I stood by the manor's doorway, right in front of the huge fountain that my father spent thousands on to be built. He'd always been a supporter of the arts, our entire manor was filled with sculptures bought from museums and privately crafted. Paintings decorated our walls and halls, portraits of the Eclipse lineage were placed in order in the entryway of the manor., not that my portrait was ever taken.
I can't help but wonder if I'll ever miss the ivy-leaved walls or the suburban air, the calm of the forests and the gothic sculpt of our pillars. But thinking about the big buildings and lights of New York City, I already know that I won't.
I was still in my gown but I'd put on my scarf and coat, the fall air felt like a blistering breeze, but I'll manage in this soft fur. I kept thinking about my future, and my dream of studying in New York City. I graduated high school two months ago. I'd attended St. Brown's Academy with honors and college credits, I spent four years working my ass off so I could get into my dream school. I'd dreamt of attending Barnard since I was nine. I didn't know much about my real parents, but Luna told me my real mother was a professor there until she suddenly left. Luna told me she lost her job, and because of her financial struggles in the city, she sent me to the orphanage when I was three. That's what my papers say at least.
I don't remember much about my mother, just that she had beautiful brown hair that went to her back, and I remember her glowing brown skin against mountain ranges. Luna told me she lived somewhere in New Jersey, but her house was now abandoned.
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw someone come outside, the double doors opening wide. Salvatore.
My mouth opened wide. "I thought you were studying in Spain?"
Before I could say anymore, he pulled me into a tight hug. As sudden as it was, I couldn't help but hug him tightly myself. It'd been so long since I smelled the sweet scent of his cologne, or felt the soft fur of his favorite coat.
I rustle his red hair as I pull away. "I missed you," I say.
He smiles. "I hope you don't expect a goodbye," he says, "after all, I can't imagine our miss staying in a home of barbarians."
I chuckle. "At least we're both on the same page."
Sal brushes a strand of my hair behind my ear. His cheeks pink from the breeze. "If any of those gangsters give you shit, make sure to call me."
I laugh, "I'll keep that in mind, I'm sure those taekwondo lessons will come in handy against guns."
He rolls his eyes. "Don't be sarcastic, it doesn't suit you."
We both walked to the limo that stood in front of the fountain. "So your brothers …"
He shrugged. "I'd told them to come fly with me to say goodbye. Kingsley actually said yes but then when we got to the airport, he decided to fly to Texas to meet up with his girlfriend—Dad is gonna kill him. And Nathanial … you know how he is."
I shrug. "I expected that."
When I was younger, Nathaniel had been my bully for as long as I could remember, he felt a sort of superiority for being the actual child of the manor. Kingsley was an asshat, but because I was older he gave me some respect, but it was different with Nathaniel since we were both the same age. He'd get so disgusted whenever we were mentioned as twins. I'm sure he's happy that he no longer has to see my face.
Sal wraps his hands around me. "Don't worry about him, he's so jealous that you get to go to the city, Dads forcing him to go to the UK to study at Oxford with me."
I sigh. "Not for long," I say. "My fiance—husband by then—is gonna drag me to LA in the summer. I'll only be in the city for a year."
Sal stops in his tracks. "What?"
I shrug. "The Vemoure's family's enemies seem to wander all around the city, father thinks it's best for my safety."
As the maids and butlers piled my suitcases into the trunk, Salvatore took me to the side. He stared at me with almost a warning. "I know what you're thinking," he says.
I frown. "What do you mean?"
A smirk tugs at his lips. "You're gonna run away aren't you."
My jaw drops.
He smiles. "It's fine, I won't tell anyone, just make sure you tell me whenever you're gonna do it, I have a condo in the city, and if you want we can go to the countryside house in France."
"France?"
"I know, I know, it doesn't beat New York, but it's better than living alone in LA without your family and friends. And especially being abused by some fucker."
"Abused?" I questioned. I'd considered lonely and bored, and even though I knew he was a gangster, I never wondered if he would hurt me.
Sal eyes me sternly. "Call him the heir to the king of the underworld, but the guy is still a gangster, and that's all gangsters do, abuse."
I look away, tensed. "Have you met him before," I ask, "my fiance, Louis's heir."
"I've seen him from afar at an event once, and knew him a little when I was younger."
"What's he like?" I ask.
Sal glares at the floor. "He was always … unreadable, a calm cold. He wasn't like Dad or Louis, he wasn't some scheming brat like Dad or did he look ruthless like his grandfather. He looked like someone with no soul."
Someone with no soul.
"Which is why you need to be careful. Arranged marriages may seem like hell, but they can be quite easy to escape. The Vemoure's will be too busy dealing with their own shit but they'll be watching you like a hawk. Try to make them trust you, play dumb, don't get involved in their drug business, and most of all, don't trust anyone."
I nod. "Got it. Just sneak away without them looking."
Sal's eyes wander around the manor, it stops at the moon crest at the top of the double doors. "We gotta get out of this place, Isa."
I tilt my head, confused. "Wait, are you gonna run away with me?"
His head turned, his eyes were wide. He seems taken aback by my question, as if he doesn't know the answer himself.
"I might, it depends on you, just call me whenever you think you're ready, I recommend staying there for two months, long enough for them to keep their guard down. But when you think it's time, I'll pick you up in the city, and we'll go far away from here, you and me."
You and me.
I smile so hard my cheeks start to hurt, I hug Salvatore tightly. "Thank you."
I don't see it but I feel him smile, his head laying on my hair. I always knew me and Salvatore were as thick as glue. He was the only one in this godforsaken manor that actually saw me, saw right through the frail and humble girl act, saw me as who I was, and who I wished to become.
I always knew he was too good for this family, his father was hard on him because he was the heir, so as much as I'd like to say he was more privileged than me, we were both in the same bubble. Days of getting beatings in fathers parlor, taking faults of our other siblings, and having too much pressure put on us, this manor was our hell and this family controlled us.
Salvatore's fingers intertwined with mine. I felt lost in his dark eyes, swallowed into a black hole of want and passion. He was always handsome, from the first moment I'd seen him. Soft features, strong tall figure, long eyelashes, and burning hair that burned a hole in my heart.
He must be thinking the same thing I'm thinking. He felt closer than ever before and I couldn't help but let my head rest on his chest, to let his comfort guide me through the path that we're working our way through.
We had a right to run away. We had a right to be free from all of it. And we had a right to be together. Me and him, in the countryside of France, free, as I always dreamed.
"Pardon me."
Salvatore's fingers tore from mine, he quickly stuffed it in his pockets. I pushed away from him, looking at the space between me and him. We both turned to the voice, I was afraid it would've been a maid but it was just Victor, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black leather coat. His eyes were narrow, as if he was observing something rather suspicious. "I believe it's time for us to go," he says.
I nod, looking back and forth from Sal to him. What exactly was I supposed to say?
Victor walks towards Sal and my eyes widen. "I believe we haven't met," he says rather politely, "I'm Victor Vemoure, I'm your sister's bodyguard."
Salvatore extends his hand politely, a little confused. "I'm Sal, young master of the manor." Victor shakes it.
I look towards the double doors, where the blonde girl from earlier walks out with her purse and coat in her arms. We meet eyes and she walks quickly towards us.
"I see it's time," I whisper to no one.
Victor walks toward the car, sending me a glance that says hurry up. I look at Salvatore once again. He looks calm, even though that's the opposite of how I'm feeling. I just can't imagine what it will be like without him by my side. I thought the world ended when he packed up to go to college last year. But now … it feels like the odds against us outweigh any hope we have left. This is your destiny, Luna had told me. We can't run from our destinies, but maybe we can change their course.
I walk towards Sal, and extend my pinky. "Pinky promise," I say.
He smiles.
Pinky promises were our blood contracts. If you ever break them, bad things can happen. The last time we made a pinky promise was when Sal had to go to college in the UK. We were at this very spot, in front of the car that would drive him to the airport. He promised me that he would always call and text, and visit the manor as much as he could. Now I promise him that we will leave together at some point in time.
"Promise that we leave this life," I tell him.
"Promise. And you promise me that you will not throw yourself in every dangerous situation, like you always do."
"I promise," I said, rolling my eyes, remembering the one time I tried to climb the gates but fell and hit my head. "Promise me that you'll wait for me."
It was for a second, but I noticed he hesitated, he masked his consciousness with a smile. "I promise."
Our pinkies intertwine.
When I started walking towards the car door, the blonde girl was already getting in from the other side. She blew me a kiss. "Hurry doll, we're on a schedule."
I look back at Sal and wave to him as I get into the car. When the car starts to move, I look through the window and he mouths to me from afar, we'll meet again.
His red hair becomes distant, a contrast glare in front of the gray stone of the manor. I want to roll down the window and scream something to him, but that'd be embarrassing with two people watching me from the other side of the limo.
The limo goes through the black gates, and the Eclipse Family's Manor becomes hidden by the fog of fall and the tall trees of New York's great forest; never seen again.
I'm tapped on the knee, and I turn towards the blonde girl sitting in front of me. "It seems we haven't been formally introduced, I'm Sophia, Louis's granddaughter and Victor's cousin." She smiled sweetly. Now that her sunglasses are off, I'm awed at her green doe eyes.
I clear my throat. "Nice to meet you," I say shyly.
I notice Victor staring at the trees we pass by, air pods plugged into his ear. He always looks unbothered.
"Are we heading straight to NYC?"
Sophia nods her head. "We'll make a stop for brunch, but you're immediately going to the penthouse, Victor and I have to head to HQ afterwards, and then there's a gala we must attend at night."
"A gala, tonight?"
Sophia nods. "Don't worry too much about it though, you won't go since you'll be busy settling in and everything."
"I see … What happened to Louis?" I ask.
"He'll leave the manor in a private limo later."
"A-And my … fiance."
Sophia's eyes widened, surprised I asked.
"I've never met the guy," I elaborated.
"Ahh," she laughs. "You'll meet him soon enough, he's … always traveling—studies abroad—he also manages our finances and brands in France, but Louis is making sure that he sticks around the city this year."
I let my body sink into the seat cushion. "Did my father say anything about me when you left his parlor?"
Sophia crosses her legs, she pouts her lips and looks out the window, deep in thought. "He told Victor to protect you, but nothing else regarding you … Why didn't he come out and say goodbye?"
I look out into the dark mountain ranges, tree's floating below them. I scoffed at Sophia's comment. "We aren't like that," I said. "We aren't your average loving family." I was a fool to ever think we were.
I'm surprised when Sophia leans in and her hands gently touch mine. "Then it's a good thing you're joining ours," she says, all giddy. "We aren't perfect, and not all of us are blood-linked, but we are loyal, we'll always be loyal to the Eclipse Family, and that means loyal to you."
I hesitate to say something.
She sighs. "I know you're afraid, but trust me, I grew up in this life, it isn't as bad as you think, as long as you don't stick your nose into my grandfather's brutal business, then consider your new life the same as your old, just without your crappy parents." She winks.
I'm surprised that I smiled warmly at her positive gesture, but I can't help but feel bad for her. Her words don't mean anything, not with all the blood the Vemoure's have on their hands. I won't be the wife of a gangster, nor a member of a mafia family.
I'm going to—have to—slip right under their noses, and they'll never see it coming.