An Arranged Marriage To The Mafia...?

Even in the black blanketed kitchen I could see it, the faint out line of his broadened lips, the shimmer in his eyes and yet I stayed silent. I couldn't bring myself to say a single thing. I already knew without questions and yet I hoped somewhere in the back of my mind that it wasn't true.

Ethan had walked casually up to Pennelope, his lips lightly parted, shoulders back with confidence and eyes twinkling with excitement; that was how he was suppose to approach me not the ill-advised and scantly trusted daughter of our number one criminal enemy. For the remanding hours I sat alone and silent at our over stretched table, their mouths mumbled secrets and laughed loudly at jokes, their eyes never parting except for pennelope's mousey browns for the brief seconds she shot deadly glances out my way. I did my best to ignore every second, I hated Ethan Radev, and yet some part of me longed to be the girl he whispered sweet and funny nothings to.

My father had ushered us back into our rightful seats, even then Ethan had sat down the table next to the dull girl and ignored the brief closing speeches that were given, too enveloped in the sexual interest he was being shown. I smiled as guests gave their well wishes and reassured many that Pennelope and my future husband were simply old friends who hadn't seen each other in almost forever; I didn't know why I covered for him.

I left as soon as I possibly could, climbing quickly into the back of my soon-to-be brother-in-law James' slim black mercedes, we sped down the strip in a blur and not once did I look back to watch the melting stare of Ethan on another girl. I ran upstairs almost before the car was safely at a stand still, I showered and sat around my room for endless hours humming and debating my fustrated options. It took thirty minutes to decide what exactly I was going to do, and once my inner debate was over I'd crept through the black hallways and dug out the thick round tub if ice-cream in the bottom on the freezer; my secret midnight haven was quickly destroyed.

"I didn't think anyone would be up." Ethan pulled the refrigerator door opened and grabbed a bottle of vitamin water, unscrewed the cap and rested his palms out along the table before me.

I said nothing, my eyes suspiciously scanning over every one of his features, his deep green eyes, strong face framed by dark hair, tall - broad muscular build, lipstick stained collar. My heart sank as the red stain ran into focus.

"What?" His eyes held a twinge of guilt but the cocky grin countered this out. He brushed at his collar and and made an 'O' shape with his lip as red cosmetics gritted across his fingertips. "It was nothing..."

"Mmmhmm." I placed the lid back over the ice-cream tub.

"Seriously Amelia... you're already acting like we're married." He laghed at the end of his sentence and my heart raced in frustration.

"Isn't that how I'm suppose to act?" I frowned and looked up from my folded hands, "We are getting married, we can't get out of this Ethan, it's happening."

"Not if I can help it love." His smiled burned deep inside my chest and he quickly stalked off from the room.

This was my future; gun fights and deaths mixed with betrothals and unfaithful fiancés. And in the dark of midnight hallways I had no idea on how I was suppose to cope, my chest grew tight with a lack of oxygen and my brain fizzed in desperate panic yet there was something about the knowledge of a suitcase lying underneath the bed just down the hall that let calm secure itself in place.