Chapter Two

Alice's POV

I woke to the sound of my alarm. I blindly searched for my phone on the bed. When I found it, I turned off the alarm. I stood up from the bed and walked towards the window staring at the view.

The city was busy and everyone was rushing to God knows where. Today was the day I get to meet the man my father is selling me off to. 

I made my way toward my bag and selected a red dress to wear with match heels. I have just an hour to get ready so I dressed up quickly and stared at myself in the mirror.

The gown was a body con dress and it hugged all my curves. It stops mid-thigh and I like that it was giving. The v-neck showed my cleavage and I wore a necklace on my neck. I decided to do a very light and simple makeup because I don't like to use much makeup. 

I curled my hair and everything was looking good. Staring at myself one last time, I was satisfied with my look.

My lips were stained with red lipstick. I know how weak my dress makes men feel and that is the one thing I want today. The red was a nice blend of my tan skin.

Soon, Silver entered the room after knocking. She did a double-take and stopped. "Damn it, girl, you look so hot and sexy babe. When he sees you, he's gonna fall hard." She complimented me. 

"Thank you b."

She walked to my bed and sat down sighing. "I'm scared for you Alice, you don't even know you are getting married and your crazy father doesn't even care." She complained.

"I'll be fine, I promise."

"I know that, but I just wish things were different." She said dropping onto the bed. Silver has been with me for eight years now and I'm so glad I met her.

She's like the sister I never had. Father hates her though, he said we acted alike. Silver is Romano's daughter and ever since her dad passed away, I told dad I wanted her to stay with me.

I didn't care if I looked desperate but I begged my father and I was even shocked when he agreed.

"I just received a message that your father is waiting for you." She opened the door for me and we both made our way out of the hotel.

Silver opened the door of the Rolls-Royce for me and I saw my father seated inside. He looked at me and signaled to me to enter. I was boiling on the inside because he wasn't even supposed to be in my car. 

I guess he wants to give his in-laws a feeling that he has a good relationship with his daughter. What a prick. I took my seat beside him and decided to check the progress of work at home on my phone.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw my father drinking whiskey. Last year he was diagnosed with a liver problem and was told to stop taking any kind of alcohol or dry gin but here he is still drinking what was killing him.

He gulped the entire glass and poured another one. The whole car reeked of whiskey. I can't stop him from drinking and even if I tried, he won't listen.

I'm just glad that he has little time on earth. I crave peace of mind and his dying will bring me peace. Although I also drink, I try to make it minimal.

After a while, he spoke. "I want you to behave when we get there. No tantrum." What am I? A five-year-old? I thought in my mind. "And also let me advise you, the American Mafia is very strong. If you can be a good wife to your husband and watch carefully, you can take their Mafia from them. That way you can have more power." He said, smiling.

And this ladies and gentlemen is why I call my father a psychopath. In the Mafia world, loyalty is one of the important virtues, and without it, there's no trust.

In as much as this is going to be a forced marriage, I refuse to stab my supposed husband in the back. My Mafia is enough for me. I'm not one of those power-hungry Dons. I decided not to reply to my father. 

A view came into sight and it was a big mansion that was far from other houses. As the car moved closer to the gate, I suddenly became nervous. Father on the other hand took another glass of whiskey.

The gate opened automatically as we got closer and we entered the area. The driver stopped at the front door and immediately Silver was already at the door opening it for me. 

Father got out and made his way to the door of the mansion. I followed behind, digging my nails into my palm to steady myself and stop my anxiety.

Why the hell am I nervous? Silver held my hand briefly, just to assure me that everything will be fine. 

Father knocked on the door and we were greeted by a very tall handsome man and a beautiful woman.

They greeted father and he pushed me to the front. "This is my daughter, Alice. She runs the mafia for me." He said, like I was his errand girl.

I smiled and stretched out my hand to greet them. They shook my hands and we made our way into the house. We were led directly to the dining and boy was I grateful, because I was yet to have breakfast.

The dining room was very big and they had a lot of wine glasses arranged in big shelves. It made me wonder if they ever use them or if they were just for aesthetics. We were about to sit when a young boy strolled into the room. 

He made his way toward the table and sat opposite my father. His father cleared his throat and spoke "this is my second son, Matt." He introduced.

The boy smiled and nodded his head. I saw the way father grimaced at the way the boy greeted but then he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Soon breakfast was served and we all started eating. I looked around trying to see if the supposed first son would come in like his younger brother but nobody came.

Father conversed with the couples while I felt out of place. I turned and saw the boy staring at me.

"Hello, I'm Matt Salvador." He said, stretching his hand to shake me. I shook his hands and responded. "I'm Alice."

"Just Alice?" He asked.

"Just Alice," I replied.

"My brother is usually not like this. He's probably busy with work which is not an excuse for him not to be here. I apologize on his behalf." He said.

"No problem, how old are you?"

"Sixteen." And we continued asking each other questions. I enjoyed Matt's company. He had beautiful eyes and short blonde hair.

He smiled a lot and I got to know about his work. He had good hacking skills and was in charge of the mafia's web security. For a young boy, he was very good. 

We laughed and talked about so many things. "You know, you are a great person Alice and I think Liam will love you. I'm just disappointed that he didn't bother to come for breakfast." He said 

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize on his behalf. I'll deal with him when we meet." I told him.

"Damn! It seems Liam will have a lot of apologies to do. Remind me to get popcorn for this." He laughed mischievously.

"Just remember Alice, if he offends you, just tell and I'll deal with him." He said.

"You think I can't handle myself? I asked. 

"Of course, you can but I just need to have a reason to fuck him up." 

"Alright." I smiled.

Soon father and the Salvador's moved to the living room to continue talking but I decided to leave the house.

My supposed husband has succeeded in embarrassing me and I won't sit in his and wallow about it.

So I took a walk with Silver into the vineyard I saw earlier. The Salvadors have a very big space and I won't be surprised if there's a wine factory here.

I saw guards positioned in different spots but I continued on my journey to the vineyard, ignoring all of them. I walked through the yard, enjoying the serenity.

The grape hung beautifully and I wondered what brought the idea of having a vineyard around this mansion. Plucking a grape, I threw it into my mouth and enjoyed the burst of flavor in my mouth. 

Just then, a baritone voice broke the silence, "I'm here to see Alice, my fiance." Silver had her knife against his throat. Fucking bastard decided to show up now. "It's okay, Silver, let him go. You don't want to kill him in his own house."

He raised his brow at the statement I just said but I stared at him with a bored face. Deep down inside, all I wanted to do was to run my hands through his hair and enjoy the warmth of his body close to mine.

He was very handsome. His jaw was well-chiseled and he had beautiful blue eyes. His lips were slightly parted and all I wanted was to kiss him senseless. I have never really felt like this with any man and it was hard for me to control myself.

"I'm Liam Salvador and I'm sorry for missing breakfast baby girl." He spoke and ran his gaze over my body. I could see him trying to subtly adjust his trouser and I smiled mentally, happy that I wasn't the only one affected. 

"Can your friend leave us? I'd love to talk to you alone." He asked. I turned to Silver and gave her a nod, and with that, she left. 

"And don't fucking call me baby girl." I snapped.

"What? Do you want to pretend like you don't like it? What should I call you then?"

"Alice."

"Okay, Alice." He said moving closer to me. Since I was near a wall, I didn't have enough space to move away.

He put his hands on the wall caging me on the spot but I stared into his eyes unwavering.

"I've heard about you Alice and you sure live up to what people say about you. What do you say about having dinner with me tomorrow?" He whispered into my ear.

But I wasn't listening to him, my thoughts were running wild in my head. All I wanted to do was to kiss him senseless and when I opened my eyes, I saw his eyes dart to my lip.

He licked his lip unconsciously and I felt my core burst into a puddle. Fuck, I was getting wet.