From Heart With Hate

The Deal

"Caterina ?"

Suddenly she popped out from the back of the door, pointing a broken piece of glass in front of me. She looked scared.

I raised my hands dramatically.

"Woah Woah, warrior princess, what you up to ?" She lowered her hands and sighed in relief.

I removed my overcoat and placed it near the bed stand.

"Why do you have that ?"
She looked down at the glass piece in her hand in confusion.

"I–I thought it was someone else."
She placed the piece back into the drawer and sat on the bed.
My eyebrows frowned in confusion.

"Were you up to something stupid again ?" I said while adjusting my collar in the mirror. She didn't say anything. I turned around to see her playing with her hands nervously.

"Don't make me repeat myself, princess," I warned her.

"I don't want to be here anymore."
"What do you mean ?" I sat beside her as I lighted my cigarette.

"I want my life back, away from all this; I –"
She closed her eyes as tears dropped down her cheeks.

"I am afraid I can't do anything about that princess," I said casually as I exhaled the smoke.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE !! " She pulled her head between her hands in irritation.

"I have already told you that freedom is the only thing I can't give you, so don't hurt yourself thinking about things that can't happen," I said calmly as I stood up and began to move out.
Suddenly she held my hand from the back, making me look down at her teary blue eyes. 

"I am too scared to die Niccolò." Her voice is barely audible.

The girl must die, son.

Promise me.

I removed her grip from my arm and stomped out of the room. I could hear her sobbing from the corner of the corridor, but I didn't turn back.

Caterina

I was at the dinner table with Niccolò. He called me for dinner and hasn't spoken anything for the past 15 minutes, except for the occasional stares he gives whenever I ask anything signalling me to eat the food silently.
Suddenly the door swung open, revealing Luigi in a  casual t-shirt and jeans drinking something from a Disney princess mug. What a manchild.

"Hi" He waved with a cheeky grin, making me roll my eyes in return.
He sat in front of me, placing his gun on the table and grabbing our attention.

"Ah, my gun smells divine."
He sniffed it and moaned lightly, giving me a cold sensation near my abdomen.
I didn't look up at him and began to eat the food on my plate.

Finally, Niccolò finished his food as he wiped his mouth with a tissue. I stared at him for a whole minute before he was done.

"What ?" He raised his eyebrows.

"You called me." I shrugged.

"Oh yes, finish the dinner. We need to go somewhere." He stood from the table, adjusting the chair back.

"Why? Where ?"

"Hello?"

  
He went upstairs without answering my questions.

"Got your sugar daddy mad, eh ?" Luigi chuckled darkly.
I ignored him and finished my dinner quickly before heading toward my room.

_____

I was in the car waiting for Niccolò. He is outside talking to someone over the phone, looking severe. Why is he acting like that? He has been avoiding me since morning.

A few minutes later, he walked inside the car and started the engine while I impatiently waited for him to spill the beans.

"Are you going to kill me today?"

"You know it's not time yet, Caterina." He sounded disinterested.

"Then where are we going?"

"Have a little faith in your kidnapper, please?"

I sighed in frustration and turned on the radio. He didn't look at or talk to me during the journey.

Why is he so mean to me? Is he mad at me for whatever I said yesterday?
Finally, my patience gave up.

"Have I done anything wrong, Niccolò ?"
I finally spoke up, making him look at me for a moment before turning his head again towards the road.

"What do you think ?" He said lightly.

"WHY ARE YOU—"

Suddenly he applied breaks. For a moment, I thought he was going to hit me. He stepped out of the car and opened my side of the door. I looked at him in confusion as he signalled me towards a building on the corner of the street.

"What's that ?"

"Follow me"

The building had a neon-lit sign which said 'The penthouse club'.

"You should have told me if you wanted to go clubbing with me ?"

He looked down at me as he brushed his raven hair with his fingers.

"That's not a normal club Caterina." He sighed.

"What do you—"

Suddenly he held my arm tightly and dragged me into the bar. Many scary men around the place looked tall and well-built, just like Niccolò.
Few of them bowed and shook hands with him. I felt uncomfortable as they looked at me with lustful gazes.
I felt a different aura as we entered through the front gate. The lights were red and dim, making it a perfect place to shoot a murder scene. My eyes widened when I saw posters of naked girls on the walls. The hall was covered with thick smoke. He dragged me through the corridor with many rooms on either side. I could hear weird noises. I gasped.

"Is that a —"

"Strip club, " he mumbled as he gestured for me to enter the room.

The lights were bright, with many mirrors inside the room. Several young women in bare minimum clothes were sitting around a man in a white suit at the corner. His hair was slicked back with black sunglasses on his eyes. He must be in his early 40s.
I could hear them talking in a hushed tone when we entered the room.

"Is she your girlfriend ?"

"I thought you preferred busty woman, nic."

" She doesn't look that bad, I thought."

" Want me to come over tonight, nic ?"

The man suddenly clapped his hands, making the hustle go silent.

"Well, well, look who we have here today !" Said the man as he pushed the girls from his lap and moved towards us.

"I thought my club was never going to get the opportunity to welcome Niccolò Devi—"

"After murdering her."

"Come on, Niccolò, you know she wasn't worth it."
Niccolò clenched his fist in a ball.
The man took a cigarette out of his pocket, and a woman brought a lighter near it as she wrapped her arms around his chest, making me want to throw up.

"Anyway, who is that pretty lady with you, DeVille? "

Niccolò pulled me from behind him, hiding from all the stares, and held me in front of the man. I looked down at the floor awkwardly.

"I've come here to strike a deal, Alessandro."

"What kind of deal ?" He said in a severe tone.

"Take this woman in your club for seven months, and I will give you whatever sum of money you ask for."

A/N

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