𝓢𝓾𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮

Chapter 2

Ares

"What the hell is he doing here?" before I could stop myself, I said it. Damn it. I felt Alexis's glare at the side of my head. She was probably imagining all the ways she could kill me.

I could confidently say I wasn't afraid of anything. But Alexis? Alexis terrified me. Whatever happened to the 10-year-old that would force me to watch tangled over and over again, I don't know. But, one day she suddenly turned extremely violent.

She once threatened to strangle me, carve out my heart, cook it, and feed it to the homeless because "they'd appreciate it more than she would." Alexis tortured and killed like it was second nature to her. So now I was frozen on the spot while Alexis was drilling holes into my head probably wishing they were real.

To my dismay, Nikolay seemed amused by my outburst and even chuckled.

" My apologies Mr. Ivanov, as you can tell my little brother is a bit outspoken" Luca turned to look at me with anger in his eyes. Which meant I was in for one hell of a lecture.

I internally groaned. I hated Luca's lectures because they would go on and on about the same thing over and over again.

"No worries, the boy was just saying what we are all probably wondering. Speaking of me being here, Mr. Aleixandre, I have come to...propose something to you." His mouth tipped up into a sly smile. That son of a bitch.

Luca looked at Nikolay skeptically, obviously noting the sly grin. My guess was that Nikolay decided to show up unannounced and while Luca could hurt you and wasn't afraid to, he wouldn't do it without a valid reason. He was playing the role of a "good host."

" And what exactly is it that you would like to propose, Mr. Ivanov?" Luca raised a stern brow as he saw Nikolay's smirk grow into a full-blown smile.

" My daughter Hazel's hand in marriage, as a way to make amends." In sync, Alex and I turned our heads to look at each other slowly. Searching each other's faces to see the other's reactions. I for one was shocked and Alexis seemed to be too. That's when we started having a silent conversation with our eyes.

Did he just suggest an arranged marriage?  Alexis nodded at my silent question.

Yeah. And to Luca of all people.

Is he insane? Alexis shrugged.

Probably.

We turned to look at Luca, who at first glance seemed unphased by the question but, if you looked closer at him you could tell his posture wasn't as good as it usually was. He had slouched down, and his breathing had become faster. Which meant it was an immediate no.

" Mr. Ivanov I'm sure your daughter is a very beautiful woman but, I'm not currently looking for a girlfriend nevertheless a wife. So, I thank you for the offer, but it'll have to be a no." Luca added a small fake smile at the end.

"Oh, silly me. I think I'm getting too old I should've clarified what I meant. I didn't mean to offer you my daughter's hand in marriage I meant I was offering my daughter to El Sol " Nikolay pointed at me. He said my nickname with such venom I almost thought he was a snake.

Maybe it's because he is.

Alex narrowed her eyes at Nikolay and raised a brow confused. Why was he offering his daughter to me? It would've made more sense if he had offered his "proposal" to Luca since he was the head of the family. He was the one attached to the powerful title, not me.

Alexis and I of course had our own reputations outside of the family name so, yes you could consider us strong. Us. But it would bring no power or influence to anyone else besides us. Compare that to being the girlfriend or wife of the head of an established and powerful mafia household, I probably wouldn't do shit for his daughter or his family name.