Chapter 23

Z A R A

"Oh my God, Ma'am!" Charlotte gasps as I twirl around in front of the mirror. "You look absolutely beautiful! I can't take my eyes off of you!"

"Thank you so much!" I grin. I feel really pretty in the gown.

"The style suits you so much! The designers really did a great job at perfecting this," she smiles.

"Yes! I would love to wear the life out of this dress!" I twirl one more time, the black skirt of the dress inflates as I spin. The sleeves are puffy, made with a soft net material, that's translucent. God, I love the sleeves. The designer had a black turtleneck shirt sewed in under the dress so my neck and arms aren't visible, however, the turtleneck shirt is a tad bit lighter than the rest of the dress to not take away from the dress' gorgeous design.

Charlotte hands me the chiffon black scarf that she bought for me and I thank her. I have already finished my makeup and hair a little while ago, all I have left is my hijab. I set the scarf around my head, the chiffon material gives off a soft look. I throw one side of the two draping fabrics over my shoulder, while the other side lays straight against my chest.

"Oh! Ma'am! We forgot earrings! This outfit would look so complete with one of those long, drop earrings!" Charlotte pouts.

"That won't be an issue. I have that covered," it's Alejandro.

I whip around so fast that I almost lose balance on my feet.

"I believe you still have to get yourself ready for tonight, Charlotte?" He's hinting at her for her to leave.

"Y-Yes, Boss. I'll be on my way, then," she quickly leaves, to my disappointment.

He stays still against the door panel, his eyes gazing at me up and down, "You look beautiful."

And you look like you're asking for me to bash a chair over your head, I think to myself.

"Thank you," I say, trying really hard not to grit my teeth.

"I did come bearing a gift," He says as he walks toward me. I don't bother turning around to face him as I watch his movements through the mirror in front of me. He grabs me by the shoulders and gently turns me around to face him. His hand hovers, showing a black, velvet box in his grasp.

"What is it?" I ask.

He places the box in my hand and gestures for me to open it. I do as I'm told and open the box. To my surprise, there is a pair of silver long, drop earrings in it, just as Charlotte was mentioning.

"May I?" He asks if he can place them on my ears.

I hesitate but I nod. I can't ruin his mood and create more problems for myself.

He steps forward, closing the gap between us, leaning down closer to my height. He brushes his finger alongside my jaw before placing the earring on. I look away as chills cover my body.

This man hurt you, Zara. He hurt you. Then, why does such a soft touch make my heart flutter?

You know what I need? A Therapist—a therapist who can figure out my feelings for me because God knows I won't be able to do it myself. He finishes placing the second earring and turns me around to face the mirror again. His arms snake around me from behind as he rests his chin on my shoulder.

"They look gorgeous on you," he whispers into my ear.

"They're pretty," I say quietly as I lightly touch my ear.

I want to lash out at him so badly. My toes are curling to want to kick him where the sun doesn't shine. He had literally left me to die the other day, I was in a damn wheelchair because of him! But at the same time, he's so sweet right now... Why can't he always be like this? Why does it make it so hard for us?

Again, I really need some professional help. Maybe I should ask Alejandro to pay for therapy for me. I step forward, releasing his grip on me, "Do you plan on getting ready soon?"

"I was actually leaving to get ready right now," he answers softly. "Would you like to help?"

"I..." I think for a second to decline the offer but end up succumbing. "Sure."

He grabs my hand and leads me to his room and into his ginormous walk-in closet. He points towards a section of the closet where all his suits are hanging.

My jaw drops, "That's... A lot of options..."

He smiles slightly, "Of course, someone like me can't be seen in the same suit twice. I like my options."

He also likes his options in men and women too, I think to myself bitterly.

I choose out the whole thing for him: suit, dress shirt, pants, shoes, socks, tie, everything.

As he gets changed, I wait for him in his room.

Five minutes pass... 10 minutes pass... we're about to hit 15 minutes.

"Alejandro?" I finally call out. "Are you okay in there?"

Maybe he dropped dead? I could just run.

Okay, but make sure he's dead, Zara. Don't make rash decisions.

"Just a minute," he calls out.

Oh, he's alive.

"A minute? You've been in there for 15," I say. "There's no way it's taking such a punctual man so long to wear a suit," I mumble. I finally walk up to his closet to take a peek inside. I purse my lips to hold in my laughter as I watch him make random knots into his necktie.

"The great Alejandro Genevese doesn't know how to wear a necktie?" I smirk.

"No, I've always had someone else do it for me," he admits, letting his hands fall to his sides.

"Who may that be?" I ask.

"Charlotte," he answers rather easily. "She's the one who's been tying them for me for the last couple of years."

"And before that?" I raise a brow.

"My mother," he answers again.

I giggle at the thought that a man like him has never been taught such a simple task. I'm sure he attend many formal events, this should be a skill he should've acquired but he didn't.

I sigh, "Well, I've helped my dad with his neckties before. And we'll be late if we call Charlotte now so..."

I stand right in front of him, undoing the horrible knot that he created. I was so focused on the necktie that I didn't notice how intensely Alejandro has been staring me down.

"What is it?" I ask, my eyes glued on the fabric.

"You look gorgeous tonight. Did you choose the attire yourself?"

"I did," he really has the audacity to compliment me so nonchalantly after what he did to me? "You really tied this thing really tightly, damn,"

"Zara," Alejandro calls out my name.

"Give me a second," I mumble. "This damn this is getting on my nerves."

"Zara," he calls out softly again.

"What?!" I accidentally say too loudly, whipping my head up to meet his eyes.

He grabs the side of my face, bringing me in for a passionate, hungry kiss. The shock from the sudden gesture halts all my movements for just a couple of seconds. I try to push him off but my hand ends up just resting on his chest after failing to get him off.

He pushes me against one of the shelves, his knee resting in between my thighs. His right hand is still holding my face as his left-hand brushes up and down my hip.

He moans in between the short intervals he gives for us to breathe, "Fuck, I'd do anything to rip that dress off of you and get you in my bed."

The ecstasy mixed with all my anger is creating nothing but more passion for some damn reason. I pull him in even closer by tugging on the undone necktie still hanging around him.

His attention shifts to my neck, his lips leaving soft kisses on my exposed skin. His hands travel to my back, reaching the zipper of my dress, and slowly pulling it downwards.

Stop it, Zara! Stop yourself! Angry sex is not worth it!1

Or is it?

It's not!

"Stop!" I suddenly shift away. "Alejandro, stop!"

"What? What is it?" It's clear that he's slightly irritated that I stopped it.

"We can't. We'll be late," I say breathlessly, my hands still resting on his shoulders.

"Who the fuck cares?" He grunts.

"I don't want this. Not now, please," I try to sound as soft and vulnerable as possible.

"That's okay," the words are surprising, coming from him. "Just finish this up then and we'll head out," he points at his necktie.

"Could you... uh... please..." I turn my head slightly to gesture at my zipped-down zipper.

"Yes, of course," he quickly zips it back up. "Though, I wish it were coming off instead."

Of course, you would wish that, you sick son of a—

"Zara?" He calls my name again.

"Oh, right. The tie," I quickly smooth it out and finish it up. "There, all done."

He props out his arm for me to take and I wrap mine around it. Maybe if I tightened the necktie more, I could've suffocated this insane man to death.

Honestly, at this point, I'm starting to sound insane. But can you blame me?

• • •

Alejandro escorts me into a blacked-out Rolls Royce. I was expecting Frank and Charlotte but I don't see them anywhere.

As if reading my mind, Alejandro says,

"Frank and Charlotte will meet us at the venue."

"Oh, okay."

I look out the window, thinking of ways I could escape or kill Alejandro... Oh, to kill him and escape this life sounds like a dream. In fact, prison sounds like a dream.

Alejandro places a hand on top of mine, which was resting on my lap, "You seem to have a lot on your mind tonight."

"What makes you say that?" I ask almost mockingly.

"You zoned out a couple of times at home," he answers.

"Oh? Did I?" There's clear sarcasm in my tone.

"You did..." He seems genuinely confused. "So, will you care to share?"

"No, thank you," I decline.

"Why not?" He pushes me further.

"I'd rather not be punished tonight. My gown is far too pretty to be ripped into pieces." I give him a bitter smile.

"What makes you say I'll punish you for speaking your mind?" He raises a brow.

Is he serious? Isn't that what he's been doing this whole time?

"You seem to punish me for breathing nowadays," I prop myself up on my elbows, looking out the window. "You almost killed me last time you punished me, you know?"

There's silence for a long moment.

"You didn't even bother coming by to check up on me, not that it would've mattered anyway, since I'm nothing but a mere object to you," I sigh.

Again, silence.

"Not only did you disobey my orders, but you went as far as to speak of another man," he finally says, quietly but his voice is firm and steady.

"Yes, what I did was only speak of another man to you. Never did I flirt with him, nor did I have sex with him in front of your eyes or anywhere else," clear bitterness is spewing out of my mouth. "Don't you think it's a tiny bit hypocritical for you to punish me for that when you literally forced me to watch you get freaky with multiple people? Just food for thought. It's not so hard to figure out why I never speak my mind around you."

Alejandro's eyes darken as he grips his armrest tighter.

"Does my answer please you, Sir?" I say mockingly again. "Is it up to your standards or will you try to beat me again? Maybe rip open my dress to r—"

"Enough!" Alejandro's loud voice fills the silence of the car. "You've spoiled tonight's mood. I would appreciate it if you are on your best behavior for the rest of the evening."

"I've spoiled the mo—" I couldn't believe what I'm hearing,"—okay, fine. My bad! I didn't mean to spoil my king's mood by reminding him of the trauma he caused me. Whoops, sorry! I'll stay silent for the rest of the night,"

A tear escapes my eye, slipping down my cheek as I clench my hands into tight fists.

I didn't even get an apology or anything close to it. In fact, he didn't even bother acknowledging it.

Don't cry.

Don't cry.

Don't cry.

I keep my finger at the edge of my bottom lashes to keep my tears at bay. At least I can try to enjoy myself tonight with Charlotte by my side. I'm surprised Alejandro didn't take away my right to have her with me for this event.

I wonder why...

It doesn't matter why. I just have to make sure I don't explode because my anger is hovering above the danger line. If I explode, it'll only cause everyone more problems.

The car comes to a stop and I can hear the buzzing of crowds and the clicking of cameras. Once I look out, I see a large number of people standing behind a barricaded area and almost all of them are holding some kind of a camera.

It's the media. But I swear I've never seen Alejandro on any media outlet... maybe he's a local star. Alejandro begins to step out but I grab his sleeve to stop him. I want to tell him the cameras are making me anxious but the words don't reach my lips.

"Just grab a hold of my elbow and I'll lead us inside," he knew what I was thinking before I even tried to say anything. "No need to look up at any of them, just look forward at the door and flash a pretty smile. That should satisfy them."

I gulp and nod as he extends his hand to help me out of the car. I hear various questions and comments:

"Sir! Is that your new girlfriend?"

"Are you announcing your engagement tonight?"

"Did you finally leave your playboy habits behind?"

"What happened to the mystery woman you were with last week?"

"Miss! Who designed your gown?"

"Miss! Miss! How did you tie someone like Mr. Genovese down? Do you know about his past?"

I want to cover my ears and eyes. The shouting and the constant flashing of the cameras are giving me a headache. I feel almost light—

I feel my legs giving out for just a second but Alejandro manages to grab me, "We're almost inside, just hold on."

Once we pass through the doors, everything is much calmer.

"I never want to do that ever again," I mutter as I hold my head to stop the throbbing.

"Ma'am!" I hear Charlotte's voice.

"Charlotte!" My eyes widen at the sight of her. She looks magnificently luxurious. She would definitely fit right in! "You look gorgeous!"

She blushes slightly, "Thank you."

She greets Alejandro who nods to acknowledge her.

"Frank isn't with you?" I ask.

"He's inside already, doing a routine checkup to see if there are any threats," Charlotte explains.

"Oh, cool," I say.

Alejandro extends his arm one more time, "Once we're inside, you're Alejandro Genovese's fiancée. That is your identity and that is how you will introduce yourself to others. You will act the part of an obedient, upper-class woman, meaning always keep yourself calm and collected. Understood?"

I nod, "Understood."

Ya Allah, please give me patience so I don't end up stabbing this man with a butter knife by the end of the night.

- - -

Our Zara attempting to put Alejandro in his place! Queen behavior ;)