Two of them were obviously very shocked, and the other smiled widely at me and opened his arms to me.
"Bells…" He replied as I rushed forward, and pulled him into a hug.
A dozen emotions rushed through me as I saw one of my closest friends from back home standing there.
Without thinking twice I rushed forward and pulled him into a hug.
"Oh god. I haven't seen you since before daddy—" I softly said, as his hold around me tightened.
"I know, Be, I know. But my dad called me shortly before it happened and told me I had to rush home… I'm so sorry I wasn't there." He replied, as I clenched my eyes and held back my tears.
"He's gone, Felix." I muttered. "He left me …"
"Leaving you was the last thing Uncle Charlie wanted to do. You were this world." He whispered as we hugged.
Uncle? Oh, right, how could I forget that he was actually family? Has everyone I know been lying to me?
"So, you're my family then?" I asked, backing away, with narrowed eyes.
He nodded, sheepishly. "Uncle Charlie asked me not to tell you so that I could watch over you." He replied, with a nod.
Without another word I reached up and smacked him.
"Jackass." I muttered, shaking my head.
"It was for your own good, Be." He replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, so I heard." I sniped back with an eye roll.
He sighed, before shaking his head, and looking at something in the back of me.
"Your fiance doesn't seem to like how close we are." He whispered smirking as he stepped back.
I snorted, "Yeah, it's not you. He doesn't seem to like anything." I mumbled back as a throat cleared behind us causing us both to turn.
"Felix." I heard Edward say in a flat tone.
"Edward." Felix replied in the same flat tone.
"Knock it off, Felix." Demitri finally said, with an eye roll.
I heard Felix sigh next to me, causing me to smile in response.
"Right, well, it seems the introductions aren't needed here." Edward said as he looked over at us with a raised brow.
"Maybe just for Felix's older brother." I replied, giving him a pointed look before turning towards Demitri with a pleasant smile. "Demitri, right? I'm Isabella, I didn't know you were family until a few hours ago. Nice to meet you. Again." I added, allowing my smile to turn dry as I stuck my hand out to shake it as both men slowly moved toward us.
"Yeah, don't worry, our grandfather told us all about what happened, it's all in the past…" Demitri replied amused as he reached out and shook my hand.
I nodded, looking away as I got lost in thought.
So, my father had somehow gotten in contact with my grandfather sometime before he died. Meaning he tried to mend bridges before he died.
But something about this fact was still bothering me...
Why didn't he bother telling me anything? Were these people that we were dealing with truly that dangerous or was he just trying to protect me like he always did? Or did he already know he was about to die?
I had to know. The fact that I didn't was gnawing at me.
All of those questions were something that only one man could answer. The man who is known to be father's father. My grandfather.
There would be time to get the answers. Soon. I hoped.
"Principessa?"
I blinked and turned to look at all the men. "Y-yes?" I asked, blinking twice.
"Be, did you hear what he said?" Felix asked amused.
"No. I got lost in thought." I replied, honestly, frowning.
"Edward was just saying that he wants me to help guard you." Felix explained.
I frowned at them. "A guard? What for?" I asked.
"Well, since the Endrizzis' situation has become more dangerous. We need to make sure you are safe at all times. At least until you two officially tie the knot." Felix replied.
"I thought you said once we got married and I became an official member of the Massimo Family… everything would be alright." I replied, frowning at Edward.
Edward nodded, "That's actually where we were headed now…" He replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
Felix and Demitri exchanged a confused look before turning to look at him.
"Does the entire family know about this?" Felix asked, dubiously.
Edward shook his head, "Only those who need to know, know." He replied firmly.
"Ah. Gotcha. So you are hoping that no one will notice the sudden change in your marital status?" Felix asked sarcastically.
I frowned," I don't understand. Why does it matter if we are married or aren't? Why would anyone notice?" I asked, confused.
"As the one of the last single Massimo men, it will definitely be noticed. Are you prepared to face the consequences of your actions, Masen?" Felix challenged.
From the corner of my eye I could see Edward's jaw and shoulders tense as he stared Felix down.
I felt the blood drain from my face as both men stared each other down. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife as they sized each other up.
I had a feeling Edward's 6'2, of brawn and muscle could easily take on Felix's 6'0 of lankiness. I had to stop their asses before either decided to act out of plain stupidity.
"Answer him, Edward. Will us getting married like this cause a problem for you and your family?" I asked, looking at him unblinkingly.
He sighed, "No, my father has called a meeting of all the heads, we're going to sign the papers and make it official. The wedding and reception itself will be held at a later date. After we attend the wedding of the Bernardis." He explained.
"So you planned to hide this tidbit of information from me?" I asked him, exasperated.
"No, I was going to tell you." He replied as I gave him a look. "Alright, I was going to tell you, eventually." He said.
Eventually, meaning when he thought the time was right. Possibly never.
My anger flared, as I watched him try to dig himself out of the situation, only sinking further as my hands balled up into fists.
"Right. At what point were you going to tell me all of this? When we're all running for our lives? When we all have a target painted on our backs? When? When they make another attempt to kill me?!" I asked him as all the men flinched and Felix moved to restrain me.
"Are you ever going to stop keeping shit from me or are all your promises the same?" I asked him, trying to break free of Felix's hold.
Edward flinched under my gaze as we all turned to the sound of the elevator door opening.
"What in God's name is going on here?" The voice of Edwin thundered as the rest of their family walked out.
"Ask your son!" I growled as I felt Felix's hold tighten slightly.
"You need to calm down before you hurt yourself, Be." He whispered in my ear.
With a scoff, I relaxed a little, allowing him to sigh and loosen his grip a little before I stomped on his foot hard, elbowing his stomach, and bringing my fist down to collide with his groin.
"Fuck." He gasped, as he released me, and proceeded to fall to his knees, cupping his junk.
"Is anyone going to bother to explain to us what is going on and why Isabella has suddenly become an expert on taking down a man almost half her size?" Aro asked, amused.
"He has lied to me yet again." I replied, tensely as Demitri quickly rushed over to me and shook his head.
"Calm down. Don't let your emotions get to you and cloud your head. You need to clear your head before you hurt someone else." He softly said, as he helped Felix to his feet.
I looked at him and Felix, who nodded in response, before looking over at them.
"Well?" Edwin asked, looking amused at me.
"Well, what?" Felix asked, strained.
"Are you all going to explain what's going on here?" Edwin asked, as everyone looked on.
"Before I do, did either, no, any of you bother to explain to Isabella what it means when you marry into the family? What the rules of living this life are? What about the heavy burden following tradition?" Felix asked, tensely.
I had the brief satisfaction of watching all of their faces grow pale as they all remained silent.
"That's what I fucking thought. You expect my little cousin to willfully marry into this life and family yet you neglected to explain to her all of this? That's fucking insane even for you Edwin." Felix replied.
"We don't have time to fulfill the traditional ways. We are running out of time." Edwin finally replied, tensely.
"Seems to me like the only thing you are trying to protect is yourselves. My cousin can't do this until she knows the weight of it. And she won't." Felix replied, firmly.
"Oh? And how do you expect to stop this?" Edwin asked amused.
Just as he was about to answer, I interrupted. "He's not. I gave you my word. I am going to marry Edward, but until you all can be honest with me, I see now reason to stay here." I interjected.
"Isabella, where do you expect to go? Those people are searching for you. You won't be safe out there." Edwin replied, trying to look worried.
"My cousin, Felix, will protect me." I replied, as I turned to look at Felix who promptly nodded in response.
"We do have family out there. She is not alone in this world. I am honestly concerned and disturbed as to why you didn't bother to call us as soon as you knew that she was looking for us." Demitri said, calmly.
Everyone turned to him in surprise as he spoke.
"You called— you called them?" Edwin asked, surprised.
"Of course, I did. And I am glad I did. My brother was worried that something had happened to her and judging by the situation at hand here, I'm pretty sure I did the right thing by calling." He replied.
I stared in disbelief, what in the hell did I walk into?
A man suddenly appeared with my duffle bag, purse and suitcase, the one I packed earlier and the much larger one.
Felix gestured for him to bring them to me, before turning to look at Demitri.
"I know you stay by choice, brother, but I will be calling our grandfather later to inform him of what has happened here. He'll be calling you later too." Felix replied as he looked over at me. "Are you ready to go, Be?" He asked.
I looked towards Edward, as he stood there, looking at me, pleadingly. I shook my head.
"I thought I could trust you…" I said before grabbing my things and walking away.
I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I walked towards the door.
"Isabella?" I heard a soft feminine voice call.
I turned to find the younger of his sisters walking towards me.
Without hesitation she reached me and pulled me into a hug, "You're doing the right thing." She whispered before letting me go.
I nodded, before walking out the door with Felix and another man following.
"Be, this is Leonel. He is my right hand man." He explained as he led me towards an SUV.
He took my bags before he helped me climb in.
"So, where are we going?" I asked, quietly as Leonel quickly climbed into the driver's seat.
"Home." He replied with a reassuring smile.
Author's Note:
Y'all didn't think it was going to be that easy for them to get married did you? *insert evil smirk*
More to come soon! Stay safe out there and make good choices!
P.S I only name the chapters, I don't control how the notifications are named or sent... Much love though. I'm glad y'all are liking the story.