Chapter 12 Chapter 12
Antonio stepped closer, arms crossed, inspecting me with a look that would have been dangerous in any other situation. “You do not understand,” he said calmly. “This is not about you two. This is about Alessandro. And about what you are supposed to be for him. If you show him today in front of all these people that someone else stands closer to you than he ever could, that is not just a provocation. That is a declaration of war.” Vito, still catching his breath from laughing, straightened up slightly. “If he wants war, he can have it.” “Oh please.” Antonio scoffed quietly. “If Alessandro wants war, you will not even notice until you are already on your knees.” I stood between the mirror and the door, shirt open, vest tight around my chest, the morning still clinging to my clothes. My eyes went from Antonio to Vito, then to the suit hanging by the door. Expensive fabric, carefully chosen, probably tailored to fit. I drew in a long breath. “You can tell him I will show up,” I said. “With trousers, a shirt and this vest. Anyone who wants me today will get me exactly as I am. Not as they want me to be.” I had barely finished the sentence when I felt cold metal press against the back of my skull and the soft click that told me the safety was off. “You will get dressed, Nicolai,” Vito growled. “I am not risking my neck for you. Rafaele is still angry you let your sister die.” I turned my head, my voice already rising, but Antonio was faster. “Have you lost your mind?” His voice struck like a blade. “Are you completely insane, Vito? Who do you think you are dealing with? This is no longer your problem. He is Alessandro’s property now. From the moment Rafaele and Viktor decided he replaces her, he stopped being your little cousin or your favorite toy. And he is definitely not someone you can aim a gun at just because you are losing control.” The weapon clicked again as Vito engaged the safety. Then his fist came across my head. The pain was instant, hot, ringing in my skull. I felt blood trickle down the side of my face. “There,” Vito hissed. “Take your boss’s precious possession. See that he does not embarrass Rafaele. Next time I will pull the trigger.” He turned toward the door. “What the hell is wrong with you, you bastard?” I snarled. Vito did not turn back. He stood in the doorway a moment and said quietly: “You do not want to be like your father. Or like me? Then stop acting like a child throwing a tantrum.” Then he looked at me properly. “You think you still have a choice? That is cute. But you heard it yourself. You do not belong to you anymore. You belong to him. Alessandro De Luca. And if you understand anything, understand this: he will break you. So take it with dignity, put the suit on and forget what I told you yesterday about a year.” He did not wait for my answer. He walked out without looking back. And for a moment, something inside me cracked. He had been my anchor these last days. The only familiar thing left after losing Selena. Even with all our fights, he had always been the one person I could still understand. Now he was gone. And his words hit harder than his fist. I wanted to go after him, throw him to the ground and beat sense into him. But I could not move. Antonio stepped right in front of me, his hand pressing lightly against my chest to stop me. With the other he reached for my face to assess the cut. I flinched but his fingers stayed firm, steady, almost too familiar. “Stay still,” he said softly, but it sounded like an order. I no longer had the energy to protest It felt like Vito had ripped away the last piece of me that Selena had left behind. Antonio cleaned the wound with clinical precision “Damn…” he muttered. “Vito is lucky Viktor is still the head of his family and not Alessandro. This would have been a death sentence.” I said nothing. I stared at my reflection while he wrapped the bandage around my temple. When he was done, he fetched the suit I put it on in silence. A few minutes later, my father arrived. He said nothing as he led me to the hall. Antonio walked ahead of us. And Alessandro was already waiting. We walked down the long aisle while the music played and when we reached the front I saw Vito standing there with a forced smile as my witness. My father pressed a ring into my hand and handed me over to Alessandro. He stepped closer, slowly, like someone who knew he did not have to take anything because it already belonged to him. The music sounded distant, muffled as if underwater. The bandage on my temple burned, the suit stretched over the vest, I had left the shirt beneath it with the collar open and the sleeves rolled up. Alessandro stood right in front of me, his eyes cold but attentive. “Not bad,” he murmured. “Almost like you understood what you are now.” My father stepped back, just enough to show I was no longer under his protection. Alessandro took my hand, turned it exactly how he wanted. His hand was warm, softer than I expected. “This is simple,” he whispered as we moved to our places. “You say yes, and everything you are becomes mine. If you do not, it will hurt. Not you. The ones you have left.” I wanted to tell him I had no one left, but then I heard her voice in my head, quiet and echoing, you promised Nic no more fights never again. The priest began the vows as if this were two people willingly joining their lives. I heard nothing clearly, just noise in the distance. My heart beat too calmly for what was happening. Maybe I had lost too much to feel panic. When it was my turn the priest looked at me and Alessandro tilted my head toward him, not rough just enough to force my eyes into his. He wanted no answer, he wanted obedience. My jaw tightened. I wanted to scream, break something, end this. But then I heard her voice again. No more blood. No more violence. I looked him in the eyes and said it. “Yes, I do.” It was barely a whisper but it was enough. Selena’s voice vanished. And I knew I had buried myself with her. The priest turned to Alessandro. “Do you, Alessandro De Luca, take this man Nicolai Petrovich as your husband, to love and honor him in good times and bad until death parts you?” Alessandro never broke eye contact. “Yes, I do.” “By the power vested in me I declare you husbands,” the priest said. Then he looked at Alessandro. “You may now kiss your husband.” I finally found enough strength to speak. “Wait what?”