All heads turned at the ding of the doorbell. They watched the young woman, who could easily pass for a high schooler, hold tightly to the tote bag on her arm as she skipped into the cafe with a big smile on her face.

Multiple faces tried to stifle their laughter as she walked up to the counter in clothes that looked to be three times her size, but she couldn't be bothered. It hadn't even occurred to her that she was the centre of attraction.

"Good morning. Two cups of caramel machiatto and one walnut pie, please." Cara ordered as she thought back on the last time her family had walnut pie. It used to be a tradition. Whenever there was good news to share, they always had walnut pie.

She decided it was time to renew the tradition. It seemed like only good things would happen from now on.

"Your coffees and walnut pie." The attendant said, and Cara received them with an overly excited thank you.

She pulled up the tote bag on her shoulder for the third time since she'd reached the cafe as she tried to balance the coffee and walnut pie box in her other hand. Waddling out of the cafe, she turned away from the cafe street, heading down the street to her home.

She couldn't remember if she had ever felt this peaceful since the death of her mother. She had never been this spontaneous, but to her, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She recalled her conversation with Adonis...

.

.

.

"It doesn't have to, bellissima. How about this? Agree to marry me for a year, and I'll f*ck you into oblivion after."

As much as she loved his proposition-mainly the bonus, but she wouldn't say that to his face-Cara didn't think it was a sane thing to get married because of hot sex. She had reluctantly refused and was all set to leave when he read out information from the brown file.

Cara Camila Rodriguez

5'5

Age: 22 years

Spanish-American

Third Generation Immigrant

College Dropout

Lives in a moderate-sized family house in the middle part of town-Washington Street, to be exact.

Works part-time as a dishwasher during the weekdays, tutors high schoolers, and serves as a waitress every weekend.

Dead Mother due to Stage Three Lung Cancer

Father used to work as marketing team manager but is now a chronic drunk and an addicted gambler.

Only acquaintance is a coworker known as Augustina Brooks.

Current debt: fifty-five grand, and 95% is from your father's gambling addiction.

Adonis took a pause as he viewed the next line but decided not to read it out. Beside a picture of her ex-fiancè was the name, Kane Roberts. His guts told him something was fishy, as he could clearly remember Cara calling him Timothy the day before. Making a mental note to have his men look him up, he looked up at Cara.

"I can continue if you want me to."

Cara felt anger at the intrusion of her privacy, but that was secondary.

How the hell did he get all this information in less than twelve hours? He never even left the room. More importantly, what did he need the information for?

Cara inhaled before taking a seat on the bed. "Who are you?" She asked, and Adonis placed the file down.

"Adonis Alessandro Bernardi."

"No. Who are you? What do you want? Why do you have information on me and my family?" She questioned with a frown.

"You can say I'm your Savior. You need money, no?"

Cara felt her nostrils flare. "You want me to sell myself to you."

Adonis exhaled in frustration. "La ragazzina arriva sempre alle sue conclusioni. No. I'm telling you what you stand to gain. Look, I need a wife for a year, and you might just be my best fit at the moment. Agree to sign the contract, and I'll pay off your debts. You-

Cara cut him off.

"That's it?" Adonis replied with a glare.

"Cut me off one more time, and you'd be screaming my name as I leave my handprint on your butt cheeks." Cara gulped.

"Now, your father needs help; I can get him the help he needs. I'll clear your debts, and you get a million dollars every month till the end of the contract."

Cara struggled with herself as she gaped at Adonis with her mouth opened for the second time that day. She always liked to view reality as it is, and right now, his offer seemed like the best option. She gets to clear her family's debts and send her father to rehab. Most importantly, she can go back to school and start a new life with the money he'll pay every month.

The deal sounded too good to be true. Was there something he was hiding? Or does he just have a lot of money lying around?

She was conflicted.

Yes, marriage shouldn't be taken lightly, but if she failed to pay back the money her father had recently loaned within a week, she doubted she'd be allowed to live to even get married at all.

"Tell me about yourself."

"Adonis Alessandro Bernardi. I'm thirty-four. Italian. I own businesses." He gave monotone, carefree replies, and Cara rolled her eyes.

If only she could afford a private investigator too.

"Is that all?"

Adonis hummed.

"That's all you need to know. The rest won't matter anyway; this will be done in a year." He gestured between them.

"Why me? Why not fall in love and get married?" She asked suspiciously, and Adonis chuckled dryly.

"I don't do love, and I need a wife. I have limited time, and like I said, you're my best choice at the moment."

Cara nodded. At least he's not as psychopathic as she thought.

"Why do you need a wife?"

"To inherit the family business."

"What's the family business?"

"This hotel. The club, amongst many others." He shrugged.

Cara eyes widened as it dawned on her. He was rich. Like rich rich. And he owned the club. She just slept with her boss's boss's boss! How was it she never suspected? The hotel was named after his family's name for Christ sake. A million thoughts ran through her head, and she contemplated her choices.

Was this one of the scenarios she usually reads in her romance novels? The one where the billionaire needs a temporary wife to take over the family business?

She was in deep, careful thought when her phone began to ring.

Absentmindedly, she pulled it out of her bag, staring at the screen as she saw Timothy's name pop up. That was the deal sealer. The thought of going back to the life she had before became scary; she was going to leave it all behind, and Adonis was her ticket. Looking up at him, she nodded.

"I'll do it."

.

.

.

Cara smiled as her small bungalow came to view. Adonis had given her his spare sweatpant and shirt to wear instead, before promising to send his driver over in the evening. He had offered to drop her off, but Cara needed time to take it in; she wanted to be sure about her decision, and till now, she hadn't wavered so that was a good thing.

They had agreed to finalise and sign the contract over dinner; they also needed to get their stories straight. He mentioned how clever his grandfather was and that it was going to take a lot of acting to convince him.

Cara had thought about how to deliver the news to her father. Tonight, she was just going to tell him that one of her old friends had offered to pay off the debts. She'd think of a way to break the news of her marriage and him going to rehab later. Cara didn't want him to feel guilty that she was getting married to provide them a good life.

Cara arrived at her home porch,

"Dad! I'm home!" Her words were laced with so much enthusiasm until she saw the door was slightly ajar.

Cautiously going in, she wondered if he got home drunk last night as she stepped into the living room to the greatest shock of her life.

The coffee and walnut pie fell to the ground, the hot liquid spilling around with a splash.

Casually sitting on the sofa were two men she was sure she'd never seen before, one with a bloodied knife in hand. Just behind them were two other men, one she didn't recognise, but the other was her bastard of an ex-fiancè.

But that wasn't the main cause of her shock.

At the centre of the room, lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood was her father.

Cara lost all sense of reasoning.

Gone was the carefree girl with light eyes that showed happiness; a minute was enough for Cara to understand what was happening. Staring at the men through blazing bloodshot eyes, she whispered.

"Is that my father?"

Silence reigned in the room, and Cara's eyes drifted over to the body on the floor. She closed her it in pain, and a single tear rolled out.

Followed by another and another until they were gushing, yet a sound didn't come from her. She raised her head to look at the man with the bloodied knife in hand.

"Is that my father?"

He smirked, his eyes crinkling at the side.

"Mine is six feet under, so he definitely isn't mine."

His subordinates snickered, and suddenly,

All hell broke loose.

"You bastard!"

Cara screamed as she lunged for him, but was blocked by one of the men.

Was her life a joke? Her father's dead, yet they seem to be acting like nothing happened. Is murder a joke to them?

She clawed at the air, thinking of a way to free herself from his subordinate's hold. This only made the killer enjoy the show more as he leaned back, watching Cara with a chuckle.

Cara let out a scream once again; she didn't care that she was acting out of character or like she had gone feral.

"Let me go! I'll kill you. I'll kill you all." She screamed

He dared to smile. What? He chuckled? She was going to kill him or die trying to.

Trying to free herself, she gripped the forearm of the man that was holding her back, and bit down hard; he let out a painful cry, letting go of Cara, she reached for her tote bag in search of her phone to call the cops.

Just in case she fails to kill them all, they mustn't go scot-free, Cara decided. Just as she raised the phone to her ear, she was tackled by the side, the phone slipping out of her hand.

She reaches for the phone once again but is shoved to the ground.

Cara grunts in pain, her eyes dizzy from the fall. She blinks rapidly to clear her vision as she looks up to tell off the one who had been holding her back but is shocked once again.

"Timothy..."

She had seen him earlier but didn't have the time to process it.

What was he doing here? Was he also involved in this?

"Timothy, don't tell me you did this. No."

She shook her head in denial, "You're not this callous."

Everyone in the room burst out in laughter, and Cara looked on in confusion. The killer stood to his feet, walked over to Timothy, and patted his shoulder.

"Thank you, Kane; you can step back."

Cara grew more confused.

"Kane?"

"Oh, sorry, to you, he's Timothy." He mocked making everyone laugh again, as he walked up to her.

She couldn't help but feel eerie. His sinister laugh didn't sit well with her. She glanced at him and shuddered at how ruggish he looked. Cara didn't know what he had been through or how he had lived his life, but from the thin, long scar that ran from below his left eye to his chin, she could tell he was dangerous.

"You know, Tesoro." He started with a faint Italian accent. "I thought Kane over there was the bad guy. Leading a girl as pretty as you on for so long was cruel. I never knew you had your plans." He chuckled darkly, giving her a once-over.

Cara felt her skin crawl, and resisted the urge to throw up.

Once again, here was another thing in her life that had been a lie. She couldn't believe she had wasted three years of her life with a scum. Throwing a glare at the man in front of her, she spat out

"I've come to expect the worst from him, so I'm not surprised... but what is it to you? Why did you kill my father?" Cara seethed.

"You and your dogs, get out of my home! Get out! I'm going to call the cops. You won't get away with this, you bastard."

The man shook his head in mock pity.

"Dear dear, you should've told your father to curb his gambling habits if you really cared for him."

Then, with a serious face, he kneeled before her. Swinging the knife playfully

"...and you can say my name. It's Carlo. You should know that much from your work done."

Cara frowned

So this was about the money her father owed?

"What are you talking about? I was given a week. I was going to pay you back."

"Oh, really? Kane here had something else to say."

Cara turned to her lying ex-fiancè

"You know I was going to pay. I always pay back. You could've protected my father. You owe me that much."

"Then what about you? Deceiving me whilst you were f*cking Adonis?" Kane sneered at a livid Cara, who gasped in bewilderment.

"What?"

"Kane!" The man Cara now knew as Carlo boomed, halting their exchange. "Settle your affairs elsewhere."

"No. What did he mean by that? You were the one who cheated. I didn't even know him up until yesterday. What do you do?" Cara paused in realization. "Wait, how do you know Mr. Bernardi?"

She looked back and forth between Kane and Carlo, then at the other two men, who were silently watching the entire conversation play out.

Something doesn't add up; they were too familiar with the tensed atmosphere to be a petty gang. The subordinate, who had been quietly sitting all this while, finally spoke.

"State tutti sprecando il mio tempo." Everyone became silent as he rose to his feet and nonchalantly walked over to Carlo.

Cara couldn't understand what he said, but from the subtle change in the atmosphere of the room, she could tell he was in charge.

"I'm Antonio Greco, but I'm sure you know. You were sent to spy on us. No?" He said, his words heavily laced with an Italian accent.

What was it with everyone assuming she knew them? More importantly, why was everyone speaking with an accent?

"I didn't spy on anyone." She met his stare head-on.

"Kane said Adonis was waiting for you at the staff room in the club last night. He saw you two leave together."

Cara frantically shook her head in denial once again.

"That's a lie. Yesterday was my first time meeting him. I only pretended to know him to get back at Timothy, well, Kane." She argued.

Antonio tutted.

"So you're telling me that you just so happened to walk up to a dangerous man who can kill you within the blink of an eye and make out with him for no reason, eh? Knowing his ties with the mafia, eh? Knowing he's the heir to one of the most vicious and treacherous gangs in the world, you expect me to believe that, eh? Dimmi!" He questioned with an angry scowl plastered on his face as his voice rose with each sentence.

Cara stared at him, mouth agape at the revelation.

What in the world had she gotten herself into?

Everything began to add up. The accents, the club, how Adonis was able to get information on her so quickly, her father's death.

They thought she was a spy for Adonis.

"I show you mercy by giving you a week to pay back my money, and you go and work for the enemy? Having the audacity to spy on me and my brothers on the pretext of love?"

Cara remained muted.

The information was all too much to take in, and honestly, even if she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say. They wouldn't believe her anyway, and the worst had been done.

"Listen here," Antonio continued.

"I'll be back exactly when the given time is over. This is just a warning." He gestured to her father. "If you try to call the cops, you'll end up like him before they reach here."

He lowered his voice, leaning forward to whisper in Cara's ear. Tucking a card in her palm,

"Tell Adonis I said to come at me openly." He raked his eyes over her, tucking a flay strand of hair behind her ear. "I know for one that you're not his type. Call me if you need a good f*ck."

And with that, he turned towards the exit, his men behind him as they exited her home.

Cara remained on the spot, sitting quietly as she took it all in.

For the past four years, things had been rough for her, but she was coping well. At least she wasn't alone; she had her father. And to think she thought Adonis was her salvation.

Her ticket to a better life.

She crawled over to her dead father's side with a smile, picking up her forgotten phone on the way. His body had gone stiff and was starting to change colour, but she still dressed his hair, which was matted in blood, as one would a child.

This is all because of Adonis.

She giggled.

No. They all did this.

They all lied to her, played her, and made her a scapegoat in their reckless game. Betrayed her. Kane, The Grecos, Adonis...

She stood to her feet, looking absurdly calm as she headed for the bathroom. The non-stop trembling of her fingers and her bloodshot, lifeless-looking eyes were the only things that gave away her grief.

Dialling a number, she waited patiently as it rang.

First ring

Second ring

Third ring

And then the line connected, but the receiver didn't say a word. If it wasn't for the sound of a deep exhale on the other end, one would think the line had dropped.

Her face stretched into a bigger smile as she spoke.

"We should meet up, Mr. Bernardi. Have your driver come pick me up. Now." And then she ended the call.