Ella POV:

"Ella, Dante's father wants to talk to you" Alessandro woke me up.

"What?" I groaned.

"Dante's father wants to talk you, and now" he repeated.

"I'm coming" I said, getting out of bed.

"His office is down this corridor fifth door on your right" he said, walking out.

"Thank you" I said, walking to the bathroom, half asleep.

I splashed my face with water to wake myself up, and changed into a white buttoned up shirt, tucked into blue denim shorts. I put my black hair in a side braid and made my way to his office.

I wonder what he wants to talk to me about. Could it be about the marriage? I stopped thinking about it and knocked on his door.

"Come in" I heard. I opened his door and slowly walked in. "Good morning, Ella."

He was sitting on his desk, his head resting on his hands, which were resting on the table.

"Good morning sir" I said.

I hadn't talked to Dante's dad in private, or never really. He had blonde hair, which was starting to turn grey at the roots, and hazel eyes, like his daughter's. He wore a fancy suit making him look very serious.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked, nervously. I tried to sound confident, but in all honesty, I feared him, he always wore a serious look on his face, and I never saw him smile in the past week I've been here.

"About rules" he said. Rules? For what?

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"You're marrying my son in a few months, so I have to give you some rules you have to follow" he said. His eyes never leaving mine, he looked so serious and dull.

"What are they?" I asked.

"Rule number one- you aren't allowed to leave this house without mine or Dante's permission." He said.

"Yes, Dante already told me that" I said.

"Good. Rule number two- you aren't to bother my son when he's working or training" he said. I just simply nodded in response.

"And the most important rule. Rule number three- you are to never talk to Marco" he said, his voice sounding more serious than before, I didn't even think it was possible for him to sound more serious.

"Okay" I simply said, with a nod.

"You are to follow these rules and not to break them. Understood?" he asked.

"Yes" I said, with another nod.

"Good, you may leave" he said, leaning back on his chair. Wow, that's all he wanted to say, a bunch of stupid rules? I simply did as he said and walked out.

When I walked out, I saw Camilla.

"Oh hey!" I said, with a wave.

"Hey, what were you doing in my father's office?" she asked.

"He wanted to talk to me" I replied.

"About what?" she asked.

"A few rules, he wants me to follow" I replied, as we started making our way downstairs.

"Oh wow. Anyways, I was thinking we could go out or do something together" she suggested.

"Sure, but in order to leave I need to ask permission from Dante or his father" I said.

"I think you should ask Dante in my opinion, he's less scary" she said. I thought she meant it sarcastically, but she didn't smile nor laugh.

"Sure," I said. "Do you know where he is right now?"

"I think he's in a meeting" she replied.

"Oh, um I'm not sure I can ask him then" I said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Your father gave me a rule that I can't bother him when he's working" I replied.

"Fuck my dad, I'll come with you just in case and if my dad asks, I'll just say that I made you ask him" she said.

"Okay?" I said, as I followed her to where the meeting was being held.

"Go on, knock" Camilla said when we got to the room. I simply nodded and knocked.

"Who is it?" I heard Dante's voice call.

"Camilla!" Camilla called out.

"I'm in a meeting, fuck off" Dante said.

"Camilla!" I yelled, when she opened his door, even when she was told to leave.

"Ella?" Dante asked. I just lowered my head.

"Ella needs to ask you for permission" Camilla said.

"Permission for what?" Dante asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I, uh, Camilla wants us to go out and I need to ask for your permission to leave" I said, with my head still hung low.

"Raise your head and speak clearer" Dante said sharply.

"What?" I asked.

"Do as I said" he replied.

I slowly raised my head, "May I go out with Camilla?" I asked.

"Better, and yes you are allowed to leave. How long will you two be out for?" Dante asked.

"For a few hours" Camilla replied.

"Good, the door's right behind you" Dante told Camilla.

"Oh, vaffanculo" Camilla cursed as she grabbed my hand and lead us out.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I told him to fuck off, now let's go and get ready" she said.

We were about to leave when two men approached us at the doorway.

"Che cosa?" Camilla asked, which now I learned means, what.

"Boss told us to come with you for protection" one of the men replied.

"Oh great, does my brother not trust me this much? I can fight, which means I can defend myself!" Camilla said.

"Because of Ella not you. He doesn't want Ella to get hurt" he replied.

"Let's just go and don't bother us!" Camilla demanded as she walked out with a huff, and I followed her. We made our way to the car, but before I could open the car door, one of the men opened it for me.

"Oh, uh thank you" I said, as I stepped in.

We drove off and it was a long drive to the mall because we weren't in the city. Probably to hide from any police or stuff like that because they are the mafia. The whole car ride Camilla and I sat silence.

When we got there one of the men opened the car door for me again and I simply smiled and thanked him. I wasn't used to this, the help, the protection. I wasn't used to anything, not even kindness. I only knew hatred and cruelty by my father.

"Come on, we have so much to do" Camilla said, grabbing my arm and ran into the mall.

We spent the whole day shopping for all sorts of things; we later bought lunch and ice-cream as well. I didn't complain, my father never allowed me to do these things, hanging out with friends, shopping. It was all new to me; I loved it, all of it. I loved spending time with Camilla, shopping with her, laughing at her stupid jokes. I actually felt happy for the first time in years, like I belonged.

~~~

We got back quite late; I made my way to Dante's room, to see him on the bed. I slowly walked in and saw him glare at me.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"We were having fun, and we didn't want to leave" I replied. He stood up and walked towards me.

"You could've called, or texted. Do you know how worried I was?" he said, raising his voice.

"I'm sorry" I said.

Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him, he was hugging me. I was shocked, but I hugged him back.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I thought something happened to you. I thought you got hurt" he said, ignoring my question.

"I'm fine" I said, pulling away. "I'm going to go shower. And don't you have work?"

"I'm finished with work today and I was thinking we could spend some time together, because our wedding is in a month" he said.

"Sure, let me go take a shower first" I said.

"Yeah, and my men still need to go and get your clothes, they're going tomorrow, so you'll need to borrow mine again" he said.

"Oh okay, no problem" I said, walking in the walk-in closet.

I grabbed a buttoned up white shirt from his and decided to wear the shorts I have on right now. I showered and walked out to see Dante on the bed.



I got on the bed without saying a word.



"So, tell me something about yourself" Dante said.



"Um, like what?" I asked.



"I don't know, your birthday; your favorite food?" he said.



"My birthday is on the 18th of November and my favorite food is lasagna," I said. "Now your turn"



"My birthday is on the 2nd of March and my favorite food is seafood" he said.



"Tell me something that not a lot of people know" I said.



"Um, okay? I hate my father" he said.



"I mean I hate mine too, so I'm not judging you" I said.



"You probably hate him because he sold you to me, right?" he asked.



"Yeah, but there's more than that" I said.



"What do you mean?" he asked.



"I uh, I can't tell you" I said, fiddling with his over-sized shirt.



"It's okay, I mean I have a lot of secrets as well" he said.



"You mean, about that promise that Marco was talking about, the day he attacked you" I said.



"You still remember that?" he asked.



"Of course, I do, I saved you" I said, with a laugh.



"Hmm, well yes that's one of the many secrets I have" he said.



"Did he do something to you?" I asked, looking him in the eyes.



"More like I did something to him, and now he hates me for it. And he promised me something, but it wasn't something nice" he said.



"Is it something to do with family?" I asked.



"I can't tell you Ella, I'm sorry" he said.



"It's okay, I completely understand" I said, with a smile.



"We should go to sleep" I said.



"Yeah, tomorrow I have no work to do, so I have a free day, which means we can spend some time together" he said.



"Okay, sure" I said, lying down on my back.



"Good night"



"Good night" I said back, turning onto my side.



I suddenly felt his arms wrap around my waist. I didn't speak up, to ask what he's doing; instead, I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep in his warmth.

Author's note:

Hey guys, thank you for reading again and I really hope you're liking this story.