Chained Princess

Chapter 9: No More Lies

K I A R A ‘ S P. O. V

Lullaby Bloom was an ostentatious, over pricey dress shop that sold mediocre dresses for extortionate prices.

Seriously, I think Tessa was a little blind when she chose fuchsia pink mermaid gowns, or maybe she just wanted to make sure no-one outshone her because there's dresses were the definition of disaster.

Even though the girl is always the most stunning in the room.

The thing that sucked the most though was that I had to try on the bloody dress all by myself, since I was in Italy for the original fitting.

So, standing in the shop with a slim overly peppy saleswoman watching me like a hawk, I wore the fuchsia gown, wishing I was anyone else, in-front of the large window shop, displaying my embarrassment to the whole world.

"Isn't there a back room?" I bit out, watching as another person pass and try to stifle their laughter at the sight of me.

"Unfortunately we're currently painting the back but the front displays more light." So, I could see the dress in all its wonderful glory. Great.

"Well it fits nicely, so I doubt anything needs to be altered." I just wanted out of it as quickly as possible.

"It hugs your curves perfectly, and give you a nice round shape." She leant in a little closer, despite there being no-one in the shop. "How the hell have you got such a figure after having a kid?"

"I agree." Our heads snapped to the figure standing in the doorway. The bell sounded above the door as he pushed it open fully and his signature smirk didn't match the look of utter loathing plaguing his blue eyes. "How does one looks so f*****g perfect after having my child? He practically spat out the word.

"Oh my..." The sales woman's words trailed off as she salivated over the greek god stood, where the sun could hit him perfectly, highlighting the intoxicating nature of his beauty.

I fought the urge to storm up to Aaron and claim his lips with my own. Digging my heels into the ground, I forced myself to remember I had no claim to him anymore.

"Kiara." My heart almost shattered at the sound. My name. He said my name not...Princess.

I used to hate that cheesy nickname he graced me with all them years ago. It was before us, and during the time Tristan and I first started dating. They were best friends of course and even though it turned out to all be a rude in the end to get to my father, the friendship was real. The nights spent hanging out were, the jokes and the laughing. I'll never forget the first time he called me Princess.

"Do you know what they call you?" Tristan teased, slumping onto the couch next to me. He grabbed my legs which hung loosely over the coffee table and draped them over his. "Princess. They call the mafia Princess of New York."

"So that's what you spend all day talking about with your new guard friends Tristan?" Aaron was Tristan's oldest friend, but I knew him by name anyways.

Aaron Black had almost become as infamous as my father in the mafia world. He was dangerous, and somehow it gave me a thrill. It made me feel alive, electric that I spent nights talking to this criminal god.

"Don't be jealous Aaron. I'll always make time for you." I couldn't help but laugh. These men were pure savage, ruthless and intimidating, yet together they were just like every other pair of best friends.

Aaron chuckled, his deep raspy laugh was intoxicating. Just the sound of it sent a slight chill down my spine. "Princess." He murmured.

"What?" I blurted out on instinct. His eyebrows raised up, and then that titillating smirk curled up on his lips.

"I guess I just found your new nickname Kiara Romano...Princess. I like it. Rolls off the tongue very nicely." The smug bastard leant back in his leather armchairs, his hand clutching the half empty beer bottle tightly as he took a large gulp.

"I hate it." I couldn't stifle the small smile that forced its way onto my lips.

He returned it. "Good. Then it's sticking."

"Kiara." His voice brought me back to the present. The present where I was stuck in some ridiculous dress with a woman drooling over my ex lover and my ex lover doing nothing more than staring at me with intended hatred.

I took a deep breath. He could only get to me if I let him. "I'm guessing you want to talk?" Both of us seemed shocked by the steady nature of my voice.

"Well I...uh...yes. I want to talk." Satisfaction flowed through my veins. He was rattled.

"Give a moment to change and we can go somewhere." I left without another word. He could deal with the peppy woman for ten minutes.

By the time I arrived, heavy weighing dress in hand, the woman was talking Aaron's ear off whilst he pretended to seem musky interested in whatever she was saying.

"So you see, I want drapes but not mint more emerald and yet my sister was telling me that mint would be better. I hate her though, she always thinks she's right when she's not..."

"Kiara!" He blurted out in somewhat relief. I passed over the dress to the woman and strode across the room to pick up my bag.

"So would you like to go on a date sometime?" Aaron shot me a pleading look. The woman really was lovely just a bit too...lovely, and well,

I guess I owed Aaron in a way.

"Unfortunately his girlfriend is waiting for the two of us at home. I'm an interior designer and they're my latest clients." I could have gone with the oh I'm his date, but I was done pretending like that.

"Oh my, I didn't realise."

"It's fine." Aaron added coolly. "She's pretty great so I'm sure she wouldn't mind. She's beautiful, never lied to me, never keeps secrets for own selfish reasons." Ouch.

"Anyways, we better go if we're gonna finish before your enema appointment." I grinned, turning my voice into a hushed whisper. "Some guys just like it in the ass I guess...ow." Aaron's nails dug into my arm.

"We'll be leaving now." The saleswoman just nodded mindlessly, probably imagining Aaron with a dildo shoved up his ass.

To be honest, from the hold on my arm and the grouchy expression on his face as we stormed down the bustling street, I would have guessed he already had a stick up his arse.

"I can't believe you said that." He growled.

"Hey, you're the one who started it." My motto was if you ain't prepared to finish, don't start.

"Where are we going?" I all but screeched as he flung me into the passenger side of his car.

"I was going to take you to a cafe where we could get a cup of coffee and talk like adults, but now I need a drink. A strong one." To be honest, so did I.

***

Mcready's was dingy sticking biker bar that everyone who lived in the upper New York knew to avoid. The place reeked of expired beer and toilet water yet, it had the best lager and pretzels in the whole of New York.

"Hey boss," Gunzo, the bartender and last I knew, owner of Mcready's.

"Gun." Aaron greeted with the nod of his head. I followed shortly behind him, almost gaping as the biggest biker gang in New York, Halos, quickly scurried away from the best table. "After you."

I slid into the booth, surprised by the soft cushioning of the seats. Aaron pulled up a stood and sat opposite me. He ordered two drinks and no pretzels. I'm guessing that was another punishment for me.

"Since when do you own Mcready's?"

"I bought the place a year ago, it was going out of business slowly and I loved this place growing up so I decided to salvage it. Word of mouth spread that I owned it at my other clubs and we were back in business."

"Gunzo was just happy to sell it to you?" I remembered my dad trying to negotiate a deal almost a decade ago. Gunzo wouldn't budge, said he would die before selling the place.

Aaron chuckled as though recalling the very moment in his head. "No f*****g way. It took a lot of time and money but eventually...he caved once he realised that he would rather have part of this place than nothing at all." Suddenly all hopes of a civilised conversation flew out the window. "Let's cut the small talk. I want to see my kid."

Inhaling a sharp breath, I kept quiet as the server delivered our drinks. "I don't think that's a good idea." I said calmly, the moment he left.

Aaron's eyes darkened as they thundered with sheer rage. "And why the f**k not?"

"Because you're dangerous and the two of us together is dangerous too. After the wedding, I'm leaving Aaron. I'm going back to Italy and unless you can tell me that you're moving there too, I don't see how this will work.

His fists slammed onto the table. My lager sloshed over the sides, and dripped down. "You stole my baby. You ran without a second thought about how this would affect me. Our child, my child has the right to know her father. I have a right to know my kid."

Scoffing, he leant back, arms crossed over his chest that caused his muscles to bulge out. He shook his head in disappointment. "It's selfish Kiara. I always thought you were the compassionate one in the little twisted thing we have between us. You're not, you chose yourself over what's best for the child."

His words cut me deep, slicing open a myriad of emotions I had long fought hard to bury.

"You're right." A traitorous tear slipped down my cheek. I hastily wiped it away. "I have been selfish. I was scared of you rejecting me, of us and ending up heartbroken all over again. I had just survived being stabbed in my stomach and yet my baby was completely fine. That just cemented my decision to keep the baby and I never wanted to feel that vulnerable again. I almost died for just being my father's daughter, for being with you...I didn't want Anastasia going through the same thing. I never want her to be hurt like that or threatened so I hid. It was cowardly and selfish and completely unfair to you but she's safe. She's safe and she's happy and that means everything to me."

"That means everything to me as well. I want her to be safe and happy, just with me." He paused for a moment. "Tessa told me some stuff. I cornered her and forced her to tell me so don't blame her. She told me that you didn't know who was the father. You slept with me and Tristan in the same week."

"I'm a w***e. I know, I shouldn't have...after you told me to leave your place, I was lost and I happened to bump into Tristan at a bar. We talked, drank and then f****d. I regretted it so much the next day but we realised we have nothing left. That partly contributed to my decision to leave. I didn't know how to tell either you, I was a coward."

I should have thinking back to it. It should have been Aaron's decision, not mine. If he said he didn't want Anastasia then I would have left, he didn't have a leg to stand on but I was so terrified of rejection, I chose my fear over what was right.

"The DNA test was all booked in Italy but then I found out that it could result in a miscarriage and I did not want that to happen. The moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted the baby more than anything. Then after she was born, she looked exactly like you and I was scared to find out the truth."

"First of all, you're not a w***e. You had every right to sleep with him. I was an asshole that night, and second...is it possible to get a test noI just...I need to know." He sounded more desperate than I have ever heard him before.

"Of course." I would give him that. Him and Tristan. "But Aaron if it comes back as you as the father, after the wedding, I'm still going back to Italy. It's my home now, her home."

He sighed in frustration. "Three months. Give me three months after the results come back and if you still want to leave then you can."

I stared at him with an unwavering gaze. Nothing but desperation and a begging plea. There was no ulterior motive, there was no Aaron Black, criminal and gang leader. There was just Aaron. The man I fell for.

"Ok. If she's yours, three months."

"I request the same if she's Tristan's." He swallowed painfully. "He will want to be apart of his daughter's life too." I nodded, knowing I would break if I tried to talk.

After another pint, my phone rang. Alessi's name was bright on the screen. I deliberated for a moment and then turned it off, sighing in defeat.

"Who was it?" He asked causally. No more lies.

"My boyfriend, Alessi." Aaron's body stiffened at the word and he slowly put down his glass.

"You have a boyfriend?" He gritted out.

"No more lies, right?" A nod was all I got in return. "He says he loves me and...he's good with her. Treats us with nothing but respect."

"Have you told him about me?" How could I even sum up the tale that is Aaron and his Princess in a mere speech?

"He knows enough. He's apart of our lives too so you would have to accept him if you're the father." It would be so much easier if it was Tristan and yet, every part of me, my f*****g soul knew it was Aaron.

He didn't nod, didn't even respond and I didn't have the strength to push the subject more.

"I don't even know her name." He breathed out, a few moment later, chuckling in disdain.

"Anastasia. Anastasia Selina." I was tempted to add Romano but didn't. That would just be like rubbing salt into the wound. "She's a year and ten months."

"Anastasia means resurrection in Greek, Selina moon." He almost contemplated the thought. Then smiled. "Beautiful."

I was in awe. Aaron's smile was a rare rare sight, and it was the most perfect thing I had ever seen in my life. I knew him enough tell his smile was genuine or fake but I hadn't seen anything like this before.

I almost expected a rainbow to appear on the horizon or angels to sing, instead beefy men wearing leather vests boomed with laughter, causing a loud raucous, and yet, the moment was perfect.

My smile dropped as he pushed back his chair though, the wood scraping noisily against the ground. Straightening his jacket, he flashed me a stoic look and put out his hand. "Get the test done and we'll talk more."

I hesitantly shook his hand. "Goodbye Kiara."

And then he just walked out. Slumping into my seat, I raised my hand for another lager. He said my name. He said my name again.

Although I didn't see the loathing hatred as I did before, I doubted I would ever hear my nickname roll off his tongue again.

And that was worse.

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A/N: What do you think of Alessi? I mean Kiara did try and break up with him but I'm curious as to what you thought of the whole thing!

Also what do you think Aaron will do?

And who's the father? Kiara never did an actual DNA test! ?