"I'll going to have that attitude beaten right out of you, kitten," he seethes, pulling Amyra's body flush against his chest, "and then, you would be begging me for mercy," he whispers lowly.
.
.
.
"Antony?" Amyra asks in a questioning tone...
I'm dressed in a red gown, my hair falling down in dark brown curls. The low neck of the gown displays the Mafia tattoo just above my left breast, the lioness insignia mocking me in the face.
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Courage?!
I have no courage. No power to stand up for my own. But I'm loyal, and I love my brother. If getting married to Sam ensures that my brother will be happy, and keep our mafia afloat, I will proudly do that. I know that I am proud.
Then why do I feel so weak? Shattered?
This engagement will seal my life's fate, and I no longer have a problem with that. I look at myself in the mirror, tears welled up in my eyes. I shake them off, determined not to ruin my makeup. I look for something good to feel, to distract myself from the compartmentalized emotions threatening to burst.
Oh, look at the dress!
So pretty. The dress is decorated with Indian designs, its edges raffling down its seams. No one remembers a horse that can't flaunt, my father said, and that's what we are doing tonight, Pa.
'We are flaunting your daughter's misery in marriage,' my inner conscience calls.
No! We are flaunting how big we can go with the mafia daughter's wedding.
"Amyra? Can I come in?" a knock interrupts my thoughts.
"Yeah, Ahaan, come on in," I shout out, my friend entering through the door. He looks at my figure and staggers back, dramatically pressing his chest with his hand, letting out a low groan.
"Marry me, Amyra!" he says, coming down on both his knees, "marry me, and I might not die from misery," he groans, falling on the floor. I laugh, my laughs echoing along with Ahaan's.
I laugh, laugh, laugh, 'til tears leak out of my eyes. And then, they become tears of sorrow.
I start sobbing, my sniffles alerting Ahaan as he looks at me with wide eyes. He rushes to me, wrapping his arms around my body as he strokes my back. I clutch onto his shirt, burying my head deeper into his neck, never wanting to escape the security he provides me with.
"Shhh, baby, it's fine. It's gonna be fine," he murmurs in my ear, and I sob louder. He squeezes me tighter and holds me. My sobs die down, and soon, I close my eyes and bask in the last few moments of happiness.
