Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
CLARA
I ’m exhausted, but happy. Last night was magical in every sense of the word, and I walk into the house with a dreamy smile on my face. Mom is the first person I see, and I don’t miss the tightness to her smile and the dark shadows underneath her eyes.
“Clara.” She sighs and my heart bangs frantically as I sense something is off.
“Your father wants a word.”
My heart sinks. “Why?”
“He’s in the living room. Don’t keep him waiting.”
I’m wary of the gleam in her eye and the resignation lining her face. Mom has put up with a lot over the years and sometimes I wonder if she’s happy. I wish we had the kind of relationship where it would be okay to ask, but she has always kept our relationship strictly as mother and daughter. She has friends to confide in and yet seeing her now, I wonder if in the future I could be one of them.
We head inside the room and my father turns from his position by the window and points to the couch.
“Take a seat, Clara. I’ll keep this brief.”
“Keep what? What’s going on?” I ask, fearful I won’t like the subject matter. Since our last conversation, our relationship has been a stilted one. Not many words have been exchanged between us, and his disapproval has been palpable. Now he appears resigned to something and I wonder what has happened because for some reason I don’t think this is about me anymore, or Atom.
“Next week you go to college.”
He states the obvious and I nod, too fearful to speak.
“Tomorrow, the Santobellos are hosting a farewell party for you.”
“For me?” I’m shocked. “Why?”
He doesn’t answer my question and carries on speaking. “You will attend as Michael’s date for the night.”
“NO!” I jump up. “I won’t. Don’t be absurd.”
Mom glances at me and I note the pity in her eyes as my father delivers a stern response.
“Last time we had a conversation in this room, you gave me a choice.”
I swing my gaze to mom who appears so beaten the bottom drops out of my world. She knows. It’s staring at me hard and I swallow, my mouth dry as I sense my leverage crumbling.
“Now I am giving you a choice and will respect your decision.”
“Go on.” My heart beats erratically as he fixes me with a stern glare.
“In three day’s time, Fitzgeralds is due to be sold to, well, you know who.”
“Atom.” I say forcefully, fixing him with a hard glare of my own and he nods, a flicker of distaste passing across his face.
“If you agree to marry Michael, the sale will go through. If not, the premises will be sold to Michael Santobello.”
“So what? We’ll buy another one.” I bite back, and my father shakes his head.
“You still don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
“Michael wants you as his wife, and if you don’t agree, your boyfriend will pay the price. He will be run out of town or?—”
He hesitates and I gasp, “Or what?”
Mom sinks down onto the couch and places her head in her hands.
My father clears his throat. “Charles and Michael Santobello have made it crystal clear that for every day you refuse, no matter how long that may take, your, well, boyfriend will pay the price, along with every member of his family and friends.”
“Then we will leave town!” I yell and for the first time in my life, I watch my father show real fear.
“The house he lives in has already been purchased by their property company. The sale was finalized last night. If you don’t agree, the night the garage is sold, there will be a devastating fire and the insurance will be null and void when they prove it was started by your boyfriend for the insurance money.”
“They can’t do that. I’ll go to the cops and tell them what you told me.”
“Don’t be a fool, Clara!” Dad yells. “This isn’t about you anymore. Real people stand to lose everything, even their lives.”
“Listen to your father, Clara.” Mom sighs and her voice catches as she whispers, “Atom has a sister Tanya.”
My heart twists as she says shakily, “She is working for Michael at the new club he opened. Her life is on the line if this doesn’t go ahead and Atom will be framed for her murder.”
I don’t believe what I’m hearing and stare at them in shock. “Why is he doing this? I hardly know the guy.”
“Because he can.” My father says simply and then says gruffly, “That’s not all. Every one of well, Atom’s friends will find life very difficult. By the time Michael finishes with them, they will have nothing, probably be in jail and any hope of the life they are planning gone up in smoke.”
“I won’t do it. He can’t blackmail me into marrying him.”
“Then there is the hold he has on us.”
At first I don’t register his words and as they sink in, I stare at him in shock.
“What hold?”
Mom is sobbing and that shocks me more than anything because she never shows emotion.
“He has a file on me.” Dad’s voice breaks.
“What are you talking about?” My mind is spinning.
“Several, well, liaisons have been recorded, and he has put pressure on Vikki and bullied her into bringing charges against me.”
“Where is she?”
I’m fearful for the only person I trust in this house and mom says with a slight cough, “She left this morning. She is now working for Charles Santobello.”
“Oh my God.”
The full horror of my situation is reaching out and socking me hard and my legs give way as I tumble back on the couch. “No.”
Tears blind me as my father pleads, “This will all stop if you agree to marry Michael and give up your relationship with Atom.”
Dad sounds almost regretful as he says his name and adds, “Do it for him, Clara. If you truly love him, which I believe you do, set him free to live the life he is dreaming of because if you agree, Michael has promised he will never touch Atom or his associates.” He adds, “He will get over it. He’ll move on and you will be happy with Michael.”
“What makes you think that?” My words are said with no emotion because I no longer have any. My world is crumbling as reality hits hard and mom says with a sad apology in her voice, “Because it’s what women in our position do.”
I wonder what she means by that, and she shrugs. “When I was your age, I was in a similar position. I had a guy I was keen on and my father put a stop to it. He made a deal with your grandfather and neither your father nor I had a say in the matter. The wedding was arranged and because we were brought up to respect our parent’s decisions, we went along with it.”
My world crumbles as she continues. “I suppose that’s why your father has affairs and I’m not sugar coating this—so do I.”
A flicker of a smile ghosts her face as she shrugs. “Michael will be the same. He will have many, I’m sure, and after a while, you will stray too. It’s what happens when you enter an arranged marriage. It’s called turning a blind eye.”
“But I’m in love with an incredible man. Why can’t you understand that?”
My voice breaks because it’s how I feel inside. Broken and shattered to the core.
Mom surprises me by reaching for my hand and tears stream from her eyes as she says with regret, “I’m sorry, Clara. We tried to educate you in this world. This is how we live. Favors, arrangements and deals behind closed doors that are for the greater good, eventually. Your love for Atom is undeniable, but after a few years will you be so enamored of that life? You are used to more, and it’s a sad fact that normal living will never be enough for people like us. Wealth is a drug that infects even the happiest pairing. When one person is used to a certain standard, the rot sets in when the love dims a little. Don’t drag this out and save Atom’s life because I’m in no doubt the Santobellos came to this town for a different reason than we first thought.”
“What are you talking about?”
I wipe the tears from my face that won’t stop flowing and dad hisses. “Charles Santobello made his fortune by exploiting others. Protection money, drugs and prostitution, all disguised behind sharp suits and apparent respectability. His son Michael is his heir, and they are used to getting what they want. They have decided you are the perfect wife to hide behind. You come from a respected family in town and are considered the prize in society. The deal is non-negotiable all the time they have the power to ruin lives and you would be wise to go along with this and pray they destroy one another along the way.”
He sighs heavily and takes a seat on the couch opposite, throwing a despairing look in my mother’s direction.
“I won’t pretend this is the right way.” He says huskily. “It never was and I wish more than anything this hadn’t happened. I can’t pretend I am happy with your choice, but even I realize Atom is better for your heart. But not for your head. If you choose to refuse, then Atom, his life and those of everyone he knows hang in the balance and if you love him as much as you say you do, then set him free and make the best of a bad situation.”
“A bad situation.”
That statement makes me laugh. “Is that what we’re calling this now? My life is a bad situation? I’m entering hell holding the devil’s hand and you’re standing there pushing me from behind. Sacrificing your only daughter to save what? Your reputation, your standing in society and your wealth. What about me? What about my life? What I want? It appears the only one that doesn’t matter here is me.”
I stand and regard them with bitter disappointment. “I’ll consider it. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m tired and would like to grab some sleep so I can think straight.”
I say nothing more and head out of the room and don’t look back.
They don’t see the tears falling down my face like two raging rivers. They don’t witness the devastation to my heart as I face losing the only man I will ever love and don’t regard my world crumbling as I accept I have no other choice. Michael Santobello will be my husband whether I like it or not and the only reason is to save Atom’s life and give him the opportunity to live his dream. He will get over it. He’ll move on and I’m the fool who will be watching him from afar, wishing with all my heart I was living it with him.