3. Alejandro Leone

IVY

“Don’t forget, you’re now Iris Silver and you have been raised in wealth your entire life, do not for any reason reveal anything about your life to him, and remember everything I’ve taught you,” Paul said as we pulled up in front of a beach house.

The last two days, I had been taught everything about Iris Silver and trained to dress and act exactly like her. The emerald green dress clung to my body and I looked so much different than before, like a true heiress that there were no traces left of the girl I once was.

Everything, down to my cell phone had been wiped clean and I now had a new identity.

“You’re Iris Silver and you must embody her through and through, one little mistake and everything goes sideways, do you understand?” Paul asked as he led me into the beach house and I nodded.

He was intentionally holding back the details of what was going on. When I asked what was happening, he simply replied that I was aware of what I needed to know and not aware of what I didn’t need to know.

Two of his bodyguards led the way and as soon as we walked in, I noticed the shift in the atmosphere. Armed men dressed in black suits filled every corner of the luxurious beach house and in the captivating living room that had a view of the beach, sat a man dressed casually with his mop of gorgeous dark hair perfectly messy, as if he’d just rolled out of bed, adding a touch rugged charm to his chiseled features.

He was casually strolling through his phone but somehow that random thing looked captivating, he rose to his feet the moment he saw us and that was when I got a good look at him. He stood at an impressive 6’3, his imposing frame commanding attention and his sharp grey eyes cold and dark, framed with thick lashes that added to his allure.

The tattoo of a snake covered his entire neck and the sight of his moderate muscles flexing underneath his rolled-up sleeves made me gulp out of anxiety.

“Took you long enough,” he said with a gruff tone as he grabbed a bunch of papers beside him on the table and tossed them at Paul. “I had to leave a meeting for this so let’s make it snappy.”

I noticed Paul was just as nervous as I was even though he was trying to hide it. He slowly picked up the papers and the tension in the air as Paul’s men held on tightly to their weapons became very obvious.

“We have kept our end of the deal Alejandro, it’s up to you now,” Paul replied and he took a step back, slowly beginning to make his way towards the exit.

So he was Alejandro, the man Iris was supposed to marry. He was good looking but one good look at his cold and hard appearance and one would realize why Iris went missing, she must have refused to end up with a man like him.

From the pictures I saw of her, she looked like a princess, like a young lady who was cheerful and full of life. Someone like that wouldn’t want to end up with a man like the one in front of me so there was a high chance that she had run away.

“Take her to the car.” Alejandro signaled to one of his men and that made my heart skip a beat.

I immediately glanced back at Paul and took a step back,

“Wait a minute, is that all? What about the wedding? What about…” I was panicking and suddenly rethinking the whole deal I made with them.

The hospital had called last night to inform me that Mom’s hospital bill had been sorted out by a generous donor and she had been upgraded to the VIP ward, I was happy they kept their word but somehow worried about the whole thing.

A diabolical laughter erupted from Alejandro as he stared at me with some sort of look in his eyes,

“Were you expecting a ball thrown in your honor?” He said with a mocking tone, “Was the princess not informed of our arrangement?” He smirked and a chill raced down my spine as I held his eyes.

Something about the man wasn’t right and I could feel it.

“I’ll take my leave now,” Paul spoke up, almost at the exit door with his men when Alejandro suddenly raised his hand sharply,

“Wait.” He declared, authoritatively and Paul and his men stopped dead in their tracks.

“Something isn’t right…” he added as he stared right at me. Sweat broke out all over my forehead, soaking up the make-up on my face and my legs trembled underneath me as if it was about to give way.

Did he see through my act? Does he know I am not Iris? My heart was now slamming against my chest and I could also see it on his face, Paul was losing it just as much as I was.

If someone like him was scared of Alejandro, then…

Swiftly, Alejandro pulled out a gun and uncocked the safety. My heart almost ripped right out of my chest and my breath immediately got stuck in my throat.

Oh My God! That was a real gun! A real gun!

I could barely breathe, I had never seen a gun before and at that moment, I regretted agreeing to the deal. I knew I never should have agreed to it.

“Alejandro, please, don’t act rashly. Both our families need this…” Paul began, talking softly to pacify Alejandro but it didn’t look like it was working because before he could complete his sentence, the gun went off and there was practically little or no sound at all before I heard two loud thuds, like something heavy had hit the ground.

My entire body trembled and I was covered in sweat like I had just been submerged in water. With my eyes widening in fear and shock, I slowly glanced down at my stomach to see if I was the one that had been shot because I could barely feel a thing, I couldn’t even feel my own body, nor could I breathe.

My hands trembled as I touched my stomach and sighed heavily in relief when I felt nothing. Sharply, I turned around and let out a piercing scream when I saw Paul’s two guards lying on the floor, soaked in their own bright, red blood.

Paul remained unmoved, staring directly at Alejandro.

“Did you think that you could walk in here, into my territory, with your men, armed men for that matter and I would let them walk out of here alive?” He paused and chuckled maniacally as he gesticulated with the gun.

“Rules are rules Paul, doesn’t matter the occasion.” He added before he turned to face me.

I could barely say a single word, my eyes were glued to the dead bodies on the ground and the way two of Alejandro’s men dragged the bodies out.

The whole thing was horrifying, I had never seen anything like it before.

Without another word, Paul walked out, leaving me alone with a monster that had just killed two people right in front of a woman who was supposed to be his bride.

What kind of a man was Alejandro? Now, it made sense that Iris would run away.

The whole thing got me worried, if she ran away then would her parents ever be able to find her so she could return to her role as his wife?

Would I be stuck here with him?

“Let’s go.” His sharp, cold voice pierced my thoughts and I was forced to look at him again even though I could never meet his eyes again.

“What’s wrong? Never seen a dead body before?” He laughed, mocking me with his eyes and tone, “Don’t act like the money you were raised with wasn’t made from the blood of countless people.” He hissed as he walked right past me and headed outside.

What was talking about? Who were these people?

I remained rooted to my spot until one of his men shoved me forward lightly. As soon as we stepped out, an expensive fleet of cars pulled up in front of us and I was led into the one in the middle that Alejandro was in.

I was confused, I thought the beach house was his house so where was he taking me?

Twenty minutes into the tensed, silent ride, he pulled out a piece of cloth and inched closer to me. Startled, I jumped back but I couldn’t move far away from him because there was nowhere for me to run to, my back was already pressed against the door.

Roughly, he wrapped the piece of cloth around my eyes, like a blindfold and it was so tight that I could barely see anything.

I was so scared that I could barely keep calm.

“For years, no one has ever figured out where I live. The beach house was just a front to pick you up and even though we’re married, you’re still a Silver, I do not and will never trust you so if you’re ever going to survive living with me then know that from here on out, all connections with your family will be cut off.” His tone was firm and harsh, giving no room for further arguments.

But this was not part of the agreement, Paul never mentioned that I would not be able to communicate with them. What about my mother?

Was I really on my own now? With a man I had no clue about, a man that just shot two men, what have you gotten yourself into Ivy Andrew?

A replacement bride to a man I was certain was nothing more than a beast.