Alejandro

The more days pass, the more we moved away from the day it all began. The Spanish inquisition, as Agustin lightly puts it. The day I kidnapped Sofia for a deal with her brother, Santos.

What stood as a barter became the noose that rounded up on my neck. Sofia was engaged to Nico, yet my brother and Val decided against it. She was thrust onto me as if I was supposed to protect her from everything.

I recall her childhood. Those times when the Salazars used to come for a vacation to our beach house. She used to follow me like a lost puppy. And now, here I was, getting married to her. The same woman who was everything that I detested.

Weak, winy.

I don't understand why Valentina would decide on me when a perfectly capable and loving Agustin was ready to take her as his wife. I never liked Valentina for her intrusive ways of getting me to do her dirty work. And now this.

A marriage just to keep Santos Salazar happy. Why was nobody considering what I wanted? All I ever asked for was nobody to interfere in my ways of working. But apparently, that was too much to ask.

Months have passed since the day we ended the ordeal with the Castros. Since then Antonio and Santos have remained inseparable.

"Now... now." Agustin walked into the room. His eyes fell on my tie. Smirking he adjusted it. "You look handsome as ever, brother. I am so happy for you."

"I know." Sadly, my happiness ends today. "Is everything ready?"

He nodded. "Someone is eager to walk down the aisle."

"I just want to get it over with." I placed a hand over Agustin's shoulder but he moved back. "What's the matter?"

Looking at the maroon carpeted floor, he spoke in a lowered tone. "Nothing. Just that Sofia is a good girl so..."

I pulled up his droopy shoulder. "Last chance. I can run away and you can hide behind a mask or something and get married."

He chuckled. Although his smile returned, I knew well when he faked it. And he was faking it to the best of his capability now.

A knock on the door turned us to new entries in the room. Antonio and Val walked in. She appeared flushed than usual. Her growl resonated inside the room when her legs trembled at the point where the tip of her heel met the carpet.

"Get out, get married," she shouted at me. "I want to get out of those freaking shoes."

The heel she stood in were like bamboos. Thicker at the top and thinner at the base. Mamá and Sofia followed the usual process that was set with Val. They went shopping for wedding stuff and whatnots. I remember walking in the hall where Sofia sat in between the rows of heels she stacked up. The red ones were picked by Val, which now with her swollen feet seems to be killing her.

"Why don't you wear shoes instead?" I offered.

Silence befell the room. Antonio and Agustin whispered a soft ouch before moving back, one step at a time. I looked at their odd behavior before turning to Val, only to witness her fuming. Val looked like a parched being, craving for blood. Her peering eyes and heaving chest weren't as intimidating as was her fluttering nostrils.

What did I do?

"Did you call me fat?" She growled. The room was shaking with her wrath except for the corner where my siblings stood, giggling.

"No. I asked you to wear shoes. I didn't call you fat, Val."

In a blink, Val moved close to me. I was sure she was possessed by something demonic, the way she looked. No amount of whatever shade of pink she wore mellowed her flaring red tone. She held my lapel and pulled me lower to her level.

"Never call a pregnant woman fat," she growled, yet again.

"When did I-"

The door creaked. Val released me. Mamá walked in, watching my mismatched alignment of shirt and coat. "Agustin, I asked you to ensure everything was perfect." She fixed my coat to fall in line with the shirt. "Now, perfect." Smiling, she patted my face.

I was happy, knowing the family was more invested in the marriage than I ever would be. I wasn't even sure if I even considered this a marriage to begin with. It was a transaction where the Salazars got the better end of the deal. I was left with a wife I didn't need.

"He called me fat." Val's words broke my state of reverie. I looked at her and back at mother who reflected her expressions. Red.

"I didn't-"

"Call her fat." My brothers chimed in, finishing my sentence. Although the room echoes with laughter, I knew this was the rare times when the family would be altogether without the intruder that I was made to marry.

Walking out, mamá shouted her instructions in a straight sentence before gasping for air. She walked away, accompanied by papa. Antonio and Agustin checked my attire before walking out. I looked one last time in the mirror, mimicking a smile when the door rattled again.

Gabriel walked in, eying me. "You are still here?" he asked.

"Leaving now," I said, adjusting my tie which never seemed to stay in place just like my mind. Gabriel moved close, bringing his hands that remained behind him. In one, held a package addressed to me. The sender mentioned only one alphabet, E. "Who is it from?" I asked.

He shrugged, placing it on the table and walking back. "The ceremony is starting soon, Al," he reminded me before disappearing outside the door.

I tore the pale covering and pulled out papers that stayed safely nestled in the package. My eyes fell off its socket, reading the things that were written in red and black. I checked the documents and read and reread them before placing them neatly inside my case.

The information I read floated in my mind and pricked inside my skin. It boiled up like lava, coursing its way up to my throat, souring my mouth before receding into my chest, heating and souring the place that held my heart.

I walked out of my room, dialing up my informant. If what I knew was true, then it needed verification.

The whole length of the aisle, I trotted without a smile or a nod at anyone. After what I read, it was impossible for me to even fake a smile. Standing at the altar, I saw my brothers grin ear to ear, watching me and the crowd. I turned to Antonio; my best man.

"Why couldn't I too do it like you? A simple church wedding?" I asked.

He patted my shoulder, "because I don't want you to make the mistakes that I did."

"As if." I looked over to Agustin whose face dimmed with every passing second. The tune for the bride's arrival made me turn to its epicenter.

Walking down the aisle, I saw veiled Sofia gliding down with her brother. She seemed to be smiling from behind her veil. What was she brimming about? Her steps were slow and all I wanted at this point was to walk down the rest, push a ring in her finger and get it over with.

When she approached me, the crowd murmured. Antonio pressed my shoulder, whispering. "Take her hand."

I grabbed it from her brother and made her walk the last step. She softly gasped but smiled back at her brother. The entire ceremony passed in a blur. My mind was etched on the phone call which I desperately awaited.

Kiss the bride, I heard and pecked her cheek. Her eyes stared blankly at me. Knowing there was no love or affection from my end, she still decided to make it work. She must be one of those girls who think it would be possible to change a man, mold him into the way they prefer. Her mistake.

What Sofia failed to realize was I wasn't going to change for her or anyone else. She was trying to mold fire. All she would get is being burnt.

With the sun settling down on the horizon, we walked back as the crowd cheered for us. Holding her fragile hand in mine, I took it till we crossed the walls where nobody could see it. When I walked ahead, she called out.

"Where are you going? The reception..."

"Don't," I trotted back towards her. This little game was to be put to an end today itself. "Don't tell me what to do."

"But..." Sofia stuttered. Her tear-filled eyes watched me. My insides revolted, watching her act the weakling that she always was.

"Don't do this now. Wipe that dam away and act like you are happy."

"Are you? She retaliated. "Are you happy, Al?"

I scoffed, "If I wasn't married to you, I would have."

Walking away, I heard sobs floating across to me before fading into the air. There was no reason for me to be angry at the girl. She was following the instructions that were asked of her. Who I was mad at, were the members of my family.

The family I considered to be my support, my backbone. But in the light of today's revelation, I think there are a few things that I would think about before calling them, my family. My support.

~~

What do you think Alejandro found? Any guesses?

Are you all excited for Book 2? 😎

~~~ The King's Executioner ~~~
👑🤴🔫💪👸👑

❤️Book 1 of the Cartel Chronicles is hereby successfully completed... See you all in Alejandro and Sofia's journey in Book 2 ❤️

The End