Aurelia's POV
Lucia's hair moved like whiplash, as she turned to look at Father, Father's smile fell and he looked alarmed."Now, Judah, two weeks is too small to plan a wedding. My daughter will need to go shopping for her dress, she would need to have a bachelorette party, and you'll both need an engagement party. We'll need to call caters and florists, we need to book a hall. All these can't happen in two weeks." Dad said, wiping his sweaty forehead, although the room was fully air-conditioned, he was sweating."The wedding will hold in two weeks and not a day more. I don't care about any of the things you mentioned. I have money, you have money, get it done." Judah's voice was stern and final.Father's face ticked with anger but he didn't say a word, just chugged down his wine and poured himself another glassful. Owen pushed his chair back and walked away in anger. Lucia broke down in tears and left the table as well, I just sat there playing with my food unsure of what to do.Judah sat across from me acting like he hadn't just broken my family. He ate his dinner with a wave of calmness that I had never seen before, he chewed and drink his wine like he was modeling for Vogue. He must have felt my eyes on him because he smirked and raised an eyebrow at me.I cleared my throat and suddenly remembered Owen's abrupt disappearance. I pushed back my chair and stood."May I be excused?" I asked quietly, yes I was twenty-six years old and asking my father for permission to leave the dining table.Father's eyes widened, surprised to see that I was still at the table, he nodded dismissively. I thanked him and hightailed out of the room and up the stairs.I passed by Lucia's room on my way to mine and saw her door was open, I looked in and found Lucia in Owen's arms, he hugged her tightly as they sat on her bed. I stopped in my tracks, my mind came up with a lot of scenarios but I shook them off and entered the room.."What's going on here?" They jumped apart at my voice. Lucia arranged her dress properly and Owen stood up and approached me."Lucia was feeling bad about the engagement and I was consoling her. She can't believe that she's getting married in two weeks." Of course, he was consoling her. Owen was such a good man."Yeah sis, Owen was just being a good friend. I couldn't stop crying and he was trying to get me to stop." Lucia defended him." Of course. Owen, thank you for helping Lucia." I said and kissed him. Owen broke the kiss and stepped back."Lucia, I'm going to go downstairs and see what I can do to change Judah's mind, don't worry everything will be okay." Owen gazed at her with affection, Lucia nodded and he left the room.I sat down next to Lucia and pulled her in for a hug, we might be best friends but she was my sister, being rushed into a marriage wasn't a good thing, it was only right that I comfort her."Lucia, I'm so sorry that is making you marry a man you barely know. I'm so angry with him. Lucia, I wish there was something I could do to make things better for you." Lucia broke the hug, patted my hand, and smiled sadly."It's fine, you being here is enough, and don't worry, everything is going to work out. Just wait and see." She sounded so convinced, I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but conviction and determination."What are you planning?" I asked curiously.Lucia shook her head, " Don't worry yourself about it, you'll find out soon." I wondered what she had planned, I just hoped it wouldn't backfire on her.I left Lucia and went to my room, I barely sat on my bed before Father screamed my name. I hurried down the stairs and met Father and Judah at the foot of the staircase."You called, Father?" I crossed my arms behind my back." Aurelia, Judah's car seems to have some mechanical issues so he'll be spending the night here, show him to one of our exquisite guest rooms." Father nodded at me, exquisite guest room was code for the best guest room we had."Yes, Father." I nodded and turned, heading up the stairs without bothering to check if Judah was following me."Judah, when you're settled in, Aurelia will show you to my office, we still have much to discuss," Father said. Judah said nothing and followed me, I led him to the last room on the third floor, it was the best room in the house, even better than mine.I opened the door and let him in, the cold gust of breeze from the air conditioner hit my face. The queen size bed was neatly made with dark-blue bedsheets and a duvet to match. The plush carpet was clean and so was the entire room."This is it, there's some spare clothes in the wardrobe, I'll wait outside while you change." I watched as he scrutinized the room and wrinkled his nose. What the hell was wrong with him, the room was perfect, It would be on the cover of Architectural Digest. Cocky asshole.He grunted and stepped aside for me to pass. I waited impatiently for thirty minutes, how long did it take a grown man to change, I thought they could be dressed in five minutes.I was about to knock on the door when he opened it, he cocked an eyebrow at my raised hand and I dropped it immediately and stepped back. He looked good, he had changed out of his suit into a t-shirt that was almost too small for him and a pair of shorts that clung to him tightly. I particularly liked the way they exposed his huge triceps and calves. This was a man that surely spent his days in the gym as opposed to me, a couch potato.Judah cleared his throat, " You might not be aware but my eyes are up here."I bit my inner cheek, " My father is waiting for you in his study, we should get going."" Your father will wait for ten years if I want him to, he wants this union more than I do," Judah said in a dismissive tone which angered me. My father might not treat me right but that didn't mean I was going to let someone talk down about him.I crossed my arms on my chest and glared at him."That's all you've been saying since you got here, if you don't want to marry my sister then you can leave, no one is forcing you to, you're a grown-ass man." My voice raised towards the end of my statement.Judah's jaw ticked and his eyes darkened, he took a step forward and I took one backward, I kept moving back until my back hit the wall. A sardonic smirk graced Judah's lips as he caged me in. His hands rested on each side of my head, locking me in.Judah drew closer to me and his lips hovered over mine, my breath hitched and I felt like I was going to faint from fear."You know for a girl who's this jumpy and scared, you have quite a mouth on you. Does your father know that his mousy daughter is also very feisty? Oh, how I wish I could see more of that feisty spirit, you'll be delightful to break." Judah moved his left hand and brushed his finger against my cheek, I sucked in more air and tried to move further into the wall.His smirk grew wider, he moved back and put some distance between us, I almost dropped to my knees as air rushed back into my lungs."Now, take me to your father's study, we don't want to keep him waiting now, do we?" He flicked an invisible lint off his shirt. I shook my head hurriedly.I started heading down the hallway towards the staircase,"Aurelia?" Judah called out, I stilled and then turned to him."Yes?" I managed to say."Next time, never raise your voice at me, it won't end well for you. Do you understand?" His cold stare and voice made my hair stand."Yes, I do."I lead Judah to my father's study and hurried away, I headed back to my room ready to soak myself in my bathtub. Lucia was waiting outside my door when I arrived, with a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hands.I almost took a step back as I was wary of her, we didn't have the kind of relationship that warranted late-night drinks, hell we've never even had daytime drinks."Lucia, what's up?" I asked and opened my door. I entered and she did as well. O…okay, freaky."It's been a rough day and I want to drink but I don't want to drink alone, I know we've never done this before but it's never too late to start." She looked around my room and wrinkled her nose, I waited for her to make a condescending statement but she didn't, maybe her impending room, I mean marriage was making her realize that she needed to change.The word, no, hung at the tip of my tongue but I knew it wouldn't be nice to reject her peace offering.I put on my biggest fake smile," Sure, I'm in the mood for some wine as well." After the night I had with Judah, I needed something stronger than wine.Lucia smiled and poured the wine, she handed me a glass and I chugged it down immediately while she savored hers, taking small sips. I pushed the glass toward her and she poured another, I drank that as well and almost immediately started feeling dizzy and hot."W…what t…the hell? W…why is e…every…where so h…hot?" I raised my shirt and started to fan myself with it.Lucia dropped her wineglass and looked at me with concern, " Aurelia, what's wrong?" She asked. I shook my head and managed to stand up sluggishly."I d…don't know w…what's w…wrong with me. I…I feel so t…tired and diz…" The room spun once and everything turned black.Aurelia's POVI woke up to voices around me, my head was pounding, it felt like someone was drilling holes in it. I winced and snuggled deeper into my pillow. Hold on, when did my pillow become so hard?Cold water soaked my body and I opened my eyes immediately and let out a little scream and jerked up."What the hell is going on?" I asked in a groggy voice and rubbed my temples, my head's pounding increased. Father, Lucia, and Owen stood at the foot of my bed staring at me with contempt, Father held the empty cup in his hand, he handed the cup to Owen and moved towards me, before I could react, a slap landed on my cheek.I cried out in shock."Father, what's going on? Why did you do that?" I held my bruised cheek, in all my years my father had never laid a hand on me."How could you do this to your sister, you slut?" He yelled, I didn't understand what he talking about."I don't understand, I didn't do anything to Lucia." I cried, I tried to think about what I could have done but my
Aurelia's POVPresent day Father and Judah did the barest minimum at my wedding, I didn't get to choose any of the things that I wanted for my wedding, I didn't choose the dress, the cake, the flowers, or anything. Although I hated the fact that I was getting married, I would have liked to at least pick my wedding dress but no, as usual, no one asked my opinion. I hated the dress, it was revealing in every way, my boobs were almost outside and it was so tight that I was afraid to breathe for fear that it would rip.I sat at our table alone at the reception while Judah moved around socializing with people, I couldn't bring myself to pretend like I wanted to be at the wedding. I occupied myself with eating a good portion of my wedding cake and drinking wine. I knew I was going to be bloated in the morning but I couldn't care less.Judah approached me with a perfectly arched eyebrow, he frowned at the forkful of cake in one hand and glassful of red wine in the other. I stared him dead i
Aurelia's POVI couldn't hold back the scream that escaped from my lips, Owen and Lucia turned to me, wearing identical looks of shame. Lucia scrambled off Owen and they tried to arrange themselves. Before they could say anything, I turned on my heels and hightailed out of the bathroom. I could barely breathe, I needed air and I needed it immediately.I ran towards the back door of the building. My eyes welled with tears and my vision was blurred, I pushed the door, luckily it wasn't locked, I tripped over the hem of my dress and tumbled forward, I closed my eyes waiting for the hard impact of the asphalt ground. But the impact never came, a pair of arms enclosed around my waist, holding me tightly to their chest. My muscles relaxed and I felt safe in their arms, I inhaled their cologne, and my chest fluttered. It was familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Why are you trying to run away?" Judah's cold voice tensed my muscles immediately. Of course, he was the one. I opened my
Judah's POV"Gio, what's the update with Carmelo, has he been found? You guys better have good news for me." I slammed the car down shut as I entered. Gio knowing what was good for him, kept quiet and drove to the club. Dario, my second in command and my most trusted friend, was waiting outside my office when I arrived. He had a cheeky smile on, I gave him a scowl and shook my head for him not to try anything stupid."Judah, how does it feel to be a married man?" " Don't even start." I walked past him and went into my office, and he followed."Come on, is the honeymoon over already? Or wasn't there any honey on the moon?" Dario laughed at his joke, I shot him my darkest glare and he shut up immediately. I say down and Dario dropped a file on my desk."I already emailed you the spreadsheet but I took the liberty to print it out for you. Our drug push rate dropped for the month and we're still missing a truckload of coke."I opened the file and cursed, " Fucking Carmelo, this is why
Aurelia's POVI woke up later in the evening and for a moment I thought I had been kidnapped. The room was unfamiliar and so were my clothes. My memory returned and I remembered that I had gotten married to Judah. My stomach growled, I got up and made myself approachable before heading out of the room, when Gerald had shown me around the house, I had barely paid attention. It took me a while before I got to the kitchen.Luckily for me, the kitchen was empty, I looked through the freezer and I couldn't find any cooked food, I groaned and began to pull out ingredients to make pancakes. They were one of the easiest things to make and I was craving for them. I missed everything and began to fry my pancakes. I had made 3 pancakes before the chef ran into the kitchen."Oh no, ma'am please step away from the stove. What are you doing?" She cried. I looked at her shocked and confused. My hand slipped and I touched the hot pan burning myself."Ouch!" I jumped in pain, The short redhead ran to
Aurelia's POVI hadn't seen Judah in almost a week, I woke up, ate breakfast, conversed with Diane and the maids, took walks around the estate, visited the library, read, took a nap, had dinner, and slept. I had done this chronically for six days and I was starting to go insane. There was no way I was going to spend another day doing the same things again."Gerald!" I stomped down the stairs in anger, I had woken up utterly disgusted with my new life. Gerald walked briskly and met me at the bottom of the stairs."Ma'am, you called for me." He stood upright, his arms at his back. I had never seen him smile since I arrived and honestly could not see what Diane saw in him but to each his own."Yes, I need a car. I'm going out." I said in a stern voice, Gerald raised an eyebrow and I almost cowered but held strong."Okay, tell me where you're going and I'll call for someone to drive you." He moved to bring out his phone but I stopped him."There's no need for a driver, I just want to dri
Judah's POVMy car keys were in my hand before I knew it and I was already out the door. Gavin hurried after me."What happened?" He asked. I didn't bother to reply him until we were inside my car and I had started to drive."Aurelia just had an accident. While I was talking to her, I heard a loud crash, I called out to her but she didn't respond. God, she shouldn't have fucking left the house." My grip tightened around the steering wheel and I drove like my life depended on it.Luckily, the location of Aurelia's accident wasn't that far from my clubhouse. We soon arrived, I saw my brand new Mercedes rammed into an old Ford van, a little crowd had gathered around the vehicles. I quickly parked behind the car and came down, hurrying to where the crowd was. I pushed through the crowd and got to the middle, one of my men held a pudgy white man against the door, the man's face was red and he was sweating badly."What's going on? Where's my wife?" I asked the other of my men, his eyes wid
Judah's POVDario shot me a disapproving look, " I'm heading back to the clubhouse, I have a meeting with Matteo in an hour, I need all my wits for that tricky bastard." He dropped his glass on the table and Gavin did as well."I'll go with you. I need a ride back to the clubhouse, my car is there." They both left and I waited until I was sure they weren't in the house before leaving my office and headed for Aurelia's room.I opened the door quietly and walked in, her eyes were closed, and her breathing even. I walked closer and stood by her bedside, her head was ruffled, and I brushed away the few strands of her hair that had gotten into her face. Aurelia moaned and turned in bed, my hand stilled on her face, I removed it quickly. She slowly opened her eyes and looked gaze with me. She sniffled and shifted in bed, putting herself in a sitting position."Who are you?" Her words slurred. Before I could respond, she reach out and cupped my chin."You're cute, very cute. You look famili