Rules of Their Own Ch. 02

"Trish, listen, I will get you out of here, but right now I don't really have a choice."

"Alex..."

"Trish smile and remain quiet." Alex said.

Trish's face relaxed and the worried frown morphed into a friendly smile. Alex used to delight in seeing the control evaporate from his victims, but that was a long time ago. Now it was just a means to an end.

"Go stand on your podium with your hands on your hips."

Trish walked back to her podium and adopted her pose, freezing in place. Seeing her stay in place like the rest of the trophies was starting to restir past feelings. One of his favorite things was posing hot women on display and the rows and rows of beautiful women were reinvigorating those pleasurable memories.

The cut of the microphone caught his attention again.

"Good job. Now you'll notice that there is a podium at the front of the room."

Alex took his eyes off Trish and found the empty podium. The plaque read 'My Lover.'

He didn't need to be told to know what she wanted him to do. Alex stepped onto the platform and turned to the mirror.

"Pose like your former lover."

Former lover was an inaccurate statement, but Alex adopted Trish's hands on hip pose.

"Smile, babe."

Alex stared with daggers at Nela through the window. If he could, he would keep her for himself and make her permanently blank. No one with that kind of power should be let loose unrestrained on the world. Yet she was uninhibited about everything she was doing, including capturing someone as powerful as him.

"I said smile, or I make Trish eat out every woman in this room."

Alex reluctantly bared his teet and tried his best to maintain his still pose.

"Good boy. Now you think about what your next move is before I come back."

The lights closed down leaving Alex in darkness with the rest of her trophies.

***

5 Years Earlier

The timing was perfect. Ana pushed through the door and sent Alex flying to the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Ana said.

Alex gave her a warm smile. "I should have watched where I was going."

Ana helped him up. "Were you looking for someone in here? This is off limits to the other guests."

"I'm looking for the washroom."

"All the way up here?"

"I'm a horrible liar. Actually, I saw this really beautiful woman and I really wanted to meet her and see that smile up close." He glanced at her smile. "It was definitely worth the risk."

Ana blushed. With all the anger she had just displayed, seeing her flattered was a way better reaction then he could have hoped for. It was tempting to use his powers on her, but he wanted something real. Something not forced. Ana didn't even recognize him from the restaurant which revealed to Alex how little attention people like her paid to others beneath them. In her mind, that was probably the dirty dishwasher boy that stood up to her boyfriend. It was much better to be the handsome man who charmed her.

"Are you not here with a date?"

"I was supposed to come with my fiancé, but things kind of went south when I caught her with another man last week."

"Oh my gosh, you poor thing." Ana said, giving Alex a hug.

She looked back from where she came and bit her lip.

"You know, I'm kind of in between relationships. Would you like to be my knight in shining armor?" She smiled at him.

"I have to say, the smile was worth it."

Alex put his hand out and Ana grabbed it. She led him back towards the room. Unbeknownst to Ana, Alex knew exactly what kind of scenario they were walking in to. But even he too was shocked as they walked back through the room's doors. Ana's father had arrived and likely been informed of what happened. Alex made a quick instruction for everyone to speak in English in order to be privy as to what was going on.

Unexpectedly, Rico was still in the same room and Mr. Garcia didn't bat an eye at him.

"Why is he still here?" Ana said.

Mr. Garcia grabbed his daughter and brought her over to the corner.

"Listen Ana. You know how ruthless the media is at events like this. I can't afford to have this scandal get out. So, we are going to pretend like this didn't happen." Mr. Garcia said. "You saw nothing, and you will act like nothing happened."

"But father."

Mr. Garcia put a finger on his daughter's mouth.

"This is not a negotiation. Now go reconcile with Rico."

And just like that, Alex was forgotten by Ana. She reluctantly followed her father's orders and went back to Rico's arm. Alex was impressed with the magnitude of Mr. Garcia's control over his family without any actual powers. He knew the importance of maintaining the perfect image to the public. Of course, money helped too. The father turned to Alex.

"Who the hell are you?"

Alex had tried to do it his way, but things kept reverting back to normal. He tried to be the hero, then tried to sabotage their relationship, but Ana was always forced back to the abusive hands of Rico. In the past it was an easy decision to use his power and set things straight. But that was the old Alex. The new Alex stilled used his powers, but not for direct influence. And he was set on keeping it that way.

"My name is Alex Morgans, heir to the Morgans Empire, and I am smitten with your daughter, Ana." Alex confidently extended his hand.

It was a lie, but one he could easily substantiate. Besides, the only thing Mr. Garcia cared about more than his image was money and having Ana marrying into wealth would keep wealth within his family for generations to come. Mr. Garcia shook Alex's hand, but his mind had already been made up.

"Unfortunately, my daughter is already with someone."

Alex tightened his grip and moved in close.

"One day that man is going to beat Ana so badly you won't recognize her, and the world will know." Alex said.

Alex let go and nodded politely at Ana with a smile. It's as much as he could do for the time being. At least until the wedding was done. He left the family to sort out their business with hopes of striking at the right moment the next time he got the chance.

Back at the place where he had left his other toys, Alex was feeling bitter at how the whole scenario had played out. So bitter that he wanted to take it out on someone else. He ordered the two wedding dates to strip naked and then to pose on either side of the fountain as garden decorations. It wasn't uncommon for massive weddings to have human statues hired for such things and this was his contribution to the decor. At least that's what he told himself.

He grabbed his date and reluctantly headed back to the guest area. There was nothing against her beauty, but she just wasn't Ana. The kind, exotically beautiful girl he couldn't get his mind off.

"Alex!"

He turned and saw Ana running toward him. Alex quickly handed off his date to another guy walking by as to not arouse suspicions that he wasn't there alone.

"Ana. What can I do for you?"

"Are you still looking for a date?" Ana smiled and extended her hand.

It was a long shot, but Alex had wagered on Mr. Garcia being a smart man that liked to plan ahead. Being used to Rico, he hadn't been able to see the type of person he really was. But it was his in his best interest to take off the blinders and really see how that relationship was going to end. At least for now, it was a win for Alex. All he had to do was build more trust with Mr. Garcia and the rest of the family. But that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was not using his powers and winning over Ana in the long run. It was unchartered territory and Alex was excited for the opportunity. He grabbed her hand without hesitation. This was going to be the start of a beautiful relationship.