Marrying the Mafia

All Eyes on Me

Aria's POV:

    My jaw hits the floor as does the woman's beside me. I truly wonder what goes through this man's head. I wasn't about to let this woman hurt him and possibly damage him psychologically for life. He had no way out. Derek crouches in front of the fridge, grabbing a water bottle as the woman beside me looks me up and down in digust. This bitch better fucking watch it.

Derek takes a long drink of water as the slender woman walks up to him. The air is thick with jealousy and hatred as she passes me.

"Derek, you're joking. You'd rather be with this ugly elephant," She says quietly to Derek. I look down at the floor for a second and in an instant, this woman is shoved against the fridge with a loud thud. Derek keeps a firm grip on her shoulders, keeping her in place. I step back, stunned, too shocked to speak. Is he truly that upset? I'm used to it from Rowan, but it doesn't really affect me anymore.

"You will never talk about my wife like that again, or else I'll cut your tounge clear out of your fucking throat. Do you understand?" Derek seethes at the blonde woman, her bright blue eyes inciting fear. "Answer me, Scarlett."

With a rapid nod of her head, Scarlett agrees. I can't help but feel this warm feeling as Derek drops Scarlett's shoulders. I guess I feel secure almost. This doesn't change anything though. I'm still a prisoner under this roof, and there's still more to learn. Derek isn't my savior, nor is he up to anything good. He's probably trying to manipulate me just like his brother.

Scarlett attempts to run out of the room, but Derek catches her wrist with a swift hand. "Nuh huh. Apologize, right now."

Scarlett looks me in the eyes with almost a challenging glare. "I'm sorry," She states firmly, never breaking her threatening stare. Derek visibly tightens his grip on her wrist.

"For what? You're sorry for what?" He says in a demanding tone. Scarlett rolls her eyes before continuing her glare, which I mirror right back at her.

"I'm sorry for calling you fat and ugly," Scarlett replies, reluctantly. I nod and Derek lets go of her. He's like a dwindling flame now, anger slowly leaving his body as Scarlett rudely struts out of the kitchen and to the front door, slamming it with a bang. I look at Derek for a moment before turning on my heel to leave. I need to talk to Ian and find out the real reasons as to why I'm here.

Before I can leave, Derek has a gentle grip on my arm. "Wait..." His voice trails off as I turn to face him. His eyes scan my face as if he's searching for something. Derek's thoughts seem to be racing he tries to think of what to say. His expression has softened as he looks at me. I wonder what happens in his brain. Derek is definitely not dumb. He's smart, most definitely. With the way he runs his businesses and such, I wouldn't be surprised if he could commit world domination.

I break eye contact with Derek, realizing we were staring at each other for far too long.

"Derek, what was that?" I finally ask, breaking the silence now as well. He lets go of my arm before taking a deep breath.

"There's a pending marriage contract for us," Derek says calmly. My heartrate sky rockets as my mouth runs dry. I feel the color drain from my face as my blood runs cold. I knew this could happen to me. I knew it could. I just never thought it would. How did this even happen? I'm not a minor, I would have to sign off on something like this. I thought my days of worrying about this were over. "Aria, it's okay, just relax for a minute. Here, have a drink."

Derek hands me his water bottle and I take a drink before setting the bottle back on the counter. He puts a hand on my back and rubs in circles as we lean against the counter side by side. His arm snakes around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I would normally fight this, but with his arm is slowly restoring that warm, addictive feeling.

"What do we do?" I ask. Derek looks down at the counter, looking as if he wants to say something, but something's holding him back.

"We get married," Derek answers.

"No," I reply.

"Aria, there's nothing else to be done! Believe me, I tried."

"I don't want to be a part of this family!"

Derek looks up at me before shaking his head. "Damn it, Aria! I'm trying to protect you."

"I don't want your protection!" I exclaim. Derek sighs before letting go of me. I immediately want that warmth back, but I don't dare to say anything.

"Go get in the car, we're going for a drive," Derek says, walking away from me. I cross my arms and refuse to move. When Derek realizes I'm not behind him, he turns on his heel and walks back to me, this time grapping my wrist before walking.

"Let go of me!" I exclaim. Derek doesn't listen, just drags me outside to the car like I'm some animal. Does this man have any humanity?

    Derek opens my door to the porsche and ushers me inside. The door slams before I can object. I cross my arms and stay silent as Derek gets in the car. He starts the car and off we go, his foot heavy on the gas.

"You're gonna be the death of me, preziosa," Derek comments, cutting the wheel onto deserted roads. My anxiety settles in as we pass trees at the speed of light. I don't know entirely if Derek wants to hurt me. His brother's a fucking violent bitch so what makes Derek any different?

"Where are we going?" I ask firmly. Derek doesn't reply. "Derek. Answer me."

Once again, no reply. "Derek, fucking answer me, or I'm jumping out of the fucking car."

"For a drive, Aria," Derek's tone is irritated and annoyed. I decide to keep my mouth shut and let him drive. Why do I have to be with him? I don't understand anything right now.

Derek's POV:

I fucked up, and I fucked up big time. I should've never said anything. I have no idea where to go from here. I don't want her to fear me, but I may have no choice. Aria looks out the window, completely silent. You could hear a pin drop in this car if not for the whiring of the engine.

Moments pass and my nerves start to settle. This is fixable. I just have to make sure her father doesn't get assassinated and we're good. Oh who the fuck am I kidding. I don't hold as much power as Ryder. He can obviously orchestrate something like that better than I can. With me it's a gamble. I might have to ask him for help, but I've been trying to keep him away from Aria, hence me taking her with me. I always like to drive to clear my head, but I can't leave her alone in the house when he could come home at any moment. He's away in France right now dealing with some shady shit, and he could come home at any given moment.

Aria continues to stare out the window, her head leaning in her hand. I want to reach out and grab her leg, hand, anything just to reassure her that it'd be okay.

"Aria, I don't want you to be scared," I break the long silence. Aria's head whips towards me, a scoff running passed her lips.

"That's fucking rich, Mr. Let's hold a fucking gun to her gut and tell her to walk," Aria retorts.

"What else could I have done to get you to follow me?!" I exclaim, starting to lose my temper.

"I don't fucking know! Maybe I didn't want to follow you! Maybe I wanted to stay and have a drink with my best friend! Maybe I don't want to be a prisoner to a family dedicated to murder!" Aria exclaims, matching my energy. My heart beats into my ribcage as my frustration and anger boils over.

"A drink with a woman who fatshames your perfect body every fucking day?! A prisoner to a family that cares so deeply about you that they saved you from being fucking murdered?!" I slam on the breaks of the car, sending Aria and I forward with a jolt.

Aria rattles with the door handle. "Open the goddamn door."

"No."

"Now."

This is going to be a long road ahead of us....