Amelia Slovakia at 18 was mortified to realize she would be getting married soon but she would never say surprised. As a woman, she was aware her value as Romania's offspring would always be reduced to a trade and barter system so she had prepared her mind for it and was certain she could get married to the boy of her father's choosing or so she had thought. Until her engagement night had completely changed the course of her life forever. She was married just like she had anticipated, but to no boy. The Mayor of Moscow, Jason, a long-standing enemy of Romania had never thought the night he left for his nemesis' hidden daughter's engagement due to pure intrigue he would end up having her as a wife but now, with the younger insolent woman bent on testing his restraints and pushing all his buttons, he had more on his hand than just trying to curb her obnoxiousness and her need to stubbornly go against him because he was also finding it hard to stop himself from proving to the heiress he was all male and there was a certain amount of attitude that could be tolerated without him thinking of an appropriate punishment that would require her gown off.
Chapter 1 A spoilt Princess
Chapter 0001|A spoilt Princess
"You all are cowards!" Ron, my younger and if I'm being completely honest, sometimes I think my only brother yelled at my three older brothers whose stone-faced chiselled faces remained untouched with emotions. "You'll let her be married off just like that for some foolish alliance?"
I wrung my hands together thankful Ma Eleanor wasn't behind me to remind me of how improper that was for a lady even though we were in the 21st century because Romania Slovakia, a Russian by birth who had conquered one of the biggest European outfits, president and leader of the Shadows, also known as my father had a peculiar way of raising his daughter and by peculiar I mean coldly announcing my arranged marriage to his second in command's son a few minutes ago after a brief 5 minutes meeting with me and my brothers over a plate of medium cooked steak.
The thought that Ron, my baby brother felt betrayed and hurt truly showed how vulnerable and naive he was. He had just turned 15 so he was no less a kid like I was, a year back when I had come back home grinning from ear to ear after being offered a full scholarship to the Russian university and Dad had said he was proud of me. Even Brother Nicholas, my oldest brother and heir to dad's empire had let me drive his Lamborghini.
Nobody touches Nicholas' car but he had lied, pretended like I did have a shot at being great, happy like my life wasn't decided the minute I was born.
The only girl among 4 strong men who while they ploughed and trained hard in the dirt, got multiple injuries to show for their training, I learnt how to be pretty, play the pianoforte, and be an interesting side piece for any man my father finally finds worthy to give out his well-trained and well-mannered dog to.
"Look..." Mason started airily, six-foot-tall, blonde and a spitting image of my mother. I'm just quoting my uncle. Dad never talks about her, so I didn't know what she looks like even in pictures, sound like, if she would approve of how I love walking barefooted on the beach or just scold me, reminding me I wasn't like other girls and despite how curious I had been in the past nobody seems to want to discuss her.
She is dead and according to an exciting drunk outburst from Nicholas, I knew she was beautiful. Very beautiful. And that's the only thing I knew about my mother.
"Amelia!" Ashton snapped. At 23 he was already so Brusque, cold, curt and a spitting image of a man that more than their identical raven black hair and grey brilliant eyes, reminded me every day in more ways than one that family would always mean his outfit and everything else he owns lies in the altar of sacrifice to keep it great.
"Yes..." I mumbled realizing I had spaced out. Typical. Lost in my little magical world with fairies and elves.
Not.
"What do you think? Don't you think Jared is a good dude? He goes to your university right?" Mason repeated eying me while trying to put up an act of a blank face for Ron's benefit.
What do I think? I thought. Firstly, he isn't Jared, his name is Jackson at least know the name of the man you'll be calling Brother-in-law soon and who by the way is a piece of shit, playboy, and generally just an arrogant scum. Besides I'm freaking 18, I should be making out in a shabby motel with a sex playlist that would make me want to gouge out my eyes in the next 10 years, with a guy called Tyler Sly, who keeps a nice blonde bun but guess what else that isn't real apart from a cool name like Tyler Sly that rhymes, I could never say what goes on in my head.
I haven't for the past 18 years of my life. I always had to put everyone's feelings before mine, even though I'm the last thing on their mind.
I directed my gaze at the beach in a familiar green-blue slate... After a wave. You know, peace...calm. I think that's why I made here our spot, the only thing I ever managed to voice out amidst my other thoughts being buried amongst other stronger harder male voices, because the calm just reminds me that there just might be good out there.
Perhaps a kid was getting an iPad from a distant relative with no strings attached, a child could run with her hair unpacked and being blown by the wind, a girl was going to be a dancer, yes no education, fuck college, and everyone was respecting that even though they don't approve. Good that I couldn't see in the intimidating high wall of the prison called mansion I've had to endure for years.
"Yes, Jared. Nice kid." I licked my chapped lips and then managed a faint smile at Ron, knowing I'll be doing all the work after all of convincing him I was happy. "I like him alright."
"I don't think father would like you calling your soon to be husband a kid."
I spared a sidelong glance at my father's second seed who still hasn't understood that trying way too hard and being this dutiful doesn't make up for the fact that you'll always be his second son and after being a President of the Shadow, my father adores the traditional practical ways of running things thus making Ashton always end up being a runner up to Nicholas not because he wasn't smarter, deadlier, trained harder but simply because it wasn't his birthright.
Mason made to ruffle Ron's head like that magically made how fucked up our family is, if we still knew what that means anymore, disappear and Ron avoided his hand glaring at him.
"Firstly, his name isn't Jared but Jackson and she doesn't like him because she hasn't had a single conversation with him or anyone in college. Because she is the freak that two deadly hefty men guard all day long at school while her two intimidating brothers pick her up after!" Ron yelled and I clenched my jaw when I saw the pity in his eyes for me before he was running out of the beach to hide the tears that were about to roll from his eyes.
Because even at 15, Ron was aware that the Slovakia men never ever show any signs of weaknesses.
"He would come around," Mason muttered as he leisurely threw a flat rock inside the body of water and when it skipped thrice he grinned.
Total goofball, easy-going and my immediate elder brother who like the other two didn't give a damn about me, not like I expected them to.
I was just the strange girl with pink frillier that cried hard when anybody touches her Fresno doll, the sister who never worked out but busied herself with painting her nails and attending tea play dates. I was Amelia who according to the world and to even my brothers was just a spoilt princess who gets handed whatever she wants and easily too.
What is worse? Sometimes I feel like it because I do tick the stereotype.
Blonde hair framing my oval face and my rare sapphire blue diamond necklace make the colour of my eyes hard not to be noticed. It was blue. I was having a mental breakdown inside of me, hyperventilating, worrying about Ron and angry that I could still worry for him when I was the one getting married to a total stranger but yet I had a full makeup, my manicure and pedicure were on flick, and, I was wearing a long silly gown that Eleanor had said made me look like a princess and I couldn't help but accept, a princess who needed saving from her tower of responsibilities and things expected of her as appreciation for this amazing life she has had to live, thanks to Daddy dearest comforts.
I was crying but hey, the world was too busy pointing out how perfect my life was to see past the charade and it wasn't like I could remember who I was before it all because somehow spoilt privileged Amelia was slowly starting to feel more like a face than a mask.
"You know if you love here so much, why don't we just get the beach house too. Why make us stand here just so we could have a chat?" Nicholas grumbled and I mentally rolled my eyes at his undisguised need to want to splurge money.
Just like my other brothers, Nicholas had a problem, his was the spending type. No, he wasn't extravagant that would be easy and normal as what is expected of a 25-year-old who was heir to a billion dollars life of crime and blood empire but he threw money at things like that would somehow make our problems go... Poof away.
"I don't want to buy the house." I cast a glance at the beautiful unoccupied glass to glass penthouse that I didn't have a problem with in fact the only fault was that it was truly beautiful, simple and magical to become one of our properties.
I'd feel choked if we owned the only safe spot that acted as a breather for me.
"You better say your goodbyes then because the place is up for sale. Ma Griffin decided it was time already to let go and you'd be getting married anyway and moving from here."
I sighed. I met Ma Griffin and fell in love with her house after I became friends with her grandchild, Amber over being in awe of her riding a bike.
If I loved the daring brunette, that ate Cheerios and hamburgers when she wanted, I fell more in love with her home and life when I met her grandmother who was away from her family and resided here because her grandfather had passed out due to a heart attack and that's where they had once casually planned to make a home when they were grey and old.
I smiled, excited that Ma Griffin finally was able to get closure and move on with life, even as I wondered what her grandchild who was the closest thing I had to a friend would be up to.
If she finally gave up her dream of really belonging to a biker group like in the movies though to be fair I did and still think she'll kill it, then I'm sure she is creating a sort of magic but in a crazy bizarre box that makes her real and raw Which was the hardest thing to be found over here.
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