Chapter 31
MADALINA
“ C an I come in?” I knock on the door to the bridal quarters and when it opens, the girl in the awful peach-coloured dress looks me up and down as if I’m a piece of shit.
“I was hoping I could get a word with Gabriella.” I offer the five bridesmaids she has circled around her a friendly smile and yet none of them reciprocate.
“You can leave us,” Gabriella tells them, turning around and letting me see her in all her glory. Nic’s wrong, she doesn’t look like a troll at all, in fact, she’s very beautiful.
“Sit, you shouldn’t stand for too long in your condition.” She sniggers at me as her hand rests on her narrow hips to emphasize how lean her figure is.
“Thank you.” I take her up on her offer because as much as I hate to admit it Dario was right, these heels are far too high.
“I wanted to properly introduce myself. I couldn’t come to the bridal shower because well...” I look down at my oversized stomach and laugh awkwardly. “But I’d very much like us to be friends. Now that Cassio and Dario are closer, I guess we’ll be like sisters.” I notice how she looks bored with my conversation so I get right to my point.
“Look, I’ll just clear the elephant in the room. I know you were supposed to marry Dario and it didn’t work out.”
“I’m sorry, do you think I care about that?” She laughs at me. “ Sister , I never wanted to marry that man. If anything, I was grateful to be spared from a life of misery.” The way she looks at me like I’m pathetic gets my back up.
“I can assure you my life is far from miserable.” I shift myself into a better position when one of the babies kicks against my bladder.
“In fact, that's another reason why I came to see you. I’ve been where you are and I know how scary it can be. I wanted to let you know that the DeMarco men aren’t who you think they are. They can be kind, thoughtful, and even loving.”
“I don’t need Cassio to love me, he just needs to fuck his heir into me so my family gets back the power they deserve.” She spins back around to look at her reflection, making it clear it’s time for me to leave. At least I tried to make the effort.
I head out the door and smile at Vito as I head down the corridor to get seated with everyone else. Something about him doesn’t seem right, he’s cagey and on edge. I wonder if he knows why Dario got called away so urgently by his father.
I walk past the room where Dario is getting ready and suddenly stop. Despite him acting like a tough guy I know he has a sensitive side. He must be nervous and since his brother isn’t here to show him some reassurance, I’ll step up.
“Wait for me here.” I turn to Vito and smile, before letting myself into the room.
I find Cassio pacing the floor and looking very nervous. I was going to tell him the reason why Dario has been held up, but I decide against it. Pre-wedding jitters should be the only thing he has to suffer today.
“Madalina,” he looks up at me in shock.
“I just came to tell you Dario will be here soon.” I turn back around and prepare to leave. It’s tense in here and I’m not sure I know what to say to him.
“No, wait. Come here.” He rushes toward me and takes my hand.
“I need to talk with you.” I can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s panicking and I wonder if maybe he already knows about whatever it is that called Dario away.
“Tell me not to do this!” he blurts the words out, as his grip on my arm gets more and more intense.
“What? Why would I do that?” I laugh.
“Just tell me not to do it. You know it’s wrong. You don’t want me to do it, do you?” He looks scared, the same way he did when I was lying in that ambulance.
“Cassio, why would it matter what I think?” I try to tug away from him but he’s holding me too tight.
“That's why you came in here, to tell me not to marry her, right?”
“No, I came in here because…it doesn’t matter. Let’s get you some water, you look kind of freaked.”
“I’m not freaked and I’m not confused. I know this is right.” He takes me by the shoulders and forces me back so I’m sitting on the chair in the corner of the room.
“Cassio, what are you doing?” I stare back at him, starting to get scared.
“There are things you need to know.” He starts pacing the floor in front of me. His head shaking, as he grips his hair.
“What kind of things? Cassio, you're acting really weird.”
“I saw you first!” he blurts out, and when his feet stop moving he stares right at me. “I saw you way before he did, and you were supposed to be mine.” He points his finger at me, and I watch how it trembles.
“What?” I laugh, partially because I’m nervous, and because this has to be some kind of joke .
“That ring on your finger should be mine, those babies you're having should be mine too.” He touches his shaky hand over my stomach and I freeze in fear. “But I can learn to love them like they’re my own. I know that, now.”
“You're talking crazy.” I go to stand up and when he quickly forces me back down, the aggression he uses tells me I’m in trouble. I go to scream but he slams his hand over my mouth.
“Shhhhhh, don’t you do that.” He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a gun. “I don’t want to hurt your babies.” I realize where he’s pointing the barrel and instantly nod my head, agreeing to remain quiet. My heart is beating too fast, and I can feel the panic rising in my chest.
“It’s time for us to make things right. I was going to go through with this wedding so we could stay close and I could protect you, but I knew last night that it wouldn’t be enough. We have to be together.” He keeps the gun pointed at me as he reaches into his bag and takes a silencer from the top of it.
“I’ve got a car outside, we can use the back door and leave, right now.” I struggle to catch my breath as he attaches it to the end of his weapon.
“Cassio, this place is surrounded with security.” I avoid mentioning the fact that I don't want to go with him. It’s obvious that he’s not in the right state of mind and anything could set him off enough to fire that gun.
“There's only one man behind that door and my car’s parked right outside. No one will even know we’re gone until it’s time to start the ceremony.
“No.” I shake my head. “ I get that you don’t want to go through with this, but I can’t come with you. Dario would come after us.” I try to keep him focused, hoping that Vito will run out of patience and interrupt us. Surely it can’t be long till the service starts.
“He won’t know where to find us. I have a place where we can go, somewhere really special. You’ll come with me, won’t you?” He snatches at my arm and starts lifting me from the chair.
“Cassio, you're scaring me,” I tell him, debating whether I should risk calling for help. Vito is just on the other side of the door, but that gun Cassio is holding would be much faster than he is.
“Don’t be scared.” He cradles my face in both his hands, and the cold metal of the gun cuts into my cheek. “I would never hurt you, Madalina. I love you.” I hold my breath when he kisses me hard on the lips and have to think really hard about how I’m going to get out of this when he starts dragging me toward the back door.
“Act normal.” He spins me around and presses the gun into my lower back. I want us to get a head start.” He forces me out of the door and when a guard I’ve never seen before turns to look at us, I plead with him with my eyes to take notice and realize that something is off.
“Madalina’s having some cramps in her tummy, I’m taking her to Dario,” he explains calmly as he guides me around the car and opens the passenger door for me. I give the guard one last helpless look before Cassio ducks my head and forces me inside. Then after he slams the door and rounds the hood, I quickly get out and start to scream.
A dull pop alerts me that the gun has gone off and I look down at my body, I wonder why I don’t feel any pain or see any blood.
“Get in the fucking car!” Cassio whisper-yells at me, holding the gun at me over the roof and when I see that tall, heavy man who’d been standing guard is bleeding out on the tarmac I quickly do as he says.
“Jesus Christ, Madalina. That man didn’t have to die,” he scolds me, as he starts the engine and quickly pulls away.