Chapter Nine #3
Who was this person in a dress that cost more than her monthly salary, with shoes of the finest leather, staring out at manicured lawns that housed its own private chapel? And about to be married to a billionaire who had been brought up amidst this unbelievable grandeur.
She’d made a stand about continuing to work when the baby was born but was that just a laughable notion? What was her life going to look like once she was married to Rocco? She was handing him her heart and putting all her trust in him. Was that a wise decision?
She felt the baby stir, a fluttering, butterfly feeling deep inside.
She placed her hand on her tummy, took a deep breath and was relieved when a knock on the door told her that her escort had arrived—twenty minutes earlier than expected, so thank heavens she was ready and waiting.
Make a late appearance and who knew? She didn’t want to deal with thoughts that kept trying to surface, because there was no backing out now.
But, with each deathly silent step towards whatever room Rocco was ensconced in with his parents, she could feel the drum beat of her heart getting louder with tension.
The door to a room on the ground floor was pushed open by the man who had led the way in silence.
Ella blinked at the polished dark-wooden floor, the inlaid marble, the Persian rugs the original mouldings on the walls and the frescoed panels…
all accented by the warm glow from the chandelier, with its fine crystal beads.
She noticed, with a flare of panic, that there was no sign of Rocco.
Instead, there was just his parents, who both rose to their feet, which she could instantly see was a token gesture of welcome, because their faces were cold and unsmiling.
They both had the same darkly striking beauty of their son but Ella’s eyes were drawn to his mother, with her raven-black hair pulled back tightly into a chignon.
‘Sit, please.’
‘Where’s Rocco?’ Ella asked nervously.
‘I have asked Rocco to deal with an urgent work-related issue but he will be here shortly. We thought we might get you here a little earlier so that we could acquaint ourselves with the woman who is suddenly to be our daughter-in-law.’
His father spread one arm towards an upright chair sandwiched between two long sofas and Ella obediently sat down and clasped her hands on her lap.
She could have done with some water, because the glass would have given her something to fiddle with, but obviously whatever they wanted to say was more important than the ritual of offering drinks.
‘We do not,’ his mother said coldly, perching on the sofa to the left, while her husband mirrored her position on the opposite sofa, ‘Have to tell you how shocked we both were when our son informed us that he was to be a father.’
‘Naturally this was the last thing either of us expected.’
Sideswiped by what felt like a full-frontal attack without the courtesy of a preamble, Ella felt her body stiffen with tension.
‘It was the last thing I expected, Senor and Senora Mancini. Believe it or not, my plans at this stage in my life didn’t involve getting pregnant.
But it’s happened, and Rocco and I are both finding a way of dealing with it. ’
‘Our experience of women like you,’ his mother said, ‘Has been unfortunate, and you will excuse us if we are blunt on this matter.’
‘Women like me?’ Ella’s head swivelled from left to right as she was besieged on both sides by the couple.
‘Of course it is to be expected that our son would be targeted for his money. That has always been our fear.’
‘I didn’t target your son for his money! I didn’t even know who Rocco was when I met him!’ She looked at the door in desperation.
They were worried, she told herself, and that was to be expected.
Yes, they came from stupid wealth; and yes, they would be on guard for people wanting to get a foot through the door so that they could get some of that money for themselves.
They were naturally scared that she might be a gold-digger.
It made perfect sense, really, when she thought about it.
They didn’t know just how much she loved their son, and they didn’t know that he loved her as well, whether he could admit it or not.
They were primed to be suspicious. Rocco had told her about his uncle.
How else could they be expected to react to her except with suspicion and fear?
She took a few deep breaths to calm the rising tide of her anger. ‘You don’t have to fear that I’m after your son for his money,’ she said coolly. She looked around at the lavish, funereal surroundings. ‘I’m much more at home in simpler surroundings. I wouldn’t dream of wanting any of this.’
‘But this is where my son belongs,’ his mother said with a stiff smile.
‘You will be entering a great family house. You may say you are not interested in everything that comes with the Mancini name, but you will still have to do your duty as my son’s wife, as you will likewise have to raise his heir to be the man who carries on the family name.
I trust that all pre-nuptial agreements are signed and in order? ’
‘I think it’s best if we move on from this, Senor and Senora Mancini. I can’t say any more than I already have. You’ll just have to trust that I’m not out to fleece your son and I haven’t contrived to get pregnant so that I could pin him down.’
‘In which case, arrangements for the wedding will have to be discussed.’
Rocco’s father finally stood to offer her something to drink and rang a bell to summon one of their staff when she opted for a glass of water.
‘I realise you’ve only just found out… You probably haven’t had time to think of anything…
er…’ Ella stumbled over her words while wondering whether Rocco intended to show up any time soon.
Having said she could rely on him to be a protective wall between his parents and her, he had instead thrown her to the wolves and left her to fend for herself.
‘I have already, naturally, been in touch with various people and given basic instructions on the sort of ceremony we have in mind.’
‘You have?’
‘This will be an illustrious event. Naturally, the sooner plans are put in motion, the better. What we cannot change, we must unfortunately accept. Rocco told us a week or so ago that he would be marrying. It does not afford us much time with a baby on the way so I have already begun to put things in place. At the very least, I have made a list of attendees. I would calculate that in the region of quinientos invitados…five hundred guests…’
‘You’ve made a list…?’
The ground seemed to be opening up under her feet as she did the maths.
His mother had known that they would be getting married a week ago?
That was when Rocco had shown up out of the blue, when she had first broken the news to him.
Yet he’d given her the impression that he had only just told his parents, as they were packing their bags to leave for Spain. Which meant…
Solid ground began to turn to quicksand and she licked her lips while her mind went blank, fighting against the very obvious conclusion that she had been deceived by Rocco yet again.
She’d thought that he’d taken his time to win her over, to prove to her that he could be the man she wanted, even if he wasn’t in love with her.
That, whatever the outcome, he would respect her decision.
But he hadn’t, had he? He’d gone right ahead and assumed that she would marry him, and had been so confident that he would get exactly what he wanted that he’d briefed his parents from the start. Had all that thoughtful, caring stuff just been an act to get her where he wanted her?
She felt sick at the thought of it, at the thought that she’d let stupid feelings, disingenuous love, hope and optimism get in the way of the common sense that had guided her at the very start.
There was no way on earth she would marry him now. She spun away and muttered that she was suddenly feeling queasy. Maybe the trip over…stress…perhaps she hadn’t eaten enough…a ragtag jumble of nonsense… She left eyes down, not wanting to see those cold, disapproving faces for a second longer.
Tears blurred her eyes and every muscle in her body was rigid with tension as she moved stiffly towards the door, that was pulled open before she could get to it.
And there he was, taking a few seconds to register that something was wrong, then glancing behind her to his parents before returning his dark gaze to her stricken face.
‘What the hell is going on here?’