Chapter 2

• -Lexi
• I sat in front of the mirror, lost in a daze.
• The wedding gown felt like a weight, suffocating me. I never imagined this day would come so quickly.
• Was I really getting ready for marriage?
• This was never the life I wanted. I wish that I had somewhere to go far away from this mess.
• "Are you ready to go, dear?"
• Papà's voice resonated from the doorway. Obviously, he was more excited than me. After all, the Bento family was a jackpot to him. I was getting married to the man who was on his deathbed. My papà cared for money more than my life. I remembered his words one day to my mother.
• "They aren't boys! What can I do with them if I can't marry them off and get paid?"
• We were always a pawn to him. He hated and tortured my mother for not having boys. Thinking of my mother, I decided to be the obedient child to my papà.
• I replied without turning back, the feeling of getting married to an old sick man suffocating me,
• "No…No, I mean...I just needed a moment. Please."
• My papà's eyes darkened as if he wanted to say something. After a while, he agreed, giving me one last glare.
• "Just a few minutes. I don't want any drama."
• I rushed to the garden, desperate for a breath of fresh air. Crying wasn’t an option anymore. There were no choices left for me.
• "Running away again?"
• A deep voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I gasped in shock, snapping my head aside to see the handsome face that had come to my dreams so many times.
• Hades was smoking in our garden. His eyes were hollow, distant. Like it took too much effort to truly see him. I couldn’t understand how he’d gotten past the security.
• I replied with a snort, wondering what he was doing here, "My life’s falling apart, and you’re here for fun?"
• Hades smashed the cigarette under his boots and moved over to cup my jaw, his touch reminding me of the kiss that we shared, “To see you. You’re not his, Carissima.”
• “Why are you here?” Is all I can mutter.
• “Business.”
• Of course.
• I knew it. Somehow this man probably has a lot of people who work for him. And under him. And I wouldn’t be surprised that my papà’s one of them. I mean what other kind of business would it be about.
• He lets go of my jaw and starts walking away. And I hate to admit I hate the sudden coldness when he let go of me.
• “Wait!”
• He pauses and turns his head.
• “What did you mean I’m not his?”
• “You don’t belong to him!” He mutters low and deeply. Almost like a threat.
• “I don’t belong to anyone!” I state back, but that grants me a deep dark chuckle.
• “Oh you do, Bella.” Beautiful.
• He turns just enough to look at me. And that smirk it’s pure threat.
• “You do belong to someone. You just wait.”
• What did that even mean? But I didn’t get a chance to ask before he turned and walked into the house.
• The rest of the wedding felt like a trance. The vows were spoken, but I didn’t believe my husband even remembered them. He was too sick, too lost in his own world to comprehend the reality of what was happening.
• I was escorted to the most luxurious car in the city, but I felt nothing. Once, it had been my dream car. Now, it felt more like a coffin.
• As I settled into the car, something caught my attention.
• I’d lost my mother’s ring. The one I always wore on the middle finger of my right hand.
• Where had I lost it? No one said anything. But deep down, I knew for certain—I’d never see it again.
• ***
• Weeks Later
• -Hades
• "Tell me which fingers are yours that you would like to keep?"
• I asked the man who was whining in pain. I saw him touching Lexi's ass in the club when she was having her own time. I didn't keep my eyes off her during the time of her married life. It just made me furious that the fucker Bento was lasting too long.
• But he was too old to touch Lexi.
• It was the only reason that I let her get married to that old sick fart. The man in front of me shook his head, begging for mercy silently. I chopped his four fingers off the following day, leaving one untouched to show my little mercy.
• Blood spurted all over my sleeves and I wiped them off with disgust. Hunter asked with a sigh, looking up at me.
• "Is it worth to make so many enemies for that little vexin? This man works for the other group. They’ll see it as a threat.”
• I didn't hear anything about Hunter. Lexi was mine. From the moment I laid eyes on her, she was mine. I’d burn the world to the ground for her.
• Even now, after she got married. Lexi was mine. From the moment I set eyes on her, she was mine. I'd burn the world for her.
• Her lifestyle shocked me and attracted me at the same time. The Bento family had given her endless wealth, yet she chose to spend it on an orphanage she'd visited. It made no sense, why didn't she spend it on luxury, on herself?
• I glance at my pinky and at the little gold band. Every time I saw her, she had this ring. Spinning it around her middle finger. When I went back out for another smoke before leaving their home that night, I saw it on the ground. I’ve had it in my pinky finger ever since.
• It means something to her. Which means it means something to me.
• Her jerk father didn't stay back. He had been hunting for her second husband. I was going to make sure that it was me this time. I let her go once but I wasn't going to let it happen again.
• I kept tabs on her father, regularly checking his movements, looking for the man he planned to sell her to next.
• I ordered Hunter, his eyes still scrutinizing me.
• " Find out who he is. I don’t care how. More spies, more resources, just get me a name."
• Hunter asked, shaking his head. "And what are you going to do with him?"
• I replied with a smirk, pouring a glass of scotch for me.
• "I’ll just have a little chat with him.”
• Hunter replied with a scoff, sitting next to me, "Nonsense! I know exactly what you’re planning. What if Lexi doesn't become a widow? What are you going to do then?"
• The thought alone sent a surge of rage through me. I ground my teeth, the fury boiling beneath my skin. Sipping my wine, I muttered through clenched teeth.
• "Then I will just have to ensure that I fuck her over the dead body of her old fart husband.”