Chapter 9 - Cold Blue Eyes

"Do you know why you're here?" A man began in the coolest, most professional voice one could muster.

Persephone looked at the source of the voice. It was another masked man. She didn't know why but she could sense his hostility towards her. She just met him for the first time….

Oh, but they also kidnapped her for the first time. 

The masked man who raised the question was no one else but Killian. He could sense that Santiago was on the verge of exploding and the woman wasn't giving in as they had originally expected. Then again, she was a Marino….and when had Marinos anything but difficult? 

"I don't know," Persephone honestly replied. There was no point in starting a battle which she knew that she could never win. Call her coward. But she didn't want to die. God had granted her one life and she wanted to live it to its fullest.

"You will talk to Alessandro Marino and ask him to fulfill our conditions if he doesn't want his daughter to lose her remaining honor," Santiago said this time. Again callous and vicious words. 

Not a trace of pity remained in Santiago's tone. He'd cut, wiped, and bleached the now foreign word out of his essence so that anyone first meeting him would never guess he was not anything but a Villain. It was the way he preferred it.

"What do you want from him?" Persephone managed to form the words. She knew from the beginning that she was kidnapped for a reason but until now she didn't know what it actually was. 

"That's none of your business," Santiago said in an indifferent voice. He gave her one more glance before adding. "The more you comply with my conditions, the easier it will be for you." 

Persephone heaved out a sigh before saying," You know my Papa will give importance to his daughter's honor more than anything else. Go share your conditions with him and collect whatever you want in return. But you must not forget that he will seek retribution for what you have done. You haven't held his daughter hostage but his prestige and esteem."

Santiago stared at Persephone with his icy pale blue eyes to study her dirty face, messy hai,r and now half torn wedding dress. He had to give her the point for daring to talk back. It's not every day he gets to see his captives talk back to him. 

"What are the odds that you'll return to your father with your honor intact?" Santiago questioned Persephone, but only if she could see his lifted brows. 

"You said if my father meets conditions, you'll let me go," Persephone said. Her mouth went dry, and a shiver trailed down her back. She didn't want to admit that she was scared of him. No...no...she had to remain alive. She had yet to atone for her sins. "A man of honor always keeps his words. He never goes back on his words." 

Santiago chuckled and the four other men along with Persephone had a very bad premonition. 

Santiago walked into her direction and as he leaned down, he gripped her chin with his covered man-killing hands. "Since your father is so desperate to bring his daughter back to him, why not make him suffer for a little longer? Until then, I'll play with his daughter." 

"I'm no toy to be played by you," Persephone said with courage. 

Santiago fought the urge to snort at her audacity. Did she not know that he could snap her fragile neck with his hand? Now that he was standing close to her, he could see her piercing green orbs, the freckles on her nose and the area surrounding, the perfect bow-shaped lips and a mole below those sinful lips. He had an urge to wipe the smudged lipstick off her lips.  

Why must God be so cruel? He not only gave her his Percy's name but also those piercing green eyes. Once those eyes had the ability to drown him into them, but not any more…

Persephone's mouth went dry once more but this time not with fear rather with irritation. She was not the kind of woman to find something so frighteningly attractive.

Now standing at such close proximity, she could study his only visible feature -- his icy blue eyes. You wouldn't believe it if she said his eyes were capable of freezing you to death. They were cold, so cold that she found herself questioning why she wasn't dead yet? 

"You're no toy to be played by me," he agreed mildly even though that intense gaze confessed his phony indifference. "Do you know why?" She found herself shaking her head. "Because you aren't worthy to be played by me. You not only faux your bravery but your cowardice too. Oh, sweet Persephone, I'll love breaking you. It's been a while since I have encountered a challenge." 

She glared at him. "You can't break me. And why do you want to do so in the first place? I have done nothing wrong to you. Why must you punish me for something I have no part in? An honorable man never punishes a woman for the sin of others." 

"Who wants to be an honorable man? I'm the Villain. I must live up to my reputation," Santiago said. 

"Villain?" Persephone scoffed. "If it helps you to sleep at night." 

"That uncontrolled mouth of yours will land you in big trouble one day." 

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Chapters are yet to be edited. Once I post 10+ chapters, I'll start editing all the chapters.. I hope you will love this book as much as you did my previous book.