Chapter 20 Allegra #2
I'd been trying to avoid Lucia as much as possible, preferring to eat my meals in my room rather than risk another confrontation with her. It seems my plan had only annoyed her further into doing this.
I clench my fists, frustration gnawing at me.
With Enzo and Rocco gone most days, it's just me and Lucia, which means she doesn't have to pretend she's anything but the vicious witch she is. And now, threatening to starve me if I don't follow her dictates?
I shake my head, unsure how to proceed. I know she's doing this to rile me up and to get me out in the open so she can torment me some more. Too bad for her that I'm not about to allow that. I'll just have to be on my guard.
Nodding at Ana, I leave my room, mentally preparing myself to battle the monster.
"There she is," my mother-in-law beams when she sees me, and I note we're not alone at the table.
What's your game, Lucia?
"So nice to see you again, Allegra. I've been meaning to drop by. We didn't get to know each other well last time, and I was hoping to remedy that." She flutters her eyelashes, smiling at Lucia as she says this.
It also doesn't escape me that they are speaking in English, knowing full well I struggle with the pronunciation.
I plaster on my best fake smile and take a seat at the table. My stomach is growling, as I didn't eat much the day before either. I look down at the assortment of food—cakes, sandwiches, biscuits, all things I've never eaten before.
"Lucia, I don't think Allegra's seen this before," Gianna chuckles as she sees me staring at the food. I raise my gaze, frowning.
"It's English afternoon tea," Lucia says, looking all smug.
"But it's not afternoon," I frown.
"My, my," Lucia places her hand in front of her mouth, hiding a smile. "Sometimes I forget you're from the countryside. I'm sure they don't have that there." Her tone gives away the satisfaction she's feeling at pointing out my uncouthness.
Little does she know I barely had any food in the countryside, so it's not as if I'm going to turn my nose up at anything.
I shrug and start piling food on my plate. I'm going to eat and get out of here.
The sandwiches don't look half bad, so I take a bite, surprised to find myself enjoying the taste.
"She likes it," Gianna states, an evil smile playing on her lips.
"Of course I do. It's food," I tell her, rolling my eyes. She's probably never gone hungry a day in her life.
"Oh dear, maybe we should tell her what it is?" Lucia asks, her eyes fixated on me.
"And ruin her meal? We shouldn't." Gianna's fake concern is obvious, but even more so is the fact that they've messed with the food in some way.
I look down at the sandwich, and I note there's some sort of paste inside. It tastes like meat, so I can't imagine what else it could be.
"What are you talking about?"
"That sandwich you're enjoying so much is made with wild boar testicles. A delicacy, or so I've heard." The look of pure condescension on Lucia's face tells me this was all on purpose.
I mean, yet another humiliation, right? But this time she had to bring Gianna Guerra into it, her perfect daughter-in-law.
Let's make fun of the peasant girl!
I don't give them the satisfaction of showing a reaction. Instead, I merely shrug and continue to eat.
Food is food, right?
"Wow, thank you so much!" I add, my mouth full of food. "You didn't have to go through so much trouble to get me a delicacy. I can eat anything, really," I say as I bite into the sandwich again.
Their expressions are scandalized, their mouths half open in disgust as they see me gorge on the sandwich with much gusto.
"You know, in my village we have a delicacy with cow's tongue. I should make that for you next time. To thank you for this." Their faces fall at the mention of cow's tongue, and I try not to smile. Instead, I continue.
"Oh, and entrails. I don't think people in big cities eat entrails anymore. I mean…"
"I think that's enough," Lucia interrupts me, her face almost green. "Ana, please take the food away."
"But—" I start, but I realize there's no reasoning with her. So I fold my shirt upward, creating a small pouch, and taking as much food as I can fit in my hands, I stuff it inside.
Both Gianna and Lucia are looking at me in awe, but I don't wait for another set-down. I stand up, ready to go.
I make to pass, intent on getting back to my room, and I don't notice Gianna slowly extending her leg.
Not until I trip on it, falling face-down on the floor.
The food spills from my makeshift pouch, rolling on the ground.
The softer food turns to mush under the weight of my body, and I feel it stick to my clothes.
"Oops," Gianna giggles, and Lucia soon joins in, both of them laughing at me.
Damn!
I don't even care about the humiliation at this point, but there's a pain radiating from my knee. And then there's my shoulder, with its barely healed wound. Safe to say, I'm not doing great.
My mouth opens on a low moan of pain, my eyes squeezing shut in an attempt to withstand it.
I hear a gasp, and then strong arms are lifting me up.
"Are you okay?" I open my eyes to see a worried expression on Enzo's face.
"How silly. Are you okay, Allegra? She must have tripped, right? These floors are a little too slippery." Lucia quickly intervenes, but Enzo ignores her.
"Are you okay?" he asks again, and I give him a slow nod.
Without warning, he swoops me up in his arms, and my arms go around his neck, holding on for support.
He turns toward the pair at the dining table, and the words he says are the ones I least expected from him.
"Gianna, you have no business in this house, and I trust this is the last time I'll see you around. Mother, if you want to see her so much, do so outside the house. She's not welcome here. This is Allegra's house now too, and I trust you won't make her uncomfortable."
He doesn't wait for a reply as he takes me up the stairs to my room. He kicks open the door and lays me on the bed.
"Where does it hurt?" he kneels in front of me, looking me over for injuries.
"I'm fine," I finally find my words, but the answer doesn't satisfy him. He starts tugging at my shirt until the scar from my wound is visible. He leans in, inspecting it, his fingers hovering over it.
"Does it hurt?" he asks again, and I just shake my head.
"Allegra. You have to tell me if anything hurts; otherwise, I can't help you."
"Why would you?" I ask in a small voice. It's not as if he hasn't been bullying me as well. His family just took a more direct route.
"Because I took an oath to protect you. And that's what I'm going to do."
"Really?" I ask derisively. "And who will protect me from you?" Because while Lucia and Gianna's pranks and jibes hurt, they don't have the potential to mess me up inside like he does.
"No one. You're mine to do with what I want."
"Yes, I am, aren't I?" I snort. "I'm the toy that only you can break."
"You're right on that note, little tigress. Except that right now I want to put you back together. So tell me, where does it hurt? Or I can just find out for myself." His hands go to the hem of my skirt, pulling it up slowly.
"Stop that," I slap his hand away. Instead, I extend my leg and show him the bruise on my knee.
His cold fingers touch the surrounding skin, and a shiver goes down my spine, goosebumps forming all over my body.
"We need to disinfect this." He gets up and heads into the bathroom, coming back with a small first aid kit.
He soaks some gauze in disinfectant and starts dabbing it on my flesh.
"Ouch," I flinch at the sudden sting, but then his hot breath covers my skin, assuaging some of the pain.
"Has this happened before?" he asks quietly, his fingers working on my small wound.
"It's nothing I can't handle," I reply, turning my head to the side. I don't need him to fight my battles for me. Not when I'm capable of defending myself.
"Allegra…" He leans back, releasing a deep sigh. "Just… next time something like this happens, tell me."
"And what can you do?"
"Send my mother back to Italy," he answers, his expression serious.
My eyes widen a little at his reply, but I decide to change the subject, not wanting to be the cause of a rift between mother and son.
"Your mother and Gianna… have they been friends for a long time?" I ask, trying to understand his mother's anger toward me.
"Mother and Gianna?" Enzo raises an eyebrow, amused. "Never. They couldn't stand each other before. Mother used to always badmouth Gianna. Until you came along, that is."
"I see."
She's doing the old the enemy of my enemy is my friend—all to make me suffer. But why?
"There, it's done," he says after he places the band-aid on my knee.
"Thank you." I drape the skirt back down over my leg, suddenly feeling a little awkward. It must be the first time we've had a decent conversation without fighting.
"Now, go change your clothes. We have somewhere to go."
"Where?"
"To visit my sister."