Page 5 of Always Meant To Be

With a smirk, I leave the table, knowing our men have taken several photos of the sisters, and a few men will stay behind to monitor them. As I get near the counter, I make eye contact with the woman I'm supposed to marry. Her brown eyes light up, and she pulls her top further down, showing part of her nipple, clearly not recognizing me.

Looks like she never did her research.

Antonio gags again, and I hold in my snort and walk past her, ignoring her. I hear her huff, and I silently chuckle, and leave the café, determined to make that beauty my bride.

We spent four hours reviewing all the photos and conversing with my father, before heading to our restaurant downtown to meet Mikhail. It only took one look at her to know I wanted her, to know she'd be mine. Now I need to convince her father, and if he disagrees, then I'll just have to marry her behind his back, and I’m not opposed to kidnapping.

“Calm,il mio ragazzo,” my father rasps from beside me as I bounce my knee. I stop as Mikhail walks through the door of Russo's Italian Ristorante with three guards behind him.

His three-piece suit stands out here, being mainly a restaurant for families with young children, and his blonde hair is styled perfectly.

He smiles slightly at seeing us, and then I notice his eyes, violet just like the beauty’s.

Papa and I stand to greet him, and he grins, shaking Papa's hand first.

"Edoarado, it's good to see you again." He turns to me, shaking my hand next. "Romeo, you're not a small boy anymore, huh?"

I chuckle a little at his statement. "No, sir, I'm not."

Papa gestures for us to all sit, and we do.

Mikhail gets right to it. He folds his hands on the table and rasps, "I take it your meeting didn't go well? Liliya believes you stood her up after waiting twenty minutes."

Papa gives him a sad smile, and I reply, "It did not. She didn't even look around the room to see if I had arrived, despite her being two hours late." He grimaces, and I state, "She tried to bed the server in front of me, and she was dressed like a common stripper.”

Mikhail sighs, shaking his head with disappointment.

My father speaks up, "We've also been made aware that she has had two abortions, one only last week at the clinic downtown." Mikhail's face reddens, and my father adds, "I'm guessing you didn't know."

He grunts. "No, I did not. Her mother told me Liliya needed attention for womanly problems, and I never questioned it."

I sigh, and say quietly, "I'm sorry, Mikhail, but I cannot marry youreldestdaughter."

He looks at me sharply, hearing my insinuation. He shakes his head, instantly snapping, "No."

I tilt my head, not at all shocked, as my father tries to calm him, "It'll be good for the alliance, Mikhail."

He shakes his head again and states, "We can go into business instead. I am not selling Elena."

Elena….

Fuck, even her name sounds like an angel.

I cut in this time. "Why not? If you were willing for your eldest, why not Elena?"

He looks at me sharply. "My eldest was raised around our world, Elena was not. She stayed in the shadows, not wanting anything to do with this life. She goes to a private school, for fuck's sake, instead of homeschooling. She has plans for a future."

My brows hit my hairline, and I question, "She's led a normal life? How is that possible?"

He grimaces. "My wife wanted a boy to give me an heir after Liliya, but as soon as Elena was born, she became cold, and Elena hid away, something I tried to stop, until I saw how happy it made her." He looks at my father, then back at me, and admits, "She has dreams, Romeo. She wants to become a teacher. She works her ass off doing all AP classes. She isn't aware that I know, but she's been applying to colleges to do her Bachelors. I can't kill her dreams, not when she's had to deal with her mother and sister; it's why I didn't get mad when she snuck into a tattoo parlor, and got a butterfly on her back. A symbol of wanting to fly and spread her wings. She didn't know it, but her guard was always with her. He called me, and I allowed it to go ahead because it was the only wild thing she's ever done. She was fifteen."

I look at my father with shock, and he raises a pointed brow at me, leaving the ball in my court. I can either say “fuck it” and go into business with them, or I can fight for his daughter, a daughter I haven't even spoken to yet, but seem to need.

The feelings I had at seeing her scared the living fuck outta me, and yet, I can’t seem to care. I chew my bottom lip. She's a woman that doesn't belong in our life, yet I want her anyway. I'm fucking selfish and, honestly, I don't care right now.

I give Papa a nod to confirm I still want her, then I look at Mikhail. "I'll allow her to continue her schooling, hell, I'll evendonate to a local school so she can work." Mikhail's eyes widen, and I continue, "I will ensure she has everything she wants, and I'll treat her like a queen. She'll be able to spread her wings while being kept safe."

Mikhail furrows his brows, looking me over, before he groans with realization, and grumbles, "Fuck me, you felt an instant connection with my seventeen-year-old, didn't you?"