Fear

Rogue walked inside before she could answer Caden's question. She was glad to see her without any bruises and unharmed.

She noticed two men behind Rogue. She frowned because the girl didn't even glance at her. She looked at her from head to toe and was surprised to see her knees trembling.

Rogue walked toward Caden. Alira didn't expect the next scene. It happened so fast and all she could do was scream.

Caden grabbed Rogue by the neck, strangling her with his right hand. She quickly stood up, but Brie held her wrist. She glanced at her and saw no expression from her. Brie didn't show any sympathy, nor she was surprised by Caden's action.

"Brie." She called.

Brie shook her head. "Don't."

"B-But—"

"I told you I won't let this slide. I had given you three chances to prove yourself, but you always let me down Rogue." Caden said with gritted teeth.

Rogue's face became red as Caden was strangling her. Her eyes almost popped out and she was having a hard time speaking. But still, she forced herself to say a few words.

"I-It's y-your f-fault. I-I told you I-I can't—"

"Shut up! Who do you think you are? You are nothing to me if it wasn't for my grandfather!"

She couldn't understand what was happening. It seemed Rogue did something before, but regardless, she couldn't just stand and watch Caden strangle a woman.

She snatched her hand from Brie and ran toward Caden. She held Caden's arm to stop him from hurting Rogue.

Her eyes widened when Caden turned to her. His glare was cold as ice and it brought shivers down her spine. But she couldn't back down and didn't take her eyes off him.

"Are you going to hurt me, too?" She asked.

Caden was taken aback by her question. He loosened his grip on Rogue's neck and let her fall to the floor. He couldn't control his anger, but seeing Alira fear him and at the same time, trying to be strong in front of him, made his heart melt.

Alira kneeled to help Rogue, but the girl slapped her hand when she tried to touch her.

Rogue coughed while gasping for some air. She then turned to Alira and smirked.

"You're so naive. You will be his downfall. You'll be the cause of his death." Rogue laughed.

Her heart pounded and with every word that came from Rogue, it was like a knife cutting through her flesh.

"Lock her up." Caden coldly said.

The men took Rogue away. Then she stood up and looked at Caden, but he didn't even glance at her. He walked out quietly and didn't look back.

She wanted to cry. There were a lot of things she still couldn't understand. She didn't know how the mafia works. She didn't know how to act as the Mafia Boss' fiance. She felt useless.

"Brie, what should I do? I felt so worthless." She murmured.

Brie sighed. "I told you not to interrupt."

Brie grabbed her wrist and pulled her outside the room. She took her to another room that seemed like another apartment unit.

"I lived with the Santelmo Clan for four years. I was born as James Santelmo's daughter so I somehow know how the mafia works. Caden is the current boss of the Forelli Clan, he shouldn't show any weakness in front of his men. So with you around and trying to stop him from doing what should be done, he just showed his men his weakness. You." Brie said.

Now, she understood what Rogue meant.

"But I can't just stand and watch him hurt someone." She reasoned.

"Alira, every member of the mafia knows the danger when they joined the clan. They could be beaten, tortured, or worst killed. Once you swore your allegiance and loyalty, you're willing to give up your life to the clan. That's how it is. You can't just rant and scold Caden all the time. If you can't accept his other identity, break up with him before it's too late." Brie commented.

She was left alone for half an hour. Everything that had happened and the things she found out kept circling in her mind. Would she just treat them as something that she knew and not do anything? Or would she just pretend that she knew nothing about Caden, the royal family, and her mother? Or was she willing to take the risk and follow Caden?

She took a deep breath and stood up. She couldn't just forget everything. She wanted to know what happened to her mother. She wanted to protect her family and her heart.

"You're here." She said.

Someone told her that Caden was somewhere in the woods so she went to look for him. She found him half-naked and practicing self-defense. Tiny droplets of sweat ran through his body. She scolded herself for being drawn to him. He looked so hot and gorgeous in her eyes.

"Look, I don't know how the mafia works. I don't know how to be your fiance or your crown princess. We've been apart for twelve years, but now you're here, I felt like you're still far away. I don't know if I can reach your heart. Everything that you told me, they frightened me. I just want to live happily with you, but now I realized, that our life is nothing like those fairy tales. But even though it's a lot different from those stories, I still want to stay with you and keep fighting. So please let me be by your side. Teach me everything I have to learn. I want to know everything about my mother, about my family. Caden, I need you. I will follow you until the world ends."

She waited for his answer. And she started to lose hope when he stood and just kept sighing. Then he turned to her.

"I'm not the Caden you used to know. I tortured and killed people, Alira. Do you remember what happened in the library? The day they attacked the palace twelve years ago?"

How could she forget that day? It was a nightmare that kept taunting her for years. She couldn't forget his cold gaze as he looked down at the man bathing in his own blood.