Chapter 3
Giovanna
After I was ready for the day, I’d noticed a note had been slipped under my door. Naturally, I suspected it was from Alessio and I had been right. The insufferable man would do anything to save his ass.
Well, he didn’t need to try so hard with me. I knew he had a woman he loved and I’d overheard him telling his father last night in the hallway that he’d be discreet. That was right. Discreet. He’d gone out to be with her and his father couldn’t careless, and neither would I.
I looked at the note, written in what I presumed was Alessio’s very neat handwriting.
My dearest Giovanna,
I’ve planned a full day for us to get to know each other better. I feel we got off on the wrong foot and would like a do-over.
Meet me for cappuccinos and cornetti in the solarium at nine.
Until tomorrow, Alessio
I rolled my eyes. Until tomorrow? Had he felt guilty when he returned home from being with his lover, so he wrote a note to me? Jerk.
And a do-over? Clearly, he was aware of his ill-mannered behavior last night. Unfortunately, I had no other choice but to comply with his request. No matter how much I disliked Alessio Remotti, he would soon be my husband.
In a few minutes, I was to meet my father and Mr. Remotti in the office to sign the marriage license. Alessio and I would be legally married and that scoundrel would probably want to consummate our marriage tonight.
I growled quietly as frustration built inside me. Had I known there was a woman in his life, I wouldn’t have agreed to sign away my life.
How could I compete with the woman who held his heart? I’d been prepared to do everything possible to make him like me, but he’d been with her for years… Years!
He’ll never love you.
The romantic that I was wept for everything I would never have while being married to Alessio. It wasn’t right and incredibly cruel. Since I was a little girl, I’d fantasized about falling in love and marrying the most handsome and honorable man on the planet.
Alessio was incredibly handsome and a little charming, but there wasn’t an honorable bone in his body. He was a ruthless, cunning mafia man just like so many others I knew.
Sadly, I was destined to be miserable for the rest of my life, so the killings would stop.
Why should you be happy? What makes you so special?
I hated it when my conscious called me out.
When I looked in the mirror, I only saw an average Italian woman. There wasn’t anything special about me. I was like most girls except I was the daughter of the Don of the Amano Mafia.
My childhood hadn’t been typical, but at the time, I hadn’t known the difference. I recalled how I’d been driven to school by one of many soldiers that reported to my father. He’d wait in the parking lot all day for me, then drive me home when school ended.
But my illusions of normalcy had been shattered when an enemy of my father’s targeted my primary school. Instead of my usual one guard, I had three for several weeks. It had never occurred to me to ask why the change.
I would later find out the reason, after masked gunmen stormed the school in search of me and killed some of my classmates. Tensions in my father’s region had escalated and rather than take me out of school and disrupt my routine, my father had assigned extra protection for me.
Yes, I’d gotten out safely, but I was the reason some perished in the hallway. I recalled thinking, one day you’ll get yours, Gigi.
Gigi was a nickname my family called me when I was a little girl. Now that I was a grown woman, I went by my birth name Giovanna or Gia, but only those closest to me called me Gia.
The Mafia life was a deadly one. It was a world I had been born into, and I had no choice but to stay in it. With that thought, I left my room to perform my duties by signing the document and meeting Alessio in the solarium for breakfast, per his request in the note.
A guard at the door of the office nodded at me and opened it.
“Grazie,” I said and went in, finding my papà and Mr. Remotti chatting together. They looked quite happy, which was strange considering they’d been enemies my whole life.
“There she is,” Mr. Remotti said. “Come in. You just missed Alessio.”
Bummer. Not really.
“Oh. I wasn’t aware we were supposed to do this together.” I probably should have asked about it, but this wasn’t something I’d been looking forward to. Honestly, I’d hoped to wake up this morning in my bed in Sicily and marrying Alessio had only been an awful dream.
“No worry.” Mr. Remotti gave me a pen and pointed to the document on his desk. “I understand you have a busy day planned with Alessio, so we won’t keep you.”
I glanced at my papà. He gave me the look all fathers master that said, You are doing this. Don’t disappoint me.
“Yes.” I smiled, doing my best to appear happy. “I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“Good.” Mr. Remotti put his hand on my lower back and nudged me forward.
I signed my name on the line: Giovanna Gloria Amano.
“Brava!” My new father-in-law cheered. He kissed my cheek, then the other. “Welcome to the Remotti famiglia, figlia.”
“Grazie.” I was a little surprised to hear him call me daughter. “I must go now.”
My father hugged me and in Italian he said, you make me proud.
I nodded, holding back my emotions as best as I can. Giving them both a small wave, I quickly left the office.
Once I was alone, I gasped for air and held onto my stomach. It was done. My life was no longer my own.
From this moment forward, I will be at Alessio Remotti’s mercy.
Pull yourself together, Gia. He has a lover. He won’t care about you.
True. If I stayed out of his way and didn’t cause trouble, I would be invisible. I could do whatever I wanted. Within reason, of course. Feeling a little better, I went to the solarium.
Like yesterday, he was already inside waiting for me. The sun poured in from the wall of windows. It was a welcoming room; one I would probably enjoy if he weren’t in it.
“Good morning, Bellissma.” He stood from his chair when he saw me enter. “Did you sleep well?” He came to greet me, cupped my elbow and kissed my cheek.
“Yes, I slept just fine. Grazie.” I sat in the chair he pulled out for me. “What about you? Have you been up for hours? I imagine after cutting our evening short, you went to bed early too.” I eyed him, trying to read his mannerisms.
“I don’t need a lot of sleep.” He retrieved a cappuccino from the cart and placed it in front of me. “I’m a night owl and an early bird.”
“Well, that’s convenient.”
“How so?” he asked with a look of confusion.
“Convenient for you. How would anyone know you were out late if you didn’t sleep in late? Your body must be trained to get by on little sleep.”
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
A servant entered, carrying two plates with silver lids.
One was placed in front of me and the other was for Alessio.
Once the lids were removed, I nearly moaned upon seeing the cornetto and bread.
I’d gone to be hungry since we didn’t have dinner.
It was safe to say I was starving but I’d never show it.
“Does it meet your standards?” he asked. “I ordered the yogurt and fruit especially for you.”
“Grazie. It looks wonderful.”
“I’m sure you’re hungry after not eating your dinner.”
I sipped my coffee. “What about you? You didn’t eat either, or did you get a bite out when you left.”
“When I left your room?” He took a bite of his cornetto, avoiding making eye contact.
“No. When you went out to conduct business… discreetly.”
“Were you eavesdropping on me?” He narrowed his eyes.
“I wouldn’t call it eavesdropping since you were right outside my door. Was your woman happy to see you?” I stabbed a berry with my fork and put it into my mouth. It was sweet and heavenly. I immediately went for another one.
Alessio dropped his cornetto onto his plate. It made a loud sound when it hit his metal spoon and startled me.
“Careful. You might break the dish.” I casually chewed, knowing full well he hadn’t dropped the pastry by accident.
“You should be careful, Bellissima. Your sassy mouth is going to get you into trouble one day.”
“I’ll risk it.” Reaching for the honey, I drizzled some on my bread and took a large bit. My manners were tossed out the window and next, I’d toss him out on his ass.
We ate our breakfast in silence. The peace and quiet was enjoyable, although I sensed he was furious with me.
Interestingly enough, he hadn’t tried to defend himself, which I was glad. I wouldn’t take any more of his lies. I’d never believe anything he said again.
“That was delicious.” I stood and set my cloth napkin on my chair. “Will we be eating every meal together or am I on my own until supper?”
“You’re not going anywhere.” He put his napkin down. “Didn’t you read my note? We’re spending the day together.”
“Well, yes. But I thought after—”
“After you accused me of going out with my lover that our plans were canceled?” Boy, he really knew how to make me feel uncomfortable.
“Sì.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. Let’s go.” He stood and gestured with his hand for me to go in front of him.
“Where are we going?”
“Riding. You love riding, do you not?” The tone he took with me was unsettling. Honestly, I didn’t want to go anywhere with him in his current mood.
“I do, but perhaps it’s not a good idea. We’re not exactly on friendly terms.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. I find you very friendly.” His hand went to the small of my lower back as he guided me out of the solarium. “Do you not feel the same about me?”
“I find you tolerable.” To say I was uncomfortable was the understatement of my life.
His touch sent shivers down my spine, but I forced those traitorous brats down so Alessio wouldn’t notice. Now that I knew he had somebody in his life, I wanted nothing to do with him. Even though we were legally married, and we’d eventually have sex to produce an heir, he would never get my heart.
“Ouch. That hurts me.” His other hand went onto his heart, which was probably cold and dark. “Hopefully, I can change your mind.”
“You can try but I won’t hold my breath.”
“That pretty mouth of yours never stops does it?”
My feet stopped moving. The sudden halt made Alessio stumble forward.
“What just happened?” he asked, seeming oblivious.
“I’d rather go up to my room.” I peered up at him, finding his jaw tense as he stared at me. “Anyways, I don’t have my riding gear with me.” After the wedding, my father was going to have my things sent to me. I’d only brought one suitcase, which now that I thought about it, was very little.
“No worries. I have everything you need.” He applied pressure on my back to nudge me out the doors, which led to a patio on the side of the mansion.
I inhaled the fresh air into my lungs, exhaling the tension building inside me from my interaction with Alessio.
“See? It’s nice out,” he said with a small smile. “We’ll have a grand time.”
I wished I believed him. The very sight of my handsome husband made me sick to my stomach. If only I could rewind time to where I had overheard him talking to his father. I should never have listened, then I wouldn’t have heard Alessio talking about going out and being discreet.
“I’d rather spend time alone,” I muttered with my face turned away from him.
“What was that, Bellissima?”
“Please call me Giovanna. It’s my name after all.” The stables appeared and I rushed toward them, out walking Alessio.
“Slow down!” He trotted and caught up to me. “As your husband, I can call you anything I want.”
“Not if you want me to respond to you.” The gall of this man. As my husband, he should respect my wishes.
“Are you serious? What woman doesn’t like being called Bellissima?”
“Me.”
“But why?”
I stopped abruptly and turned to face him. “What do you call your lover?”
His right eye twitched and I assumed he finally registered why I wasn’t thrilled to be called Bellissima, which was commonly used as a term of endearment.
“Listen, Alessio. Let’s stop trying to force ourselves to like each other. We’re legally married. There’s no changing our situation, so let’s just accept it. I’ll go riding alone and you can go do whatever it is you do.” I waved and said, “Addio!”
I headed toward the stables and couldn’t hear him following me.
Honestly, I was glad he gave up. The audacity of that man thinking I wouldn’t care if he had a woman on the side was absurd.
Infidelity was a deal breaker for me. A line I would never dream of crossing out of respect for my husband.
But apparently, Alessio didn’t have the same morals and values as me.
Times had sure changed since my parents were married.
“Can I help you?” a man asked.
“Ciao, I’m Giovanna Amano.” I smiled at the older man.
“Remotti.” Alessio’s angry voice came from behind. “Giovanna Remotti. My wife.”
“Sí, Signore.” The man nodded rapidly. “The horses are ready for your ride.”
“Grazie, Louie.” Alessio took my hand and led me down the aisle. “You did it again,” he said in a stern voice.
“Did what?”
“Ran from me.”
“I didn’t run. I merely left.”
He whirled on me and pushed me against a wooden gate. His nose touched mine and his dark eyes bore into mine. “Do not leave me again, without my permission.”