Bound By Duty, Betrayed By Love

Alexandria Santi, walked gingerly towards the entrance of the airport, the crippling fear of being caught by the airport security weighing down on her.

It's not like there was anything incriminating in her bag/luggage, she just always have this fear that one day her luck would run out on her and everything would come crashing down like a house of cards.

Luckily for her, lady luck was on her side, guiding her through the turbulent waves that is her life, she just wondered how long would it take before she gives up completely.

Her eyes scanned for the car and her driver, on seeing them she walked up to where he was resting on the car, besides him was Lorenzo Mendez, their long time bodyguard that have always protected the Santi family.

His beady blue eyes looked up to her, and he shot a warm smile her way.

"Alex, good that you are back home in one piece." He said, bending down to hug her.

"Well what were you expecting? For me to disappear?" She said releasing herself from his hug.

"Well with the fact that you are the daughter to the Santi family that alone should scare the shit out of you."

Alex let out a sigh, the usual reminder that she belongs to a family that works in the underground world, where everything and anything goes. The driver helped her put her luggages and duffle bag in the backseat of the SUV.

She got into the backseat of the car, with Lorenzo sitting in the passenger seat. The driver drove down the traffic that was slowly dispersing, as Lorenzo asked her about how her mission went and she replied back to him, trying her best to make her voice sound as enthusiastic as possible.

When they got to Santi's villa, the big iron gate opened up for them as the driver drove past the huge fountain that had a woman with a bowl tipped as water flowed from it onto the pool beneath.

The driver parked in the driveway that led to the front door of the house, Alex got out of the car and two of the staffs that work in the villa approached her and asked for her bag and she told them that it's at the boot of the car.

As she was about to head up to her room, she was told by one of the maids that her father wanted to see her, however she should bath and eat before she meets him in his chambers.

After freshing up and having a delectable meal of chicken with salad by the side, she went to meet her father to see what he wants from her.

Her father was a man that had greying hair and his eyes were steely blue and he almost looked quite frail. Many people tend to say that they don't resemble each other, but that never bothered her, cause she looks more like her mother than her father.

His chambers had warm fluorescent bulb that illuminated the room, he sat on a chair that was quite small for his stocky frame.

"My beautiful princess," he said beckoning for Alex to come closer to him. She took some few steps and she was already in front of him.

She knelt down and then placed her head on his thigh, as he gently brush away the tendrils of hair that fell on her face.

"I assume that the mission was successful?"

She looked up at him with a smile, and nodded her head. "Good," he said and then took a box that was on top a table and then took a cigar from it, cutting off the end, he lit it up and then inhale some in his mouth and blew the smoke through his nostrils.

Alex took in the sweet sickly smell of the cigar and then let out a small sigh.

"Dad, where is mom?" Alex asked noticing that she hasn't met her mother since she arrived from her journey.

"Ah, she went on some errands." He said nonchalantly.

Alex knew that errands could mean many things, but she refuse to ask which type of errands she went on.

"So why did you me call here?" Alex knew that her father needed something from her, that can be the only reason he is even bothering himself about her in the first place.

"Ah, yes." He motioned for her to remove her head from his lap so that he could sit up better. She watched as he adjusted his stocky frame on the chair and then looked at her with those blue eyes that can bore into your soul, the dark rims underneath his eyes were ever prominent and his chubby cheeks were set in a huff, with his thin lips set in a straight line.

Her father looked like every other stereotypical Mafia boss, you see and watch in movies, he was like a caricature of them.

"I have another mission for you." He began, he licked his thin lips and then continue. "You are to get married to the second son of the Rossi Family."

Alex tilted her head to the side, then a look of concern appeared on her face. "Rossi family? When have we ever been close to the Rossi family?"

Her father chuckled, then puff out his smoke, this time from his lips. "Honey, you are not going to be buddy buddy with those assholes. I actually want you to kill the second son. You see he is kinda like the backbone of the Rossi family, killing him would instantly make Raphael weak and then we can attack them from up front."

"So I am to get into an arranged marriage with the second son. What's his name?"

"His name is Leonardo. He is quite the looker. But don't fall in love with him." He said, pointing a warning finger at her.

Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I won't, he is the enemy."

"Good, I have told Raphael that I want to give your hand in marriage to Leonardo, and he agrees to it. I lied to him that I want to create a bond between our families."

Alex could only just nod her head to what he was saying, not daring to oppose him or his word. Even though she didn't want it, she had no other choice but to comply.