Chapter 17 Giulia #2
The announcement goes out that afternoon. By evening, my phone is flooded with messages from people I haven't spoken to in months. I can feel the envy in everyone, other mafia daughters who probably wanted the same things I did but did their duty without fucking everything up.
Congratulations!
I had no idea you and Luca were together!
This is so romantic!
When's the wedding?
Each message feels like a knife twisting in my gut, because they believe the lie.
They believe that this is a love story, that Luca and I have been carrying on some secret romance, and now we're finally getting our happy ending. And every one is a reminder that I couldn’t do what I was raised to do, the only purpose I’ve ever had.
It’s a nightmare disguised as a fairy tale to try to save what remains of our family’s reputation.
They have no idea that he hates me, that he's only marrying me because the alternative is death. Every moment of our future together will be built on lies and resentment and the destruction of whatever feelings might have existed between us.
But there are other messages too. Messages that are less congratulatory and more... questioning.
Luca Moretti? Really?
I thought you were engaged to Alessandro Marchesi?
This seems sudden…
Is everything okay?
Those messages are closer to the truth, and I’m scared to even answer them. If people are already questioning the story and wondering what really happened, then maybe the lie isn't as believable as my father thinks it is. Maybe everyone can see right through us.
I'm lying on my bed, staring at my phone and trying to figure out how to respond to any of these messages, when there's a knock at my door. "Giulia?" It’s Romeo. "Can I come in?"
I sit up, wiping at my face. My face feels hot and swollen like I’ve been crying, but no more tears have come since this morning. I'm too numb for tears right now, too hollowed out to feel anything except a dull, persistent ache.
"Yes."
He opens the door and steps inside, closing it carefully behind him. He looks exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and tension in every line of his body. He's been dealing with the fallout all day, I realize—fielding questions and trying to contain the damage I've caused.
"How are you holding up?" he asks. The genuine concern in his voice despite this being all my fault makes my throat tighten.
"I'm fine."
"Bullshit." He sits down on the edge of my bed, his expression serious. "You're not fine. None of us is fine. But I need to know if you're going to be able to handle what comes next."
"The wedding?"
"Everything. The wedding, yes. But also the scrutiny and the questions.
The way people are going to look at you and Luca and try to figure out what really happened.
" He runs a hand through his hair, a gesture of frustration I've seen a thousand times.
"The official story is out there now. Most people are accepting it at face value.
But there are whispers, Giulia. People wondering why the engagement to Alessandro ended so suddenly.
People are questioning whether our father is losing his grip. "
The words echo what my father said this morning, and they make me feel sick. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I'm so sorry, Romeo. I never meant—"
"I know." He cuts me off, but not unkindly. "I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. But intent doesn't matter now. What matters is how we move forward. How we contain this and make sure it doesn't get any worse."
"How do we do that?"
"You play your part," he says simply. "You marry Luca. You act like this is exactly what you wanted, even if it’s turned out in a way that isn’t. You give people a love story they can believe in, even if it's not true. And you never give anyone reason to doubt the official version of events."
It's the same thing my father said, but coming from Romeo, it feels less like a command and more like a plea. Like he's asking me to help him save what's left of our family's reputation. "I'll do whatever you need me to do," I whisper. I mean it.
I could be bitter with him because he got to marry the woman he loved, and the whole family is disintegrating because I tried to reach for love, too. But I can’t be upset with him. I made my choices, and he made his. It’s the world that is unfair, not my brother.
He studies me for a long moment, then nods.
"Good. We have a meeting tomorrow with the Marchesi family for the final dissolution of the engagement.
Alessandro will be there, and his father, and probably a few of their key people.
Papa wants you present. And Luca will be there too, in his capacity as my second. "
My stomach drops. "I have to face Alessandro?"
"Yes. And you have to do it with grace and dignity, and absolutely no hint that this is anything other than what we're saying it is—that you fell in love with someone else and the engagement had to end.
" Romeo's expression is grave. "Alessandro is furious, Giulia.
His father is furious. They're accepting the settlement because they don't have much choice, but they're not happy about it.
You need to be prepared for that." He pauses. “Papa told you about the plans?”
I nod. “He told me what Alessandro was doing. What you had planned for the Marchesis.”
“They’re not only angry at the insult, but they’re also angry that their chance to infiltrate us has been lost. Alessandro has lost face with his father as a result of this.
It has layers of consequences, Giulia. And I need to know—we need to know—that you’re capable of keeping your calm and being graceful throughout this. ”
"I will be."
"And Luca will be there," Romeo continues. His tone makes me look up sharply. "He'll be standing beside me, representing the family. You two need to at least appear civil with each other. Can you do that?"
The question hurts more than it should, because the answer is that I don't know. I haven't seen Luca since last night. I haven't spoken to him or had any contact at all. For all I know, he's spent the last night working himself up into hating me even more than he did before.
"I'll try," I say finally.
Romeo nods, then stands. "Get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be difficult, and you need to be sharp."
He leaves, and I'm alone again with my thoughts and my guilt, and the terrible knowledge that tomorrow I'm going to have to face Alessandro Marchesi and tell him—to his face—that I'm breaking our engagement because I'm in love with someone else.
Someone who now wishes I didn't exist.
The meeting is scheduled for two in the afternoon at one of our family’s upscale restaurants that we own, a front for other less legitimate businesses.
We’ll be able to be in a private room but in a public location, where business can be conducted away from prying eyes and listening ears, but feels more neutral than meeting on one of the family estates.
I spend the morning carefully getting ready.
Appearances matter in this world, and I need to look like a woman who's made a choice she's confident in, not a girl who's been caught in a catastrophic mistake.
I choose a dress that's elegant but not flashy, made of navy blue silk that falls to just below my knees with a modest neckline and cap sleeves. It’s conservative and demure, nothing seductive about it.
I do my makeup carefully, covering the dark circles under my eyes and adding just enough color to my cheeks that I don't look like I've been crying off and on since that awful night in my father’s office.
My hair goes up in a neat chignon, and I add pearl stud earrings to finish it all off.
When I look in the mirror, I see Giulia Ciresa, daughter of the don, poised and controlled and perfectly put together. I don't see the terrified girl underneath who's about to face the consequences of her choices.
The drive into the city is silent. My father sits beside me in the back of the car, reviewing documents on his tablet, not speaking.
Luca is in the front passenger seat, not looking back at me and not speaking, and Romeo sits on the other side of me, tension radiating from him.
I sit in the middle, my hands folded in my lap, trying to breathe through the anxiety that's making my chest tight.
Luca hasn’t said a single word to me since he left my father’s office.
He doesn’t look at or acknowledge me, even when we all step out of the car and head to the private room at the back of the restaurant.
The curtains are drawn and the lights low, the soft buzz of lunchtime barely heard through the heavy wooden doors.
Not long after we all enter to wait, the Marchesi family arrives.
Alessandro’s face is tight with anger, reflecting his father’s.
There are two other men I don't recognize—advisors or lawyers, probably, here to witness the formal dissolution and ensure the terms are honored.
And then, of course, there is the Marchesi security, all in suits with the slight hint of a bulge beneath their jackets where I know weapons are. My stomach twists.
This could all end in violence. It’s not over yet. And if it does, it will be my fault.
Luca stands beside Romeo, slightly behind and to the left in the position of a second. His eyes haven’t met mine, not even once, but I can see the coldness there, the absolute absence of anything that might resemble warmth or forgiveness or even basic human compassion.
It’s like I'm a stranger. Like I'm nothing.
My father moves to greet Francesco Marchesi, and the two men shake hands with formal courtesy despite how much I know they hate each other.
There’s no truth about anything in this room, no honesty.
It’s all pretense, and my stomach roils again as there's a brief exchange of pleasantries that feels absurd given the circumstances, and then everyone takes their seats again.