Chapter Fifty-one
Alessia
A door banged against the wall, and I jolted upright, pain slicing through my head. I pressed a hand against it and hissed under my breath. Before I could even take in the pain, a woman’s voice tore through the room.
“What time is it?” she shouted.
I blinked at her, my head swimming, the light pouring through the curtains far too bright.
She didn’t stop. “I made plans for today, and you decided to oversleep like some useless stray. Tell me, why is Vincenzo even marrying you?”
Her voice rang against the walls, and my fingers tightened on the blanket. I shifted on the bed, something cold brushing against my thigh, but I ignored it. My focus was on Vincenzo’s aunt. I knew she was loud and bossy, but right now, she looked ready to kill me with words.
Savina hovered in the doorway, her face pale, and her hands twisted together. She stepped closer. “Madam, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t—”
The aunt spun on her, the slap cracking through the air. Savina’s head snapped aside, and she staggered back.
“Of course it’s your fault. Your work is simple, yet you struggle to keep up with it. Get out of my face, idiot!”
Savina’s eyes darted to me before she backed away.
The aunt turned back. “And you.” She stepped closer, seething.
“I’ve held my tongue long enough. You don’t even fit to breathe this family’s air.
The least you can do is wake on time, keep your head down, and do as you’re told.
” Her eyes raked over me with disgust. “But no, you ruin plans and drink like you belong here.”
My throat was dry, but I forced the words out. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” Her breath hit my face.
“Tomorrow we will go to the wedding venue. One more mistake, and I’ll ruin you.
Whatever you and your family think you’ll gain here, you won’t.
Some of us bled for this family. You slither in and act like you matter.
” She smacked her lips in disdain. “Pathetic.”
Her eyes dragged over me. “What does Vincenzo even see in you to waste money on flowers?” She smacked her lips and left. The slam of the door made me flinch.
I trembled from the ambush. I must have overslept for her to be that furious. My gaze slid to the bedside table to check the time, but my eyes fell on a bouquet of red roses and a glass of water with pills waiting beside it.
As I pushed off the bed, the door opened again, and I braced, but it was only Savina.
She hurried to me. “Are you okay, miss?”
I touched her cheek where she got slapped. “I’m sorry. That was my fault.”
Her lips lifted in a faint smile. “That was nothing. You needed sleep. Here, take this pill to help with the headache. I’ll prepare some breakfast for you.”
Her kindness didn’t belong in this house. My throat tightened as I reached for the glass. “I’m sorry again.”
“Don’t worry,” she murmured.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Almost midday,” she said softly.
My breath caught. “Then don’t bother with breakfast. If she sees you preparing it now, she’ll find another reason to start.”
“Oh, don’t worry. She just left,” Savina said. “She got an emergency call when she was leaving your room. Something must have come up.”
Relief loosened my chest. I swallowed the pill and glanced at the roses again. “Where did the flowers come from?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “They arrived this morning.”
Confusion prickled at the back of my mind. “Is Vincenzo home?”
“No. He never returned.”
“Okay. I’ll go take a shower and maybe do something useful to avoid getting us in trouble.”
Savina laughed lightly and began straightening the bed.
I moved toward the bathroom door. Before stepping in, I glanced back at her. She stood by the bed, holding her phone and tapping the screen fast.
“Savina.”
She snapped to me, slipping the phone into her pocket like I had just startled her. “Yes, miss?”
I studied her for a moment. The phone brought a memory of a dream to mind.
I tried to let it settle, but only fragments remained.
Alcohol always scattered my memories, yet my talk with Rodion felt too real.
His voice still echoed close to my ear, his presence lingering in the room where I had slept. Remembering it gave me a strange peace.
“Thanks for being nice to me,” I said to Savina. She had been kind in ways I didn’t expect here.
She waved her hand, almost dismissively. “That’s okay. Go take a shower.”
I nodded and stepped inside. I couldn’t risk getting her in trouble again. She hadn’t deserved that slap, and I had never wished for someone to vanish the way I wanted that aunt to.
At first, it seemed that life was moving on normally.
The first couple of days passed without incident, and the house returned to its routine.
But then something strange happened. Vincenzo’s aunt never returned after she left to deal with some emergency.
She vanished. As the days slipped into a week and the wedding day finally arrived, relatives began whispering about her absence.
The murmurs spread fast. Some claimed she was dealing with problems with her family.
Others speculated she had lost interest in the wedding altogether.
But then came a rumor that chilled me to my core.
They said a woman had been found dead under a bridge, her face burned with acid, and some suspected it was her.
The thought alone sent shivers down my spine. Why would anyone kill her? And who could it have been?
I tried not to dwell on it, because the weight of my wedding pressed heavier on me.
The rain slicked the windows, the gray sky painting everything bleak, yet the event pushed forward.
Vincenzo had returned and picked up the plans as if nothing had happened.
He didn’t speak to me about the argument, but he treated me like a bride in front of his relatives.
It was almost as bad as open resentment.
Savina sat beside me as the car pulled away from the beach house, trailed by a line of other vehicles. More relatives had poured in yesterday, as if the walls of the house had been hiding them all along.
I couldn’t tell if the air inside the car was too thin to breathe or if it was just me, suffocating on nerves and dread. My stomach was knotted tight. Either the plan worked, or I would sign that certificate and become legally bound to Vincenzo.
Dmitri promised, and it was now or never.
“Do you need some water?” Savina whispered. Her voice carried just enough for Francesca to hear. Francesca, another relative who had taken over the wedding plans, sat in the passenger seat. A shopping bag holding the gown sat on her lap.
“Yes, please,” I murmured. Savina pulled a bottle from her bag and passed it to me. “Thank you.” She also drew a small pack of candies, and I gave a nervous chuckle.
“Sweetheart, don’t drink too much water,” Francesca said without looking at us. Her tone wasn’t cruel, but it carried no warmth either. “You won’t want to be running to the bathroom once you put on this gown.”
“Alright,” I whispered, taking one careful sip.
The drive felt too short. I didn’t want us to arrive, but the car eased to a stop in line with the others outside the building.
Savina slipped out first, opening the umbrella before I stepped into the drizzle.
Excitement rippled through the relatives as they hurried toward us, their voices bright with chatter.
My eyes caught Vincenzo standing near the entrance, blending with another crowd who seemed to have a wedding of their own. His eyes found mine across the distance, and that single look rattled me. He turned and disappeared inside.
“Okay, I have everything. Let’s go,” Francesca said. We all moved inside, my steps dragging heavier with each one. I scanned the lobby, searching for something or anything that might tell me Dmitri was here. But all I saw were people rushing around, each consumed by their own celebrations.
We had settled on a wedding here because of the weather. At first, they wanted a garden ceremony, but the rain drowned that idea.
Voices buzzed everywhere, discussing the venue, who was needed where, and what still needed to be arranged. Francesca, with two other women, led me toward the dressing room on the third floor. An employee guided us through the halls until we reached the one reserved for me.
I excused myself and slipped into the bathroom. Francesca’s voice trailed after me with instructions about what must be done.
In front of the mirror, my reflection betrayed the storm inside me. I leaned forward, scooping cold water into my palms and splashing it over my face. The chill didn’t chase away the dread.
The only way to know if Dmitri was in position was by walking down the aisle. So I straightened up, took a deep breath, and left the bathroom.
“Come, we don’t have much time.” Francesca pulled me toward the chair in front of the mirror.
The two other ladies worked in rhythm around me, one sweeping over my face with brushes, the other combing through my hair. Now there was nothing left but to let them turn me into a bride.
They focused, moving around me with practiced dedication. I sat still, scheming in silence, replaying Dmitri’s promised signal in my mind.
When they seemed satisfied, I slipped behind the curtain and stepped into the gown. It was beautiful, everything a bride should wear. Too bad it was only for show, worn on the wrong day for the wrong man.
Stepping out, Savina’s face lit up first. “You look beautiful,” she said, her pride warming for a moment like the glow of a friend. She had become a friend I never thought I needed.
Francesca, balancing her phone between her shoulder and ear, circled me and tugged at the zipper.
She spoke dismissively. “I can’t talk right now.
You should be here already. This is an important day for Vincenzo.
” She snapped her fingers at Savina, signaling for something while she listened to the phone.
But I noticed her hands still, she straightened and continued, “What do you mean she is dead?”
My stomach dropped. I turned to her, curiosity clawing deeper than I wanted to admit.
“No, that can’t be. Did you confirm? That’s absurd.” Francesca’s own panic was plain now, breaking through her polished mask. “Don’t say that. Where are you? Are you with anyone?”
A knock came, and we all turned to the door. It creaked open, and another lady in a beautiful sky-blue dress slipped inside quietly.
Francesca began pacing. “Okay, I’m coming. Don’t tell the police anything until I arrive. Did you call Uncle Leonid?” She grabbed her bag. “Alright. He was supposed to arrive yesterday, but he never did. I’m coming. Not a word, you hear me?”
She hung up and stared around as though she could barely remember what she had been doing before the call.
“Is everything okay?” I asked carefully, though the answer was already twisted in my gut.
“Yes. No. Hey, she is ready. Check if there is anything else she needs. You have ten minutes.” Francesca snapped, then swept out of the room without another word.
The lady in the blue dress clapped her hands once. “Alright. Everyone is already settled. You two, go ahead and inform the others. Savina, you’ll stay with the bride, fix her dress train as she walks inside.”
The two other ladies left. Savina moved behind me, carefully arranging the fabric while the lady lowered the veil across my face.
This was the moment.
We stepped into the hallway. My pulse raced as each step dragged me closer to the ballroom. Behind the veil, I hid fear, tears, and whispered prayers no one could hear.
At the massive door, two men swung it open, and the sight stole the air from my lungs.
The room glowed in dim light, the aisle drenched in flowers.
At the far end, Vincenzo stood on the ceremony platform, facing the officiant.
His black tuxedo cut a perfect figure, even though I couldn’t see his face from here.
Seeing him standing tall and poised felt wrong, a weight pressing down in my chest. He wasn’t supposed to be part of this, yet here he was, obeying his father’s plans, moving exactly as expected, even when the man himself hadn’t bothered to appear.
Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away. I couldn’t risk missing the signal. I wasn’t even supposed to reach the platform where Vincenzo was.
I took a step inside, and my breathing turned shallow. Savina trailed behind, fussing with the train, but it felt like only me and the little hope I had.
Three steps in, and my chest ached. Where was the signal? What was he waiting for? Was I meant to go this far?
The slow music swelled, sweet to everyone else but grating in my ears, twisting into noise. The aisle stretched, yet every step made it shrink, pulling me closer and closer to the wrong man waiting at the end.
Why hadn’t the lights gone out? Wasn’t Dmitri here? Had he lied to me?
My heart broke as the podium drew closer.
Tears welled and blurred my vision. The lights stayed on while they weren’t supposed to.
There was supposed to be a blackout, confusion would ripple through the room, and I would faint.
That’s when a medic team would show up, Dmitri being one of them. That was the plan. That was my escape.
A tear rolled hot down my cheek as I reached the stage. The officiant already stood behind the podium. I lowered my face, letting the tears fall. I had failed. Hope shattered into pain inside me. There was no other way. I was only deceiving myself, thinking Dmitri would stick to our plan.
“Let us start,” the officiant began.
What if I faint now and pretend to be dying? They would rush me to the hospital, and I would find a way to escape from there.
“I’m curious,” a deep voice drew me back from my silly thought. The voice didn’t belong to Vincenzo. Or maybe I was too broken to tell anymore. “What was your plan? Crying?”
I froze as the words landed. Slowly, I lifted my face and looked at him. My world shrank to the man standing beside me. Rodion.
He turned his whole body to me, his eyes locking on mine. I opened my mouth, then shut it again without a word. He reached forward and lifted the veil from my face.
“Excuse me, we are not yet at that part—” the officiant began, but Rodion silenced him with a single raised hand, his gaze never leaving me.
“R…Rodion?” I whispered, my voice trembling. Please, God, don’t let this be another dream.
He touched my face and wiped away my tears. “The plan, Little Gem.”
He was here. This was real.