7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Luciana
No amount of makeup can cover the large bruise on my face. For the first time in my life, I don’t look pretty. Not perfect. It’s starting to become a pattern since getting married.
The timing of it all is terrible since I’m expected to show at another mafia women’s function. I could tell the women there that I’m on my honeymoon but now that Matteo has gone back to work, no one will believe me.
So with no other choice, I go to the function. Enzo drives me since Matteo told him I’m allowed to go places. At least that’s something. The last thing I’d want is to be a prisoner in my own home.
I force a smile on my face as I walk into the hotel’s tea room full of countless other mafia ladies. My makeup will have to do, even though I know I look terrible.
Alexandra is the first one to spot me. “Oh. Luciana. You look… what happened to your face?” She leans in close to me.
“Did your new husband do this to you? I am so sorry, my dear.” Except, she doesn’t sound sorry at all.
In fact, Alexandra sounds gleeful like she’s happy I’m got punched by my husband.
“My husband did no such thing. It was an accident.”
“Did you walk into a door?” Her laughter makes me grit my teeth together. “I’ve heard that excuse before. Come. Sit down.” She ushers me to a table with a few other women. Sienna is among them, looking sullen but then again, she’s looked sullen ever since her father died.
“Oh my goodness,” all the women at the table say when they see me.
“Her husband,” Alexandra whispers and all the women nod like they understand.
I turn to Sienna. “It wasn’t my husband. How are you?”
“Trying to do better. My mom convinced me to come out today. Said it would be good. But I’m still grieving. Nothing feels easy.”
I squeeze her hand though I know it won’t offer her too much comfort. “I’m here for you. I’ll help you get through it.”
“How did you get that?” Sienna whispers, pointing at her own cheek.
“I’ll tell you later.” I glance at the other mafia women, giving me hungry looks like they’re vultures, waiting to attack. “So, how has everyone been?”
“Better than you I’m guessing,” Alexandra says. “I feel so bad for you to be sidled with an abusive husband. Such a shame. Matteo was so handsome too.”
“It wasn’t my husband,” I snap, which causes everyone to look at me. Don’t crack, I remind myself. Taking a deep breath, I repeat, “It wasn’t my husband. It was an accident. That’s all.”
Alexandra gives me a look like she doesn’t believe me. Being around all these mafia women reminds me of how fake this world is and how much I hate it. I wish I could show my true self to Matteo but it’s not easy. Not when it’s everything I’ve been taught.
“Keep telling yourself that, dear,” Alexandra says, patting my hand.
That makes something inside of me explode. I stand up and before I can stop myself, I scream, “It wasn’t my husband!” That makes everyone in the room look at me.
A blush crosses my face as some of the women laugh.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” I say to Alexandra. “It wasn’t my husband. Just because you live in this fake world doesn’t mean everything I say is a lie. I am telling the truth. You may be unhappy with your life. But I am not.”
“Now who’s the one telling lies,” Alexandra remarks.
Before I can help myself, my hand connects with her face. The room goes quiet. And then Alexandra jumps to her feet, her face red from where I just smacked her. “Get this girl out of here!” she screams at the security guard.
Sienna stares at me with an open mouth.
“I’m leaving,” I grumble before the guard can escort me out.
I return to the car and slam the door behind me.
Enzo looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Is everything all right?”
“I’m fine. Just take me back home.”
Thankfully, Matteo isn’t home so I have a moment to breathe. But of course, none of that lasts long.
A knock at the door makes me look through the peephole to reveal my father on the other side. After I open the door, he storms inside.
“Daddy?”
He takes one look at me and blanches. “So it’s true. He hit you.” He reaches out for my face but I back away.
“Who told you that?”
“Eliza. One of the wives of my men. She said she saw you at the tea function today and everyone was talking about how your husband hit you.”
Word travels fast when it comes to mafia women.
“It’s not true. Matteo didn’t do this to me.”
“Then who did?”
“Just some man. I was out getting my nails done and he was trying to steal the car and he punched me. Matteo… Matteo saved me. He got me to the hospital. Made sure I was all right. And I am. Which is why I didn’t tell you I got hurt. If I had been seriously hurt, you would have known about it.”
“You should have told me anyway. I am your father. I should know these things.”
“I am an adult,” I say harsher than I mean to. My father flinches slightly. “I don’t have to tell you everything if it’s not serious.”
“You got hit in the face, Luciana. That’s serious. I should have known. You should have told me.”
“Like you told me I was going to have to marry Matteo?” I pause. “Oh, wait. You didn’t tell me. I had to find out right in front of him like a fool.”
“I told you why I didn’t tell you. You’re my daughter. I wasn’t ready to lose you. You have to understand that.”
“And you have to understand that I’m not a little girl anymore!
” I shout. My voice echoes through the large, front foyer.
A crack. My spine feels close to breaking.
No. I have to keep it together or… or I don’t know what will happen.
“I am an adult. A married woman now. I have the right not to tell you things.”
“But as your father, I have the right to know.”
“No. Not any longer. When I was a child, yes. But you gave me away to a man – a stranger – without telling me about it because you were too scared. Not because I’m your little girl or because you thought I couldn’t handle it.
You didn’t want to tell me for you. Not for me.
I chose not to tell you about this because I didn’t want to.
I get the right to be selfish now. You have no more right, Daddy.
” I shake my head. “I shouldn’t even be calling you that anymore.
You’re my dad. My father. That’s more appropriate for an adult woman to say, isn’t it? ”
He slowly shakes his head, his eyes wide. “I don’t even recognize the girl standing before me. Where is my sweet Luciana?”
“She was forced into a marriage and had all the dreams you placed on her dashed in a matter of seconds. You didn’t prepare me for any of this.
You didn’t prepare me for having a husband.
You filled my head with romance and fantasy and you didn’t allow me to know the real world.
If I had known, then maybe I would have been better prepared to be a married woman but I’m not. ”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m failing, Dad. I’m failing at all of it. And there’s nothing I can do. And you’re only making me feel worse. So you should go. I am fine here because I have no other choice. You didn’t give me another choice.”
“I didn’t want this either!” he shouts so hard, spittle flies from his mouth. “Gabriel forced my hand.”
“But as my father, you should have fought harder for me and you didn’t. Now I’m the one to pay the price. So just go, Dad. Please. Just go. I can’t deal with this right now.”
The front door opens and in walks Matteo. He stops when he sees me and my father. “What is going on here?”
Dad turns to Matteo in a huff and pokes him in the chest. “You better take care of my daughter. If she gets hurt again, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Matteo slowly crosses his arms and glares down at my father. “And if you try and kill me, I’ll have no choice but to kill you. So I would suggest you consider what you’re saying right now, Rocco. Or things will end badly. For your daughter’s sake, don’t do something stupid.”
“Just make sure she doesn’t get punched again.” He storms out of the house without a backwards glance in my direction. That hurts more than I thought it would.
“What happened?” Matteo asks once it’s just the two of us.
“You wanted me to show you my real self? Fine. I slapped Alexandra today.”
“Who?”
“Alexandra Ricci. She was the wife of Tommaso Ricci, a high ranking mafia man. He’s dead now. I slapped her.”
Matteo blinks, taking in my words, before he approaches me. “And why did you slap her?”
“Because she wouldn’t stop accusing you of being the one who hit me. She… made me angry.”
“And you snapped. Interesting.”
I scoff. “Interesting? That’s all you can say?”
“I told you that you would eventually break in half if you didn’t learn to bend. You’re too high strung, Luciana.”
“As you keep reminding me,” I grumble. “I am sorry I’m not perfect.”
“That’s not the problem. The problem is you keep trying to be perfect. It’s impossible. I never asked you to be perfect. I just asked you to not run. I asked you to keep your word and you have done that.”
“You don’t think I’m a terrible human being for slapping another person?”
His laugh is stark and bright. “I have met a lot of terrible people in my life and you are the farthest from that. You are a good person, Luciana. I can tell. A good girl. But maybe you should stop trying to be such a good girl. At least when you’re with me.
” His tone darkens into something… lustful. I don’t understand it at all.
“I’ve always been a good girl. I don’t know anything else.”
“You can learn with me.” He keeps approaching me until we stand toe-to-toe and he settles his hands on my hips. It sends a tingle straight to my stomach. “Do I still frighten you?”
“Not as much,” I admit. “After you saved me. I never said thank you for that.”
“No, you didn’t, did you?”
I swallow hard. Having him right before me is intimidating and distracting. “Thank you for saving me.”
“You’re my wife. I am a man of my word. In our vows, I made a promise to protect you. I will keep to that. You don’t have to keep pushing me away. We can make this work. We can do our duty and have fun at the same time.”