Forced Marriage to the Mafia Billionaire

Chapter 1

'The number you're trying to call is unreachable at the moment...Please try again later...'

"again?" I sighed at the phone and dialed again only to hear the same. "Why isn't he picking up his call?" I frowned as I paced back and forth, waiting for my brother to appear. Today was the day of my only aunt's funeral, Marisa Jones, our foster mother, who raised me and my brother after our mother's death. 

As I constantly dialed Chris's number, my mind went back to a year ago...

"What the hell happened to her?" I asked my brother, looking at my best friend as she was lying unconscious on the hospital bed. Dr. Natalie Brown, cardiothoracic surgeon, my best friend, and also my brother's junior in the hospital. 

"She's fine, she's...going to be fine," my brother whispered as if in prayer. 

"Fine? She looks fine to you?" I yelled at him. 

She looked anything but fine to me. Multiple bruises covered her face, her eyes swollen, her hands covered in bandages, and her entire body had multiple stitches. Tears pooled in my eyes,  "Why is she like this? She's... why?" 

"Dr. Cristopher?" A voice drew our attention.  

"yes?" My brother answered the nurse who had just entered the room. 

I didn't understand what they were talking about but it was pretty much about Nat's condition. I drew my breath sharply. 

After the nurse excused herself and left the room, Chris came to me, "Amy, I need to return tomorrow." 

"Return where? You just came back! And with Nat's condition like this, you think I'll let you go back to that place?" I glared at him.

"I need to go back, I must." He pulled my hands into his and looked into my eyes, "Take care of Nat and yourself." 

"What's going on, Cris? Why won't you tell me anything? What happened to Nat? Why-"

"I have some unfinished business," he replied, "I'll be back as soon as it's done. I promise."

"then tell me what's going on? or else you're not going anywhere!" 

"I'll tell you when I come back, but now I need to leave." 

***  

He went back but whenever I asked when was he returning, he'd always change the topic. He even missed my graduation six months ago. It was even harder to reach him, he would rarely answer his call. The last time I talked to him was the day Marisa passed away, he promised to be at her funeral as she meant the world to us, and yet he's nowhere.  I can't reach his phone, no texts, no excuses, I can't reach him at all! What was so important that he had to leave right away? What was the unfinished business that took him over a year? What happened to Nat that day? I have answers to none. 

As all this turmoil went inside my head, I felt a hand on my shoulder, without even looking back, I yelled, "Where the hell have you been, Chris?"

"It's me, Amy," I heard Nat's voice from behind, "He's not here yet?" She asked.

Hearing her voice, my eyes filled with tears, turning back when I looked at her face, all my self-control went down the drain.

"Nat...I...can't....can't reach him..." My voice trembled as tears began to rain down on my cheeks.

"Hey, come on, don't cry, he'll be here soon, he promised didn't he?" Nat tried to console me but I had a gut feeling something was wrong.

"He promised to come back a year ago, Nat, I shouldn't have held him back when he..." I trailed off. Nat didn't know anything about her visit to Russia a year ago, the trauma was so hard for her to bear that she had lost her 6 months' worth of memories. What had she witnessed there? What had happened to her was a complete mystery. That incident further makes me think the worst.

"I don't know, Nat, I'm just so scared, he's the only family I've left, I just don't know." I sobbed hard as I fell to the ground, Nat hugged me tight consoling me, whispering everything was going to be okay. 

In the end, he didn't come, I postponed the funeral for a few more days in the hope that he might come but after waiting for 3 days, I decided it was time to let Marisa go.

Returning from the funeral I drowned myself in my tears. Nat didn't want to leave me alone but she had a duty to fulfill. As I tossed and turned, I looked at the drawer, I closed my eyes hesitating, before he went back, he took a promise from me, a promise that no matter what happened I was never to set foot in Russia, NEVER! 

I opened my eyes and walked to the drawer, I took my passport and dialed a number, "Hey, this is Amethyst Jones, can you please tell me what's the earliest flight to Russia?" 

I looked at our picture frame on my dresser, me, Marisa, and Chris happily smiling at the camera, "Yes, I'd like to confirm the ticket." I answered. 

Packing my bags, I drove to the airport, before boarding the flight I left a message for Nat, "I need to find Chris, Nat, I'm leaving now, take care, bestie."

"I'm sorry Chris, I'm breaking the promise but I can't really sit and do nothing, I need to know where are you and I need to know you're safe!" 

****

As soon as Nat was out of the operating room, she got Amethyst's message. Panicking she called her best friend but her phone was switched off.  

"Damn it!" She hurriedly dialed a number, but all she could hear was "I am currently unavailable, please leave a message and I'll contact you shortly."

 "Damn you, Chris!" She yelled at the answering machine. Cutting the call, she dialed another number which Chris had left her with, to contact the number only and only when things were drastic. 

She immediately dialed the number, and a male voice answered, she remembered Chris had told her not to ask anything just leave the message nothing else, "Hey Chris! I'm calling because this is urgent! Damn! Where the hell are you? Amy is on her way to Russia right now, she's coming to find you, idiot!"