Four
TROPPE VELOCE. Everything was happening too, too fast again, and in what seemed like a mere snap of La Strega's fingers, Ysabel found herself inside another vehicle, but face to face this time with Boston's ruling queen.
Khaleesi.
The girl seated next to La Strega suddenly coughed, and hers was a familiar face. The world in which famiglie operated was small; everyone knew everyone, and if Ysabel wasn't mistaken, the younger woman's name was Cattleya, and she had been working for the Marchetti family since her teenage years.
"Mi dispiace." Cattleya's voice was almost ethereal in its calmness, which was just to be expected from someone working for the likes of La Strega, who was also known for displaying nerves of steel even under the most dangerous circumstances.
The thought had Ysabel stealing another look at Massimo's grandmother, and it was a genuine struggle not to appear starstruck in her presence.
The older woman was a picture of refinement with her coiffed silver hair and a string of pearls around her neck. If rumors were to be believed, those shiny expensive orbs were harvested from the same company that designed the pearl-handled revolver La Strega had used to kill those who had murdered her husband and only son.
"May I call you Ysabel, signorina ?"
Ysabel's back shot ramrod straight at suddenly being spoken to by Massimo's grandmother, and she ended up half-stammering in her nervousness. "Sì, La Strega—- " Horror ate her alive when she realized what she had slipped. "Mi sculto molto, signora! Chiedo perdono!" I'm so sorry, please forgive me!
Why did her mouth keep getting her into trouble? How could she be so stupid and careless as to call Boston's queen a witch to her face, which was what 'strega' translated to in English?
Ysabel was ready to be punished on the spot, but the older woman merely cackled while her companion only shook her head.
" Signora Marchetti actually takes pride in being called La Strega, so please do not worry about it, signorina. "
Ysabel could only smile weakly, not knowing exactly how to respond. On one hand, it was nice to know that she had not inadvertently insulted Massimo's grandmother. But on the other hand, finding out that La Strega took pride in being called a 'witch' only made her more formidable in Ysabel's eyes...and just as with most famiglia business, she wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or not.
"My assistant speaks the truth, Ysabel. I am not easily offended if that's what you are worried about." The older woman's gaze then turned cunning. "But perhaps I'm wrong, and you are worried about something else? Maybe you are wondering why I chose you over your sister?"
"I know it's not my place to ask—-"
"But it bothers you all the same, sì? "
"I feel guilty—-"
"And that is quite remarkable of you," Potenziana said archly, "considering how your own flesh and blood has stolen my grandson from you five years ago."
Ysabel jerked in her seat. Stolen?
"It is unfortunate that I was only made aware of this recently. I would have rectified the situation immediately if I had known—-"
Ysabel shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand what you're saying, signora ."
"Five years ago, Massimo met a girl on Halloween night. He believes that girl...is your sister."
Pain ripped through Ysabel at the older woman's words. There was a part of her that had always suspected this, but she had never allowed such doubts to take root.
"How?" Ysabel whispered.
"I'm afraid that's where I come in, signorina. " It was Cattleya who spoke, and her calm voice was now tinged with regret. "I was at Mammina's a few months ago—-"
"During my shift?"
" Sì. "
Her brows furrowed. "But I would've remembered..."
"I have this talent, sometimes a curse, of being really good at blending in." A slight smile touched the other girl's lips, and Ysabel couldn't help but blink as that one smile immediately transformed Cattleya's otherwise serious features into one of quiet charm.
"If you smiled like that more," Ysabel couldn't help saying, "I don't think there's any chance you'd be lost in a crowd."
Cattleya's cheeks turned pink at Ysabel's words, but the blush also gifted Potenziana's young assistant with a radiantly lovely appearance.
Grazie a Dio! Thank God!
Potenziana could now admit to herself that she still had faint stirrings of doubt about her choice, but all of those had immediately been vanquished by the simple exchange of words between Ysabel and Cattleya.
Ysabel's sister had also met Cattleya several times in the past, but Ynez had never taken the time to talk to the other girl, much less notice how Cattleya's quiet demeanor made her presence unobtrusive. In Ynez's eyes, Cattleya was paid help, and thus unworthy of her attention.
Ysabel, however...
This girl was different. This girl had a sense of warmth and empathy that women like Ynez and Massimo's mother patently lacked, and it was those qualities that made Ysabel the perfect match for her grandson.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop in your conversation," Cattleya was saying apologetically, "but I just couldn't get it out of my mind when I heard you mention attending the Marchettis' Halloween event five years ago. It is not something Signor Massimo ever spoke of in public, but the whole family knows of how he had first met Ynez in that same event."
"When Cattleya told me about this—-" It was La Strega now who was speaking. "I decided to investigate the matter myself, and it quickly became evident that your sister has somehow found a way to deceive my grandson about that night. But what gives me absolutely no pleasure to tell you is that she has also made every effort to poison Massimo's mind against you ."
The silence that followed was strained, and Potenziana could see how Ysabel was struggling to find a way to justify her sister's actions to herself.
Ysabel had a hard time thinking straight. Ynez's betrayal cut her deep, and while nothing would ever make her hate or stop loving her sister—-
Perché, Ynez?
Why was it so easy for the other girl to keep hurting her?
"You understand then, why I have chosen you?"
Ysabel bit her lip hard. What was the right thing to do here? Five years ago, she and Massimo could've had... something. But there was no knowing if what they had that time could've led to something more .
Ynez and Massimo, however...
The two already had a relationship that went on for years. Was it right for Ysabel to destroy that, just for the sake of 'something' she and Massimo might have had in the past?
"Do you love my grandson, Ysabel?"
Ysabel was flustered by the unexpected question. "Signora..."
"I need you to answer me truthfully, per favore. Are you or are you not in love with Massimo?"
Ysabel had never dared to ask herself these things, and she realized now why that was.
"Yes," she choked out.
Foolish or not, she had fallen in love with Massimo that night, and she had stayed in love with him all these years.
"Then take this chance I am giving you to steal his heart back. "
La Strega's imperious tone almost had her smiling. She might've even responded with a cheeky salute to it under normal circumstances. She could've really, if only those same words didn't make her own heart ache.
The Marchetti matriarch was not one to use words lightly, and so with Massimo's own grandmother saying very clearly that Ysabel was to steal Massimo's heart back...
Did that mean it had been the same for him, five years ago?
Had he also fallen in love with her that one night?
"I hope you say yes, signorina —-"
Ysabel shook her head at Cattleya's show of formality. "Please just call me Ysa."
"I appreciate the offer, signorina, but it is not proper to do so."
Potenziana shook her head when she saw Massimo's fidanzata open her mouth to argue. "It is no use insisting otherwise with this stubborn child, Ysabel. If I cannot change her mind, no one can."
The grumpiness of the older woman's tone had Ysabel biting back a smile. Who knew someone like La Strega could be so...well... cute?
Cattleya pursed her lips at being described as stubborn. "May I remind both of you—-"
"No, you may not." La Strega and Ysabel ended up saying the same thing at the same time, and it was Cattleya's turn to swallow back a laugh when she saw how her employer and Ysabel turned to each other in shock.
La Strega's eyes suddenly started twinkling. "Do you know, bambina? Massimo had always been very vocal that his ideal bride was someone who was the opposite of me."
"A coward?"
Cattleya could no longer keep herself from grinning at this while her employer was visibly pleased by Ysabel's words.
"I appreciate the compliment, bambina, but actually..." Potenziana sighed as she was forced to remember the past. "I'm sure you have read an article or two about his mother?" She saw Ysabel hesitate and was not surprised by this. "You have, haven't you? And the things you read were entirely unpleasant, sì? "
"I don't believe everything I've read—-"
"You should do so on this matter, unfortunately. The press usually exaggerates things, sì, but in the case of Massimo's mother? She was truly all that and more, and her eccentricities, as Massimo himself very sarcastically likes to put it, have scarred her son deeply. He likes to joke about not wanting to marry a woman like his nonna, but in truth, our famiglia knows that what he is most determined about is not to repeat his father's mistakes. He does not want anyone who has too much personality..."
Like me, in other words, Ysabel realized.
"Massimo has not spoken much about you to our famiglia, but in the few times he did, it had become obvious to us that he did not think highly of you at all. The impression we had of you was that you were the black sheep of your famiglia ..."
"Um..." If that was Massimo's reason alone for thinking she was not suitable for him, then Ynez probably didn't even have to lie about her past. Ysabel had been quite the rebel in her high school years, and in those days, her parents had been frequently called to the principal's office for her many misdemeanors.
"Nothing to say in your defense, signorina ?"
Ysabel squirmed in her seat. "I was very... opinionated back then?"
The answer had Cattleya choking, and when Ysabel looked at her in surprise, Cattleya cleared her throat, saying, "Mi dispiace, signorina. I was just wondering what kind of, er, opinion you had when you were reported to have punched your teacher?"
"Because she called my classmate's mother a prostitute—-" Ysabel stopped speaking. Why was she admitting to all of these in front of Massimo's grandmother of all people?
"It's fine, Ysabel." Potenziana had trouble keeping her face straight. "There is nothing that Cattleya can ask of you that would shock me. I've already read all about it in your file—-"
Ysabel winced. "It must've been a pretty thick file."
"The thickest I have most definitely, among all the bridal candidates I've considered for my grandsons."
"Ouch."
Potenziana and Cattleya laughed at this, and Ysabel wondered if she should tell them she wasn't joking, and she was really hurt, seriously.
"And while I personally consider your, er, high school adventures rather delightful..." The older woman's smile faded slightly. "Massimo is unlikely to feel the same."
Ysabel was starting to feel disheartened again, and the older woman seemed to have sensed this.
"It will truly be alright, Ysabel. My grandson is a one-woman man like his grandfather, and it is the only reason he and your sister have been dating for years. Massimo keeps remembering that one night you made the most spectacular impression on him, and it is what makes him unable to let go of your sister."
" Signor Massimo was so nice in those days," Cattleya couldn't help reminiscing with a shake of her head. "It was very creepy, to be honest."
Ysabel had to fight back a smile. Massimo being nice might be creepy to Cattleya, but to her, the idea was kinda... cute.
"You stole his heart that night, Ysabel. It was very clear to us all when he first told us about you. But then we also noticed, that when he finally met Ynez, he also gradually changed. It did not make sense to us then, but now that Cattleya and I are aware of what happened..." Potenziana released a pained sigh. "I believe Massimo was heartbroken when Ynez did not match his expectations from that night, but he was too proud to admit this."
Ysabel started gnawing on her lip again. What if she ended up disappointing Massimo, too?
"You do not seem confident about your chances , " the Marchetti matriarch observed.
"I'm just worried he has this image of me from that night that's unrealistic."
"Let us say it is so—-does that mean you will turn this chance down to be married to him? Because you do have that choice, signorina. I will allow you to back out of this wedding without any consequences. You have my word on this. If you choose to say no, it shall be so. But if you choose to say yes, I must also warn you that it will not be easy winning Massimo back. It will be difficult and painful even, but not impossible."
Ysabel could barely hear her thoughts over the thunderous pounding of her heart. To marry Massimo was her dream, but it would also mean hurting Ynez. Her sister might have hurt her first, but was that reason enough to hurt Ynez as well?
"What is it to be, Ysabel? Do you wish to marry my grandson or not?"