejandro stood beside me, tipping his head to greet me. His eyes grazed up and down my bruised neck. Recoiling his soft, caring expression, he turned his attention back to the table where his master sat.

A loud thud drew my attention ahead. Nico's hands rested on the table. He was towering over Antonio who barely gave any attention to his presence.

"What have you done to her?" Nico's voice echoed through the room, pricking my skin, my ears. As much as I appreciated his concern, I was worried for Nico. He was revealing his weakness. Weak people could be controlled easily.

Idiota.

Antonio placed his pen into the book's gutter, closing it. He sighed, peering at it as if waiting for the book to accept his pen's offering. He shut his book- thup, and pulled his head up, peering at the figure hovering over him. Patience and calm wrapped around Antonio like a second skin.

When he tried getting up, clutching both the armrests and distributing his weight evenly before standing, I knew his condition. Antonio was injured in our struggle. I ensured that he leant his lesson-never to touch me without my permission. A lesson he'd remember till his death.

Antonio got up, gritting his teeth. His skin, taut, unwrinkled for expressions. Nico moved in parallel to Antonio, fuming and almost turning his tan skin red. Such a contrast between these men and their expressions. One calm as the sea, other turbulent as a quake. Antonio ignored Nico as he walked over to the brown leather sofa that matched the color of the brass statutes present everywhere in the room.

"I asked you something," Nico shouted back before aligning himself in front of Antonio's sight. "You answer me, dammit..."

"I didn't do anything to her that wasn't needed." The demon's reply, justifying his actions. Antonio didn't have to be loud to state his point. His expression and demeanor- stoic-answered it louder than pitched tone,

The next few seconds blurred as Nico pulled out a gun from the coat vest, pointing the barrel close to Antonio's forehead. My steps fell back in reflex. I didn't know of his plan. Hell, I didn't know he had a gun. Had I known, I wouldn't have sent him on this suicide mission.

Antonio sat still, smiling. All my time growing up, I remember my father's words. A man who can smile while peering down the barrel of a gun should be feared the most. Delivering a hard shove on Nico's shoulder blade, Antonio pushed my twig of a cousin who fell back.

Pathetic.

Alejandro clasped his arms under Nico's shoulder, saving his fall. I moved and took the gun in my hand. Delivering a tight head nod, Antonio permitted me to approach the Waterloo that was my surrounding. I placed the gun on his unfurled palm and moved a step back. Nico was trapped between Alejandro's big arm and chest, submitting to his fate.

Pointing a gun at a family member itself resulted in turmoil around here; more so if one did that to the King.

Inspecting the gun before tossing it on the sofa, Antonio walked towards the trapped man and stooped to his level. Although his face flinched in pain from his bent position, he continued talking. "You do know what'll happen to you now?...Huh?"

Nico didn't respond. He simply tapped out of Alejandro's arm and was set free. Drawing a deep breath, he wheezed. "I know, an apology won't suffice." He looked at me before continuing. "She's my sister. I couldn't bear to know that she was hurt. You'd know if you had one..."

I didn't know what Nico intended on doing but whatever it was, it clearly worked. He must be one of those lucky few to show a gun at the cartel's head and still retain his own. Nico clearly had a guardian angel beside him for miracles of this level.

"I'm letting you go because you're family," Antonio straightened from his bent-knee position, clasping his arms over his chest. A clear power move. "But when you'll reach Spain, we'll contact you."

Ahh. And the curtains unveiled. Nico wasn't let go easily. He now owed a huge favor to Antonio, one which he cannot refuse.

Pulling himself up, Nico nodded in silence, clearing his throat and wiping his sweaty face. He placed a hand over mine, nudging me to walk out.

"You're not dismissed... yet." Antonio's voice boomed again, arresting our steps.

I turned around to see the command was for me. After Alejandro walked out with Nico, I waited inside the study. Antonio walked back to his original place and fell back onto the chair with a loud, painful groan.

"How is your neck?" He asked.

"How are your balls?" I answered.

Even though his intense gaze didn't match mine, Antonio conveyed his recovery through a nod. Awaiting for an apology, when nothing emerged from his side, I began walking back towards the door.

"Did you really burn it?" His voice, soft yet resounding, broke my steps. Although Elena's portrait was kept safe, Antonio would never know about it.

"Yes..." after contemplating further, I answered. "You need to move on."

Before my reply could reach him, he tossed aside the neatly stacked papers on the table onto the floor. "How dare you!"

His anger burnt my skin. If he could, he would have set me on fire just to feel satisfied. Knowing his sweet-talk was a ruse to get information about the portrait, subsided frustration seared through every cell in my existence. I wasn't scared of the demon even though I was an eye-witness to the wrath he inflicted a couple of years ago- charring people to death. Watching them go in flames.

"Don't you dare shout..." My voice peeked, raining down on us after hitting the chandelier-lit roof. Antonio's forehead crumped, his lips parted before he pursed them together. "If you didn't want the portrait to be burned, you shouldn't have invited another wife into the house."

His legs supported him again as he walked towards me, shoving me against the wall. Our eyes matched, squaring one other and unwilling to back down. Heat radiated, bouncing off each other's bodies and faces. I would kill him one day. Those words pacified me from stabbing him now.

"I never wanted another wife," Antonio growled. He placed his arms on both sides of the wall, trapping me inside. Bending forward, his hot, panting breath hit the nape of my neck. "You're not my wife. Never will be."

"As if I'm dying to be yours." Anger flared inside of me as I recalled the time he almost pimped me off to his brother. "I know I'm not your wife. I am just a fucking cow you bought in here to be inseminated... by your brother. For you to claim the heir. Isn't it?"

Antonio's eyes widened. The cage he created, trapping me, fell upon the realization that his hired womb knew the truth. His plan was unveiled. His crumpled face, wavering gaze confirmed he was searching for words. Justification.

Walking away, Antonio ran a hand over his face while I erected myself off the wall. He turned to me, eyes suddenly dripping with kindness-ones I'd hardly seen. "Elena is irreplaceable."

I nodded in affirmation. I wasn't here to replace her memories or her legacy. Elena was his first and last love and I intended to keep it like that. I would never disrespect the dead; the very reason to even preserve her photo.

A semblance of what felt like a crooked smile reflected over his face as he traced his steps towards the messy desk. His tone dipped, head too. "I hope you won't tell Maria about it."

I nodded again. This wasn't the school for me to bitch about him. He was a grown-up and so was I. We two had our issues to deal with without playing tell the mother.

"If I wanted to, I'd have by now?"

Antonio's brows lifted. "What do you want in return?" Quick on his feet, he played his cards to seal the deal.

I'd waited long for this opportunity. The golden moment. "I want to be a part of the business." He scoffed, nodding his head and uttering a peal of laughter in its wake. He wasn't ready for what I was asking but he didn't know, I wasn't asking. I was ordering. "I'm not done yet, Antonio." I continued, "I want Gabriel in my room, every night."

Antonio's moss-laden eyes widened as he heard me making demands. He didn't expect me to ask for a man, no less his loyal guard. He must have expected me to demand some clothes, jewels, a trip or worse, a mansion on an island with the liberty to do what I wanted. His agape mouth was the confirmation of his shock and surprise. His slow crawling smirk confirmed, he was about to counter.

"Women doesn't take part in-"

"I know women don't." I walked over, reducing our distance. "But you're going to be the King."

Antonio wasn't chanting something that my father or Nico hadn't said before. Sliding my arms up towards his collar, I straightened his tie. His eyes scanned every move of mine. "And a King can make new rules, Antonio," I whispered, drawing a crooked smile over my face. One I knew would seal the deal.

"What would I get in return?"

I expected that question. I wasn't stupid to know, this was a barter.

"An heir." And with my answer, the deal was sealed.

~

Dearies

Liked the chapter? Let me know in the comments..

I would love to hear from you all, your criticism and comments on the character and their quirks

Happy reading

Love

S