Please Divorce Me, Alpha! {BL}

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But the question was...when?

After the first time we’d laughed together?

After the dinner I asked him to share because the estate felt too empty?

After Frederick began treating me like family?

After one of our silly conversations?

Or had it all begun much earlier?

I couldn’t figure it out.

The most frustrating part was that Lorenzo hadn’t given any indication.

If he’d started caring months ago, why let me think I was nothing?

Why tell me on his birthday not to forget why I was there?

My throat tightened and I glanced down at the bag of books beside me.

”You’re an idiot, Lorenzo,” I whispered.

I wasn’t sure if I meant him or myself...maybe both.

The convoy turned onto a quieter road as traffic thinned out. Buildings became more scattered, and the bright city streets faded into darker stretches bordered by trees and industrial buildings.

I hardly noticed, the engine hummed beneath me a radio crackled softly somewhere in the front. I shifted in my seat and gazed out the window, everything looked normal.

Almost boring.

And that was probably why the first round of gunfire caught me completely off guard.

The sound ripped through the night.

It was so loud my brain momentarily couldn’t process it, then the windshield cracked.

Someone yelled.

Another burst of gunfire erupted from somewhere ahead.

The SUV lurched violently.

”What the—!”

”GET DOWN!”

A guard lunged toward me and I dropped instinctively, suddenly, the world around me exploded into noise with gunshots, shouting, tires screeching and glass shattering.

I hit the floor of the vehicle hard enough to knock the breath out of me. The impact rattled through my ribs, and for a second the only thing I could hear was the frantic thudding of my own pulse.

My heart hammered so loudly I could feel it in my throat.”W...what is happening?!”

”Stay down!”

Another gunshot struck the vehicle.

The sound was deafening in the confined space. The metal of the door vibrated against my shoulder, and the sharp tang of gunpowder began to seep in through the cracked windows.

I curled tighter against the floor, this couldn’t be happening.

I heard the men outside yelling to each other, then another vehicle collided with something nearby.

The convoy had been trapped as headlights flooded the windows.The guards were moving around the vehicles, firing back at the attackers.

I pressed myself against the floor, trembling. The bag of books I had bought earlier had tumbled somewhere near my feet, and the ridiculous thought that I might never get to finish the limited-edition hardcover flashed through my mind before pure survival instinct shoved it aside.

For several seconds, I thought this was just an attack on the convoy.

Maybe someone wanted Lorenzo.

Maybe they mistook the vehicle for someone else.

Maybe—

Then I noticed something, every time one of the guards moved toward my car door, the gunfire increased.

Not towards the other cars...towards mine, then I froze.

Another burst of shots tore through the night. Someone shouted then there was a heavy thud against the side of the vehicle. I lifted my head just enough to peek through the shattered window.

One of the guards had fallen, he lay on the pavement beside the open door as blood pooled around him.

I stopped breathing.

”N–no.” My voice came out barely a whisper.

He wasn’t moving and another guard tried to reach him but was driven back by gunfire.

My stomach twisted, they weren’t just attacking the convoy.

They were after me.

The realization hit harder than the gunshots, they were here because I was here.

Someone wanted me dead.

And everyone around me was getting shot for trying to protect me.

I glanced around, panicking. My eyes fell on the ground near the open door. A handgun, one of the guards must have dropped it in the chaos.

My hands trembled so much I almost couldn’t pick it up. I stared at it, I’d never fired a gun before.

I barely knew which end was which.

”Fucking brilliant,” I whispered.

Today was officially the worst day of my life.

Right above being born.

I grabbed the gun anyway, the metal felt heavier and colder than I expected, and my fingers slipped once against the grip before I managed to hold it properly.

I pushed the door open wider.

”Sir!”

I ignored the shout.

If they were coming for me, maybe I could draw them away...maybe the guards could survive if they weren’t all clustered around one vehicle.

Maybe.

That was the only thought I had.

I jumped out and gunfire erupted behind me.

I didn’t know where I was going, I didn’t care.

I just ran, my lungs burned almost instantly, and every instinct screamed at me to duck down, hide, turn back, do something sensible.

Unfortunately, it seemed I had left sense back at the bookstore. I rounded the side of one of the vehicles and nearly crashed into a masked man.

He stepped into my path and his gun was already aimed at me. I skidded to a halt.

Every part of me went cold.

Fuck!

He stared at me through the mask, then I raised my own gun with both hands. They were shaking so much I could hardly keep it aimed in his direction.

”D...drop it!” My voice cracked.

The man didn’t budge.

”I said drop it! Or I blow your head clean off!”

My heart raced. ”Who fucking sent you?!”

He stayed silent, tor one bizarre second, I thought I actually scared him, when he bend down and dropped his gun on the ground.

I swallowed hard. ”That’s right.”

The man kept staring at me, then he lunged at me Without thinking, I pulled the trigger aiming for his legs.

Surprise, surprise, nothing happened...just a tiny, humiliating click.

I stared at the gun. Of course it wasn’t loaded. Of course the one time I decided to play action hero, the universe handed me an empty weapon and a front-row seat to my own embarrassment.

The man crashed into me. ”Oh, come on!”

We hit the ground hard and air left my lungs. I fought beneath him, clawing at his arms as he tried to pin me down.

I kicked wildly.

He grunted, ”Stay still you fucking bitch!”

”Fuck you!”

He grabbed my wrist and I twisted, then he struck me, pain exploded across my cheek, and for a moment, the whole world flashed white.

I didn’t even know what I was doing anymore. I just fought, I scratched, I kicked and I grabbed at anything I could reach.

When his hand came close to my face, I bit down on his flesh as hard as I could.

The taste of blood filled my mouth.

The man shouted and jerked back. ”Ahh! Fuck!”

I rolled like mad, trying to crawl out from under him, for a heartbeat, I thought I might actually escape.

Then his fist slammed down on me again, my vision blurred and the world tilted.

He pinned me back down, I tried to scream, but the sound caught in my throat. Then something cold pressed against my neck.

I looked.and it was a knife, the blade caught the dim light from the nearby headlights.

My breath stopped.

This was it, I thought. This was how I was going to die...

The man’s grip tightened on the knife and lifted it. And suddenly, everything narrowed down to that single blade hovering above me.

I couldn’t hear the gunfire anymore.

Couldn’t hear the shouting, couldn’t even feel the pain on my face, all I could focus on was the knife.

And all I could think was—

I had always knew this was going to happen to me... getting assassinated and all that crap, being married into the mafia and all.

Just what I was trying to avoid by getting divorced or running away from the Castelli family.

Thanks a lot, Dracula.