Nine: The Princess

Ariana Montenero was a Princess by default. She was the only child of The Monteneros and her parents had made it a business deal with The Lombardos to marry their children in the future since they were very young.

She was daddy's little girl, she always gets what she asked for and it was fate that she fell in love with Armand even before she knew they were arranged to be married.

Being the ladies man that he was, Armand always treated her like his Princess no matter where they go. He would give anything for her. The only thing he couldn't give her was his faithfulness. He would hide all his side chicks away whenever Ariana was around, they were not allowed to even greet him in public. If they did, there would be consequences, he would even beat them up the next time he sees them.

His father always told him to treat the woman of his life as his queen, "You have to keep their stomach full, their heart happy and in bed smiling." That was the motto for being a man in The Lombardo clan. They can fuck as many women as they want, but the Queen must always come first.

Ariana knew that, it was why she always came back to him no matter what she found out about him.

They were at the club one night. Half of the club was reserved for Armand and his entourage. He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a week at clubs just to sit and drink with Ariana and his friends. Club-goers were very familiar with the setting, whenever Armand was in a club, they should steer clear from his pack.

Ariana loves to dance. She was a bit tipsy that night and was dancing all alone on the dance floor because Armand was not the dancing type. No one dared to come near her, except for one unassuming drifter from out of town who had no idea who she was.

The guy approached her and danced with her without an invitation. It was harmless at first, she was just enjoying herself and the music when the guy started to flirt with her. He couldn't resist her charm. She was the most beautiful thing in the room and when he saw her dancing all alone, away from everyone else, it was as if a light had shunned down on her from the heavens and he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

One of her bodyguards wanted to confront the guy and tell him to go away, but Armand stopped him. He was watching the two from the upper ground, he wanted to see how far they would go.

The guy started to hug her from behind and whispered in her ear. She laughed. He put his hand on her waist but she turned to avoid it. She just wanted to dance. They continued to dance face to face. The look on the guy's face was obvious, he wanted more than just a drunken dance. He was getting closer and closer to her. She was like a magnet pulling him closer with his tank full ready to burst at the moment of impact.

He started to give her sexual signals, but she just laughed it off. She shook her head a few times with a smile. She found it amusing how horny guys can be just looking at a girl who was minding her own business. But he was hooked by her spell and was determined to get her somewhere private. When she walked away from him, he pulled her hand not willing to let the night go without taking her home with him.

That was when Armand stepped in.

The guy was drunk and didn't have a clue who he was dealing with. He was upset when he was interrupted, he talked back at the Lombardo heir.

"Let it go, baby ... let's just go," Ari said.

The look on Armand's face was terrifying. She had never seen that look before. He told two of his men to take the guy out to the back alley and then he dragged her by the neck with him.

"You're hurting me, Armand, just let it go," she shouted.

"Let it go? Is that how you think this will pan out? You let a guy flirt with you ... make him think he can fuck you and I should just let it go?" he shoved her when they were at the back of the club.

The two men held the guy on each side, Armand walked toward him, "Did you want to fuck my girlfriend?"

"Your girlfriend? Hey ... I didn't see her with a guy, man, I thought she was game," the guy said.

"Did she make you think you can fuck her?" he balled his hand into a fist.

"Hey I'm sorry, man, I didn't know ... I was just trying to have some fun."

"It was just a stupid misunderstanding, Armand ... please can we just go? Leave it be," she pleaded.

But every word that came out of her mouth was building his anger even more. He punched the guy in the stomach, he groaned.

"Misunderstanding, she said, well I'm here to clear it up ... you don't mess with Armand Lombardo's girlfriend," he punched the guy again, this time on the face, his nose bled.

She screamed, "Enough ... okay, he understands now ... right? Can we just go ... please ..." she pulled his hand to take him away.

He cupped her face with one hand, "No ... you watch ... you watch what happens when you think you can flirt with a guy in front of my face," he said with spite in his eyes.

"I wasn't flirting, I swear, why would I do something like that."

He punched the guy again, and again, and again. He was down on his knees. Then he kicked him.

"No ... stop ... stop, baby, please just leave him ... he knows now, okay?" her fear was growing.

"Does he?" his eyes were crazy, "Do you understand what you've done, Ari? You caused this ... this is all your fault," he kicked the guy again, and again, and again.

The poor guy whimpered in agony, pleading for mercy, but Armand wouldn't stop. No matter how much she pleaded, she cried and begged. He kept going. He hit the guy's face again and again until all she could see was blood. The guy was down on the pavement and losing his consciousness from the pain he can no longer endure. Like fuel to a flame, Armand kept kicking him and hitting him like he has no empathy for the guy's pain.

"You're going to kill him ... please stop ... please ..." Ari was down on her knees on the pavement and wailing in horror.

He just kept going until there was no more sound coming from the guy and his face was barely recognizable. Ari was screaming. The two men just stood calmly as things unfold in front of them. One of them actually handed Armand a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his hands.

He was panting after punching the guy like a punching bag. He knelt in front of her and touched her crying face. "You see, Ari? Do you see what happens when you think you can fuck around with me? You just killed a man."

He helped her up and gave his men a nod. The men took out a gun and shot the poor guy in the head. He held his screaming girlfriend in his arms and let her bury her face in his chest.

He caressed her back to calm her down, "It's okay, baby, you're okay, ... it's over now, I'll take care of you ... just don't do anything like that ever again ... okay?" He was speaking sweetly to her.

She was too distraught to comprehend what he was saying. It was the first time she ever witnessed someone have his life ended in front of her in the most gruesome way. She couldn't believe that the man she loved had murdered someone with his bare hands and made her watch. She never looked at another man again after that. She was 21 years old, and Armand was only 23.