Captive of My Heart | Ch 3, pt 1.

A knock against Aella’s door made the hairs on her arms stand. It’d been a few days since the blow-up with her father, and the two hadn’t said much to each other since. Well, she hadn’t said much to him. He’d attempted to strike up a conversation several times.

“Who is it?” She called, licking her lips.

Instead of answering, the person on the other side pushed the door open and poked their head in. Aella’s heart swelled when she saw it was her mother, Victoria.

With a frown, the older woman stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

“I leave for one weekend to visit your grandmother, and this is the mess I return to? What is going on with you and your father?”

“Ugh,” Aella groaned, throwing her arms around her mother. “If you’ve talked to Daddy, you already know the problem.”

Brushing the hair out of her daughter’s face, Victoria kissed her forehead. “I have. He told me everything.”

Quirking a brow, Aella studied her mother. “Everything?”

“Everything.”

“Hmph,” she huffed, dropping onto the end-of-bed bench. “Funny how he can be completely transparent with you but not me.”

Tittering, Victoria sank next to her daughter. “Those are the perks of being his wife, my love. We’re nothing if not transparent with each other. Your father only kept a few details to himself to protect you.”

“To protect me from what, Mama? I’m not some pampered airhead princess who walks around in Lala land. Ria and I have never been shielded from knowing who Daddy is and what he does.”

“Seeing it and living it are two different things, baby. We’ve been blessed not to be directly affected by your father’s way of living, but we were never naïve enough to think the consequences of it wouldn’t affect us. You have to know how serious this is.”

“I do,” Aella insisted. “I haven’t been able to sleep since I found out what happened. It’s terrifying.”

“Then why are you giving your father so much hell?”

“Because in all this time, I never considered I might have to resort to being a prisoner to keep my life intact. I don’t know that man, Ma. Who’s to say I’d be in good hands with him?”

Crossing her legs at the ankle, Victoria sighed. “Well, if you weren’t, Cassius would have your father to deal with. He may be older, but Severo is just as vicious and ruthless as he was the day I met him.”

“That man is as soft as cotton,” Aella teased, giggling.

“With you girls, yes,” Victoria rolled her eyes. “That’s why you’re both so spoiled now.”

Aella shot her an incredulous look. “And you aren’t?”

“I’m his wife. I’m supposed to be spoiled,” Victoria grinned before dropping a bomb. “I’ve never discussed this with you or your sister, but as much as I love your father, it wasn’t my decision to marry him, either.”

“What?”

“Yup. Before we met I had my whole life planned with a man I’d move the moon and the stars for. Then my father got into a deep debt to Severo’s family that he couldn’t pay, and, well, let’s say I’m the reason he still has the ability to walk. Let alone breathe.”

“Wait, wait, Daddy basically bought you?” Fire flooded Aella’s veins.

“It was my decision. Your father was just as against it as I was. My bookkeeping knowledge made me an asset, and here we are. And we fought it. Trust me. I don’t think your father and I spoke to each other for a full year after being married. I was bitter about the love I lost, and he hated giving up his freedom. He still didn’t give up his freedom for a while, as evidenced by your sister’s existence.”

Aella winced, knowing her mother wasn’t referring to Ilaria.

Deciding to shift the conversation in a different direction to keep it from going off the rails, she asked, “So what happened? Because looking at you two now, there’s no way I would have ever thought you hated each other.”

“We hated the circumstances. Not each other. Once we realized that, it made it easy to find common ground and grow to love one another. It was easy to let go of the idea of the life I thought I wanted when I realized that while I was willing to move the moon and the stars for the man I thought I wanted, your father was willing to cross oceans and shift galaxies for me. When we finally let our guard down, Severo showed me a love I never dreamed possible. He left no doubt in my mind that he worshipped me. How the hell could I not fall in love with that? It was the only thing that kept me from leaving him once I found out he fathered an outside child.”

“Do you regret it?”

“No. He hurt me, and it was a wound that took years to heal. But he’s never stopped trying to make it up to me despite me never asking him to.”

Pulling her lip between her teeth, Aella shook her head. “I love that things have worked out for the two of you. But that doesn’t mean it’ll happen to me. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with someone who makes me miserable.”

“Why are you so stuck on the idea that things won’t work?” Victoria smoothed her daughter’s hair. “There’s a possibility they could.”

“This isn’t a fairytale, Ma. It’s a crazy situation with an even crazier solution. I highly doubt it comes with a happy ending.”

“At least talk to the man and see what comes out of it. Because as much as none of us like it, one thing is for certain, Aella. You are the heir to your father’s highly coveted throne. And you have to understand there are those willing to do whatever they can to snatch it from you.”

“Because I’m a woman?” Aella spat.

“Like or not, my love, there are narrow-minded people in this world who equate women with weakness. We know how much of your father’s daughter you are. The world doesn’t.”

“So, I’ll show them,” Aella sneered.

Victoria offered a soft smile. “I know you will, sweetheart. But as cliché as it sounds, there’s a reason men are referred to as protectors and providers. They carry the heavy loads, so we don’t have to.”

With a shake of her head, Aella glanced at her watch. “I hear you, Ma.”

Victoria snickered, climbing to her feet. “You don’t, but one day, I think you will. Call it mother’s intuition.”

“I’d rather call it messy,” Aella teased as her mother exited, laughing as she did so.

Aella’s head spun so rapidly that it almost made her forget she had plans lined up for the afternoon. Her job titled wasn’t just resigned to marketing CEO.

She wasn’t completely immersed in her family’s business yet, but as she grew older, there were small situations her father would leave in her hands so she could get a feel for things.

Pushing her conversation with her mother to the back of her mind, she stood to finish getting dressed and handle her business.

***

“Damn, you’re beautiful.” The man seated across from her grinned, sitting back in his chair.

They were seated in a semi-private outdoor area of The Dreamy Brew, which granted privacy but allowed Smoke to get to her quickly in case things went left. And from how the other party in the meeting eyed her, Aella fully anticipated things going south.

Knowing where the conversation was going, her thoughts returned to part of her earlier conversation with Victoria. If this was the brand of man God created to protect and provide, she’d be better off on her own.

“Thanks.” She replied dryly, removing her sunglasses and placing them on the table.

“I was expecting your father for this meeting,” he continued, dragging his tongue across his bottom lip while eyeing her sensually. “But I can’t say I’m unhappy with my current view.”

“Hmm,” Aella hummed, chuckling lowly. “Is that so?”

“Damn right. Once we’re done handling business, maybe we can—”

“Six months ago, you borrowed a total of twenty-thousand dollars from my father, with the promise to pay it back, along with an extra two thousand in interest, which by the way, was a damn good deal. Your deadline was yesterday, yet you conveniently couldn’t be found when our bagman came to collect payment. Is there a reason for that?”

The man’s demeanor shifted from sensual to nervous in the blink of an eye. Rubbing the back of his neck, he released an uneasy sigh.

“I-uh-had a family emergency yesterday that took up a good amount of my time. I meant to call Severo and let him know, but shit was too crazy.”

Sitting back, Aella crossed her legs. “Mmhm. I see. So, what time today can we expect our money?”

He tried to force an easy-going grin while responding. “Come on, gorgeous. Did you really come here to talk about this? I’m trying to get to know you a little bit. I’d think a woman like you would—.”

Retrieving the handgun resting on her lap, Aella placed it on the table, never removing it from her hand.

“I understand you aren’t familiar with me, so let’s discuss a few things. I’m not quite sure what you expected when taking this meeting. Maybe you thought I’d be some young, dumb airhead who lets her hormones get the best of her around a man. Or maybe you assumed you were so charming you’d distract me from my purpose here. Let me assure you that I’m neither, and you have the charm of an ant. As a man, all you have is your word and your balls. From where I’m sitting, you lack both.”

“Aella—”

“I’m not done,” she cut across him coolly, glancing at her watch briefly before her eyes met his. “You have exactly eight hours to return what you owe us, plus an additional thousand dollars for wasting my time. Or your next family emergency will be them planning a funeral for your unexpected demise.”

Fire danced in his eyes as he glared at her. “Bitch, are you threatening me?”

Aella opened her mouth to respond but never got the chance.

“We got a fuckin’ problem?” Cassius’ voice cut through the air like a knife, sending a chill through her…