Chapter 20 Chapter 20
Shit, no, it's never wrong to hate people like Alessandro or my father, people like me. Monsters worse than any nightmare, walking among the good. I stand up, too quickly, too abruptly. I feel dizzy, but I force myself to stay upright. My gaze falls on the contract on the desk, that piece of paper that sealed my fate. "The agreement to unite the leading families through the marriage of Alessandro de Luca and Selena Petrovich. Addendum: Due to the death of Selena Petrovich on the night before the wedding, her place will be taken by the last remaining heir of the Petrovich house, Nicolai Petrovich. In the following, the agreement will be adjusted to this circumstance. Hereinafter, the parties shall be referred to as the heir and the head of the family." A bitter laugh, more like a hiss, escapes my lips.
"The following points are established to define the parameters of this union:
• The Petrovich heir shall submit to the De Luca heir in all areas of life, be it in matters of finance, day-to-day business, family business, or sexual matters.
• Furthermore, the Petrovich heir submits to the orders of the head of the De Luca family until the latter hands over the business to his heir.
• In the event of a breach of the obligations set out in this agreement, the Petrovich family undertakes to hand over the heir to the head of the De Luca family for disciplinary enforcement.
• The Petrovich heir agrees to any physical, medical, or modifying action that is in accordance with the will of the De Luca heir or head, provided that it serves to maintain the connection.
• Any attempt by the Petrovich heir to unilaterally terminate the contract, flee, or refuse to comply shall be considered high treason and shall be punished by death in accordance with Article 14.3 – alternatively, the Petrovich family shall be obliged to hand over the heir in full.
• The Petrovich heir undertakes to maintain the appearance of a voluntary and harmonious union in public; any statement, gesture, or action that damages the reputation of the De Luca family will be considered a breach of contract.
• This contract is irrevocable. It ends with the death of both parties or with the dissolution of the Petrovich and De Luca families through the complete destruction of all relatives.
• The Petrovich heir is prohibited from disclosing the contents of this contract without the permission of the De Luca head. A breach of this confidentiality entitles the De Luca family to immediately dissolve all protection obligations towards the Petrovich family.
• The Petrovich heir guarantees his willingness to engage in physical union at any time and in any place. Refusal without a medically certified reason shall be considered a breach of contract.
• Since the marital union between the heirs of the De Luca and Petrovich houses does not allow for natural offspring, the use of a surrogate mother is ordered to preserve the bloodline and continue the alliance.
1\. The first child born through surrogacy shall be genetically descended from the De Luca heir's seed line and shall be considered the legitimate first and principal heir of the House of De Luca.
2\. The Petrovich heir undertakes to father at least one further child through the same surrogate mother or one designated with the consent of the De Luca head in order to permanently secure the biological connection between the two lines.
3\. All children born under this agreement shall be considered members of the De Luca family in legal, biological, and familial terms. The Petrovich family heir shall not be granted any parental rights, obligations, or rights of influence.
4. The surrogate mother is bound by confidentiality and is under contract to the De Luca family; all rights to the pregnancy, birth, and upbringing are transferred to the House of De Luca upon signing this agreement.
• Upon the birth of the offspring, all personal, emotional, and legal claims of the Petrovich heir to the children shall expire.
The offspring are considered exclusively the property and bloodline of the De Luca family and are subject entirely to their upbringing, discipline, and purpose.
• Any objection, refusal to conceive, or refusal to acknowledge this provision shall be considered a breach of contract and a betrayal of the alliance.
I read the same terrible words over and over again, words that rob me of any hope of escaping this miserable hell. They are the rules that Selena would have had to follow, now adapted to me. To hell with the De Luca family. Selena would have bowed to them for the sake of peace, and if she were here now, she would probably beg me desperately to do the same, but I can't. I just can't do it anymore. For five and a half years, I did everything and gave everything that Selena, the light of my life, wanted. I pulled myself together when I wanted to let violence and fear speak for me, I hung out with people she liked because they were good people, and I stayed away from those she thought were a bad influence on me, like Vito, my best friend, my brother in spirit. The guy who would have died for me and I for him, even though he doesn't even know that we're not related, that he's not the son of my uncle who died in a bloody conflict with those assholes from Salvator. I turned my back on our father. I did all that for her, but this? This contract? No way, over my dead body will I bow down to that washed-up wanker Viktor De Luca or his power-hungry asshole of a son, Alessandro De Luca. They want the Petrovich heir, they can have him, but I promise they won't like what they get.
Alessandro's perspective
I stood at the window of my study, my fingers wrapped around a glass of whiskey that had long since gone stale. I was supposed to be fudging the books to launder the money from the drug deals through my nightclub businesses, but my thoughts kept wandering back to what had happened that morning. That damn Nicolai. I can still feel how he felt beneath me. The heat of his skin as my hand slid over his body. How he resisted, half\-heartedly, desperately, while his damn body had long since invited me in. His cock was hard when I grabbed it. Hard enough that I had to show him I noticed. Everyone else throws themselves at me. Offers themselves up, makes themselves look ridiculous. Women who give everything just to be ruined by me for one night and thrown away in the morning. So they can say: De Luca fucked me. But him? He rejected me. Cursed me. And me? I got hard from a fucking kiss. From a man. From him. I can still feel how he felt beneath me. The heat of his skin as my hand slid over his body. How he resisted—half\-heartedly, desperately—while his damn body had long since invited me in. His cock was hard when I grabbed it. Hard enough that I had to show him I noticed. Everyone else throws themselves at me. Offers themselves up, makes themselves look ridiculous. Women who give everything just to be ruined by me for one night and thrown away in the morning. So they can say: De Luca fucked me. But him? He rejected me. Cursed me. And me? I got hard from a fucking kiss. From a man. From him.