Chapter 9: Want them dead

"You are out of your mind," Soraya spat out. "I was drunk last night! Whatever paper I gave you means nothing, and you know it! You are taking advantage of a mistake to force yourself into my life. Are you completely insane?"

"Soraya, mind your language," Antoine warned softly as he entered the drawing room.

"No, Dad, he is insane!" Soraya pointed her index finger at Santino, ignoring her father’s warning. "I just got my family back! I just stepped into this home, and you expect me to hand my entire life over to a stranger? I don’t care about your sudden feelings. I will never marry you!"

Santino didn’t react to her outburst. If it had been someone else, their head would have been rolling on the floor the moment they opened their mouth. But he just stood there, watching her rage and observing the every expression on her face.

"Sora," Angelo tried to intervene. Though they were friends, he knew Santino was not just any man one could insult and live.

And just as Angelo thought, the polite smile on Santino’s face slipped away, leaving nothing but an expressionless, cold face, replaced by the dangerous man who ruled the underworld.

"I have granted you my patience, Soraya, because I respect the blood running through your veins," Santino said, his voice dropping to a deadly calm tone. "I came into this house with courtesy. I spoke with gentleness, allowing you the grace of a young woman overwhelmed by change. But do not mistake my composure for weakness, and certainly do not mistake my affection for submission."

Soraya’s breath hitched in her throat as the memories of how he shot people ran through her mind, but she still didn’t back down.

She was not that orphan girl who had no one behind her, but an heiress, a person with a loving family who would protect her.

"You call me insane, yet you fail to see the reality of your position," Santino continued, his gaze locking onto hers like a predator pinning its prey. "I do not play games with my desires, nor do I request what I have already decided is mine. I offer you my hand, my protection, and my name willingly."

He turned his glance slightly toward Antoine and Angelo, whose expressions had hardened, before looking back at Soraya with a subtle tilt of his head.

"I can be the gentleman who courts you with honor," Santino said softly; his tone sounded polite yet laced with a dangerous edge. "Or I can be the man who takes what belongs to him without asking for permission. The choice of how this story unfolds is yours, my dear..."

"Santino is right." Antoine cleared his throat. "This was bound to happen sooner or later, so... If he wants this to happen a little earlier, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it."

"Antoine !" Evelina gasped, turning to her husband with wide, horrified eyes. "Have you lost your mind? She just came back to us! How can you even think of giving our daughter away so soon?"

"Mom is right," Angelo snapped, stepping forward to stand in front of Soraya, his eyes fixed darkly on Santino. "Dad, she hasn’t even spent a single night under our roof yet. We are not forcing her into anything."

"Enough!" Antoine ’s voice echoed through the hall sharply. He looked at his wife and son with a heavy expression. "Do you think I want to part with my daughter? But to look for her... We had spent almost billions of money... For twenty-two years... Do you think it was easy?"

He glared at his son. "You know this better than me, Angelo. Where our business stands and how much cash flow we need!"

Soraya felt like the ground beneath her was shaking. Her heart beat fast, and all the happiness she felt a moment ago was completely gone. She looked at her father in total shock—the same man who had gently patted her head, whose touch had made her feel so happy, was now trying to sell her because they had no money left?

’So this is what it means to be a Dalias,’ she thought bitterly, her fists clenching until her knuckles turned white. ’I was just a long-lost pawn to be traded off.’

"I am not a piece of property!" Soraya yelled, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. "You don’t get to decide my life after being absent for twenty years! What have you really done for me? Did I ask you to burn that money for me? No!" Tears bubbled in her eyes as she continued. "I don’t care about your family alliances or whatever. I am not marrying him!"

Santino laughed softly, a low sound that sent a chill down her back. He buttoned his jacket and took a step toward her, ignoring the angry looks from Angelo and Evelina.

"Your spirit is remarkable, Soraya," Santino said, his dark eyes gleaming with an amused, dangerous light. "Most women would yield under such pressure, yet you stand your ground. It only convinces me further that you are meant to stand by my side."

He stopped in front of Angelo, looking over his shoulder directly at Soraya.

"Your father understands how our world operates," Santino added. "You may fight it all you want, my dear. But in the end, you belong to the Dalias family... and the Dalias family would never deny me anything, right, Father-in-law?"

"Yes," Antoine agreed. "Soraya, you won’t find a better groom than Santino. Besides, he’s the one who brought you back. I promised him you would become his bride. I’m not pawning you—"

He was cut off as Soraya retorted with teary eyes, "I don’t want to live as your daughter then."

She glared at Santino and stepped forward to leave when his thunderous voice stopped him.

"You certainly won’t want them dead. Step out, and they won’t live," Santino openly threatened her.