The Don's Unwanted Bride

CHAPTER 17

Hayden’s POV

I slammed the laptop shut.

No, not out of anger, out of sheer adrenaline. My fingers tingled with the rush of knowing exactly where she was headed and watching her try to make a run for it like a damn spy in some thriller movie.

I reopened the screen, zooming in on the camera feed that showed her scaling the back fence like her life depended on it. Which, in a way, it did.

"Alyssa…" I muttered, my lips curving with something between amusement and disbelief. "You're fast, I'll give you that."

She disappeared out of frame.

I turned the laptop to Donovan, who was already halfway toward the door, adrenaline shooting through his veins too. "Don't hurt her. Get her to me safe and sound. Alert the others. She must not get away this time.”

He nodded sharply, pulling out his phone and barking into it. “Target on the move, northeast perimeter. Female, brown hair, hoodie. Do not engage with force, Boss’s orders. Bring her back, breathing and whole.”

Donovan disappeared down the hallway.

I leaned back in my chair, running a hand down my face.

She had no idea who she was messing with.

And I had no idea how badly I still wanted answers from her, face-to-face, no more of this hide-and-seek bullshit.

The laptop beeped again. She was running across the back alley, darting like a shadow in the dark. Her hair streamed behind her. Her hands were clenched into fists.

And then, she collided with one of my guards. The camera shook as they fell to the ground, her knee landing squarely between his legs. He doubled over with a grunt.

She didn’t stop running.

I laughed, honest to God, laughed. “Damn, she’s feral.”

My phone vibrated violently on the table. I glanced at the screen and almost dropped it.

Nicolai. The timing was poetic. That bastard had been calling me for months. I'd ignored him, silenced him, shut out every voice connected to that family. Including hers.

But not today. Today, I was done hiding from my past. I pressed the green button and held the phone to my ear.

There was a sharp inhale. “Hayden? Is that you?”

His voice sounded older. Tired.

“Yes,” I replied coolly. “What do you want?”

There was a pause on his end. “I’m sorry…”

“The Mafia King position becomes mine if I marry your daughter, Alyssa, right?” I cut in, sitting up straighter in my chair.

Nicolas was silent for a beat too long. I imagined him standing in his study, rubbing his temples like he always did when he knew he was cornered.

“Answer me, Nicholas.”

“Yes. You will,” he finally said.

I smirked, satisfaction curling in my chest like smoke. “Are you searching for another suitor for her already, considering what I said to you the last time?”

“No,” he said quickly. “Not until I find her.”

I chuckled. “You don’t need to find someone else.” I leaned forward, every word deliberate, every syllable dipped in venom. “I’ll marry her.”

Nicholas let out a strangled gasp. “What?!”

“We had a deal. I never break deals.”

“But you said—!”

“I know what I said,” I cut him off. “I told you I’d never marry a brat like your daughter. I meant it then.”

He was quiet, probably holding his breath.

“But now,” I added slowly, “I’ve changed my mind.”

Nicolai was speechless.

“Get ready, Nicolai. I want you in L.A. by mid-day. We have a wedding to plan.”

“Hayden, have you found—?” His voice was thick with suspicion and something that sounded almost like hope.

I hung up. No goodbyes. No explanations. A small smirk curled on my lips as I leaned back in my chair and clicked play on the laptop screen again.

The footage rolled, grainy and shaky as my guards cornered her near the garage out back. She fought like hell, spitting, cursing, and even managed to punch one of them square in the face.

And then the audio kicked in. “Fuck you!” she screamed.

I laughed, hard.