Selena's POV
My heart thumps rapidly in my chest when I find out a shocking truth. My boyfriend is a criminal and so is his entire family.
Moments ago
"I want you to meet my family,Selena. I want to make you my woman and you must know every part of me before we do this, I do not want to hide things from you at all. Do you remember what I said the first time you tried to get close to me, Selena." I swallow nervously.
"Yes. You said bright girls like me don't deserve a tiny chance at your dark world."
"Now, I want your brightness to light up my world and expel the darkness in me." The calmness in his eyes did nothing to ease the anxiousness that was threatening to devour me any moment from now.
"Just to be clear Selena, it is still a contract marriage. I'm only doing this because my parents are extremely sensitive. We cannot afford to mess anything up, not now." His eyes search mine for an answer and I do not bother hiding my feelings.
"Is it a must that I attend this?"
"We will eventually see our families sooner or later and as much as I hate to admit it, you will later come in contact with my family. You might as well just agree to meet them now."
"I will pick you up by five in the evening. There'll be red carpet and I want you to make me a grand entry. I want them to know that you're mine and mine alone." He trails his finger down my back and I have to snap my mouth shut to keep myself from moaning.
"Red carpet? Nikolai,what exactly are you up to?" My heart starts hammering in my chest again. Every fibre in my body is fighting hard against this decision. A part of me is so reluctant to go see his family.
"You will know me better by tonight, Sel." He chuckles and lets go of me.
"No matter what happens tonight, remember, I love you, see you tonight." I walk faster home, my mind racing constantly on the thought of the ball. I have nothing appropriate to wear, I live a simple life and and my luxury has never included a ball. I get home and my mind somehow manages to isolate the dress to the event.
"Ding." I nearly throw my phone to the floor when I realize it's a message from Nikolai.
"The things I ordered for you for the ball are outside." I furrow my eyebrows still lost to the thought of all of this. I walk down with my legs slightly trembling as I open the door.
A red box is seated neatly on the floor of my doorstep. I pick up the box and I lock my door.
It feels heavy and I open it immediately destroying the box in the process, white earrings that shine bright with a dazzling necklace and a white gown.
My mouth hangs open as I unwrap the dress. A knock on the door startles me and I forced to leave the dress.
"Hello?" A tall lady stands at the front of my door with a box. Everything about her screams class.
"Miss Selena, Mr Nikolai sent me to you to prepare you for the ball." Slowly, I drift away from the door, wide enough for her to pass.
"I almost did not believe the young master when he asked me to come dress a lady. I was expecting to see a man, everyone thinks he is gay! I can see why now,you'll do." She stares at me with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Sit." She presses me to the chair with my shoulders. I bite down on my lower lip to stop myself from saying anything I'm not supposed to. We do not say a word to each other until she's done!
"Young Master Nikolai would be more than excited!" She claps her hands in air delighted at her masterpiece.
I stare at the mirror in front of me and I am unable to recognize myself. I pay with my fingers as the time draws near.
"He's here. Right on time as expected of him." I square my shoulders and I brace myself for the worst; my mind stays fix on scenerio of a prison break. I struggle to balance myself in the heels, I get better with each step. I pause in my tracks when I see him.
He's wearing a black button up and black slacks. The clothes hug him in the right places and he opens the button at the neck, wide enough for anyone to see his dragon tattoo.
"Mi amor." My mouth breaks into a smile with his greeting.
"You look stunning much more than I expected." My mind screams danger, my soul wants to leave my body and my body wants to be with him.
"Here." He opens the seat and I get in the back.
"Remember Sel, no matter what happens tonight, you remain mine." He interlaces his fingers with mine. The ride is quiet fast or maybe it's because I'm dreading this ball or whatever it is with everything in me.
"Welcome home young master." I am dragged back to reality when I see the huge castle and the amount of humans bowing down to him.
"This.. Is this? Your home?" My breath fastens and its not what I can control.
"No. We'll get there." I place my hands on my chest unable to stop my racing heart.
"Welcome to my World, Mi Sel." The gates in front of us roll open by theirselves.
"Welcome Young Master." A man old enough to birth the both of us bows down to him.
"Young Master Nikolai? I don't understand what's happening." I stare around in a daze. Then it hits me, the dragon tattoo on his neck, they all have it. Some on their wrist, some on their waist but open for everyone to see it.
"Nikolai?" My throat runs dry. The last time I saw a group of people with the same tattoo was when mother and father were brutally murdered right in front of my eyes.
"Sel?" I jolt and my hands tightly grip my dress.
"You're a ma-" The rest of the word hangs in my throat.
"I'm a mafia boss Selina."
Selena's POV
My eyes widen in shock and the gruesome murder of father and mother flashes through my brain again.
"You never mentioned anything about this while we were dating. You never stated anything of the sort in the contract." My voice becomes louder slightly and I do not try to hold back.
"Watch your tongue Sel. This is definitely not the place." His jaw hardens and I can tell he's annoyed. He's looking around too, through his masquerade mask- watching if someone heard me.
But I don't care.
"Why should I give a fuck about where we are when you lied to me about something so important!" I clench my fists in annoyance.
"You came to me for help and I gave it to you in demand for payment. You agreed, you signed the signature yourself. I didn't hold a trigger to your head when you signed it, did I?" He scans the environment with his eyes and I notice the subtle changes in him.
"I signed those documents without a second thought because I knew you or so I thought."
"The deed has already been done. There's no use making a fuss about it. You will soon be called up to the red carpet. Do not give off any information that will threaten his life." I freeze when he brings this up again.
"Everybody here belongs to one mafia organization or the other. They are extremely sensitive and they notice every single detail. You cannot afford to ruin even a tiny slice of this event today. Am I clear?" I blink my eye furiously trying extremely hard not to shed tears.
"I understand."
"Good." He tucks one of his hands on his pockets and wraps the other around my waist.
"Young Master Nikolai." Cheers and applause fill the hall but we all know they are not at all genuine.
They will be only a few handful that are truly grateful for his success and his family members may not be part of them.
Slowly, we walk to the ball and I try my best to make sure our footsteps are in sync. I can feel their burning gaze on my skin. Like they have finally found the weakness of a strong predator.
"Nilai." A woman that has the exact nose and a perfect physique walks up to us. Her smile is only slight and does not reach her eyes. I force a smile on my face when she stares at me. Her mask is the shade of blood.
"Nikolai. My name is Nikolai." The air around them feels tight and I struggle to breathe.
"Mother invited me over to accompany you down the red carpet." She sneers at me and I quickly stare at the ground.
"Raise your head up. Now." I swallow and I follow his instructions.
"I can see you have a guest." She tucks her hair behind her ears and I guess that's my cue to leave. I lift my foot to move and Nikolai pinches me hard on my waist.
"My queen does not make way for those I do not approve of." I sense displeasure in his voice.
"You should leave. I have a wife I'd like to introduce to the family." The whole hall goes silent, so silent even the deaf would hear a pin drop.
He gives me a slight push and we walk till we get to a table.
"Mother. Father." He nods slightly and pulls open the chair for me to sit.
"I see you have a guest." His father graciously slices his steak in a way I know fully well I cannot pull off.
"A rather uninvited one if I must say." His mother chirps in as well. It doesnt take me anything to realize they obviously prefer the other girl to me.
"We invited Priscilla."
"She's not the only daughter of a mafia boss I've slept with." He says.
I swallow hard and my shoulder tenses at the mention of the word mafia.
"Priscilla knows you and your dealings better. Your wife to be does not particularly seem fond of our daily routine. Is she aware?" His light has a slight evil smile on her face.
"That is why I brought her here. She will be informed of all of the activities. She knows me." He places a slice of steak on my plate and I smile at him because I am genuinely grateful.
"She knows you better than Priscilla? Then I am assuming she knows your hobbies. Pulling triggers and torturing people as well as competing with your brother over every damn thing?" She chuckles slightly. I struggle not to take a peek at him because I know they are watching.
"You both know me too well to expect me to repeat a simple sentence." He rubs his legs with mine and I quickly pull away.
"Not to be too hard on your wife? But how many people exactly has Priscilla killed...just for you? Priscilla might just be ahead of her."
I swallow my spit nervously and finally decide to leave.
"Sorry, I would like some air." I push my chair back, it makes a loud screeching noise.
"Sit." Nikolai grabs my arm but I pull it away.
I grab the layers of my gown and I walk outside as fast as I can. I open my mouth and try to take in as much air as I can.
I rub my chest; let out a deep breath. My heart is still pacing. I need to be at peace before I go back to that table. Father's murder scene flashes through my eyes again. I force myself to not throw up.
When I finally decide to go back; Nikolai is the only one seated at the table. It's not in his personality to just sit there calmly and wait for me.
He would have been reminding me of my punishments or shooting daggers at me with his eyes.
I square my shoulders and I go back into the hall, this time around, I stare straight into the eyes of the onlookers till I get to my seat.
There's a sick feeling in my heart as I settle down.
Something tells me Nikolai was going to punish me heavily tonight.
Selena's POV
"I could not hold on anymore, I'm sorry." I playwith my fingers expecting to hear a reply.
"It's fine." I squint my eyes in confusion.
Nikolai rarely ever accepts to let things be. He dictates things to go his way or no other.
Silence looms over us and I decide to drown myself in alcohol and have a temporary escape from this hellish side of the world.
I grab the cup on the table careful not to spill it over and still conscious of the looming eyes fixed to my body.
"I do not intend to drag a drunk woman up tonight." He removes my fingers from the cup slightly and downs it in one go.
"If you can do that, I can as well." I take the drink between sips, the contract rules and regulations fresh in my head.
"Your parents do not seem to have a very bright impression of me. They prefer Priscilla. Why?" I swallow another sip of the drink ignoring how light headed I am starting to feel.
"Don Carlo, Priscilla's father, is strengthening his base. Only two things can be done, form an alliance or one of the families cease to exists." He relaxes on the chair and watches me drink.
"They can go ahead to get him together with your brother. I'm still yet to see him and his date for tonight." A sharp glint flashes in his eyes. I shake my head and I take it as the reflection of the light on his face.
"He has none and he is a whole lot mischievous than I am." He chuckles slightly.
"In what way?"
"Don't you owe me an apology, Selena?" Something about the way he pronounces my name does not feel right.
It almost feels like it's someone else with the same face. That's not possible. It must be the alcohol taking effect already.
"I'm sorry." I stop myself from hiccuping and I walk up to no particular place. He follows.
"I deserve an extra apology Selena." I try to force my dizzy eyes to see who exactly is taking to me. Again, I see Nikolai's face.
"I know you want to punish me." I dig my feet deeper into the floor so I do not fall.
"The second door by your left." I navigate through the hallways calculating the room till I get to it.
I press the door knob and it opens immediately. Nikolai is extremely observing and cautious.
Could this be because of the drink as well? I definitely cannot be the only one intoxicated. We'll realize everything after all of this.
"Come." I walk towards him skeptical.
His fingers graze over the back of my neck down my waist. His eyes darken and I know I'm in for one hell of a ride.
"Your punishment today...do not utter a single sound." I dig my fingers into his shoulders.
I hate giving him the satisfaction of seeing the control he has over me but over time, he eventually ends up winning.
His hands trail from the back of my waist to my stomach. I clamp my legs together shut afraid he will realize I gave up way earlier than him.
"Selena, what a lovely name." His hands go up to my breast. He runs his hand up and down teasing me.
The heat from my leg travels all around my body and I can't wait to be let go. I should have given the contract a second thought before I agreed to sign it.
"Bend over." He presses me down with his palm.
"Touch your toes." His voice deepens and a slight smile hangs on my lips. I have the same effect he has on me.
I stay there bent over for eternity.
"Nikolai?"
"What exactly did I say your punishment would be?" I face palm myself on the inside when I realize just how much danger I've thrown myself in.
"I don't do things without consent." He pulls off his shirt and goes to sit on the bed.
"We signed the contract," I say.
He smirks.
"I was not referring to that. If you don't ask for it, I won't give it to you."
"Please..." I'm drunk and I need him.
He chuckles darkly and stands from the chair. His hands grip my breasts and his thumbs play magic on my nipples.
"Please what, Selena?" He flicks my nipples so hard, I bite my tongue to stop myself from shouting.
"No answer? Then I should go for the ass perhaps?" He slaps my ass hard, it stings even after he has stopped.
"I want you." I force myself to say it without panting.
"What do you want from me Selena?" He inserts two fingers in my hole.
"Sex. I want you to f**k me." He wriggles the fingers in there like it's a joke.
"For disobeying me,your punishment is going to be a hard one. I'm going to fuck you till your lose your mind. You will talk dirty now or else we will start this over." He inserts all of his glory in me and I see stars.
"Who am I?" He drags me back and forth slowly.
"Nikolai." I follow his slow pace as against my wish.
"I asked you to talk dirty." He pulls my hair roughly with second ride. I keep quiet as I struggle to withhold my tears.
"You will regret this." He pulls out and he inserts in with more force. I immediately scream out in pain and pleasure when he pulls out again.
"Shh, bellisma. Be quiet." He rides me until I have no more air in me before he finally lets me go.
"I'm sorry." I say it again because I do not want this to ever happen again.
"You will be very sorry when you wake up, sister in law."
But I don't hear what his says, drifting off to sleep without a single care.
I feel at peace not knowing what await me the next morning