I usually didn't have access to clean clothes or a clean body, making do with what was given to me. So, the moment I got out of the car, trailing after my foster father into the exquisite-looking diner, I knew something was about to happen.
Something that would change my life forever.
And that was when I saw him.
Nikolai Dimitri.
He was seated at a table in the centre of the room, its red leather catching the light like he wanted to be noticed. A huge cigar hung from his lips, and there was a low hat on his head, shielding his eyes from view.
"Move!" Richard, my foster father, sneered, pushing me forward with a kick. I felt the pain in my lower back, but I knew that if I stopped, his belt would come next.
It didn't matter that we were in a public space.
"Mr. Dimitri!" Richard beamed when we got closer, stretching his hand out for a shake. Nikolai ignored him, his eyes falling on me.
He nodded. "Will do."
A frown creased my features. "Why are you looking at me like a piece of meat?"
"Danika!" My foster father looked like he was about to suffocate.
Dimitri shook his head. "You don't talk to me like that, Danika. No one has the right to, and it doesn't matter that you are going to be my wife."
At first, I chuckled, shaking my head just as Richard looked at me like I had swallowed an object called guts.
Nikolai tilted his head, giving me a better view of his eyes. They were dark and soulless. Something about them made the laughter on my lips die unceremoniously.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" I snapped, pushing the seat back and getting on my feet.
I was 21! I had dreams! I wanted to be a painter. Why the fuck was Richard getting me married, and why was my husband no other than the most bloody ruthless mafia in the whole of Italy?
"Sit down, Danika, and let the adults talk!" Richard yelled, finally finding his voice. He glanced at the mafia lord apologetically as one arm wrapped around my hand so hard that I winced.
Nikola didn't utter one word. All he had to do was nudge, and his men sprang into action. In seconds, Richard was pried off me, Nikolai's men holding him as he struggled against them.
"Nikolai…"
"It is Mr. Dimitri to you!" He growled, taking off his hat. "And the next time you lay a hand on my wife, I promise you that it will be your last day on earth."
It felt like I was having an out-of-body experience, watching the one scene I had never imagined happening in my entire life.
"I am not your wife!" I scream, pulling away from the table. "Not in this life and not in the life to come. I don't know what foolish deal you made with Richard, but I am not going anywhere near you."
The farther I backed away, the more Nikolai's gaze grew intense. His men moved towards me slowly, menacingly, dropping Richard to the ground like he was worth no more than a bag of old clothes.
From the corner of my eye, I eyed the position of the side doors, knowing the men would expect me to go out through the front.
"If she runs, I'll have your heads."
The men charged after me at the same time I moved towards the main entrance. And then, in a swift change of direction, I headed out through the side door on my left.
My hair whipped my face, the wind blowing it in all directions as I kept racing down the road. People decked out of the way, and my breath raged, coming out in torrents. My heels had been discarded long ago at the diner, and now, the cold terrace pinched at the under of my feet.
"Shit!" I muttered to myself when I didn't think I could take it anymore. I knew Nikolai's men were closing in on me. They knew better than to return to him without me.
But the last thing I would let anyone do is marry me off to him.
My eyes fell on a gate at a corner of the road, hidden by how perfectly it blended into the darkness. I went through it, reducing my pace and my breathing just in case there was someone out there, at the other end, waiting for me.
My chest burned as I brought my feet to a halt, bending over with my hands on my knees.
"It's okay, Danika," I whispered. "It's fine. You are fine."
Leaning on the wall, I slid to the ground, waiting for the danger to be over. In the near distance, a lone white light shone through the dark, creating a gloomy look under the night sky.
It started raining at that point, the sudden patters crashing into me like Richard's belt. I knew I needed to find a shade, yet I stood there, still glued to the wall, unable to move an inch.
A very tall man walked out from where the light shone. I couldn't see his features because he had his back turned towards me. But there was something about how unruly his hair was, like he ran his fingers through it more times than not.
Suited men suddenly appeared by his sides, and I gasped, thinking it was Nikolai's men. But they didn't hear me. They didn't know I was only a second away from them. The rain masked any sounds that I made.
"Please," a man I hadn't noticed before groaned. He was bloodied, the evidence only on his face as the rain washed it away.
"You know I don't give second chances."
I placed my hands over my ears, draining the loud bang when it rang. It was over in a second, but when I looked back up again, his eyes were no longer on the dead man splayed on the ground.
They were on me.