Chapter Five
I feel the air leaving my lungs.
“Venus, stop tightening that corset.” I try to articulate a sentence, but the bitch just tightens harder.
The wedding is in one week, and my father forced me to go shopping for a wedding dress. He especially mentioned that I need to pick one that wouldn’t make him look bad.
“You need to stop being a crybaby. We’ve been in this store for the last five hours, and all I want to do is sleep and eat. Hopefully at the same time.” Venus murmurs, still trying to put the dress on me.
“It’s not like I wished to be here, and you know that. I didn’t want to try thousands of wedding dresses, I didn’t want to be stuck with Keaton in a marriage that will consume both of us, and I definitely didn’t wanted to see this much white. My eyes are starting to hurt.” I don’t like to complain, but the whole situation makes me too damn nervous.
“Is everything okay in there?” I hear the soft voice of Keaton’s mom. Vivian Moretti might be my favorite person from that family. She suggested to come by to
the store since my mom can’t see her daughter being a bride.
But I’m so glad my mom can’t see this. I didn’t want her to see me like this. Manipulated by Hanibal into a marriage that will consume me.
Because she was in the same position decades ago.
“Yeah, don’t worry. The corset it’s a little bit tight.” Venus says quickly. “You can look in the mirror now.” I prepare myself for the torture.
I have a feeling that this dress may be the ugliest one.
I turn around slowly and the gasp I let escape my mouth turned confused heads.
My boobs are almost falling out of the corset, the way to shiny diamonds are blinding me, and the big ass princess dress is not allowing me to move.
“Venus, if you’re not taking this off me right now, I’ll be the only bride in this store that cries.”
“It’s not like you’re able to cry.” Venus murmurs, but I can see her smile.
“I don’t think it’s that bad.” I turn to face Vivian, and the sight of my breasts makes her bite her lower lip to stop laughing. “Okay, take that thing away from her.” She finally let her laugh out, and she hold the phone towards me. “But first, let me show my daughter this. She’ll love it.”
And before I can protest, the light of the camera blinds me.
I can’t kill my mother-in-law.
I can’t kill my mother-in-law.
I go into the wardrobe, and I almost rip the dress of off me.
The amount of nerves are making me frustrated. I don’t like this situation at all.
Things are getting too real.
I’m really marrying Keaton.
I’m moving out of the house in less than two weeks.
And Vincent-
My heart sinks at the thought of my little brother.
There is no way in hell that I’m letting him alone in Italy with Hanibal.
I have to find a solution to take him with me.
The last dress that I have to put on has a satin material that makes you go to sleep immediately. The white dress molds perfectly to my body shapes, making my waist slim and my hips more voluptuous. The two straps of the dress are placed on the left shoulder, leaving the right one completely bare. The lower strap is made of silver diamonds that descend like a waterfall over the right breast to the waist.
I hate to admit, but it looks stunning.
I look at myself in the mirror, trying to find the little girl that once was excited about her wedding.
But she is long gone.
“Hello, beautiful ladies.” A male voice appears from nowhere.
Some giggles echo the hall.
“You all look so gorgeous.” I recognize the voice immediately. “All innocent in white.” I roll my eyes.
Allan fucking Carrington.
The most shameless fucker I know.
And Keaton’s right hand.
“What are you doing here, fancy ass?” Venus says irritated.
“Oh Lord, Venus is that you?”
“Nah, my clone.” I love this side of her.
“Are you shopping for yourself, ‘cause is not, you better find a dress, because I’ll put a ring on your
finger.”
“I’ll kill him.” Venus says angry and I can imagine her killer look. Whispers are starting to form.
“Ah, she’s just joking.” Vivian’s trembling voice and funny laugh makes my mouth almost rise up. “Althea, honey, can you please come out? Now!”
I left the wardrobe, feeling like I’m sweating.
Am I feeling nervous?
All the girls and women in the store stopped talking mid-sentence and they’re looking at me with wide eyes.
Vivian has tears in her eyes and her hands around her mouth, while Venus looks at me like she can’t recognize me.
“Althea, y-you look-“ Venus starts to say something, but she chokes up.
“Venus, are you going to cry?” I say amused, but then the tears in her eyes stopped me.
“No, of course not.” She says frustrated, trying to wipe her tears away.
Venus could be me. People are saying that we look like sisters, but she has something that I lost.
Feelings.
I move my gaze over the blond man next to Vivian and I’m struck at his figure.
He changed so much since I’ve seen him. His blond hair is perfectly styled, his white teeth along with the playful smile makes him so handsome, and the muscle that goes along his body can make you daydreaming.
His blue eyes are looking at me shocked, like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
“Jesus, Althea, you look so gorgeous.” His voice almost trembled.
“Thank you, Allan.”
“He doesn’t know what hit him.” Allan whispers, but I heard him just fine.
My mind is instantly going to the night in which Keaton ‘claimed’ me in front of everyone. How his hand wrapped around my waist and hold it so tight that it created a weird sensation in my belly. His green eyes like the crown of a tree in the middle of spring, but with an aura of emerald green outwards, looking at me with so much possession that made my blood turn cold.
A ruthless beast, as everybody calls him.
I look at the black diamond that is weighing my finger, trying to hate it, but I can’t seem to be able to.
“So, is this the winner?” My head snaps from dreaming at my mother’s-in-law voice.
“I think something is missing.” Venus says, and then I see her with a big silver crown with a long transparent white veil attached to it, in her hands. She gets closer to me, and looks me in the eye trying to read my mind, trying to help me escape this nightmare. “You can talk to me when your heart is heavy.” She whispers, and my body softens.
“You can come to me when your thoughts are loud.” While I tried to bury my heart from this world, Venus tried to hide her mind.
After she put the crown on my head, I look at my figure in the mirror, and I can’t help but remember my mother’s words.
“Your beauty is rare, mia cara. People will want to ruin it, but you’re strong, aren’t you? Because your heart is safe here with me. You are safe here with me.”
“You’ll be the most gorgeous bride. I’ll make sure of it.”
I’m so happy you didn’t get to see me as a bride, Mamma.
Or as a teenager.
“Yes, this is the one.” And my destiny is rewritten.
“I hear that you paint?” Vivian’s voice breaks the silence in the limo.
After we bought the dress, we finally went home. Venus took her motorbike, and as much as I wanted to go with her, I decided to stay with Vivian and Allan.
Allan is still looking at me with curious eyes, as if he’s trying to decipher me.
“Yeah, but it’s not something serious.” Just the way I survive this world.
I paint since I was able to hold that big brush in my little hands. There is something about painting that has me under a spell.
Maybe it's the way the most basic colors can put soul into the most lifeless things.
Or how only I have full control over the brush and can create the darkest paintings and still be appreciated.
Whatever the reason, I know that I wouldn’t have survived without the brush and the acrylics that are tattooed in my blood.
“What do you paint?” Allan asks while putting himself a glass of champagne.
“Mostly, scenes that represent a certain emotion." Even if I don't feel them. "People in general and it depends on the emotion and the message."
Blood.
Weapons.
Sex scenes way too rough.
They are just some of the paintings I paint when I start to feel an emotion.
“Maybe you can show us some of them, sometimes.” That’s not going to happen. I know Vivian is trying to make me feel comfortable with the situation, but just the thought of her beautiful green eyes dying while looking at the dark paintings makes my skin full of goosebumps.
“Viv is right. We’d love to see your work; Keres always talked about your talent being unique.” At the mention of my sister’s name, I tighten my palms into fits in my lap.
“Allan!” Vivian hisses at him.
Only my sister would call my drawings unique. She saw once a part of a naked men I drew with scars all over his body, and she said that is the most emotional thing she ever saw.
I feel his eyes on my face, trying to get a reaction out of me.
What are you planning, Allan Carrington?
Instead of hiding my face like my father taught me, I held his gaze until he looks away with a little smile.
“My sister always felt the need to appreciate my work, and while I always enjoyed it, I knew she was saying that because she was my big sister. She thought that this way she would make me happy.” I emphasize the word 'was' with a much heavier intonation than I would have liked.
“Keres always wanted to make everybody happy.” Allan answers with a raised eyebrow.
“That was her power.” I say dryly.
Vivian looks at us with wide eyes, trying to make Allan stop talking by squeezing his shoulder.
He looks at me again for a minute and then he bows his head in apology.
The limo stops and I don’t wait for another second and left without looking back.
I go straight to the house, but a black figure next to a white car stops me.
I go nearer trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
Ivan, one of Keaton’s bodyguards is standing in the front of the car with an umbrella raised above his head.
The sun transmits such a strong heat that I feel like I'm melting; it's the middle of July, so it's understandable. But why does he have an umbrella over his head?
“What are you doing here, Ivan?” I ask him very confused.
“I’m assisting Mr. Moretti while he is fixing the car.” He says simply.
“And where is he? And what the fuck are you doing with that umbrella?”
“I cover him from the sun, Miss. The sun in Italy is very different from the one in Chicago." Then he moved his umbrella towards me to shade me.
“Get this thing away from me.” I say way to fast. “Did he leave you here alone while he’s inside? You can tell me if he’s abusing you, I can take you away from him.”
“Miss-“ He tries to talk, but I block him.
“And you’re holding that umbrella like it can melt him. Doesn’t his royal ass like sun and warmth?”
“Ivan, give me the star head screw.” A male voice that I would recognize wherever it is heard from somewhere under the car.
Ivan moves quickly to give his boss what he asked
for, while I look at the long legs that are not under the car.
Legs that show how muscular they are even through jeans.
I turn slowly so that the pair of heels I'm wearing cannot be heard on the asphalt, but his voice is heard again.
“Where are you going in such a hurry, Althea?”
“Away from you, Keaton.” I turn slowly and when my eyes meet his green ones, I can feel my jaw tighten.
His upper body is on full display and the tattoos are shining under the sunlight. Big arms that can lift this car easily, an eight pack of abs that have sweat and some black oil on them.
“Move that umbrella over her. I think the sun messed up her mind.” Ivan does that.
“I’m perfectly fine.” I snap at him. His black hair is messy and his shoulders have some white scars that I can bet were because of a knife.
“So, you are eye-fucking me in front of your house, because you just want to.”
“Eye-fucking you? Does your ego want some attention?” I get closer to him, until Ivan is standing between us. “I wanted to discover what girls find attractive at you.”
“And?”
“Disappointing.”
“Hmm.” His smirk is sending a wave of feelings down my stomach. He reaches inside his back pocket of the jeans, and takes out a pack of cigarettes.
My lungs are instantly burning from the need to smoke a cigarette.
I don’t smoke when it’s daylight, that can give my Papa a reason to beat the living shit out of me.
Keaton looks at me with narrow eyes and then he’s handing me the pack.
With so much effort, I murmur a ‘no’.
Ivan is looking at us like we might explode at some point, and I wonder if his hand went numb or not, because he is still holding that damn umbrella.
“My favorite people in one place.” I’m pretty sure Allan’s voice wake the dead.
He went straight to Keaton and wrapped him hand around his boss’s neck.
“You want to die?” Keaton asks him deadly, but Allan ignores him.
“Who is ready to party? Because I can’t wait to bury my face in some Italian tits.” We all look at him with serious faces.
“Why party?” Is someone’s birthday?
“What do you mean? It’s the last week of you two being single!”
Oh, please no.
“Be prepared for the wildest bachelor party in the world.”