Rosalia's pov
I turn around, stepping back a little from the now-dead man on the floor. My eyes don't look at Alessio's mother first , they land on Maria, still shaking on the floor, her back to the wall.
I walk over to her.
"Hey… you good?" I ask, helping her stand up. She stumbles on her heels.
Seriously, they need to change the dress code for them. I can only imagine how much her feet hurt from standing and walking around the mansion all day.
She nods, wiping her eyes. Her gaze drifts to the guard on the floor.
"Don't look," I tell her, making her face me instead.
I open my mouth to tell her she's okay, but Lady Red's voice cuts through.
"I don't like repeating myself, young lady!" she yells, stopping behind me.
I sigh in frustration.
"Go. I'll come find you," I tell Maria. She nods and scurries off.
I turn around, stepping back from her, her perfume choking me to death.
I casually wipe the blood off my hands on the T-shirt I'm wearing.
"What?" I ask her, not looking at her.
"I asked you what the fuck happened? You can't just walk around shooting my men!" she raises her voice, annoyed, pointing at the dead man on the floor.
"He deserved it," I shrug.
Her face literally turns red, and she stomps closer to me. I step forward, meeting her halfway, making sure she knows I'm not scared of her.
She points at me, her brown eyes a storm of rage.
"I wount let you marry my son ..,"she snarls .
"Watch me ..,"I shoot back without a statter
"I don't know what you're up to, but I will find out," she whispers.
I scoff, rolling my eyes.
I lean down.
"Good luck," I whisper before brushing past her and walking out of the room, leaving her alone.
Not even a week in, and I'm already going through hell in this house. My mind floods with a million thoughts as I walk back to Alessio's room.
I could just disappear from this place, right?
Wrong. Because this place is swarming with guards left, right, and center. The walls surrounding the estate are too high and coiled with electric wires. And when we flew here, I realized it's a secluded mansion , no towns, no houses near the area. So, in short, I'm screwed. When the real Raven shows up, maybe… just maybe, I'll find a solution. But when you think about it, I die either way ,when she shows up, when I try to escape, or when they find out I'm an imposter.
I step into Alessio's room, because, well, he told me he wanted to meet me here. It's empty he's not here yet.
I shut the door behind me with a click and sigh, running my hands through my hair as I slam down on the bed, bouncing a little as I look up at the ceiling.
"Dying in the forest would've been a lot better," I whisper, shutting my eyes and taking it all in.
Just how crazy my life turned around , from a normal birthday, to gunshots, to being a jungle girl, to being an imposter, to being the wife-to-be of a man who could've been involved in my parents' death.
"Crazy," I whisper.
Just on cue, the door swings open and shuts with a click. I sit up.
Alessio walks in. He doesn't look at me, just goes straight to the closet without a word.
My eyes follow his movements as he silently takes off his watch and silver necklace. My eyes drag over him, his muscles flexing with every movement.
Jesus, Rosalia. I scold myself and look away. The room falls into an uncomfortable silence. I can hear him moving around, probably changing from his work clothes. I play with the hem of his T-shirt that I'm wearing.
"Why are you wearing my clothes, Raven?" his deep, tired voice booms, breaking the silence in the room.
My heart does a backflip. My thighs clench. I slowly turn around.
Sweet mother of biscuits.
He's now changed into a casual shirt, his arms and chest tattoos more visible now ,and grey sweatpants his hair messy, something straight out of a wet dream .YeahI'm gonna—
"Uhm… well, you had me locked up in here, and I showered. I didn't have anything to change into," I say, my eyes finally meeting his.
He pockets his hands and slowly moves toward me. I swallow hard as I follow his gaze. He settles on the leather chair opposite me.
"Hm," he simply says, sitting down. A glass of whiskey in his hand, his eyes fixed on me. Suddenly, I feel way too self-conscious from the way he's staring at me through the rim of that glass.
The room temperature goes up a little.And I shift uncomfortable.
"You do understand what happened downstairs was necessary, right?" he asks, placing the glass down with a click.
"Oh, the part where you had a gun pointed at me?" I ask sarcastically, leaning back on my palms.
"I thought you were someone else," he says, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Riiight… anyway, what's this about? I need to go back to my room. It's late," I say, standing up now because I need something to distract me from the way he's looking at me , and the heat pooling low in my stomach.
"My mother told me you shot one of my guards," he says, voice low , not angry, just deep and raspy. His eyes drag to the bloody shirt I have on.
"Well, he was forcing himself on Maria and talking shit, so I lost it and shot him," I shrug.
"What, you gonna lock me in a basement again?" I tease, and his jaw ticks.
Yeah… I'm just gonna shut up.
"You have a smart mouth on you, Raven," he says, standing up. I step back, watching him.
He moves toward me slowly, the lamplight catching his facial features.
My back presses to the wall and he stops , a hair away from me. Our breaths mingle. His scent wraps around me. His eyes pin me in place. I can't even look away.
He cocks his head slightly, his hand moving slowly, dragging over my arm. His touch sends fire all over my body.
His thumb brushes my throat, right where my pulse races wildly. I shut my eyes.
"Look at me," he orders , a whisper. His voice snaps my eyes open.
His other hand presses on the wall next to my head, his knee between my thighs.
"You have a very smart mouth and a very bratty attitude, Raven," his voice drops, his thumb brushing my lower lip.
I shiver, not exactly sure from what.
He leans down, our lips brushing. He inhales my scent, his eyes shut, his hand moves to my waist, pulling me flush against him.
"But I love it… makes it even more fun," his voice vibrates through my body. My hands clench into fists, forcing myself not to touch him , because I really want to run my hands all over his body. The thought of how he'd feel makes my thighs clench harder.
"Tomorrow… you'll be mine officially," he says, leaning back so I can see him properly.
"W… what do you mean?" I ask, confused.
"We're getting married tomorrow. I've waited long enough," he says, stepping back from me.
What the fuck!!!??
Hell no ,! this can't..
"N… no, what? Tomorrow? I'm not..." I stutter, my heart racing, panic clawing at me.
"That's not for you to decide. Everything is already prepared," he casually says, walking over to grab his glass of whiskey.
I stomp toward him, grabbing his hand and making him face me.
"No. I'm not getting married to you tomorrow," I deadpan , angry and scared.
He scoffs, shaking my hand away.
"I said that's not for you to decide!" he growls low, annoyed now, his eyes a storm as he steps toward me.
"Tomorrow, you'll be my wife. End of story," he says, turning around.
I don't even realize it when a tear falls… then another, and another. My hands shake. My body trembles. I wipe my tears.
I have to get out of here before tomorrow morning. I turn to leave, but his voice stops me.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asks, his hand gripping my wrist, turning me to face him.
"My room," I say, pulling away from his hold, but he grabs me again.
"Alessio, what..?" I ask, confused.
"You're sleeping here. From today onwards," he says, pushing me toward his bed.
"No… I'm going back to my room," I protest, trying to get away from him. But he blocks my way.
"Get your ass in bed right now… or I'll cuff you to it my self " he threatens, and my blood runs hot , from anger and everything that's happening.
The fight in me dies, because I know he won't think twice about cuffing me to that bed.
I sniffle, turning around and getting under the covers.
"Good girl," he whispers before moving to his side of the bed.
The bed sinks as he settles beside me. I hold my breath, waiting for what he'll say or do ,but nothing. Just the lights turning off.
I exhale as tears flow uncontrollably onto the pillow.
What the fuck am I supposed to do now?