CHAPTER THREE

“Imade please breathe. I know you are nervous and you are scared of how this meeting would turn out but please breathe.” Elle tried to calm a now nervous Imade but nothing was working. Since she looked up to the man she was supposed to marry, she had been feeling all types of jitters. The more she read those articles, the more they painted a deadly scenario in her head. What’s worse was that she couldn't stop even after knowing what she was getting into. She kept on devouring more of those devilish articles and now she is stuck with a deadly first impression of Romero Vaughan, nothing would erase that from her head. 

She took another deep breath and she proceeded to walk around the whole room. Elle was probably watching her and trying to phantom what was going on. She knew how dangerous this man could get and more reasons why she would always curse her father for putting her through so much. 

He had asked her to meet with him this week and she agreed without any restriction. She didn’t even put up a fight or something, she just agreed and let him pick a convenient time. This man could basically kill her within the twinkle of an eye and no one would hold him for it. He had so many unresolved crimes that the states suddenly let go of. It was one thing to find ht crimes she talked about on her shows unbelievable and it was another thing to find out it was real. The bad part was that this world was ruthless. More like her fairytale disturbed. She laid flat on the bed, ignoring the array of clothes that Elle had scattered around the whole bed. 

“He is human like you and he is not capable of harming you,” Elle said in an attempt to calm her down and Imade looked at her in shock. Her best friend had no idea about who they were talking about here and that was what gave her the confidence to think that the man would not hurt her or anyone. He had the highest killing rate on the dark side that she found and he was labeled a devil. Another article said that his father had an untamed beast and that is his son. 

Romero Vaughan didn’t fear anyone and he was as ruthless as every mafia lord that Imade saw on the crime list. She wanted to curse her father for bringing her to this and  making her perfect life disrupted. This man could decide one day that he didn’t want a particular set of human beings on earth to gain and he would get his wish. This was how dangerous the man himself was. 

“Your ride would soon be here, are you sure you don’t want to leave  a lasting impression on our future husband?” Elle asked before wiggling her brows to Imade and the poor woman only nodded, she doubted if she would be able to make any coherent sentence on the date but it was worth trying. She sat up with shaky hands while her friend tried to make her look like she was going on a genuine date with a man she was interested in. the sad reality was that she probably would never get a great marriage as she had always dreamed. She had always wanted to raise her kids better than she was raised, with all the love in the world but she was going to be marrying a mafia lord, a man who was incapable of any human feeling. “An untamed beast” who would likely have a child that’s similar to himself. That’s the saddest part too. 

Dressed in a pink floral dress, she styled her hair backward and she kept them firmly in place with a tiny silver headband, she hoped she was looking as simple as she wanted because she didn’t want to come off as trying too much to impress him or get on his good sides. Even if she was, someone once told her that men like that don’t like “pick mes” they like their woman just as they like their coffee. Strong and bold. Even if Imade doubted she was giving off any of those vibes. 

The driver arrived at exactly five pm just like he had said and by that time, Imade knew there was no going back anymore. She had to go in head strong now and watch fate play out itself. During the ride, the driver didn’t say a word to her, he only acknowledged her greetings with a nod and she had no idea if he was mute or not. Maybe working with Romero made him like that or if the man himself was a silent person. She tried to stop trying to come up with facts about the man and she tried to channel all her nervousness into twisting her index ring. It was a thing she did when she gets nervous but now, she was a train wreck of nervousness. She had no idea if she would be able to go through with the dinner. 

They drove into the popular downtown restaurant and Imade wondered how long he had made the reservations, getting a table here would have you book down six months in advance. She had tried to dine with Elle here on her birthday but she failed. Now she was going to dine here but her nervousness won’t let her enjoy the scenery or anything. Sucks to be her in such a period. A woman in a suit, no doubt waiting for her threw open the door and when Imade stepped out, she tried to take her purse from her. Imade clutched it tighter and the woman looked up at her, maybe she was expecting her to carry it. 

“Lord Vaughan would be angry if let you take the purse yourself, allow me, ma’am.” This was probably the first time she was hearing his staff speak. She was starting to think they were all mute in some kind of way. She handed the purse to the woman who nodded at her before letting her lead the way into the almost empty restaurant. Imade found herself wondering how many women he has brought with him to this place and how many people has his staff insisted on carrying purses for. Even if he was incapable of emotions, he couldn’t be celibate. She was not a lucky one when it came to relationships and she has had her quite share of the unfortunate thing.