An Arranged Marriage To The Mafia...?

They danced and whirled together, racing and diving, thriving and dying in a hurry of excitement, the oygen bubbles flourished inside the flute of champagne laid upon the scarlet tablet setting before me. I smiled and laughed along with the other faces seated around our table, I mixed with discussions when it was necessary and held my tongue when it wasn't my place to say a thing.

Slowly I lifted my flute of bubbling alcohol and pressed the gold rimmed glass to my pale glossed lips, the taste rolled around my tongue before rising softly to my head while I stared and watched the suits and frocks around us. They were the men of the Radev arm of mafia, their wives or mistresses sitting by their sides. I was used to seeing their faces, hearing their same stories and same jokes. The only face missing was my father's.

"My friends." Antonio was always one volunteer his services in the art of speeches and tonight was no different. "It has been such a while since we all seated together like this. Tomorrow we finally get to celebrate something that will change all our lives. My son, Ethaniel will marry Amelia tomorrow afternoon after much delay on their engagement."

A round of applause bellowe around the long rectangular table and I forced a small smile. My emotions on this matter were still fighting with one another and I was still apprehensible if this was at all necessary.

"Tomorrow we will have more hold over the sayings of what does and does not occur in our world. There will be less bloodshed and less war. We will slowly outride the Moretti."

I stopped listening for a moment, not at all interested in how business would work but rather in the absence of the most imortant member of my living family. My father should have been sitting across the table from me, not Mr. Monotago. I should have had his blessing and instead I had nothing. The man had forced my hand in marriage and suddenly when an apparent missing brother told him of his wrongful ways he decided to try and correct his mistakes. My father never fought for my happiness, instead he fought for greed, power and wealth and nothing could stand in his way. Not even the love he was meant to surround a daughter within.

A small weight against my knee brought me from my sorrow filled thoughts and over to the bright eyes of Ethan, a curious frown across his brow. I pushed a smile over my lips, but couldn't sustain an honest eye contact and instead allowed my eyes to drop to the tablecloth in front of him, my grin faultering instantly. I took in a shaking breath and turned my head to once again stare upon Antonio, Ethan's warm palm capturing my fingers softly and giving a reassuring squeeze.

It was apparent to nobody but the inner circle of the Radev family that neither Ethan or I felt comfortable nor excited to be married. Though we no longer hated the very idea, we both understood it's importance and benefits. Needless to say we didn't find joy in the wedding occuring just a few hours from that exact moment.

Antonio's last few words spilled into my ears and made my stomach twist uncontrollably in nervous dread. "To Amelia and Ethaniel may you have wedded bliss." The table roared in "congratulations"' and "good luck"'s and the whole while we sat there Ethan and I with stupid pretend smiles upon our faces forcing our happiness and excited joy.

It made me sick.

The second I could I excused myself and walked from the table in the direction of fresh air, I needed space and time to clear my head, I was tired of pretending, of smiling and saying how happy I was when inside I was completely miserable.

Fingers traced along my forehead while my back pressed against a cool cement wall, a soft subtle breeze flowing through my dark curls. This was all becoming too much. When would I find happiness? Would I ever truely fall in love with Ethan? Have more feelings for him that the small insignificant crush I'd had for years? What if he never fell in love with me? What if we found other people, other halves of ourselves who made us truely happy? What if I fell in love with Ethan and he for another woman? Or even vise vera? Would the questions ever end?

The squeek of the enterance doors to the restaraunt pulled me from the whirlpool of fears that were over coming me and threw my attention of the dark suit attire of my fiancee. He said nothing for a moment, his eyes watching me with an emotion that I took for understanding before he pressed himself agaisnt the same wall as I. His eyes shifted back and forth from the cold cement to the expressions on my face and I knew I was an open book. I heard him sigh loudly and watched from the corner of my eye as his palms washed over his face tiredly.

"Do you think they thought about us when they decided all of this?" My voice was meek and hollow while I stared off across the dark street.

"No." Ethan's immediate answer caught me off guard, no for what he had said but for actually telling the truth. Not once had we ever spoken about this entire arrangement to eachother and at that moment it suprised me more than anything. "I think they just saw an oppurtinity and took it regardless of what we said. They had this planned for five years before we knew about it"

I stayed silent for a moment thinking about my father and all the times in my life he had failed me as a parent. "They did all of this regardless of how we felt. They didn't give us a chance on our own-

"Maybe that's why they did it." Ethan pushed his hands inside the pockets of his slacks, his eyes never moving from his polished leather shoes. "Maybe in their own way they thought they'd save us from having to try and just gave us what we they knew we needed but not necessarily wanted."

"And they didn't so much as think we were capable on our own to find somebody to fall in love and be happy with?"

Ethan momentarily stayed quiet before he forced himself away from the wall, his hands no longer inside his pockets, his eyes no longer at his shoes. Instead he stood closely before me, his eyes studying my expressions, trying to capture my eyes with his. Slowly he ducked his head until our eyes were staring gaping wide, honestly, entirely into one another's. "Amelia, you don't need to be in love to be happy," his thumb grazed against my cheek softly and I felt my eyelids flutter for a moment. "Are you so unhappy right this very second?"

For what felt like an eternity twice over I stared into his pale icy blue eyes, my breath caught somewhere between my windpipe and lungs forming a solid in my throat, Ethan's words rang loudly in my head over and over and my mind reveled in the questions.

Was I happy?
To a degree; yes I was, though to another degree no I was quite sure I wasn't.
So much had happend in such a short space of time, Several months before hand I was just a girl who's father was a tyrant in the mob and who decorated his life with hotels and casinos. Several months before I wasn't somebody's finace, I wasn't an heirloom that was passed from mafia family to mafia family. Several months ago my best friend was still breathing and I had no idea of any brother. I wasn't being kinapped and rescued, I wasn't in hiding in a foreign country from the very man who raised me and I wasn't getting married.
Several months ago there was no excitement in my life, there was nobody who could make butterflies filled my entire body faster, or make my blood boil over quite like Ethan could. Several months ago there was nobody who willingly to save my life; not because my father ordered them to but because they actually wanted to keep me safe. several months ago I was naive, childish and still a girl.

"Amelia..." Ethan's voice reminded me he was still waiting on my answer, for a moment I considered lying and telling him exactly what he wanted to hear rather than the arguement going on inside my head, "Tell me the truth..." Slowly he inched his way closer and closer, his face only millimetres away from my own, in perfectly motioned movements he ducked his head and I felt my eyes flutter to a gentle close whilst his perfect lips left a sweet and subtle kiss upon my right cheek, "Are you so unhappy right now?"

The debate had ceased, the arguements silences, the jury had reached it's verdict. Slowly I let my eyes flutter open and look straight into the eyes of my betrothed, watching him I knew the answer to his question. Was I unhappy right now?... "No."