Broken Promises

five

|Sage's POV|

"Not a problem."

His voice sends a shiver racing down my spine as his fingers against the naked skin of my back begins to feel like it is making my flesh sizzle.

I am bewitched by the man currently holding me in his arms.

A set of thin lips set in a sharp jaw, his stubble accentuating his high cheekbone while his eyes...oh, his eyes were darker than the great abyss of enigma.

His eyes are the darkness that allowed the stars to gleam, his eyes glinting in the most beautiful obsidian with streaks of gold in them, remind me of the comforting blacks of the darkness I surrounded myself in during my childhood, his eyes are a thousand black heavens combined to form the midnight sky.

And at the moment, they are boring into mine like he can see straight into my soul.

"Sage!" I hear the daunting voice of my father and instantly fear creeps into my body like frost and my eyes widen.

I instantly straighten myself and the man whom I bumped into helps me up, keeping his hands on my waist for a second longer before I break contact with his eyes and quickly turn around towards my father.

"Dad..." I whisper, my right fist clenching on its own accord as I prepare myself for an adverse reaction for bumping into one of his guests.

I can still feel the presence of the enigmatic raven eyed man behind me but fear towards my father overpowers the fact that I was so enamoured by a stranger up until a few moments ago.

However, instead of a lecture, or something even worse, my father's lips break into a smile, "are you okay, sweetheart?" He asks me softly.

I have no time to prepare myself for the shock that wracks through me.

How is he talking so sweetly with me, I have absolutely no idea.

However, knowing that I have to play my part perfectly, I give him a sheepish smile, "yes, I wasn't looking and I bumped into..." I trail off gesturing towards the beautiful stranger, realising that I do not know his name.

"Mr. Genovese." My father finishes the sentence for me and there is nothing in the world that can prepare me for the boulder of shock that comes crashing down on my head at his words.

My head snaps up to meet the man's eyes once again, having to crane my neck slightly to be able to look at him properly because of our height difference.

No...

He cannot be...

"Xavier." Another voice interrupts and I try but I cannot look away from the man whom I thought to be a beautiful mystery up until a few seconds ago, and who turned out to be the actual bane of my existence. The man I was betrothed to, when I was a mere new born.

He too seems to force himself to look away as I stare at him for a second before my gaze wanders to the man I had seen one too many times with my father, standing in front of me.

Declan Genovese.

"So, the two of you finally meet." He says with a smirk on his lips like this is the most amusing situation of his life.

My own father chuckles from beside me and I am left standing in a circle of three equally daunting men, not knowing what to do or say.

And so, I do what I have learned to do best.

I lower my gaze to the ground, and wait to be spoken to.

"Tonight is the most fitting night of all, for the two of them to meet!" My father's voice speaks but I feel like my breathing is becoming ragged, as I find difficult transferring oxygen to my lungs.

My head is spinning but I know that I cannot faint right now. Alistair will never let me live through that if I hamper tonight's celebrations in any manner.

Declan laughs and the two men talk as though they aren't the ones governing the fate of their children. They laugh as though they are not the ones ruining our lives. They talk about how auspicious today is, and how our families will be united forever, as if they are not sending me into my own death.

Soon, it is time for me to cut my cake and I do that, all the while being numb about my surroundings. Time and time again, my eyes collide with the obsidian orbs belonging to Xavier and I find myself feeling more and more suffocated.

I cannot decipher the look in his eyes but I know for a fact that he is the same as my father. Just another ruler of the New York mafia, not caring about anything except for the business.

And the moment I have cut my cake, the crowds erupt in applause just as my father takes the mic. And that is when I hold my breath because I know the next words that are going to come out of his mouth.

I am standing right beside the twelve tiered cake, and to my right is my father as we face the rest of the crowds. Standing on the other side of the cake are Declan and Xavier.

"Well, I would like to thank all of you for coming tonight and gracing us with your presence." My father begins and a few people clink their glasses in appreciation, he chuckles and continues in an almost sombre voice, "for a father, a daughter is the greatest gift this world could give him. And I have seen my princess, my Sage grow up and become an independent, strong, and loving woman over the years. She never fails to amaze me, to teach me, and every single day, I find myself learning something new from her." People coo and awe at his words and I do not even feel surprised at how easily the lies are rolling off of his tongue. I play my part, smiling and giggling, trying my hardest to not feel anything right now. I would ruin everything if I let my true emotions sneak onto my face.

"And because daughters are so precious and influential in a father's life," my father continues, "the hardest day for us is when we have to accept the fact that there is another man who owns her heart."

A few gasps of anticipation escape the crowds and I too feel confused considering that this was always going to be an arranged marriage, for me and for the rest of the world.

However, my father seems to have some other plans.

"My beautiful Sage, has found her soulmate, just like I found her mother all those years ago." He announces, "and so, it is my greatest joy to tell you all that Sage has chosen Xavier Genovese to spend her entire life with, and as has he. The two of them will be married on the fifteenth of August."

The crowds erupt in celebration and I feel my heart dropping to the bottom of my gut as I realise that in just a matter of two weeks, I will be wed.

I look around and find my father hugging Xavier's but Xavier is still standing in his place, watching me intently.

However, that is when my father glares at him and his father whispers something to him which makes him sigh as he comes to stand beside me and his arm easily comes to rest around my waist as he smiles to the crowds.

It is only then that I realise that my fate has been sealed for me.

I have always been a prisoner of my father's. Especially since my mother passed away— which is another dark memory that I do not wish to think about. And now, I will be a prisoner of Xavier Genovese...a man I barely knew.

All of the initial fascination that I felt towards him is now gone. Replaced with a newfound fear of leaving my home to live with this man.

Before I know it, Polo comes crashing our little circle and I look up to find him blabbering something to my dad.

I blink, feeling the world go by in slow motion while I wonder what the hell he is speaking and why can't I hear him.

That is when my dad grins, that fake, diamond smile of his that graces the covers of Forbes, Vogue, and the Wall Street Journal before he says something to me.

Once again...his lips are moving, his expressions are changing, but I do not hear any sound.

I blink, my head spinning more as a loud ringing sound slowly echoes through my ears.

I feel my eyes rolling back in their sockets as the ringing in my ears increases and I see my father's eyes widening in front of me and before I can control it, my head lolls back and my body looses balance.

Someone catches me in their arms as my nostrils are filled with an intoxicating scent of peppermint and smoked wood and I hear them cussing under their breath before I lose consciousness completely.