Reina de la Muerte

chapter three

♛

gabriel

I fucking hate commitment. I hate it more than anything on the planet.

Freedom was something I strived off of my entire life. I was able to be in control of what I did—and of who I did—and didn't have to worry about someone else taking the reigns, so when I found out last year that I was betrothed to a woman I've never even fucking met, I was furious. Who the hell did my father think he was to use me as a damn asset to his plans? I stuck by his side for every decision he's ever made and the one time he doesn't fill me in is the time he sells me off to the Martinez's only daughter to be her future husband.

I was fucking livid...

Then I met her.

The moment I found her in my warehouse, the anger of knowing she is the one I was going to marry seemed to vanish like it was never there. I've heard a few things about Vanessa Martinez from allies and the fact that she had the guts to try to steal her cargo back from me and attempt to kill me is more than anyone else I've ever stolen from. I'm honestly glad one of her guys was stupid enough to head straight into the building without a care in the fucking world, too, otherwise she probably would have succeeded.

That woman was a spitfire—she slapped me for fuck's sake when most people avoid walking on the same sidewalk as me. I could tell the second I was in her presence that she was not someone you'd want to be on the enemy's side of, and I admire that about her.

The woman standing in front of me right now looks defeated. Actually, defeated doesn't even describe it. She looks like she's on the verge of a mental fucking breakdown.

Vanessa looks up and flinches away when her father steps closer, I take notice of a layer of water threatening to fall from her eyes. A tight feeling in my chest grows until it becomes unbearable.

Vanessa is known to be cold; she never lets anyone see what she's thinking or what emotion she's feeling. She's incredibly put together and holds her head up high no matter what... And here she is on the verge of tears with her head held low.

I actually... feel bad.

"Four days," she whispers to herself, staring up at her father with rage. "You there me into the arms of a man I've been fighting with since I first took over and now I have to marry him in four days? Do you even know what he looks like or did you just sell your daughter to someone who a damn ogre?"

"Vanessa," Antonio scolds. "Treat him with some respect—"

"Don't you dare say another fucking word about respect when you auctioned me off to another family!" She yells and takes a threatening step towards him. What surprises me is that her father takes a step back to leave space between them, like he's scared she'll actually hit him.

I won't be surprised if she does.

"You want to talk to me about respect?" She laughs out, aggressively wiping at her cheek. "You sold me to your rivals because you're afraid of them! Instead of coming to me and trying to figure out a way we can keep peace between our families, you decided that bargaining me to them was the better option—you're no better than your fucking wife!"

Antonio looks like he's just been stabbed. He has been, in a way.

The way she just spoke to him was as if he was poison that she wanted to get rid of, but else was he expecting. He was the idiot who didn't bother telling his own daughter that he married her off to a man she's never met and this is the price to pay.