Chapter 1 #2
“Why shouldn’t I mention him again? He was my brother!
And a far better parental figure to me than you ever were!
I’m your fucking child too! Your daughter!
Or did you forget that? Why do you hate me for something I had no fucking control over?
You should have gotten rid of me the day I killed my mother if you loathe me that much! ” I scream.
“I should have, and it’s my biggest regret that I didn’t!
” he sneers, his face twisted in disgust as he shoves me away from him, my back crashing into the vanity.
My chest aches at his words, but I hide the pain.
I’ve always known this is how he feels about me.
A moment later, I right myself, standing up and looking at him.
“Who?”
“Who, what?” he snarls.
“Who are you marrying me off to?” I snap.
“Salvatore Rossi,” he says with finality in his voice. My face must show how horrified I am because he smirks. My whole world is ending. Of all the people in the world, he had to choose that fucking creepy old bastard? Granted, I think I would despise anyone he chose for me.
“That old fucking perverted bastard?” I scream, which earns me another slap to the face.
An involuntary shiver races throughout my body just thinking about it.
I’ve heard the stories about what Salvatore does to the prostitutes who work for him in his strip clubs.
He beats, tortures, and rapes them. I can’t imagine what he’d do to me just for the fun of it because he’s sick and twisted just like my father. Oh God! I think I’m going to be sick!
“Don’t be fucking disrespectful! He’s the head of the Rossi family, and you will address him with the respect he deserves!
” he snaps. “Don’t forget you have an obligation to follow orders and do what is best for this family.
The wedding will take place in six months.
Use the rest of the day to think about what your new role is going to be and get used to it, because you will be meeting with your future husband tomorrow. ”
He turns and storms out of my room, slamming the door behind him. Guess we’re not having breakfast together anymore, I think to myself before the absurdity of my thoughts causes a deranged sort of laugh to escape me.
As soon as he’s gone, Giana rushes back into the room. The asshole didn’t even wish me a happy birthday, but then again, I shouldn’t be surprised.
Follow his orders and do what is best for the family? When has the family ever done what was best for me? Everything Father does is to ensure it’s what’s best for him and no one else. Life was okay when Luca was around, but ever since he’s been gone, nothing has been right.
“Are you alright? What happened?” she questions, guiding me toward my bed and making me sit as she takes a seat next to me. She pulls me in for a hug, trying to calm me down. I don’t know how to process the emotions the bomb my father dropped on me caused.
If I thought life here, being locked away in this mansion, was the worst thing that could ever happen to me, I was wrong. Being married to Salvatore Rossi would top the list. It would be the death of me.
“I-I-I…” I start, not able to get my words out through the sobs that rack my body. “I’m getting married in six months!”
“What?”
“He's forcing me to get married to a monster!”
“Who did he arrange a match to?”
“Salvatore Rossi…” I tell her, trailing off as a sense of dread pools in the pit of my stomach at the thought of being anywhere near Salvatore.
I haven’t seen him since the night of the party, which has been a blessing.
The guy really fucking scares me. I hate this arrangement for several reasons.
The top ones being that he’s fucking older than my father, and he may or may not be involved in trafficking women.
What a sick, twisted, and perverted old bastard!
I can only imagine what he’d do to me once we’re married. My entire body quivers as I think about the misery I’m in for. I quickly stand to my feet again.
“I-I need to go see Luca’s grave!” I say on a gasp. My limbs tremble, and I can’t breathe, like I’m about to have a panic attack. His grave is empty. I don’t know why I want to go and see it, but I do. Maybe it will calm me down. Who the fuck knows?
In the month since my brother has been gone, my father only spent about two weeks searching for him, until he finally decided to stop and then he kept the funeral a week later.
I’ve been so upset that he didn’t spend more time and resources to find my brother.
It’s not like he doesn’t have the money to continue.
“Hey, hey. Calm down and just breathe,” she instructs, grabbing my face and making me look at her. When my eyes focus on hers, she starts to breathe in and out, in and out. I follow her directions, and after a few minutes, my erratic breathing calms down a little.
“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to survive this!” I mutter. “A lifetime with Salvatore will be nothing but torture, and Father is making me meet with him tomorrow.”
One thing everyone knows about Mafia marriages is that there is no divorce ever.
The only way out of one is death. Sometimes it’s the husband committing the murder, and sometimes it’s the wife, drowning her sorrows in pills and alcohol until that eventually kills her because she can’t deal with living with monsters.
The men can have mistresses and cheat as many times as they want, but the women can’t so much as look at another man.
One would be very lucky to find a decent man in this world.
“You are strong, babe. Look at everything else you’ve already overcome at the hands of your father. No matter what he’s done to you, you never broke. I have no doubt you’ll be able to do the same where Salvatore is concerned. You’re going to get through this somehow. Now come on, let’s go.”
Giana calls down to security to let them know that we’re heading out to the cemetery in a few.
The guards will have to tell my father where we plan to go.
Hopefully, he lets me go today, because I need to get out of the house for a bit, now that my world has been turned upside down.
When I’m finally put together, we make our way out of my room and down the stairs.
Once we’re in the foyer, I notice the quietness.
“Is my father home?” I ask the guard who’s standing by the door.
“No, ma’am. He left the house a little while ago,” he responds.
“Is he allowing us to go to the cemetery?” I ask, hopefully.
“Yes,” he says.
A wave of relief hits me at being granted permission. I’m actually surprised that he’s letting us go out. I thought for sure he’d say no just to spite me for the way I screamed at him earlier.
The guard leads us out the door to the SUV that’s already out front, and we get in. The driver pulls away after we’re both buckled in. I notice only one other vehicle is following us, and I’m thankful they aren’t going overboard today.
I stare out the window, not saying a word, the whole ride to the cemetery. As we drive through the gates, my heart clenches with the now-familiar pain that engulfs me every time I think about my brother.
I still don’t know if my brother is dead or alive.
We never got a ransom note or call, and we never saw a body.
It’s like he just disappeared off the face of this earth.
Nevertheless, Father had a grave dug and a tomb built for my brother.
He claims he loves Luca, but he’s already given up.
Does he even have any of his men looking for my brother?
I’ll never know because I can’t ask him.
I know in my heart that he’s not dead, but I come to his empty grave because it gives me… I’m not sure what exactly it gives me. It’s hard to explain what I’m feeling when it comes to my brother. It makes me feel close to him, I guess, even if it’s empty.
Sometimes my father’s words play on a loop in my head, that maybe it was my fault my brother disappeared. Maybe he would have been more prepared if he hadn’t been so distracted with taking care of me and making sure that I was safe.
First, I killed my mother while she was giving birth to me, and then my brother was most likely distracted because he was worried about me that night instead of being focused like he usually is.
I’m not sure if he was taken, killed, or if he just left of his own accord.
I’m still at a loss. I don’t think Luca would willingly leave me alone at the hands of our father.
But no wonder my father hates me. I’m nothing but a disappointment who brings him nothing but pain and misery.
Giana and I walk up to the huge plot that’s fenced in and away from the others.
I step through the gate, but she stays a few yards away to give me space.
The guards all hang back by the SUVs, looking around in case there is trouble.
I mean, I don’t want another kidnapping attempt to happen and be blamed for it again, but their presence always grates on my nerves.
I walk to the giant weeping willow tree, where the empty tomb is under it, and take a seat on the grass. I brace my back against the headstone and just sit there and let the fresh air wash over me for a while.
“He’s finally found a match for me,” I say to the emptiness surrounding me.
“I mean, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I didn’t think it’d happen this soon, you know?
To Salvatore Rossi of all people. That man is vile and disgusting, and let’s not forget how ruthless and sick he is.
I wish you were here. I know you wouldn’t let him marry me off to that asshole. ”
I sit in silence for a while. How could my father just marry me off like a fucking lamb to the slaughter? Because that’s essentially what he’s doing. He hates you, you idiot!
Oh right, can’t forget about that.