Shackled

Looking over my shoulder for the hundredth time in the last half an hour, ensuring no one is following me, I walk fast on the crowded street. Attempting not to make eye contact with anyone, not wanting to be noticed. Being the daughter of one of the most powerful Dukes in Veross City makes me easily recognizable. It is not like I want to run away from home, but what else am I supposed to do when my father wants me to marry Carlos de la Torre?

Carlos, who is another Duke, is not only twenty-five years older than me—making him around the same age as my father—but he has known me since I was a child. Each time he came to visit my parents, he would usually bring me toys and sweets until I turned sixteen, and he started bringing flowers. Soon after, gifts were sent to the mansion weekly. While I thought it was creepy and inappropriate, my father started thinking that me marrying Carlos would not be such a bad idea.

I stop at an intersection, and before crossing the street, I look behind me, hoping Carlos’ men didn’t find me. If they find me… I don’t even want to think what Carlos would do to me. I not only need to find a place to hide, but I need to get away from Veross City. Away from Carlos. Today.

Even now, six years after my father’s first talk about me getting married to Carlos, I still can’t believe he would do something like this to me. While the Dukes have tried to keep it a secret, everyone knows that Carlos is a sadist who loves to torture the women he sleeps with. His torture methods are so severe that he has killed over a hundred women in the last fifteen years. Or so the rumors say. Three of them were married to him at the time of their deaths. He is still free to do what he pleases because more than half the city’s police force and judges are controlled by the Dukes. The Lords control the other half.

About three months ago, my father invited Carlos over to dinner. Little did I know that night I would become his fiancée. When a ring was forced on my finger, I was too stunned to say anything. And then he tried to kiss me, and it took every ounce of my control not to slap him. After Carlos left, I asked my father, even begged him not to force me to marry a man I did not love, but my words were meaningless.

I don’t need anyone to tell me how my life would be if I were to become Carlos’ wife. It would be a miracle if I made it past our first wedding anniversary. And the idea of having to sleep with him makes me sick.

*“It’s the way of the Dukes, Angel. Any daughter born to a Duke has to marry someone within our Order. Someone who was chosen by the future bride’s family. I have chosen Carlos to be your husband. You will marry him, give him children, and in return, you will have a life full of luxuries,” my father told me when I kept insisting on breaking the engagement.*

Not that I didn’t protest. *“I don’t love him!”* I said, but it fell on deaf ears. *“And you know what he did to all those poor women! How can you force me to marry him?”*

My father laughed. *“You think I loved your mother when I married her? My father told me who my wife would be, and I obeyed. And with time, I learned to love her very much. It will be the same for Carlos and you. And there is no proof that it was Carlos who killed them!”*

Of course, there was no proof. The Dukes got rid of them because Carlos is not only very powerful but also a future Patriarch.

My father loved my mother very much, and even now, ten years after the tragic accident that took her life, he still mourns her. But Carlos is not like my father. Not only that he would never love me, but I have no doubt he would hurt me badly.

Ever since my engagement, Carlos has restricted my movements. I can go outside only if he allows it. If I want to take a stroll through the garden, I have to call him first. He even hired two bodyguards to watch every movement I make. Shopping used to be fun; now it is a nightmare.

*“For your safety, Muñeca. You know that I am an important man. Many people would want to hurt you because you are my fiancée,”* Carlos told me the day he hired the bodyguards.

Carlos might be powerful and have many connections, but I refuse to marry him. I have been planning my escape for many days now, and finally, today, I could put it into action.

With the reason that I have to buy things for the wedding, I could finally go to the mall. Once there, it hadn’t been very hard to trick Carlos’ men. I only had to fake that I was getting my period and that I had bad cramps. The bodyguards acted just like I knew they would—like the end of the world has arrived. So, I did as any woman on her period would do—go to the pharmacy to buy hygiene products before going to the bathroom. A small commotion in a nearby store was enough to distract the bodyguards for a moment and for me to disappear into the crowd. Finding an exit was not that hard, and before leaving the mall, I threw my phone and the ring in a trash bin. After taking some money out at an ATM, I chucked my credit card as well, scared that I can be located by having it in my possession.

That happened around an hour ago, and since then, I have been walking around town, thinking of a way to get out of the city. The money I have is not enough to get anywhere, not when Carlos is no doubt looking for me.

As I cross the street, I see something that piques my interest—Alanes Tech Company—the biggest tech company in the country.

I think I may have just found a solution to my problems.

After taking a deep breath and running my hands over my clothes to eliminate any creases they might have, I enter the firm’s lobby along with a group of employees.

A big fish tank was in the middle of it, and rare exotic species could be seen swimming inside. The reception is at the far end of the lobby. The two security officers spot me, and before they can ask me who I am and what I want, I make my way to reception. A woman with blond hair and long pink nails is behind the counter, her eyes glued to the screen of a computer.

“Hi.” The woman looks at me. Putting on my best smile, I say, “I would like to see Mr. Alekos Raptou.”

She narrows her eyes, looking at me from beneath long, fake eyelashes like she is trying to figure out who I am. “Do you have an appointment with Mr. Raptou?”

I should have known I needed an appointment. If I weren’t so desperate, I would not have entered the firm in the first place. But I have to see Alekos no matter what. “I don’t. But this is important.” I can’t believe how desperate I sound.

The woman gives me an apologetic look. “I am sorry. Without an appointment, you can’t see Mr. Alekos.”

How can I convince….ummm….

Her name tag lets me know her name is Cherry.

“Mr. Alekos and I went to the same high school. Tell him that Angelica Hernandez is looking for him.”

Cherry doesn’t look convinced. Not that I blame her. “You are not the first to say that. If I had a penny for every woman who claimed they know Mr. Raptou, I would be rich by now.”

That many, huh? Alekos is one of the richest men in the city. Not to mention he is single, powerful, and handsome. Women flock around him like bees to flowers.

When I say, “I don’t have anything to gain by lying to you,” Cherry snorts.