Loving the Mafia Lord

"Wait! What's going on?". Tallulah asked in confusion as she approached the front porch of her father's house.

She just stood in shook staring at the luggages which all belonged to her. And more where being brought out?!?!

"Ken!....Ty!". She called the names of her father's right hand men and went to hold down the luggages from them at the door.

"What's going on?". She asked looking from Ken and then to Ty.

"Sorry ma'am, your father's orders". Ken replied.

"To have me thrown out of the house?".

"Just doing our job ma'am". Ty defended with his head slightly bent.

Ken and Ty were the only men that stayed loyal to Jett Lennox after all his businesses failed and he almost went bankrupt.

The rest resigned and went their separate ways.

"I have to speak with my father". She said sounding a little bit annoyed then moved past them into the house.

"Dad? Dad! Daddy!!!". She yelled as she stormed the stairs and headed towards her father's home office.

She flung the door open and walked in leaving it open.

Jett who was staring out the window turned.

"I see you're back Tallulah my dear".

He said and walked to her placing a kiss on her forehead.

Tallulah stepped away.

"Why are my belongings out front as par your orders?" She paused. "Am I being thrown out?"

"No dear". Jett replied his daughter as he walked to his desk.

Tallulah sighed in relief with a hand on her chest.

"Are we going on a vacation then?". She asked grinning from ear to ear.

"Not a vacation Lula. You'll stay with someone until daddy can sought himself out".

He roamed the heap of files on his mahogany desk for a while.

"Ah-ha!" He exclaimed when he seemed to have found what he was looking for.

"Dad, who's the person and why do I have to stay with her?".

"It's a him". Jett corrected and walked back towards her. He handed the file to her when he reached.

"What's in here?" She asked with a small smile. "Some kind of deed?".

She opened it and the first thing she saw made her smile drop.

"A flight ticket to Spain, you're joking right?" She asked looking at him but his facial expression said otherwise.

She turned over the page and her heart shattered into a million pieces.

"It's an......".

"Arranged marriage". Tallulah completed for him. "I don't understand ".

She was utterly confused and stood frozen.

"I was going to say agreement Lula". Jett chipped in.

"An agreement to sell me off into another country I don't know to a man I don't know?". Tallulah yelled.

"I couldn't tell you".

"You could but didn't want to because you knew I'd refuse".

Jett placed his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off and slowly sat on the leather sofa placing the file beside her.

Her eyes stung with tears and they came out effortlessly.

"An arranged marriage to the Mafia".

She whispered and laughed.

She hugged herself and shook violently as more tears fell.

Jett sat beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Tallulah dear".

She shivered slightly.

"I want t..to be alone d..ad". She said in a shaky voice.

Jett stood up reluctantly and walked out of the office leaving Tallulah alone.

She slid from the sofa unto the tiled floor and held her head tightly using both hands.

"I can't believe daddy would do this. I'm being sold off in place of a loan".

She screamed painfully and fell to the floor soaking herself into the pool of sorrowful tears beneath her.

Tallulah didn't speak to her father nor anyone for that matter while leaving the house.

She sat quietly on the plane to Spain and the flight seemed shorter than she'd expected.

Once she'd arrived, a driver and bodyguard came to pick her up in a Ferrari. Oh how badly she wanted to escape but didn't know where to go.

The drive to the house was also a quiet one as Tallulah stared out the car window at the numerous trees they passed by.

"We're here ma'am".

The bodyguard said to her when the car came to a holt in front of the mansion.

Tallulah looked out the window at the huge mansion which was now supposedly her new home.

She felt her eyes sting again with tears and was glad the sun shades she had on did well to hide her red and swollen eyes.

The driver had gone down and already brought out her luggage from the car.

"Ma'am?". The bodyguard who had introduced himself earlier as Enzo called and looked behind at Tallulah.

"I heard you Enzo". She said and Enzo came out of the front seat and opened the back door of the car for her.

Tallulah stepped out and paused looking around. The mansion looked her an ancient palace and had quite a few armed men guarding it.

Her heart raced a little as she followed Enzo inside. The interior was on a whole new level.

It was like stepping into a totally different world.

The aura was suffocating. Everything was black.

"Ma'am, would you meet the....."

"I wish to rest Enzo, please take me to my room". She interrupted and he nodded.

Then walked her towards the stairs when an elderly women in an apron walked out of the kitchen and approached them.

"This is Camille, the house keeper". Enzo introduced and Camille smiled. Tallulah offered a small smile back.

"I'm mostly in charge of the kitchen ma'lady, do you have any special request for dinner?".

"Thank you Camille but I'm not hungry ". Tallulah refused politely and walked away climbing onto the flight of stairs.

"Mr. Hernando requests your presence at dinner tonight. A welcome dinner for his new.....". Camille paused and cleared her throat. "New wife".

Tallulah stopped in her tracks at the mention of new wife. She tightly shut her eyes and made her hand into a fist.

What was that man thinking? That she would happily embrace him as her husband?

There was no way in hell that was gonna happen.

"Tell Mr. Hernando that I....am not.... interested". She said in-between gritted teeth although trying to keep her cool.

Camille's eyes widened. Did this young lady know what she was getting herself into by refusing the master's invite?

"But ma'lady...."

"That's final Camille". Tallulah replied gently trying not to sound rude.

She opened her eyes and followed Enzo upstairs.

They both walked in silence until they finally stopped in front of Tallulah's room.

"Ma'am, I advice that you......"

Tallulah held her hand up stopping Enzo from speaking any further.

"What are supposed to do for me?".

"I don't quite understand you ma'am". Enzo asked confused.

"What did you master tell you to do for me?".

"To protect you ma'am". He replied.

"Good! Hence I do not need you as my personal adviser that's my job to do not yours".

"Understood ma'am". Enzo said with his head slightly bent.

He then turned and walked away.

Tallulah entered the room and locked the door behind her.

She walked to the mirror stand and placed her hand on the chair.

She removed her sun shades and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes were swollen and red and so was her face.

Her mind drifted back to everything that went down. She screamed and threw everything from the table to the floor.

They crashed onto the floor. She went around throwing things down and breaking things then she went to the bed and dragged off the bed linens.

The linens came off making her stagger backwards and she stepped on the broken pieces of glass.

She cried out in pain but the pain she felt was nothing compared to the way she felt about the whole arranged marriage thing.

A knock came at the door.

"Ma'am, are you alright?".

She heard Enzo ask from outside.

The knock became violent when Tallulah did not respond.

"Ma'am, I have no option but to break down this door. Please do not hurt yourself ".

The next thing Tallulah knew, Enzo was hitting the door hard with something....or his shoulder maybe?

The door suddenly flung open and Enzo rushed in with some men behind him.

He stood and searched round the room for Tallulah.

He suddenly heard Tallulah's scream from the bathroom followed by the clink of glass unto the tiled floor.

Enzo opened the bathroom door and rushed in only to find Tallulah in the bathtub in a pool of her own blood.

Her hand was placed at the edge of the tub with blood dripping from her cut wrist unto the white tiled floor.

The glass she had used to cut her wrist was sitting in the pool of blood.

"Ma'am?" Enzo called going down on one knee.

He slightly tapped her shoulder but got no response.

"Ma'am?" He called again but louder this time as the atmosphere seemed tense.

The men rushed over to help get her out of the tub. She was lifted out of the tub and taken into the bedroom.

Enzo held the front of his suit jacket and spoke into the little chip plugged on it.

"Send Camille upstairs, first aid required. Fast!".

Later, Tallulah opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Everything was blur and she could not decipher anything.

The only thing she could tell was that the room was different from the one she stayed in before the incident.

"Ma'lady?" She heard Camille and diverted her gaze to where she heard the voice.

She could not see Camille clearly but saw a small yet reassuring smile on Camille's lips.

She opened her mouth to speak but felt a sharp pain in her head. She squinted her eyes and used both hands to hold her head when she felt another synchronizating pain in her wrist.

Then everything went pitch black.

The next thing she knew, sprinkles of water came in contact with her face making her open her eyes again.

After a split second, everything became clear.

The headache had subsided and she felt her wrist being attended to. She was pleased that Camille was still with her.

But the thought of still waking up and facing the reality that she was married to a mafia lord who was probably old and she had never met was disturbing.

Tallulah used her injury free hand to support herself as she got up from bed.

"Be careful".

She heard a husky male voice say but it did not sound like he cared if she hurt herself again.

She finally sat upright in bed to find not Camille but a dominant looking male sitting beside her on the bed.

"Mateo?" She whispered having remembered the name from the contract her father gave to her. He was not even close to being old.

"It's quite a pleasure that my wife knows my name, isn't it?" Mateo spoke gruffly removing a fresh bandage from the first aid kit.

He held Tallulah's hand and brought it towards himself but she withdrew her hand immediately.

"I am not your wife". Tallulah summoned enough courage to say though the look in his eyes were frightening.

She looked away and repeated.

"I am not your wife and will never be".

The silence became so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Just when she thought Mateo would not utter a word, she felt a harsh grip on her cheeks and then her face was turned towards him.

"Look at me when you speak princess". He said in-between gritted teeth.

Tallulah was holding back tears.

"Please".

She muttered shutting her eyes tightly.

"You're hurting me".

"Look at me". Mateo commanded and Tallulah opened her eyes. They were wide in horror.

"You're one courageous woman aren't you?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

"You say you're not my wife but daddy dearest thinks otherwise, doesn't he?"

Mateo inquired and let go of her cheeks harshly.

The marks of his fingers reflected on her cheeks as she held unto them to soothe the pain. Mateo's stare intensified as he stretched his hand towards her.

Tallulah turned her face away with her eyes closed as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

She thought he was going to hurt her again.

But when he didn't, she opened her eyes only to find him tangle her hair with his fingers.

"Your hair". He started but paused. "Quite exotic". He stated simply.

Tallulah shifted uncomfortably letting her curls fall from Mateo's fingers.

He instantly grabbed her hand and brought it closer then started wrapping the bandage around her wrist before she could react.

He placed the first aid kit on the lamp stand and got up from the bed.

"You'll need that for next time when you decide to do something stupid to yourself".

He walked to the door and paused.

"And then wake up two days later".

With that, he opened the door and walked out.

Tallulah's eyes widened. Two whole days asleep?!?!

How could she have slept for that long?.

A knock at the door, distracted her from her thoughts.

Then Camille walked in.

"I can't stay here Camille". She said turning to look at Camille who just entered.

"Oh you poor child". Camille said walking over to the bed and sitting beside Tallulah.

"Oh dear!" She exclaimed with a hand over her mouth.

Tallulah knew Camille was referring to the marks on her cheeks.

"I look like a cat with wiskers don't I?".

"No silly, what happened there".

"That monster....."

"Shh...". Camille interrupted Tallulah placing a finger on her mouth. "Don't say that, Mateo is not a monster".

Tallulah did not understand why Camille was standing up for Mateo. But it wasn't any of her business so she needed to focus on her business....

...leaving that mansion....

"I can't be here because I do not want to be here and I do not belong here".

Tallulah said bitterly and broke down in tears.

"Don't cry, you're still recovering plus you have to do more of eating and not crying".

Tallulah cried all the more, tears streaming down effortlessly.

"Come here". Camille stated with open arms which Tallulah hesitated but later crept into.

"Has it crossed your mind that this could actually be where you belong?"

Tallulah shook her head.

"You have to embrace and enjoy the present moment".

Tallulah knew there was no such thing as embracing or having fun presently. All she wanted to embrace was the freedom to leave and never come back.

"You cannot undo this Ma'lady. That has to sink in".

"What if I can undo it?".

Tallulah asked breaking the hug and wiping her tears.

"What do you mean?"

Camille asked looking skeptical.

"I'll just leave".

"It's not that simple to just leave, ma'lady".

"Then what can I do?" Tallulah asked and sniffed.

"Should and should not". Camille said and Tallulah looked confused. "All I can say is that you should obey Mateo and you should not get on his nerves".

"I can't..."

"You need you alive don't you?".

"I need me alive? What....".

She stopped talking and her eyes widened when she realized where Camille was getting to.

"Exactly! You could be alive one minute and dead the next. Anyway...". Camille said getting up from the bed. "Don't think about it too much".

Even though Camille left the room, her words still lingered in Tallulah's ears as she could hear them echoing within the four corners of the room.

Did Camille just hint her death notice to her face and just play it off saying she shouldn't think about it?

How would she not think about it? And how was she expected to embrace or even have fun under that roof.

No way in hell was she gonna stay there for yet another night.

If she was going to leave, she had to do it soon and fast.

She quickly got down from the bed staggering a little as she supported herself by placing her hand on the bed before she fell.

She walked out of the room and headed downstairs limping as she took every step.

"Ma'am". A bodyguard called to her. "You can't be out here".

Tallulah ignored him and kept moving towards the front door.

"You can't leave ma'am". Another said and started approaching her.

"No one speaks to me nor comes close". She warned and walked towards the door happy she was about to leave.

"Move a muscle and I shoot".

She heard Mateo warn behind her and the trigger was pulled.

A vase fell to the ground with a crash but Tallulah did not turn but instead, stood there sobbing quietly. She soon felt the gun aimed at her head and before she knew it, she was harshly turned.

"An attempt to escape I see". Mateo said towering over her. She looked up into his eyes to see fury.

"Jett had promised you would be on your best behaviour but you, my dear wife, prove otherwise".

He used the gun holster to remove the red strands of hair from Tallulah's face.

"You leave me no choice princess....".

Tallulah squinted her eyes as Mateo kept talking. She kept blinking until she looked around and everything became double.

She walked past him but he pulled her back by the injury free wrist. Before he could say something else, she zoned out.

Mateo scooped her up bridal style before she could fall and noticed the red stains of blood on her bandaged feet.

He carried her up to her room and attended to her injury by cleaning the wound and replacing the bandage.

Camille walked into the room the next day with a tray of food.

"Good morning ma'lady".

"Good morning Camille". Tallulah greeted back with a smile. "And please you can call me Tallulah".

"Ma'lady seems fine by me. It's alright my dear". Camille said and placed the tray on the bed Infront of Tallulah.

"Here's a bowl of porridge and medications for you".

Tallulah pulled the tray closer to herself.

"I heard what happened yesterday. Are you okay?"

"Yes I am". Tallulah nodded. "I just got overwhelmed by everything, I'll be fine once I eat".

Camille pushed the tray gently to Tallulah and she picked it up and placed it on her thighs.

"The porridge will help you feel better". Camille said as she watched Tallulah pick the spoon up.

"Thank you Camille".

"Blow on it, it's quite hot". Camille said as she watched Tallulah fetch a spoon full and blow on it before putting it into her mouth.

"It's really good". Tallulah said after a few spoons.

"Slow down dear, it's quite hot".

A knock came at the door and Camille went to open it. She stood there a while conversing with whoever it was before finally shutting the door close.

She walked to the bed and placed the package on the bed.

Tallulah looked at it then at Camille.

"What's that?"

She asked placing the medicine on her tongue then drowning the entire glass of water.

"A dress".

"But..I do not need a dress. I am quite content with the clothes I have, thank you".

"Wedding dress, if that makes you feel better". Camille said sitting on the bed.

"No way!". Tallulah denied stretching her hand to pick the package up.

She opened it revealing a long triple layered dress.

"This is a wedding dress?".

"I'm supposing it is?". Camille replied with a question as she herself seemed skeptical.

"Such bad taste for a mafia lord. Ptt".

"This came with the dress". Camille informed handing a box and a hand written card to Tallulah.

She placed the box on the quilt as she opened the note:

~wear this for tomorrow tonight~

-Mateo.

"Who does this man think he is?". Tallulah asked dropping the note on the lamp stand as she picked the box up.

"And such bad hand writing too".

She said and opened the box. Her lips parted a little at what she saw, she looked at Camille.

Camille shrugged as she also had no idea what the deal was. Tallulah shook her head and removed the wedding band from the box.

She had wanted to ask what all these were about but now, she understood everything.

"A wedding?". She asked in disbelief shaking her head. "Unbelievable".

Then she tossed the ring aside, it rolled across the room to the door and only fell when it touched the shoes of Mateo who had just walked in.

Mateo bent down and picked the ring up as Camille hurriedly carried the tray and walked out the room leaving them both together.

Tallulah swallowed and looked everywhere but at Mateo. She heard him close the door and put the lock in place.

Her heart raced.

"Isn't this disrespectful?". He asked and walked to the bed where she was seated.

"Refusing a gift from your soon-to-be husband".

"I cannot marry you Mateo". She said still not looking at him.

She only looked at him when she felt him sit on the bed.

"Oh no!". He said shaking his head. "That's not something you decide princess".

He picked the box from the quilt and replaced the ring back.

"We're already married you see but it lacks the formalities associated with the Mafia culture".

He placed the open box on the bed and turned it so it faced Tallulah. She looked at it.

"Don't you like it?".

Tallulah's head jolted up to look at him. His gaze was so intense.

She didn't even realise that he'd held her hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger.

He caressed her knuckles with his thumb.

"Bellisíma".

He acknowledged in Spanish then took her hand up for a kiss.

She quickly withdrew her hand from him and immediately tried to remove the ring.

She looked up at him in shook as he gave a sided smile.

"You can't do that princess".

The ring was stuck to her finger and would not come out.

"Just show up tomorrow in everything I sent and you'll be my good girl. I keep good girls alive too".

He muttered getting up and it sounded more of a threat to Tallulah who was already tensed up even as he left the room.

The next evening came sooner than Tallulah had wanted or even expected and Camille was standing behind her as she sat in front of the mirror.

"The dress will look lovely on you". Camille complimented distracting Tallulah from her thoughts.

"Thank you". Tallulah said and looked at herself in the mirror.

Camille had made her hair in a bun with two strands falling beside her face.

"Do you need any help putting it on?"

Tallulah looked at the wall clock and it was almost 9pm.

"It's alright Camille, I can do that myself. It's late, you should probably get home".

"You sure?".

"Positive". Tallulah said turning to look at Camille. "Thank you".

Camille touched her cheek and walked out of the room. Tallulah sighed as the door was shut and then she stood up.

"I am nobody's good girl, and definitely not Mateo's good girl". Tallulah smiled and untied the robe she was wearing.

She removed it and tossed it on the floor leaving her with the dress she was wearing which was not the one Mateo sent but another.

She smiled looking at herself in the mirror before she turned and went to the door opening it a little and peeping out of it.

When she saw that the coast was clear, she walked out and descended down the stairs.

"Alas ma'am". A guard walked to her and she almost got startled.

"I'm sorry ma'am but the boss asked to relay to you that....."

Tallulah didn't want hear about it. She knew it was time for the wedding party and just wanted a way out.

"Where are the other men?".

"In the basement ma'am, making preparations".

Of course for the wedding, Tallulah thought. But that was if there was going to be any wedding.

It's not a wedding party if there's no bride right?.

"Can I have a glass of water?"

"Sure ma'am, just give me a minute". The bodyguard said and walked to the Kitchen.

He came back seconds later with a glass of water on a little tray.

He walked over to Tallulah who whispered a "Thank you".

And then drowned the entire glass placing the glass back on the tray as he walked back to the kitchen to keep it.

Tallulah surveyed the area one last time and made for the back door. She opened the door and walked out stepping into the garden.

"There should be an exit here somewhere". She muttered walking further along the path in the garden.

"A princess in distress indeed". She said struggling to hold up her flowing dress.

She knew she shouldn't have worn a long dress.

Just then, she mistakingly stepped on the dress making the fragile material rip.

"Argh!". She exclaimed angrily and stopped, bending down to hold the torn area, then she ripped it all the more until it reached her knee level.

"Better!". She acknowledged with a smile and threw the piece she ripped away.

She dusted her hands and smoothened the dress with her hand.

She walked a little bit further scanning for an exit with her eyes and then her eyes lit when she finally found one.

"Uh lala!". She said and turned walking backwards as she gave some last respects.

"Oh mansion, you're so huge and beautiful but I must leave in order to be happy".

"And to my dearest husband.....".

She was cut short when her back ran into someone muscular and the lights went off.