7. Natalia
My heart is racing a million miles as I arrive at my parents’ house for Sunday lunch. I’m about to blow everything up with the bombshell I’m going to drop at the lunch table. I’m so worried. I don’t want my family to hate me, and I don’t want to ruin my family either.
“Hey, are you okay?” Allegra calls out.
I jump, not hearing her arrive, lost in my thoughts as I walk up the path to my parents’ front door. Tears well in my eyes as I try to stuff my emotions back down. I’ve got to keep it together. But Allegra sees something on my face, and she instantly wraps her arms around me and pulls me into her.
“Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay,” she tells me, hugging me tighter.
This is all I’ve ever wanted from my sister, this level of sisterly love. Ever since coming out and falling in love with Giada, she’s no longer a raging bitch and the two of us have been able to work on our relationship together.
“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Giada asks.
“What, no,” I squeal.
She looks relieved, they both do.
“What’s going on? You look like you have the world on your shoulders right now,” Allegra says.
“It feels like it. I’ve fucked up majorly,” I confess to her.
Allegra and Giada look between each other, then back at me. “I’m sure it’s not anything that bad,” my sister adds.
“Oh no. It’s bad. Like you and Giada getting caught at the engagement party bad.”
“Fuck,” Giada curses.
“No.” Allegra’s eyes widen as she stares at me in confusion.
“I’ve messed up and I have to tell everyone today because tomorrow the story is going to break,” I explain.
“Story?” Allegra squeals.
I nod. “I can’t stop what’s coming, I can only get ahead of it. Mamma and Papà are going to be so disappointed in me. Gio and Luca are going to lose their minds. They are going to disown me.”
“No. Never. They didn’t do that to me,” Allegra states.
“This is so much worse.”
“Never. I don’t believe it,” Giada adds.
I look up through tear-soaked lashes. “It’s that bad.” I hang my head in shame again. “I married Alessandro Conti in Vegas.”
The two of them gasp at my news. “No fucking way,” Giada states, shocked.
I nod, trying to hold back my tears.
“You married a Conti?” Allegra asks.
“I know. See, I told you I messed up. This is huge.”
“Um, damn right it is. He’s a fucking Conti, Nat. A Conti,” Allegra hisses angrily at me.
“I know,” I yell back.
“Babe, take it down a notch. You can already see your sister is upset over what’s happened,” Giada says, trying to calm my sister down.
“No shit, G. This is huge,” Allegra says, waving her hands wildly in the air.
My stomach sinks. If my sister is acting like this, I can only imagine how bad everyone else will be.
“Ignore her, she’s still processing,” Giada states as she pulls my attention back to her. “Are you getting an annulment?”
“He’s refusing to.”
“He’s what?” Allegra screeches.
Giada rolls her eyes as she pushes Allegra out of the way and stands in front of me. “Why? Are there feelings there?” she asks.
“Hell no. He’s a complete dick. He’s trying to blackmail me with the annulment. He said he will sign the papers once we drop out of the bidding for the Emerald Hotels,” I explain.
“No. There’s no way. That fucking asshole. I’m going to go give him a piece of my mind. Conti scum,” Allegra says angrily.
“Hold up, G.I. Jane. There will be no ass-whooping today,” Giada says, pulling Allegra back. “I’m assuming your brothers don’t know about this?” I shake my head. “Have you seen him since Vegas?”
“Yes. The other day I met him at his office thinking he might have changed his mind. But he hadn’t.”
“He’s a fucking Conti, of course, he didn’t.” Allegra sighs.
Giada shakes her head. “Ignore her. You said a story is dropping tomorrow. I’m assuming the papers have found out about your Vegas mistake and are running the story.”
“They’ve held off for a little over a week on the story,” I explain.
“That’s nice of them.” Giada smiles. “I assume you know someone and have seen what they are posting.” I nod. “And I’m going to assume there’s no mention of the blackmail?” I nod again. “Does Alessandro know this is being released?” she asks.
“I told him that I would let them release it if he didn’t sign the papers,” I tell her.
“Good girl,” Giada says, giving me a high-five. “Guess you called his bluff then.”
I did. And I’d do it again.
“Papà is going to lose his mind,” Allegra states.
No shit.
“Hush, you’re not helping,” Giada says to her partner. “You know things are going to get crazy when this is released. All of Roma knows how much the families hate each other. This is big.”
Yep.
“I can’t believe you married him. How did this even happen?” Allegra adds.
“Not on purpose. I don’t even know how it happened but there was an Elvis impersonator marrying me and a wedding license.”
“And you know for a fact that it’s real? That he didn’t create this as a ploy to win the Emerald contract?” Allegra asks.
“Yes. I’m not an idiot, Allegra,” I snap at my sister.
“Not saying you are,” she bites back.
“Think Nat needs our help, not our judgment,” Giada tells my sister.
“I don’t mean to judge. I’m in shock,” she explains.
“And you think I haven’t been in shock for the past week, all by myself,” I tell her. Allegra frowns as she looks down at the ground. “I’ve had to keep this huge secret to myself, something you should know something about.”
“Dammit, Nat. I’m sorry. You’re right, I should be more understanding. Still don’t get how you married a Conti though,” she grumbles.
“Allegra and I will stand beside you when you tell your family. We’ve got your back,” Giada tells me.
“Thank you,” I say, walking over and giving her a hug.
She hugs me back. “I mean, we’ve got you. Also, girl, that man is hot. It’s a shame you haven’t consummated the marriage.” She laughs. I still. “Oh.” Giada realizes what she’s said.
“Nat, no. Don’t tell me you let that man stick his dick into you,” Allegra sneers at me.
It was a nice dick.
“Ignore her, she wouldn’t know what it’s like to be dickmatized.” Giada chuckles, while my sister flips her off. “Was it good?” she whispers. “Even though it was a bad thing to do,” she adds on the end, making me laugh. I give her a look, and she howls with laughter. “I knew it.”
“Fucking hell, Nat.” Allegra groans as she scrubs her face, clearly annoyed.
“Not my fault, I was drunk. Can’t turn back time now. But I have a plan,” I tell them.
“A plan?” Allegra asks, not looking convinced.
“It’s a good one,” I add, but before I can continue, the sound of a car door closing cuts me off. Luca, Lilly, and baby Leo emerge and start walking up the pathway.
“What are you guys doing out here?” Luca asks, holding a wiggling Leo.
“Girl talk,” Giada says, making my brother frown. Lilly looks between the three of us, and I can tell she knows something is up but leaves it alone.
“Come on, let’s go,” I say to Allegra and Giada.
“We’ve got you,” Giada says as we step into my family home.
Lunch has been stressful,trying to find the right time to announce my marriage. Everyone is having so much fun that I don’t want to bring the mood down.
“You’ve been awfully quiet, Natalia,” my mother says, catching me off-guard as we eat dessert.
“Have a lot on my mind,” I answer before looking over at Giada and Allegra who push me to continue with the opening.
“Like what?” my mother pushes, placing her spoon down and looking at me, waiting for me to tell her my problems.
“Um, well …” I start as I nervously run my spoon through the custard of my dessert. “I guess I have something on my mind that I need to tell everyone.”
My father drops his spoon, and the entire room falls silent, except for my heart which is ready to leap out of my chest. This is it, Natalia. I bite my bottom lip as my hand shakes and tears well in my eyes.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?” my father asks as he notices the change in me.
“No,” I say, shaking my head as the tears flow freely.
Paige wraps an arm around me as she’s sitting beside me. “It’s going to be okay,” she tries to reassure me.
“It’s truly not going to be,” I say, looking at her. She’s surprised by my answer.
“Natalia, you’re scaring us, please, whatever it is we can help,” my mother says, and I can hear the panic in her voice.
Do it. Like a Band-Aid, rip it off.
I suck in a deep breath and let it out. “I accidentally got married in Vegas to Alessandro Conti, and now he is blackmailing me. Saying he won’t annul the marriage unless we drop out of the Emerald Hotels deal, to which I told him no. So tomorrow the papers are releasing the footage of our wedding in a huge exposé.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room. I don’t dare look up as I concentrate on my dessert. Then moments later, as if everyone comprehends what I said, the shouting starts.
“What the fuck!”
“How could you?”
“This isn’t real?”
“A fucking Conti?”
“You’ve been hiding this?”
“I can’t believe you’d be this stupid.”
There are a lot of hand gestures and table slapping.
I let them shout as I continue to eat my dessert. There is nothing I can say to them in this moment that will make what I’ve done any better, nor will they listen to me.
“Enough,” Lilly says, raising her voice and standing up as she grabs her expanding belly. The room falls silent. “There will be no fighting in front of my child,” she chastises everyone. Little Leo sits there staring at his family, wondering what is going on with unshed tears and a wobbly lip.
“I think Nona and Nonno might want to take Leo for a walk while the adults talk,” my mother suggests.
“That sounds like a good idea, my love,” my father says, throwing his napkin onto the table, then scoops up Leo from his father’s arms. He walks past me and gives my shoulder a squeeze before walking out.
That little gesture breaks me. “I’m so sorry,” I sob as I break down at the table. Then Luca and Gio start berating me again.
“What were you thinking?”
“Did he force you?”
“Enough,” Lilly shouts again, pointing at her husband and brother-in-law. “You can clearly see she’s upset, and you yelling at her isn’t going to change the situation,” she says, rubbing her belly.
“My love, please, it’s been a shock. She’s married to a Conti,” Luca states angrily.
“I don’t care, she’s your sister and she’s distraught. Why don’t you hear her out?” Lilly tells him.
“Hear her excuses?” Luca says.
Lilly picks up a bread roll and throws it at him.
“Hey, what the …?” he shouts as he swats away the flying carb.
“As if you haven’t done something stupid in your life before,” she tells him.
“Fine,” Luca grumbles, folding his arms angrily across his chest.
“That goes for you, too,” Paige says, pointing at Gio, who throws his hands up in the air but keeps his mouth shut.
I’m so thankful in this moment for my sisters-in-law.
“The floor is yours,” Paige tells me.
Putting my spoon down, I wipe my sweaty hands on the napkin. “Where do I start?”
“At the beginning would be good,” Gio says sarcastically.
“Right, well, um, yeah, okay, so … I woke up in Alessandro’s bed in Vegas,” I start.
“Fucking hell,” Luca curses, and another bread roll is hurled at him. Gio’s face has turned a bright shade of red as he tries to stifle his anger.
“It was a shock to me as the night was hazy,” I explain.
“He didn’t drug you, did he? Did he force you to do something you didn’t want to do?” Gio asks.
I shake my head. “No, I … um … was all for it.”
“Gross,” Luca says, pretending to gag.
“I thought it was a drunken one-night stand,” I continue.
“With a fucking Conti,” Gio bites out.
“Yes—” I groan. “With a Conti,” I say, rolling my eyes at him.
“Let her explain,” Allegra adds.
Gio raises a brow at our sister before shutting his mouth.
“This isn’t easy for me to tell you two, okay. I’m mortified this has happened. How can I ever forgive myself for getting into bed with that man?”
“We’ve all been there, woken up in someone”s bed we shouldn’t have,” Giada states, trying to be supportive but probably not the right thing for her to say. She realizes what she’s said and sits back in her chair.
“I get you waking up in his bed, but I don’t get how you ended up married to him,” Luca comments.
“I didn’t believe it either until Francesca showed me the photos her photographer sent her of the two of us being married by Elvis at the Little White Chapel.” I dig into my bag and pull out my phone. I bring up the email and open it, then hand it to my brothers. I watch in silence as they look at the images and continuously curse their way through them. “I was furious. That’s when I went back to his hotel room and confronted him, asking for an annulment.”
“Why didn’t you come and get us?” Gio asks.
“I would have liked to confront him,” Luca adds.
“Same,” Gio agrees.
“It was your weekend. I didn’t want to ruin it,” I tell them.
“This was something serious. We could have fixed it,” Gio says.
“Yeah, by punching the fuck out of him,” Luca adds.
“And get sued, yeah, that sounds like a good plan,” Lilly grumbles.
“I thought I could handle it,” I tell them.
“And how’s that working out for you?” Gio snaps.
I glare at my older brother, ignoring his judgment. “That’s when he told me that he wouldn’t give me an annulment unless I got the two of you to drop the Emerald deal.”
“The motherfucker,” Gio curses.
“He knew he had you over a barrel. Fucking Contis, wait till I …” Luca adds.
“And then you came back to us and put on a brave face when this was going on behind the scenes,” Paige says, giving me a worried look.
“I couldn’t ruin your weekend. I was going to sort it out,” I tell her.
“Doesn’t look like you sorted anything out because tomorrow it’s going to be tabloid fodder. You shouldn’t have let it get this far. He probably thought you were a pushover.” Gio huffs.
“He wouldn’t have said that if we were there,” Luca adds.
“Hey, come on, that’s not fair,” Allegra says, warning our brothers.
“I’m not stupid. You think he was going to change his mind on the annulment if you two had asked? He saw his chance and took it.”
“So fucking stupid,” Gio says, shaking his head.
“I didn’t plan this. It just happened, okay?” I yell at him.
“It’s going to be okay,” Paige says, trying to reassure me.
“I don’t think it is,” I answer quietly as I swipe away tears.
“You two are being assholes,” Allegra says, standing up, coming around the table, and hugging me. As she stands behind me, I can feel her support.
“How are we the bad guys? She’s literally fucked the company over, and we are going to lose millions on a deal we have been working hard on for months,” Gio questions back at Allegra.
“He fucking took advantage of her,” Allegra retorts. I know she is trying to defend me, but she’s making me sound like a na?ve little girl.
“He saw an easy opportunity and took it,” Luca adds.
“Fuck you,” I say, pointing at my brother. “You’re trying to make me out to be an idiot. That’s not fair.”
“You are saying what you did wasn’t idiotic?” Luca bites back.
“Hey, that’s enough. You’re being mean,” Lilly warns her husband.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Gio asks.
“Of course, I do. Why do you think I’ve been trying to fix it? I went to his office the other day hoping that maybe he grew a conscience between now and then and that we could put this whole unfortunate thing behind us, but instead, he’s just doubled down on his request.”
“He’s a Conti, what did you expect?” Gio adds.
“I don’t know. But what I do know is I love my family and I’ll do anything for them. I’ve called him on his bluff. I’ve spoken to Francesca, and I’ve decided that he doesn’t get to dictate the narrative about that night anymore. I do. I will not let them take something my father has dreamed about for years.”
“Sweetheart, a hotel is not worth more than you,” my father’s voice echoes through the room.
I stand up, rush over to him, and wrap myself around him. “I’m so sorry,” I say, sobbing in his arms.
“I’m sorry you didn’t think you could come to us with this,” he replies, cupping my face in his hands.
“I thought I could fix it,” I say, my lip wobbling with emotion.
“The Contis are ruthless, my love, you were never going to get them to be compassionate.”
“I know that now,” I sob again.
“It’s going to be okay,” he says, reassuring me with a tight hug. I’m surprised that he’s taking it so well. “Gio, Luca, contact the Hoffmans and tell them we are pulling out of the deal.”
“Papà, no, please, no,” I plead with him.
“I will not let a Conti blackmail my daughter,” he says angrily.
“I promise you I’ve fixed it. I have a plan and it’s been set in motion,” I tell him.
The room stills at my words.
“What do you mean, sweetheart?” my father asks.
I untangle myself from him and address the room. “The Contis think that what is releasing tomorrow is a gossip piece about me on my—our drunken night in Vegas, but what they don’t know is I changed the story, I rewrote it. If Alessandro Conti thinks he’s in control, then he’s wrong.”
“What have you done?” Gio asks.