Chapter Three

“Agreed.”

That was the last word that was heard before the phone beeped, indicating that the line had been disconnected.

Ben slowly dropped his phone and lowered his head, then let out a heavy sigh as if he had just received a sad news which had made his whole world crumble. Behind him were Elena and Isabelle. They both clasped their hands right under their jaws as if they were praying.

After Isabelle left Elena's room, she went straight to him and recounted what Elena had said, although he knew it was quite unlikely for Dominic to agree with such a request, but it was worth a shot. Anything for his daughter.

Well of course, if they weren't praying earlier then they had to do so now because the call took rather long than expected. It must have been difficult for him to say those words in the first place.

Even though Elena knew that the chances of Dominic accepting was close to nothing, yet she still wanted to bet on it because she didn't want to end up as a loser after all. There was every chance that she was going to be relegated to a sex toy. Besides, the same way she would be taken to him, other girls her age or even older, would be brought to him also.

Ben slowly turned to face them, the look on his face bearing the weight of the news he was yet to break to them. However, his eyes betrayed his intentions, revealing a sudden bright smile that spread across his lips.

Elena and her mother exchanged puzzled glances before turning their attention back to him.

“Guess what,” Ben said, there was an excited catch in his voice.

“Don't do that, just tell us what it is, right, Elena?” Isabelle said, turning to Elena with a raised brow.

“Well…” Elena said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I think you should just tell us what it is.” she added, in an uncertain tone as she knew the answer — whatever it was, would affect her life one way or the other.

Before going ahead to break the news to them, he held a hand over his mouth to cover a smile and then took a deep, calming breath.

“He agreed!” Ben said, his voice almost rising to a scream as he held his arms out wide as if to hug the world.

It was indeed a good news, but to Elena, it felt like her world had just crumbled. She dared to raise a condition, thinking it would play out in her favor but then again, just as her life took an unexpected twist when the learned that she would be given to him instead of her sister, her life again had taken another turn.

Elena slowly reclined on the couch. She couldn't believe it, who on earth would accept that kind of proposal? She reasoned as she began to blink back tears.

Well, of course no man in their right senses would, except Dominic Salvatore who had chosen to be different.

She stared at her empty palms as if it held the answers to her questions while it also seemed like she was collecting her tears in it.

The unnatural silence from Elena pricked Ben's conscience, bringing him back to the moment. Realizing that the response had brought her so much pain rather than happiness, Isabelle perched up on the couch and moved close to her.

She wrapped her arms around her neck while in turn, Elena buried her face underneath her mother's neck as she began to cry her eyes out. Also, Ben sat by her side as he gripped her arm.

“It is going to be alright dear,” Isabelle said, brushing her fingers on Elena's arm as if to wash away the pain. “He agreed to your condition, so there's nothing to worry about, dear.”

“Yes, dear, there's absolutely nothing to worry about.” Ben said, with a reassuring nod.

But deep down, she knew that their words wouldn't help the situation. After all, they weren't going there with her so it was easy for them to say the words they were saying to her at the moment.

“Thank you for saving my life.” he said, the words seemed to drag themselves from his throat as he evaded her gaze.

Even though he knew she wouldn't understand, still he had to say the words because sooner or later it was going to come to the open.

“I will do everything I can to repay you someday.” he added, blinking back tears.

It was quite painful that she was the one who had to pay for his mistakes and no matter how he thought of it, there was actually no way he would repay her in full for this.

Strangely, everything he's ever done with Dominic — receiving the loan, discussions and all wasn't a direct process so he didn't even know what Dominic Salvatore looked like.

Just some moments back, while he was on the phone, he was actually speaking to his right-hand man so he couldn't tell Elena what and what to expect.

“You should go get yourself ready, dear.” Isabelle said, loosening her hand from around Elena's neck as she allowed her some space.

Elena walked into her room, pulled open her wardrobe, brought down her luggage box and started to select the best of her clothes. She picked up a silk scarf, her eyes lingering over the intricate embroidery that adorned it. Memories of days spent wandering in the streets and sipping tea in quaint cafés flooded her mind, each moment etched in her heart.

She clutched the scarf tightly, a silent farewell to the life she was about to leave behind.

As she folded the scarf and placed it gently into the luggage box, a tear slipped down the path of her cheek, tracing a path of sorrow and uncertainty. One by one, she packed her clothes, each garment a silent reminder of the life she was about to depart.

With a heavy heart, Elena zipped up the luggage box, sealing away a part of herself then she sat on the bedside with drooped shoulders.

Meanwhile, in the sitting room, the doorbell rang. Isabelle turned to Ben with a curious look on her face.

“Did you invite someone over?” she asked, shooting suspicious glances at him.

“No, not any that I can remember.” he said, shaking his head.

Even after claiming his innocence, she studied his face for a moment longer, trying to see if it would crack with any hint of a lie.

Not like she was doubting him or she wanted to, but then she needed to be sure that he was a changed person just as he claimed to be.

Requesting for a loan from Dominic Salvatore all in the name of restoring his failing business only to squander it all on gambling was too big of a reality for her to digest. She also needed to be sure of his every word every step of the way.

He had pleaded with her to help him bury his little secret because he knew if any of his daughters found out, he would have a lot of explaining to do rather than just asking for their forgiveness.

“Alright then,” she said, ambling towards the door while stealing glances at him.

She gripped the doorknob and before turning it open, she glanced at him again then went ahead to open up the door, revealing a young handsome man standing on the other side of the door frame.

Staring at him, her heart gave a strange lurch, if she was still a woman in her prime, then he was definitely her kind of man. Standing before her was a man on fedora hat, long overcoat and black boots. His eyes were hidden behind a dark spectacle and his hands were buried in the pockets of his long overcoat, and it seemed as if he had escorts in the dark of the night.

“Where is she?” he asked, his voice cutting through her thoughts.

“Pardon?” Isabelle said unconsciously, jolting back to the moment.

With just that one question from him, she figured he was the one but raking her eyes up and down his body, he appeared to be nothing like the rumors painted him to be. However, Ben didn't mention anything like he was coming to get her himself.

Noticing it was taking her too long to answer the door, he decided to go see for himself. As he took some steps towards the door, he caught a glimpse of Jackson Cole and froze, every nerve in his body seemed to shrink as he reasoned it was Dominic Salvatore too.

Even though he hadn't seen him before or even had a mental picture of what he looked like, but according to books which he had read on mafias, the man standing outside the door fitted every description perfectly.

On seeing Ben, Jackson swept his eyes all around the door frame and demanded that Elena be brought to him.

“Bring her to me.” he said, a note of firmness in his voice.

Ben stiffened at the court note in his voice and immediately, he hurried to fetch her.

Meanwhile, in her room, Elena picked up her luggage box and made her way to the door. Just as she turned the doorknob open, she found her dad ready to knock on her door.

As he dropped his arm, she figured it was time to leave, so she went with him. When she arrived at the door, Jackson received the luggage box from her and immediately, Ben figured that he wasn't Dominic because there was no way in the world that he would do such, not even if the pillars holding the sky should crumble.

Jackson extended a hand to her.

“Shall we?” he said, waiting for her to take his hand.

Elena hesitated for a moment as she gazed at the extended hand before her, then to her parents, who cuddled each other with tears in their eyes as if mourning a dead relative.

Not to keep him waiting, she took his hand and went with him to the car, which was parked just a distance away. One wouldn't even notice that there was a car there all along because it blended so well with the dark of the night.

Jackson walked her to the passenger's seat and when she had settled in, he walked over to the driver's seat and as he settled in also, he inserted the key into the ignition and turned it with a soft click then turned his attention to her as the car came to life with a purr.

“You should relax your nerves,” he said, shifting the gear into reverse mode as he then drove out.

That being said, she lifted her chin in an attempt to look confident. After navigating their way through the winding road, they finally arrived at Dominic Salvatore's penthouse.

As she alighted from the car and stared at the building before her, she felt her skin crawl with dread. His penthouse loomed over the city like a dark and mysterious fortress, perched atop a skyscraper that seemed to scrape the heavens.

“Come on in.” Jackson said, leading the way in while she followed behind.

Stepping into the lavish living room, the walls were adorned with priceless works of art — paintings by old masters, sculptures from ancient civilizations and rare artifacts that spoke of a long history of influential control.

They climbed on a spiral staircase that led directly to Dominic's room and as they got to the door, Jackson turned the doorknob open and gestured for her to go in with a hand as that was how far he could go with her.

She drew in a deep, steadying breath as she stepped into his room. The air was heavy with the scent of expensive cigars and aged whiskey, a heady mixture that added to the sense of mystique and power that permeated the space.

Meanwhile, he stood by the window side, staring out through one of the towering windows that spanned the length of the room with hands clasped behind him.

Sensing that she had arrived, he turned to face her with a rather dangerous smile.

“Hello, love,” he said, his eyes glittering with a cold intelligence and a calculated ruthlessness that spoke of a man with a shrewd mind.

On the other hand, setting her eyes on him, Elena's heart skipped a beat.