Chapter one

"...You will marry, Alejandro Ricci." 

Those words sliced through the air spitting her heart into two. 

The sweet aroma of roasted turkey and opus one filled the air, thick and suffocating.

Camellia Moretti sat at the long glass table, the soft glow of the chandelier light fell and reflected on the glass table, it's white rays on the marble floor. 

Everything smelt like power and money, the essence of her family and she hated every bit of it. 

Her father, Luca Moretti, twirled his wine glass, his eyes were fixed on her, expectations visible in them. His face was stern and unreadable. 

Around the table sat all of her uncles, her cousins and her elder brother, the so called pillars of the Moretti empire, all chauvinistic bastards, and the most important, the man she hated the most in the world, Alejandro Ricci and a few of his associates. 

They all waited for her response. 

This wasn’t a family dinner. It was a business transaction. And she, Camellia Moretti, was the merchandize.

Luca placed his glass down on the table with a soft click. The sound echoed through the anticipation and silence.

 “You will marry Alejandro in two months time.” His voice was smooth, sophisticated. His tone suggested finality, his sentence wasn't question, it didn't require her answer but she still gave it. 

Camellia’s grip tightened around her glass, holding on to it's stem. She had known this was coming for ages, as the only female child in three generations of having strong males, she was useless to the family, except from being sold out as merchandise, mere good. But she wasn't having it. 

“No.”

The word was small, barely above a whisper, but it's impact was dangerous as it set a steam in her father's eyes. 

A silence so heavy descended over the table. Everyone paused, even the extravagantly dressed servers standing quietly by the walls paused with blank expressions and faces. 

Luca in rage threw his fork at Camellia, his fork headed straight for her scratching her cheeks. A little red line appeared on the space it had scratched as blood seeps out. 

"No." her voice was louder, this time, like she wasn't scared. 

Alejandro leaned back in his chair, a smirk formed at his lips. 

His dark eyes scanned her, calculating, assessing her worth.

 “She’s fire,”

 He observed, every single wrapped in the delicious, thick sound of his Russian accent. 

His eyes stared with an intensity that burnt. 

“I love that.”

Camellia’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. His words felt like a violation, a declaration of how exactly he was going to quench her. 

Her father’s expression became darker, his rage overshadowing him. 

“This is not up for discussion, Camellia.” 

His voice was low conveying a warning, one she could not ignore.

Camellia scoffs.

Her obedience. Her duty as the only daughter of the Moretti Empire, it always came down to that and never once was she expected to disregard them, she's was to uphold them without question, without any hesitation.

She lifted her chin, meeting his cruel, unwavering eyes. 

“I am not going to be a pawn in your business dealings, Father...not like Mother. ”

Luca's eyes fumed, he breaths out slowly through his nostrills. “You would not speak of your mother, Camellia. You are a Moretti,... ” he said, his voice was hard like a rock. 

“And you'll do what is necessary.”

"Necessary?" she chuckled, wiping the blood that dripped down her cheeks. 

"Yes, necessary." Luca replied, his voice heated. 

"Was it necessary to use Mama as bait?..." she paused stopping herself, tears trickled down her face. 

"Mama had once believed in 'necessary', sacrificing everything to please you, sacrificing herself for the family..."

A bitter scorn escaped her lips, "Where did that get her?" 

Camellia dropped her glass aggressively against the table, grabbing the fabric of her red dress, squeezing them beneath her fingers.

 She stood up immediately, without breaking her father's gaze. Determination fuelled her, she was not going to suffer her mother's, just another casualty of the Moretti legacy. 

“I won’t do it,” she repeated, louder, stronger even.

Alejandro watched, his beautiful blue eyes glowed with admiration. Without taking his eyes off her, He reached for his wine, taking a small sip out his goblet.

He didn't say a word, his fingers moved slowly along the rim of his glass, his touch light, almost caressing as he watched. 

Not only was she a beauty, she was raging. 

She could feel his intense gaze on her caressing her skin slowly. She had heard tales about Alejandro Ricci, he was a predator, a monster hiding behind an expensive suit, a handsome appearance and a charming smile. 

But, he couldn't fool her. Though he remained calm, he could see his hand form a fist beneath the table, those same hands that struggled a poor widow. 

Her father took another sip, out his glass of wine, his eyes never wavered, even for a bit. He became dead silent for almost ten minutes and when he spoke again, his tone was dangerously soft. 

“You will marry Alejandro, Camellia Morretti.” 

He set his glass down, the finality of his action communicating his unspoken threat.

 “Or you will regret it .”

Just the thought of what her father was capable of sent goosebumps over her skin. 

She had witnessed his ruthlessness, his greed, his unwavering pursuit of power. She knew he would kill her if she disobeyed him.

 She did not want to anger him.

But she knew that if she stayed, if she obeyed him, she would become property, Alejandro's Ragdoll, she would never truly live...

She would lose herself entirely. 

"Now Camellia, go over to Mr Ricci, show him around our mansion." 

The air in the room felt suffocating to her, the weight of his expectation weighed down on her like a heavy burden placed on her chest. 

Everywhere seemed smaller, the walls came closer to each other, her home, the one she grew up in now felt like a prison.

She pushed her chair back, the scraping sound it made sliced through the tension that floated in the air. “

She took slow, small steps towards him. He stretched powerfully on the dinning chair, his handsome face stern awaiting her. 

His eyes were unwavering, like he could see through her. A victorious smile, appeared on his face as she drew closer to him. 

The closer she got to him, the more she realized that she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t even think. 

Every muscle in her body tensed, her instincts screamed a single command.

Run.

She turned swiftly, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she sprinted for the door, ignoring the stunned silence behind her. 

"Come back here, Camellia." Luca growled. 

But, she didn't look back. 

She couldn't.

Not at the faces she had left behind. 

The sound of her own heartbeat drowned her. She ran without a destination, without a plan, the only thing she knew was that she had to escape, and she was going to.