Chapter 23 Chiara
Chiara
“Iowe you an apology.” Fina reaches out and takes my hand in hers. Her favorite guard, the one I’m almost certain she’s sleeping with, murmurs something into his comms device and then catches her eye in the rearview mirror. A soft smile touches her lips for a moment before she turns to me.
“You owe me nothing, Chiara. I’m in awe of the way you refuse to let this…situation…bring you down.” She pauses for a moment, considering her words. “If it were me, then I’m not sure I’d have the guts to fight. I…I think I’d give up.” The guard tenses but says nothing.
Anger swirls inside me. Not at her, but at the fucked-up world we were both born into. A patriarchal world that thinks it’s acceptable to force two young women into a life not of their choosing.
“Of course you’d fight back,” I tell her in my firmest, no-nonsense voice.
“You’re no pushover. Look at you!” She’s the most stylish woman I’ve ever met.
Vivian adores fine clothes, but she never looks as put together as Fina.
“You’ve carved out a role in a world where women are marginalized and treated like second-class citizens. That tells me you have a backbone.”
Fina forces out a laugh. “Only because our father needed someone he could trust in charge of marketing and PR, and also because my brother, who makes most of the business decisions these days, is not a raging asshole.”
“Really?” Her laughter is genuine this time.
“Okay, so he’s a raging asshole. At least when it comes to you.” She frowns. “I don’t understand it, honestly. He’s not a fan of arranged marriages, yet he agreed to this? It makes no sense.”
I turn away and scowl. “All I got told was he had to take a wife, and I was on the hook because my bitch of a stepmother decided to pimp me out without my knowledge. The first I knew of the marriage was when she took me for a wedding dress fitting the day before the ceremony.”
Fina gasps. “What? She didn’t tell you before then?”
“No. I knew she was up to something. She was always up to something. But an arranged marriage? Selling me off for cash? Nope.” The memory of her threats when I refused to try on the damn wedding dress still makes me want to murder the bitch.
“If you don’t cooperate, I’ll send that rat of a dog you love to the kill shelter.”
Of the many awful things my stepmother has done, that’s far and away the worst.
“Vivian blackmailed me to get me down the aisle. All so she could get a hefty dowry from your father. Hard to believe, eh, that shit like this happens in a country like ours.”
“Not really.” Fina’s lips flatten into a line. “Papa has plans to marry me off. He’s looking for a suitable match.”
“Surely Angelo won’t let…” My voice trails off as I recall the odious man from the gala, her so-called date.
Angelo didn’t stop his father from forcing Fina to date a man like Travis Marconi. The man’s already proved he has zero morals. He married me against my will, so why would he step in to stop the same thing from happening to the sister he professes to adore?
I’m still not sure why Fina has invited me to a spa for a few hours. We’re not on our own, of course. Her guard, Matteo, has accompanied us, as well as four other armed men. What surprises me is that Angelo has allowed this visit.
Still, I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth.
The place is amazing. There’s a steaming indoor pool with a hot tub set within landscaped rocks and greenery and surrounded by water features.
Living walls, glass skylights, and comfortable loungers create a relaxing vibe that does wonders for my equilibrium.
My body feels boneless after a deep tissue massage to loosen up the many knots in my shoulders, and I’m gently buzzing from the complimentary champagne.
“Thank you for this,” I say to Fina as she lies on an adjacent recliner. She cracks an eye open.
“You’re welcome. I needed a break, and I figured you did too.”
She’s not wrong. My head’s a mess. When I came downstairs this morning, there was no sign of Angelo or Luka. The servants ignored me as usual, and even Dominic was missing. Although he had left me a stack of pancakes, which was much appreciated.
We soak up the moist heat for a while, both of us lost in our thoughts. Me stewing over the tryst with Luka followed by Angelo’s tantrum, and her…who knows.
“What you said about your father looking for a husband…can’t you be with…Matt—”
Fina’s eyes snap open in alarm. “Shh! Do not speak of that!”
“Is it a secret?” If so, they’re not doing a great job of hiding their feelings.
“Yes! Angelo thinks Papa already knows, but he’s not said anything, so I’m hoping Angelo is mistaken.” Tears sparkle in her eyes. “I don’t get a choice in who I marry. Papa made that clear a long time ago.”
There’s nothing I can say that will make her situation any better. After all, I am living her nightmare.
“Fuck the patriarchy,” I huff before reaching for my glass and draining the contents.
“Damn right,” she agrees a moment later.
We exchange smiles before a staff member appears to top up our glasses.
A small spark of warmth kindles in my chest. Fina might be in my enemy’s camp, but I feel a connection with her. I have a feeling that when push comes to shove, she’ll be on my side.
Just as I’m about to suggest we take a dip in the lovely pool, a familiar figure strolls in. My muscles lock and my pulse spikes as she glides toward me like she didn’t torpedo my life for her own personal gain.
“Vivian,” I grind out when she stands at the foot of my recliner. I note the expensive highlights in her hair and her suspiciously smooth visage. For a woman pushing forty, she looks good.
“Ah, my dear stepdaughter. How lovely to see you. I heard you’d returned from your extended vacation.” She smiles down at me, but there’s no warmth in her eyes.
My gaze snags on the obscenely large pink diamond on her wedding finger, then I notice a wedding band. Has she remarried? If so, to whom?
She sees me looking and smiles.
“Are you planning to off this husband too?” I smile like it’s a joke question, but Vivian knows I’m not joking.
“Don’t be so disrespectful, Chiara.” She tuts loudly. “It’s a miracle I found a man willing to take you, given how lacking in decorum you are. I blame your father. He spoiled you.” Her words stab me in the chest.
“My father didn’t spoil me. He barely looked at me once he met you! And the only reason I cooperated with the wedding was because of Coco, and you still gave her away.”
Fina turns in confusion. “Coco?”
“My dog. My wicked stepmother told me my dog was safe if I did as I was told. Only she lied.”
Fina looks stricken. “What happened to Coco?”
“No idea. She was gone when I woke on the morning of my dream wedding.” I fight back against the tears that threaten to overwhelm me. There’s not much that breaks me these days, but losing Coco was almost as bad as losing my father. Although, in truth, I lost him the day he met Vivian.
“Oh, Chiara, I’m so sorry.” She reaches out and squeezes my hand briefly before glaring at Vivian.
“Please go.” This version of Fina is not one I’ve seen before, and I like her. She’s a ball-busting goddess on steroids.
“Excuse me? As Tim’s wife, I have a membership here.
” My stepmother taps her foot in annoyance.
“I came over to pay my respects, but I will not be leaving until I’m ready.
” She stares down at us with a haughty expression, but Fina isn’t messing around.
She picks up her phone and makes a call.
Before Vivian can open her mouth to spew more bullshit, Matteo appears.
He glances at us in our thick toweling robes and then at Vivian. I see the moment recognition sparks.
“Please escort this woman out,” Fina orders in her most imperious tone.
Matteo nods. “My pleasure, ma’am.”
“What? No, you can’t do this! You have no right!” Vivian tries to snatch her arm from Matteo’s grasp, but he’s a foot taller and far stronger. She doesn’t stand a chance against him.
I sigh as my stepmother’s outraged yells fade away until all I can hear is the sound of water cascading down the wall into the pool.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Fina grins before her smile fades. “I’ll see if I can find out what she did with your dog.”
Vivian is vindictive enough to have had Coco euthanized. I can’t think about that without wanting to murder the bitch, and unless I feel like spending the rest of my days in federal prison, that’s not an option.
Still, a girl can dream.
When we return to the mansion, Angelo’s sleek black sports car is outside the main entrance. My muscles tense at the thought of yet another confrontation. I’m really not in the mood for his brand of bullshit after my run-in with Vivian.
“Sorry, but I can’t stay,” Fina says regretfully when Matteo stops the car. “I have some work to catch up on.”
“It’s fine. I can entertain myself.” There are more books to read. TV shows to binge on. It’s hardly the stuff of dreams, and I’d kill for something cerebral to do right now, but what choice do I have?
“I’ll be in touch,” she tells me before the car pulls away, leaving me standing on the gravel driveway. Several guards walk across the lawn, all of them ignoring me. Would they chase if I tried to run?
I’d test that theory, only my energy levels are at zero. A nap is in order. Followed by a pizza or something equally calorific.
With a grumble of irritation at having to deal with my husband, I head inside. Angelo’s snooty butler ignores me as usual when I pass through the entrance hall.
The scents of cinnamon and chocolate stop me in my tracks. Dammit. Has Dominic been baking again?
That man’s a feeder. He’s worked out I have a sweet tooth and seems determined to ply me with baked goods. I hope Angelo likes plus-sized women because I’ll soon be giving the thousand-pound sisters a run for their money.
I hesitate by the kitchen door, but the thought of freshly baked brownies draws me in like a moth to a flame, only when I step through the doorway, Dominic isn’t there.
But my asshole husband is. Along with his asshole enforcer.