Bound by Betrayal (The Mafia King Captive Bride)

“I broke his trust,” he said with a sad smile, taking a huge gulp from his drink.

“I know something happened because it’s tough to acknowledge you two are cousins; he really can’t stand having you around,” I chuckled, mirroring the agony in his expression. I cracked open another can and raised it to my lips, and took a big sip from it.

Closing his eyes, Sebastian swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down before he gazed at me once more. It was the first time I was privileged to see the blend of pain, longing, and regret etched on his face.

“We were once inseparable,” he chuckled, the hint of regret evident in his voice. Shaking his head, he took another sip from his drink. “He lacked parental love; his folks were workaholics, always busy with their business, leaving him wanting for affection, even though they provided for his every material need.”

“What kind of parents are they? Is that why he hates them?” I pondered, hesitant to jump to conclusions just yet.

He sighed, “He yearned for their love, their time, and attention. He was vulnerable for love and affection then. Eros, him, Pasito, Alexander, and I were on good terms back then,” he said, a smile masking the pain that flickered in his eyes but his last word drew my attention more.

“Alexander,” I sputtered, memories of the man from the party flooding back, that traumatizing night.

/”Nice to meet you, I am Alexander Smith.”/ his voice echoed in my mind.

His enigmatic smile, and then the murderous glare on Damien’s face when he caught sight of us. “So, they were once friends?” I mused to myself.

“You have met him, right?”

” Huh,” I jerked up a bit, snapping back to the present as I faced him.

“I mean Alexander,” he clarified.

“Yes, I have,” I nodded, intrigued to delve deeper into the conversation.

He smiled, but this time anger flashed across his face, yet he swiftly masked his emotions and carried on with the conversation. “Back then, Damien was desperate for affection when he encountered Zuri during our high school days. I was a bit of a nerd back then,” he shared with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

Chuckling at his last words, we exchanged glances and burst into laughter, but he suddenly stopped, a wave of sorrow evident in his eyes. “People hardly noticed me in school back then. It was difficult to believe that I was related to the Albrecht family. Then Damien’s mere presence did scare bullies away from me,” he revealed, a mix of emotions flickering across his face.

“So, what happened next?” I asked, turning to him. Sensing the depth of pain in his expression tells me that there is more to this story than I have ever imagined.

“He and Zuri were the school’s golden couple, envied and admired by many. I may not have loved Zuri for him, but for the first time in years, I saw him genuinely happy,” he shared, his smile a blend of authenticity and sorrow.

“Damien is head over heels for her, and it scares me at times,” he shook his head. I felt a lump form in my throat at his sudden revelation and instantly I downed my drink in one gulp.

Gazing into the vacant space, Sebastian continued, “When his parents caught wind of his high school sweetheart, they weren’t on board with the relationship.”

I snapped my head at him immediately, “Why?” My heart oddly feels excited as it pounds hard against my chest.

Why am I excited? Is it the fact that I know his parents don’t like the girl? Why… Why is it making me happy?

Is this jealousy? No way! I quickly shook my head and awkwardly opened another can and sipped it.

Sebastian was so engrossed in the conversation that he didn’t even notice my sudden behavior. “Because they both wanted him to focus on the family business with no distractions,” he explained, confusing me more.

“Distraction, how?”

Shrugging, he muttered, “They see Zuri as a distraction. It was all about business to them that they didn’t care about their son’s happiness,” he spat, glaring at the canned drink in his hold.From NôvelDrama.Org.

I felt paralyzed by his words, “WHAT?” What type of parents are they? If they love their business so much, then why did they even have a kid? But then again… I glanced at the sad-looking Sebastian sitting beside me.

If he was on good terms with all of them then what happened? Why the sudden hatred?

More like he read my mind, he let out a sad chuckle. “You might be asking why Damien hates me so much now, right?”

“Y… Yeah,” I swallowed with a nod.

“Things were moving very well between them, and that’s when Damien formed their gang, La Famiglia Oscura. Zuri was the person that gave it that name,”

“He must have really loved her?” I said and suddenly felt a tight knot around my stomach.

God!

“But one fateful day…” he paused, turning to look at me. A sad, disappointed smirk etched at the corner of his lips, giving me a long look. He sighed and looked away, building suspense. My curiosity peaked as I held the can tight and continued looking at him, waiting for him to continue.

“As the school nerd, I always spend most of my days in the school library even after dismissal,” I nodded, urging him to continue. “So one day after school, I was inside the library beside the shelves looking for a geography textbook to use for my project when suddenly the doors were pushed open…”

He paused again, the suspense killing me, taking a sip from his drink. He cleared his throat, “I heard voices, and then it was followed by moaning. Curiosity got the best of me, and I peeped through the shelf, and behold it was Zuri and Alexander.”

“WHAT?!” I suddenly screamed, the drink I was drinking spitting on my body as I gasped at Sebastian. “You saw… WHAT?!”

Shaking my head to get his point clear, I asked him the question in my mind. “Did you even try to tell Damien?”

As soon as the question fled out of my mouth, there was a sudden silence between us, confirming my thoughts. “You didn’t,” I mumbled, nodding as I looked away.

“Even if I do, he won’t believe me because there was no evidence,” he shakes his head. “But now I wish I did, I wish I did the first time I saw them…!” he yelled, venting out the anger, regret, and pain that he had bottled up for years. Smiling sadly, he plopped on the floor, leaning his back against the chair, he let out a forced laugh. “But then…” he turned to look at me.

“It was the first time in years that I had seen him happy. I was afraid that he would go back to being moody and cold if I told him… I was scared, Ashley,” his voice cracked at the end, and a lone tear slid down his cheeks. “Still, what I was afraid of happened anyway.”

I moved out of the chair and shifted toward him, sitting on the same floor. I took his hands in mine. “I understand you, Sebastian.”

Smiling, he bit hard on his lips to control the tears in his eyes. “He found out later.”

“How?”

“I caught them another day in the school toilet, I videoed them. This time I wanted to tell Damien because I could no longer stand what was going on between his girlfriend and buddy, but unlucky me, they caught me.”

Oh no! This is so sad.

I held his hand, giving him a reassuring smile. Smiling, he nodded at me. “They threatened me, and as the weakling that I was then, I was scared and couldn’t do anything. I kept it a secret from everyone; it was hard for me but I was scared.”

“How did Damien find out?”

“I lost my phone a few months after the incident, and Eros seemed to have seen it. Damien found out when we went to Thailand for our school end-of-the-year party,” he said, his voice filled with so much pain. “And that was the day Damien was planning to engage her.”

My eyes widened in shock at the pieces of news. “But why hate you? It’s not your fault.”

With a sharp shake of his head, he blurted out, “He saw the chats.”

“Which chats?”

“He saw the messages where I promised Alexander to keep my lips sealed.”