Chapter 4 Ceathair

I raise an eyebrow not quite understanding what Elon is getting at but whatever it is won't be good especially for our parish priest but us. He did ask if I liked Bella. I mean what kind of stupid question was that anyway? Of course I like her I have since I first seen her five years ago but I was eighteen at the time and she was thirteen now she's eighteen and all woman I knew there is a five year gap between us but something is growing between us every time I'm with her it feels more platonic than just a friendship.

"No no you can't take her away from me!" He all but shouts.

I look curiously at the both of them wondering how this will play out and who will win.

"You signed an agreement pastor, now you have to uphold your agreement to my deceased brother."

"He's dead you can't possibly still think the contract means anything?" He says angrily.

Elon's eyes are full of anger and hatred for the man sitting opposite us. How could he be so heartless towards the brother we lost? What kind of priest is he?

"You're grating on my last nerve pastor one day you will show your true colours to your followers but we know the truth you heartless bag of shite.." he says coldly before grinning sadistically if I know anything about Ciarán has put something in place of anything happened to him before this dumb shite singed his life away. "You see pastor that's where you're wrong Ciarán put a clause into the contract that if anything happened to him before the five years were up I was to take over the contract until either you paid in full by Bella's either nth or Bella would marry Fionn once she turns eighteen. Your signature is on the contract along with Ciarán's and mine. So, you see pastor, you are screwed either way cause you're the dumbest shite I have even known for not reading through the contract thoroughly before signing your not the first but the dumbest. So you see, pastor you've lost either way. You have two weeks to get fifty six thousand euros or we will take Belle and she will marry Fionn." He looks at me. "Come on brother, we've got a lot to do in the next few weeks."

I nod speechless and we both pull ourselves up off the sofa. "Thanks for your hospitality pastor, we'll see you to make the funeral arrangements."

We head out of the house and I'm still in too much shock to say anything.

"Are you okay Fionn?"

I snap out of my thoughts and look at Belle. "Marry me."

Belle

What? Marry him?

I look at him gobsmacked. He can't possibly be thinking straight. I'm not even eighteen yet and he's proposing. "Y...o...ou want to marry me?"

He nods and smiles. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to."

"We barely know each other."

"True."

"You're five years older than me."

"True also."

"What's in it for you?"

He looks at me confused.

"What do you get out of all of this Fionn."

"You."

"That's not what I'm talking about. Somethings going on your brother came around our house the other day and don't say you didn't cause I saw you waiting outside for him."

He sighs. "Don't be mad at me though I like the idea of us being together forever this was not the way I wanted it to be and I hope you believe me when I say it wasn't my idea."

"You asking me to marry you wasn't your Idea?" I asked angrier than before. How dare he treat me like an incompetent fool.

"No that's not what I meant, Belle." He said, grasping into my hands tightly.

"Then what the hell are you talking about."

He sighs. "I really shouldn't be telling you any of this."

I want to blurt out well don't! But I want to know what brought this declaration on, even if I'll get more pissed with him than I already am.

"Your father owes us a lot of money Belle."

"How much?" I stuttered out. I had a funny feeling why Elon was around the other day but dad never shares his business with me. Like he didn't with mom until she found out then she left him and was found dead. She wanted to take me with her but being in an all girls school I wasn't ever home only during holidays there was a strict policy that we weren't allowed out of school during school terms I had to find out form the sister my mother had died and I had no idea how to take it apart from sob my heart out. Dad refused to talk about it and everytime I tried he would beat my ass so badly I couldn't walk telling me we didn't need that whore in our lives and he would take care of me. Yeah right, take care of me my ass more like torture me descreatly so no one saw the scars he left. My friends knew how bad things were on the home front but they never knew the exact extent of it until today and that wasn't as half as bad as the other times he'd lashed out.

"FIfty six thousand."

"F..f.f..f.t..y.s...i...x. ..t...h...o..u..s..a..n..d." I stutter out what the fuck had my dad been doing to get in such horrendous debt eoth the most feared Mafia of Dublin?

He nodded. "Ciarán had lent him money over the years which accumulated to over sixty thousand. He's been slowly paying it off but he still owes fifty six thousand. He thought as Ciarán had passed away so would the debt, but Ciarán had my brother Elon take it over. It was one of the clauses of the contract he had written up, one your father couldn't get out of if something ever happened to Ciarán. He swallowed hard. I squeezed his hands letting him know that I was sorry for his loss and I was here for him no matter what the circumstances were. Between the Mitchell brothers and my father he was aasshole anyway. We paid your father a visit today to sort out the funeral arrangement. He wasn't as understanding as a pastor should be so my brother reminded him of what the consequences would be if Ciarán wasn't buried in our family graveyard. He wasn't too pleased but he agreed nonetheless." He took a deep breath. Then we got down to the business of the money he owed like I said he thought he could get out of thought he could get out paying the rest but Ciarán likes to tie things up and makes sure he has a back up plan if anything were to happen. Elon signed the contract one your father failed to read."

Why doesn't that surprise me?

"The contract states that if he couldn't pay the total amount left by the time you turned eighteen he would hand you over and marry me."

I looked at him shocked that my father had actually agreed to this?

"I'm sorry Belle I had no idea Ciarán would pull this kind of stunt even more surprised that your father would agree but I promise I will take good care of you and in time you could learn to love me."

Truth is I already loved him in my own weird way. He's like the other half of me and without him I would cease to exist. But, marrying him right now is more daunting than I can think right now. "I have plans to leave Fionn. I want to go to uni and do a degree in law. I..." I started feeling like my heart was tearing apart.

He smiled at me. "And you can have that as long as you promise to come back to me and be my wife."

I look at him speechless as this guy for real a Mafia Don or soon to be one. "But what about Being the next in line?" I looked at him realising what I had just said.

Fuck.

"Shit I'm sorry Fionn I shouldn't be asking that right now you've just lost your brother."

He shakes his head. "I'm not going to be the next Don Belle that goes to Elon. He's been by Ciarán's side since I can remember and I'll be be his. If anything happens to him I'll be next in line unless he has children then it will go automatically to them. Ciarán knew I wasn't interested in becoming the Don and Elon is a better fit for it so it will just be us Belle."

I nod in relief. I'm not sure I'm up to being a Mafia queen of any type. I'm not at all ruthless and cutthroat.

"I want you Belle and I guess Ciarán noticed that as well to add it into the clause knowing we were both too young at the time he gave your father the contract."

I nod my father is in so much debt that they would kill him for it but they decided to do a deal bargaining me in the process . I won't agree to this because of my father and his debt to the Mitchell mafia, but to honour Ciarán and his brothers.

He leans forward and looks into my eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

I nod unable to form any words.

He smiles and leans forward pressing his lips on mine they're so gentle on mine he deepens the kiss and our mouths open in sync. I've never had a chance to kiss a guy before being in an all girls school and my father keeping tabs on me. Butterflies flutter in my stomach as he slides his tongue into my mouth and groans.