Page 35 of Alpha’s Fake Marriage

The air crackled with tension, thick with the weight of unspoken threats and unyielding resolve as the two men faced off, locked in a battle of wills that threatened to ignite the powder keg of conflict that simmered just beneath the surface.

In that moment, I felt a surge of conflicting emotions coursing through me, fear and hope warring for dominance within my heart. My father’s presence loomed like a specter of doom, casting a shadow over our tenuous refuge, while Octavio stood as a beacon of strength and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds.

As I peered out from our hiding place, my heart clenched with fear as I locked eyes with my father, his gaze burning with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. His voice, like a lightning bolt of rage, echoed through the cabin, cutting through the chaos with chilling clarity.

“Irina!” he shouted, his words a harsh demand that sent a jolt of fear coursing through my veins. My breath caught in my throat as I recoiled from his gaze, the weight of his presence pressing down on me like a suffocating blanket. “I can see you, Irina. I know that you are in there. Your mother too. It’s time to come back to me unless you want more of your friends to die.”

But as his words reverberated through the air, I felt a surge of defiance rising within me, a fierce determination to stand my ground in the face of his domineering presence. Clenching my fists, I squared my shoulders and headed back to the window to meet his gaze head on, refusing to cower beneath the weight of his wrath.

“I’m not your property,” I shot back, my voice trembling with the force of my conviction. “You had no right to sell me off to cover your debts. I’m not coming out, and I’m not going anywhere with you ever again.”

The words hung heavy in the air, a defiant challenge flung like a gauntlet at my father’s feet. But even as I spoke, a knot offear twisted in the pit of my stomach, the specter of his anger looming large in the cramped confines of our shelter.

Yet despite the fear that threatened to consume me, I stood firm in my resolve, drawing strength from the unwavering conviction that burned within me. For in that moment, I knew that I could not allow myself to be cowed by his threats, that I would fight tooth and nail to protect myself and my mother from the tyranny of his control.

And so I stood, my gaze locked with his, a beacon of defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. For in that moment, I knew that I would do whatever it took to reclaim my freedom, to carve out a future for myself and my mother free from the shackles of my father’s tyranny.

“I will kill everyone out here until you come out, Irina. I’m not messing around here.”

As my father’s threats echoed through the tense air, a chill ran down my spine, sending shivers cascading down my spine like icy tendrils creeping across my skin. Beside me, my mother trembled with fear, her eyes wide with terror as she clung to me with trembling hands.

“Stay with me,” she whispered. “Don’t let him take you. I can’t cope without you.”

With a steely resolve, I turned my attention back to my father, my voice steady despite the tremors of fear that coursed through my veins. “We’re not going anywhere with you,” I declared, my words a defiant challenge flung like a gauntlet at his feet. “We have all told you as much, so why don’t you just leave? You aren’t welcome here, so there is no point in you sticking around. Especially if Damien is dead.”

I could see behind my father that Octavio was backing away. But not because he wanted to run away; he had a plan in his head, it seemed. One that he needed to fulfil. I trusted him now, I knew that he wouldn’t do anything to let harm come to me, so Idid everything that I could to keep my father’s eyes on me. That was my part to play in this, that was what I could do.

“Damien is not dead,” Dad scoffed. “He is too clever to die. You need to be his wife just like you promised so that we can all move on with our lives.”

“I didn’t promise anything,” I reminded him swiftly. “You did. I never wanted to be his wife.”

My father’s lips curled into a contemptuous sneer, his eyes alight with a malevolent gleam as he regarded me with undisguised disdain. “You dare to defy me, girl?” he spat, his voice a venomous hiss that sent a chill racing down my spine.

But I refused to back down, refused to yield to the oppressive weight of his dominance. “I’m not a girl anymore, Father,” I retorted, my words tinged with a defiant edge as I stood my ground against his tyranny. “I’m a woman, and I won’t be treated like a possession to be bought and sold at your whim. You are the one who got yourself in that situation. I didn’t do anything. It isn’t my problem, it’s yours.”

A flicker of rage ignited in my father’s eyes, his features contorted with fury as he advanced towards me with a menacing stride. “You will obey me, Irina,” he growled, his voice a low, menacing rumble that reverberated through the air like a thunder clap. “Or there will be consequences.”

“There are consequences if I do what you say anyway.”

“Stop it, Irina. Don’t make me do something I’ll regret.”

But I refused to cower before him, refused to bow to his demands. “I won’t let you control me anymore,” I declared, my voice ringing out with a new found resolve as I faced him down with unwavering defiance. “I’m done being afraid of you.”

With each word I spoke, the tension in the air crackled like lightning, the palpable sense of confrontation hanging heavy between us like a storm cloud poised to unleash its fury upon the world.

Behind me, my mother watched in silent awe, her eyes wide with astonishment at the sight of her daughter standing up to the man who had once held her in thrall. She likely had never had the courage to do anything like this, which I understood completely because I also didn’t when we lived with him, under his rule.

But times had changed now. He needed to understand that too.

“We’re not going anywhere with you,” I stated firmly, my voice trembling slightly with the strain of holding back my fear and anger. My mother stood behind me, her presence a silent reassurance in the face of my father’s menacing demeanor. “You need to accept that.”

My father’s expression hardened into a mask of disdain, his eyes flashing with barely-contained fury. “You dare to disobey me?” he spat, his voice laced with venom. “After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? I have given you life. I have done everything for you. You and your mother.”

I squared my shoulders, refusing to back down in the face of his intimidation tactics. “I’m not your property, Father,” I countered, my voice steady despite the roiling emotions churning within me. “You can’t just trade me away to settle your debts. Me and Mom are better off without you.”

A flicker of anger flashed across my father’s face, his features contorting with rage. “You will do as I say,” he growled, advancing towards me with a menacing glint in his eyes. “Or we will all regret it.”

Despite the fear pulsing through my veins like wild fire, I clung to a glimmer of hope that Octavio would come back and this would soon be over. As I stood face to face with my father, his looming presence casting a dark shadow over me, I couldn’t help but tremble with apprehension.

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