Chapter 1 Ashes From The Past: The Agreement

I thought my aunt had died or perhaps something bad had happened when I approached our house. From a distance, I could see a fleet of luxury cars with heavily armed men standing at different points; they looked terrifying. I felt my stomach grow cold as I drew closer.

It was very recently that I noticed her pacing around the house, looking out of the window; sometimes she was very absent-minded. She had nearly dipped her hand in a frying pan with heated oil while she was deep in thought; if not for my timely intervention, when I asked her what the problem was, she looked me in the eyes and asked that we run away, that we moved to another city.

"Tessa, we need to run; we need to leave this city," she had said to me, her grip firm as ever.

I could see fear in her eyes.

"Aunty Norah," I said softly, sitting next to her. "We moved here barely a year ago; I just got this new job that pays well, and I finally get to have friends; why do we need to go somewhere else?"

"You won't understand," she said, looking away.

'Then make me understand," I nudged closer. "Why do we keep running?"

"We are not running; I'm just trying to keep you safe."

"Safe from what? From whom, Is someone bothering you? We need to call the police," I had said, reaching for my phone.

"The police can't do anything. Absolutely nothing," she said.

"What is going on, Aunty? Ever since you told me my Mum died in a fire incident and dad disappeared, never to be heard from again, we have been on the run ever since. I have not made sense of anything all these while because I felt losing your twin sister to a fire outbreak must have traumatised you. I did not want to bother you with questions or anything, but now I'm old enough to know what's going on," I had said.

She slipped her hands out of mine and sighed.

"It's a long story," she said, her eyes tearing

"Start from somewhere," I said calmly.

"It all started when your dad got into a dirty business relationship with a man, and it resulted in your dad owing this man a lot of money, unknown to your dad that this monster was obsessed with your mother. He had made several advances at her, and she refused; her only crime was saying No to a billionaire and settling for a humble lettuce farmer. That man made life miserable for your parents. Every time he visited, he always took something precious. No matter how your dad pleaded, he would not listen. One cold night, while your dad was unusually away on the farm, that monster came visiting to demand his debt, Your mother was home and I was in the nursery babysitting you, He insisted that it was either your dad paid off his debt or he would kill him and have his men take turns on your mother, I had heard them arguing in the sitting room when I sneaked out with you from the back door to find your father. It's a mistake I should never have made, I should never have left my sister behind" She paused, tears pouring from her eyes.

I was too cold to comfort her; I could feel my heart racing and the warmth of my tongue vanish. "So what happened?"

"I did not see your father on the farm. I managed to hide you somewhere safe and came back to the house to find your mother, only to see the building. she paused, choked with emotion.

"In flames," she screamed.

I could hear her scream for help, but before we could get help, it was too late-she had died," she said, her voice trailing off.

"And my dad," I asked softly.

"I never saw or heard from him again till this day," she said, her voice trembling.

"So who is this man, and why is he after you and me? I mean, he succeeded in killing my parents; what does he want from us?" I asked. I tried to control my emotions at this point because I hated how this was affecting my aunt so badly.

I have learnt that the ways of the world were cold and that I had to live life like I was on a battlefield; these were tenets that I groomed myself to live by, to face every challenge head-on, but this very chilling revelation from my aunt had me wondering if I was ready for what she would say next. I watched my aunt lower her head and tried to wipe her tears with the helm of her skirt when she began to cough.

Our conversations did not continue that night; she coughed until she was gasping for air. I had helped her sit close to the widow with the curtains spread wide open for fresh air to come in; we did not talk about anything else.

I approached the entrance carefully, observing the cold, expressionless faces of these men as I walked past them. I was terrified but maintained a defiant appearance. Once I got past them, I ran into the house to meet my Aunt on her knees, in front of a man who seemed to be in his late forties. She was begging him, but the minute she saw me, she got up and asked me to run away.

"Please, my baby, just leave; I will explain everything later!" she said.

"No, Aunt, I'm not leaving you here! Why are there armed men, and who is this man?" I asked.

"Oh, there she is, finally! I thought you said she travelled, so you lied to me?" The man said with a cold smile.

My aunt turned to face him.

"Just let her be Don Pedro; she is just a child," her voice begged.

"A child? Last I remember, she just turned twenty-one; don't you dare call my wife a child."

I was beginning to get annoyed. His wife? This has got to be some sort of confusion, I said in my mind.

"Can somebody tell me what's going on? And who are you, Mr. Whatever your name is?" I sparked.

"I am your husband, and I am here to wish you a happy birthday, darling!" He said with a weird smile, handing me a black box. "I got you a gift," he added.

"I beg your finest pardon." I asked. Looking into his cold eyes.

"Is this how you accept a gift from your husband? No, thank you." He said again.

"You must be kidding! I mean, you are outrightly out of your goddamn mind!" I yelled at him.

I was losing my cool. I did not know who this man was, but I knew he was powerful from the way he talked, but he sure did not know what I was capable of. I looked around for whatever I could weaponise and found the left pair of one of my aunts rickety old cover shoes.

"Oh! She's feisty! I'm sure you didn't walk through that door with your eyes closed; one wrong move, and you will not like what happens next." He said with a kind of arrogance that drove me Mad.

"Well, you're going to see crazy if you don't get the fuck out of my house," I held the door.

"Tessa, please calm down; let me handle it." My aunt said from a corner, completely shaking.

"You should listen to your aunt, wifey." He said again. Stretching out the small black box. "Take it"

"I don't want anything from you, and today is not my birthday," I spat out with my hands crossed, staring at him cold in the eye.

I did not like him. I did not like his presence, and I did not like how frightened my aunt looked.

"Did I hear her call you Tessa?" He asked, turning to my aunt, "You changed her name to escape me, tell her what her real name is, and be quick; don't piss me off."

"Me...Melissa Lorenzo," My aunt whispered.

"I am Don Pedro Lorenzo." He said, "I am your husband."

I was caught up with words. I didn't know what to say next. This man's audacity was too much for me to take it as I stared at him in disbelief.

"In that box are the keys to your new house with an address, a car to drive you around, and your wedding ring. It's a blood diamond with a tracker; make sure you have it on at all times, I need to know your every whereabout, I was going to take you home with me today but I figured forcing you won't be deal." He said, stepping a bit closer-so close I could feel his breath on my face as he towered over me, his eyes deeply peering at me. "So be an obedient pretty little thing and do as I say; you have seventy-two hours to be in your new home, otherwise." He stopped and pulled my aunt by her arm.

I tried to protest, but my aunt told me to be quiet.

"She knows what I am capable of," he says, gesturing for me to leave the door. "I will see you in three days, wifey; take good care.".

I watched him leave, his entourage and swamp of bodyguards driving off into the street and out of sight. The idea of being married did not sit right with me, but first, I had to make sure my aunt was okay.