Chapter 213

Chapter 213
IVANA’S POV

I groaned as muffled voices drifted up from downstairs, dragging me out of sleep. I shoved a pillow over my ears, hoping to block them out.

“Where is she?”

“What do you want with my daughter?” my father’s voice answered, sharp and guarded.

“I demand that you bring her to me. Now.”

That voice…

I bolted upright, my eyes wide. That voice. Why did it sound so familiar?

Throwing off the covers, I slipped into something more decent and made my way cautiously downstairs.

“Dad, what’s going…” My words caught in my throat when I saw who stood in our living room.

It was him.
The man from the other night. The one I’d helped. The one bleeding in the dark.

Now, he was dressed in a sharp black suit, flanked by several intimidating men who looked like bodyguards. But it was his eyes that chilled me ice-cold and locked on me like I was prey.

“You?” I whispered.

He took a step toward me, but my father immediately moved to block him.

“You should go back upstairs, Ivana,” Dad said tightly.

But one of the guards shoved him aside. He hit the floor with a grunt, and I rushed forward, only to be grabbed by the same man.

“Don’t touch my father!” I cried, struggling against the guard’s grip. He released me when his boss stepped closer.

“A beautiful name,” the man murmured, as if tasting the sound of it. “Ivana.”

He reached out and casually twirled a lock of my hair around his finger. I jerked away, skin crawling.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

“You.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist in one swift motion and pulled me against his chest.

“Let me go!” I shouted, pounding my fists against him.

“Let go of my daughter! Who the hell do you think you are?” my father shouted, rising shakily to his feet.

The man didn’t even blink. “I am Alec Nissandro.”

The name hit me like a slap. A sick chill slid down my spine.

“Alec Nissandro? As in... the new mafia leader?” my father stammered, his voice trembling a little.

“One and only.” He replied with an open arm.

Oh God!.
The man I helped that night wasn’t some lost soul. He was the heir to a criminal empire.

I’d heard the stories, how he returned from abroad after his father’s murder, how he rose faster than anyone had expected. I should’ve run that night. If I had known...

“And what makes you think I’ll let you marry my daughter?” Dad growled, mustering his courage. “You’re nothing but a thug in a suit.”

Alec’s men moved again, but he raised a hand, calm and composed.

“Don’t hit him. He’ll be my father-in-law soon. We’ll be family.”

His cold gaze never left me. I squirmed in his grip, trying to break free.

“We will never be family,” my father spat. “I’m a police officer. I stand for the law. Thugs like you belong in prison.”

Alec gave a slow, cruel smirk. “A police officer? Tell me, how much do you earn in a month? Compared to what I make in a day? I’d think twice before making an enemy out of me.”

“My father won’t let you do this,” I snapped. “Let me go and leave us alone.”

His eyes darkened. “I can’t. You saved me, Ivana. You touched me. I’ve never forgotten your face. You’re mine now. And I’ve come to propose marriage.”

“What?” I gasped. “Absolutely not. I already have a boyfriend.”

“Then break up with him,” he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

I gaped at him. He must have gone nuts.

Mark? Sweet, gentle Mark? He brings me flowers every day. He treats me with respect. And this lunatic wants me to toss him aside because... because he’s decided I belong to him?

“My daughter had a twin,” my father cut in, voice like steel. “He was a police officer. He was shot in the line of duty by one of your father's men. You think we can just forget that?”

“It was a mistake,” Alec said coolly. “The bullet wasn’t meant for him. But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten. I never forget.”

He turned to me again and, without warning, kissed me.

I cried out, muffled against his mouth, struggling with everything I had. My fists struck his chest, over and over, until he finally pulled back.

Smack.
My palm landed across his cheek.

“Don't you ever lay your hands on me again”.

His expression didn’t change. “The wedding will be next week.”

Before I could even scream at him again, the door burst open.

“Ivana, guess what I got for you, I…”
Mark’s voice died as he saw us. He froze.

“Who are these people?” he asked.

Two of Alec’s men intercepted him before he could reach me, forcing him roughly to his knees.

“Is this your boyfriend?” Alec asked, not even glancing at me. He walked over and plucked the single red rose from Mark’s hand.

My favorite flower. Mark brought me one every day.

Alec stared at it with disdain before tossing it to the ground and slowly crushing it under his shoe.

“From now on,” he said coldly, “I’m the only one allowed to give her flowers.”

“Why?” Mark asked, pale with fear as Alec drew a pistol from his coat.

“Because,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “she is now mine.”

He turned back toward my father.

“I’ll see you soon, father-in-law.”

Then he blew me a kiss. My skin crawled as he did it. With a small wave of his hand, Alec turned and walked out, his guards trailing behind him.

The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating.

I had a sick feeling in my gut.
He wasn’t going to stop.
Not until he owned me or not until I did something. But what?