3. Amelia
Chapter 3
Amelia
H e was really here.
Matteo had come for me. Somehow he’d heard about this wedding, and he came to save me from making the biggest mistake of my life. He came back for me even after everything I put him through. I couldn’t believe he’d done that for me. It was the sincerest display of love I’d ever experienced.
He loved me so much that he was willing to fight for me even after everything I’d done. I looked at the priest who was still waiting for my answer, at Lucas who looked slightly annoyed by the fact that I was still silent, and then at my parents, whose brows were knitted in confusion.
My gaze returned to the back of the crowd where the man of my dreams sat. He was all I could see. In this large crowd of people I didn’t know, seeing him was incredibly comforting. Seeing him pushed me to do something I never thought I would be able to do, because if he could come here to fight for me then I could fight for us too.
“Miss Pierson, do you take Lucas Everett to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the priest asked again.
I started shaking my head before the words came out of my mouth. “No. No, I won’t.”
A low murmur rippled through the crowd, along with loud gasps from my mother and her friends. Their horrified faces did nothing to deter me. I bent to pull off my heels and I ran.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I ran down the aisle, out of the room, and out of the building. My bare feet touched the hot pavement and for a moment, I wondered if I was making a huge mistake. It was the first time I’d ever gone against my parents. I was terrified of the repercussions.
But then I thought of Matteo. My determination to reunite with the man I loved outweighed all else. And so I took off down the sidewalk, ignoring the curious glances I got from the people on the street. I tugged at the clips that held my hair in place, pulling out every one of them until my hair fell down my shoulders.
With my dress and hair flowing in the wind, I ran to the place that held sentimental value for Matteo and me. I was certain he would meet me there. It was a hot and windy day, which was a bad combination for someone in a wedding dress but that didn’t stop me.
The heat of the ground and my need to see Matteo propelled me forward. Waiting meant my feet got burned by the hot pavement. I arrived at the park a few minutes later. Matteo and I had many memories in this park. Unfortunately, one of those memories was me breaking up with him.
My feet touched the cool grass and I relaxed. I walked slowly over to our spot and waited by the bench. I received more curious glances from the people in the park, but it didn’t matter to me. All that mattered was Matteo.
He walked into the park ten minutes after I got there. My vision became blurry as he approached me, and I realized I was on the verge of tears. I’d missed him so much that the sight of him made my heart ache. When he was finally standing in front of me, I felt the ache disappear as if his presence had completely healed it.
I blinked the tears away and focused on him. The Matteo who stood before me looked nothing like the man I remembered. Gone were his loose-fitting flannel shirt, ripped jeans, and brown boots. In their place was a designer suit and Italian leather shoes. His hair was also different than before, and he wore an expensive watch that shone under the glow of the sun.
Despite all that, he was still my Matteo and he’d come back for me. A shaky smile spread across my lips.
“Hi, Matteo.”
“Amelia.”
The sound of my name on his lips had me momentarily shutting my eyes. I wanted to capture this moment forever. The moment when we reunited, the moment that would be the beginning of the rest of our lives. I moved to hug him because I couldn’t stand being this close and not touching him.
Matteo stepped back before I could even touch him. I looked up at him in confusion and that was when I saw it. The hate in his eyes. He despised me.
“Matteo, I—”
“Your father invited me to this wedding. I only came as a courtesy,” he said as he adjusted the sleeve of his suit jacket.
My confusion morphed into complete shock. “My father did what?”
“I had a meeting with him earlier this week and he invited me to this wedding to celebrate the business deal we signed.”
“Wait,” I said as I shook my head. “I… I don’t understand. You had a meeting with my father?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“You signed a business deal with my father?”
“Yes. The whole thing was quite ironic. The great Joseph Pierson, who once thought I wasn’t good enough for his daughter, traveled all the way to New York to make a deal with me.”
“I don’t understand. Why would he do that?” My eyebrows shot up once understanding set in. “He doesn’t recognize you.”
“Yes, that was my conclusion as well.”
“But you met at the Christmas party back when we were…” my voice trailed off.
Matteo nodded. “I guess I wasn’t memorable enough for your father. Anyway, now that this misunderstanding has been cleared up, I’ll take my leave.”
With that, he turned and walked away. I felt my heart breaking as I watched him leave. Matteo hadn’t come here for me. He didn’t come here to fight for me. He didn’t love me. He was simply here because my father invited him.
I sunk onto the grass, finally giving in to the fatigue I felt from running to this park. My wedding dress spread across the greenery, the fabric bunching up as I sat down. It was in this very park that I’d ended things with Matteo. I didn’t want to but I’d never gone against my parents and so I agreed when they asked me to break up with him.
Maybe if I’d fought for him back then. Maybe if I’d spoken up and told my parents that I wouldn’t let go of the man I loved. Maybe then, things would be different.
“I’d rather die than have you marry a man like that!” my mother shouted dramatically, as she turned her nose up to the high ceiling.
We sat in the living room of my father’s mansion, an old building that had been in the family for generations. After several modifications, it was finally up to my mother’s taste. Lush cream couches spread across the open area of the living room. Behind them, floor-to-ceiling curtains covered floor-to-ceiling windows, making the room look like a palace. The materials of the curtains had been carefully handpicked by my mother, a dramatic gold and white design that added to the overall opulence of the room.
I stood before her and my father, in this great big room, in our great big house, where I had always felt small. Too small to ever really stand up for myself. Even now when she was asking me to break up with the man I loved, the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
“You have to understand where your mother is coming from,” my father said. His brown eyes were shielded by a pair of rectangular framed glasses. They sat on top of his crooked nose which was just as turned up as my mother’s own. They both believed Matteo wasn’t good enough for me. “It’s unheard of for a woman of your wealth to be with a construction worker.”
My mother’s face contorted in visible disgust. “Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit. What will my friends say when they find out about this? I’ll be the laughingstock of my friend group.”
“More importantly, how is a man like that supposed to take care of you?” my father asked.
I wanted to tell them how hardworking Matteo was. How he always got up early and spent hours at work trying to make a living. I wanted to tell them about his dream of starting his own company, a dream he’d shared with me many times over the years we’d been together. I wanted to tell them that Matteo assured me I would always be provided for. He’d promised to give me the world someday and I believed him.
I wanted to tell them all of that but again, I remained silent. The words clawed at my throat but they never made it out of my mouth. I opened my mouth so I could let them out but they scurried back inside.
I’d never been able to go against my parents. Not once in my twenty-two years on this earth had I done anything they didn’t approve of. I needed their approval like I needed my next breath which was why I didn’t say anything. Even though my heart was breaking into a million pieces and the thought of leaving Matteo made me want to stop breathing altogether. Even then, I still couldn’t find my voice.
When I finally pulled myself to my feet, the sun had started to set. I dragged my bare feet across the now cool pavement and waited by the sidewalk until I saw a taxi. The driver glanced back, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw me. I couldn’t tell if it was my wedding dress or my ruined makeup that alarmed him. I’d cried my eyes out in the park, so I was certain I looked crazy.
I gave him my address and he took off. I spent the journey staring out the window and thinking about what I was going to do with my life. It was only when the car stopped outside my family home that I realized I had no money.
“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll rush in and get the money I owe,” I said as I stepped out.
The driver shook his head. “No worries love. You head on inside. Get yourself a nice warm cup of coffee and some sleep.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
I walked through the gates and down the long pathway that led to my house. I could hear my parents’ voices from the moment I got close to the house. If my mother’s shrill voice and my father’s deep muttering were anything to go by, I’d say they were pretty upset.
I sucked in a deep breath and pushed the doors open. I walked through the large empty foyer and into the living room where my parents sat. Like me, they were still in their wedding clothes. It was the longest I’d ever seen my mother wear anything. She typically changes clothing at least twice a day.
“There she is,” my father said. He stood up and walked over to me, the sound of his boots hitting the wooden floor made me recoil in fear. My father had never hit me but the look in his eyes made me terrified that he would. “How could you do this?”
“You disgraced our family!” my mother added. She fanned herself dramatically as she spoke. “And in front of all my friends. I am never going to live this down!”
“Do you have any idea the kind of conversation I had to have with Thomas Everett?”
“Lucas is simply devastated!”
“The poor boy was so embarrassed! And his father was furious.”
“Rightfully so!”
“Why on earth would you do such a thing?”
Their questions and statements continued to pour out until they blurred together and I couldn’t make sense of it anymore. At that moment, I realized that none of this mattered. My life didn’t matter because I had been living it for my parents. Neither of them even stopped to ask how I was or where I had been all day. All that mattered to them was their reputation and their business contacts.
I was tired of all of this. I was tired of letting them control my life. It was time to take the reins and make decisions about my life by myself.
“I’m moving out!”
The room fell silent after I uttered that statement. My mother turned to face me so slowly it was like something out of a horror movie. “What?”
“I’m moving out.”
“Where will you go?” she asked.
I bit my lip as I realized I hadn’t thought this all the way through. “To… um… New York. I’ll go to New York.”
My father scoffed. “That’s madness. You’re not going anywhere. We’ll discuss this with Thomas and Lucas. We’ll explain to them that you simply got cold feet, and we’ll prepare for the wedding to happen in a few weeks. It will be a smaller ceremony this time.”
My mother gasped loudly before speaking. “A smaller ceremony?”
“I’m not getting married to Lucas,” I said.
“Yes, you are,” they said in unison.
“No! I will not marry a man that you chose for me. I won’t condemn myself to a life beside a man I don’t love. I’m tired of tailoring my life to your expectations. I’m moving to New York and there’s nothing either of you can do about it.”
My parents were silent again. It was my dad who spoke first.
“Fine, we’ll let you go to New York.” My mom was just about to disagree when he continued. “But on one condition.”
I sighed. “What condition is that?”
“It’s the only way I will allow you to leave this house. You have to agree or you won’t be going to New York,” he said.
“I agree. Now, tell me, what is the condition?”
“You will have to spend your first four months with my new business partner, Matteo Hayes.”
Maybe all the crying and the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything but a bagel all day was messing with my hearing. “I have to spend four months with who?”
“Matteo Hayes.”
This can’t be happening.