Chapter 7 #2
One, because he’s probably another manwhore with commitment issues, and two, I’m supposed to be getting married to someone else soon.
Life really knows how to screw you sometimes.
What the hell is wrong with me? I had sex with one man a few times, and it’s like I’ve lost my marbles.
What I should be thinking about is the fact that we both forgot to use a fucking condom!
Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!
Okay, okay, no need to panic. I’m sure everything will be fine. My periods are usually irregular, and that kind of makes it difficult to get pregnant for most people, right? Please, please, please, God if you exist, please let me be in that percent of women who don’t get pregnant right away.
I pray for that miracle while I’m in the shower.
But just to make sure, I’ll have to remember to ask Giana to get a morning-after pill for me tomorrow.
When I’m done, I put my pajamas on before slipping into bed.
I lie there awake for a long time. So long that I eventually hear when my father’s car comes down the driveway.
The last thought I have before sleep finally claims me is that I’m glad I made it home before he did.
It feels like I’ve just closed my eyes and was barely even asleep when I’m being poked in the side to wake up. I let out a groan and roll over onto my stomach while pulling the blanket over me.
“Go away!” I grumble into the room, knowing that it’s Giana.
“Oh no! It’s time to get up. I need to hear all about last night before it’s time for you know what…” she says, trailing off. And just like that, I’m wide awake, and my mood has shifted.
“Way to ruin the morning,” I grumble when I roll over and pull the blanket down to glare at her.
“It was going to be ruined no matter what, so I’d rather hear the juicy bits about last night before that happens,” she tells me matter-of-factly.
“Fine. Get over here, but you’re going first.”
“Fine,” she says as she walks over to my bed and hops on.
We’re both lying on our backs, staring up at the ceiling, when she starts.
“It was amazing as usual. Bruno and I were by one of the fountains not far from the guesthouse when who did I see? You, with some hunk sneaking into said guesthouse. So, who was he? I couldn’t see his face properly to get a clear picture of him because of the darkness and the fact that I didn’t want Bruno and me to be caught out there with our pants literally down. You know what I mean?” She laughs.
“Wow! Well, that was super adventurous. Why didn’t you just sneak into one of their rooms? I’m sure no one would have noticed since that mansion is huge as fuck.”
“We didn’t want to be caught with our pants down in there either.
I mean, everyone else was inside, and someone was bound to knock on one of those doors eventually.
The only other crazy people outside were you and your mystery man.
Besides, I kinda sorta liked the idea of being railed by the fountain, with the garden surrounding the space.
It was kind of romantic,” she says with a wink.
“Naughty girl! No one caught you, though, right?”
“No. I mean, you walked right past us and didn’t even notice us or the fact that you were being watched,” she says, and I cringe. I absolutely did not notice them at all because I was so focused on Enzo and what was about to happen between us.
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t notice.”
“So, tell me! Who was he?”
“Well, his name is Enzo…” I say and trail off. How do you tell your closest and only friend, who constantly worries about your safety and well-being, that you slept with a man you’re not supposed to?
“Enzo… Enzo… Enzo…” I hear her muttering before she trails off. “Shut the fucking front door! Oh my God! You didn’t!”
“Totally did,” I say, and then blush.
“Enzo freaking Andretti!” she whisper-shouts. “You know that guy could have literally killed you last night, right? Only you would go out on a mission to lose your virginity and end up sleeping with the guy your family is rivals with.”
“What can I say? I’m special. But just so you know, killing me was definitely not on his mind last night.”
“I bet. He was being led by his dick after all, wasn’t he?”
“Yep.”
“So how was it, bitch? Stop holding out on me.”
“It was amazing! Like one of the best nights I've ever had!” I tell her as my mind goes back once again to the events of last night. I’m still in a state of shock and bliss at the fact that I actually lost my virginity to one of the hottest men I’ve ever seen in my life.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was a Greek god pretending to be a mortal.
“How big was his dick?”
“Not having anything to compare it to, it seemed super huge and thick, plus he has two piercings on it. I’m still kind of sore, to be honest. It felt like he literally fucked the life out of me,” I say, giggling.
“Damn, I wish I could have seen it,” she says.
“See me having sex?” I question, a bit confused, wondering why she’d want to see that.
“What? Of course not! I’m talking about the size of his dick, duh!”
“Hey, back off. It’s mine! Well, it was for last night, but that was it.”
“Don’t worry, I'm not after your man. But come on. He's like the most-talked-about bachelor. Everybody, and I mean all the prissy princesses, wants to know what his dick looks like since the rest of him is such a work of art. To think my little caterpillar got firsthand experience makes me proud! You’re growing into a butterfly, and I’m going to miss my little caterpillar,” she says with fake tears.
“Shut up!” I say laughing. “You should be an actress instead of being here and looking after my prissy ass, as you like to call us,” I joke.
“I meant everyone else except you. You’re not prissy or stuck up, and if you were, I would have kicked your ass a long time ago,” she says with a wink.
Before I have a chance to respond, I hear footsteps outside my door. Shit! I know it’s my father because he’s the only other person besides Giana who comes to my room.
“Closet!” I whisper to her. She scrambles off the bed and barely makes it inside as my door swings open and my father strolls into my room dressed in a suit as usual.
“Good morning, Father,” I say as I sit up on the bed.
“Why the hell are you still in bed?” he questions, not bothering to respond to my greeting. “We have a very important day ahead of us, and you’re still lying there? Where’s Giana?”
“I’m sorry, Father. I was just waiting for Giana to bring my dress out from the closet to inspect it and make sure it’s still impeccable before I shower,” I tell him.
Giana walks out of the closet with the dress clutched in her hands. It’s a nude floor-length V-neck, low-cut dress with thin straps and a slit that ends mid-thigh. It’s what my father chose for me to wear today. It’s simple and beautiful, but I hate it because of what it represents.
“It looks fine to me. Your soon-to-be husband will be here at noon for lunch on the back terrace, so I expect you to be ready by then. I also expect you to be on your best behavior. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” I reply, the numbness starting to take over me already. He doesn’t say anything else and walks out of my room.
In an instant, all the glow and happiness from last night vanish, and I’m left feeling like my world is about to end all over again.
“Ar—” Giana starts, but I cut her off.
“Don’t. It’s fine. We knew this was happening whether I liked it or not.
At least I got to have last night, and it’s one I’ll remember for a long time to come.
Because, for one night, I didn’t have to think about anything else besides just being and doing something that I wanted,” I tell her before walking off into the bathroom and closing the door behind me.
Tears well up in my eyes, but I don’t let them fall.
I promised myself I wouldn’t cry anymore because what’s the point?
I’ll just do what I need to in order to survive.
Hopefully, one day soon, Salvatore will get himself killed, and I won’t have to be with him anymore.
That’s the only solace I can give myself at the moment.
I grab a robe when I’m done and head back into my room, taking a seat at the vanity. Giana helps me with my hair and makeup. When she’s done, I look at myself in the mirror and don’t even recognize the girl staring back at me.
She’s so beautiful. She looks perfect and polished. Giana definitely did an amazing job with the makeup. I take it all in, in a sort of trance, because I still can’t believe that this is happening.
“We have to get you dressed now, or you’ll be late,” she murmurs from beside me, and I nod before standing.
I drop the robe as she brings the dress to me, and I slip into it.
She then helps me with my jewelry and heels.
Once I’m all finished, I take one final look in the mirror at the entire outfit, and it’s absolutely stunning on me.
“Well, I guess it’s now or never,” I tell her as I move and head for the door with her following behind me.
As we near the back terrace, I can hear my father and Salvatore's voices. I stop just in front of the door, hesitating on taking that final step outside. I know that once I do, everything will become official and even more real.
When it looks like I’m just going to keep standing there, Giana gives me a little push, and I finally step onto the terrace.
“Ah, Salvatore, you remember my beautiful daughter, Aria,” my father says as he walks over to me and guides me forward toward Salvatore. I force a big fake smile.
“Of course. Aria, you’ve grown into such a beauty,” he says as he grabs my hand and places a kiss on it. All I want to do is scrub it away until I can no longer feel it on my skin.
That sort of seems like something intimate a lover would do, and they’d be happy about it, right? But there is no expression, or rather no emotion, on Salvatore’s face. He pulls out an engagement ring from his suit jacket and slips it onto my finger.
“Are you as happy as I am for this engagement and the chance to bring our families closer together?” he asks. He’s happy? The guy looks bored, and like he’d rather be anywhere other than here.
He’s looking me up and down from head to toe, and I instantly feel disgusted at the way he’s eyeing me like a piece of meat. I don’t know what possesses me to answer him the way I do, maybe I lost my senses for a minute there, but it’s something I soon pay for.
“No. I’m not. I’m being forced into this marriage to a man who looks as old as I assume my grandfather would be, if he were alive,” I mutter.
I should have expected the slap to the face from Salvatore, but I didn’t.
I was expecting it to come from my father, but after this asshole left.
A cry leaves me when the sting finally penetrates my skin.
Fucking hell, that hurt. Blood drips from my lips a moment later.
I look over at my father, and he has a pissed-off expression on his face, but doesn’t do anything.
I know it’s not for me. He’s not pissed that Salvatore just slapped me.
He's pissed at the fact that I opened my mouth in the first place.
“When you address me, you will address me with respect. And newsflash, little girl, it doesn’t matter whether you want this marriage or not. It’s going to happen with or without your consent.”
“Go to your room now!” my father’s voice booms. “Since you have the ring on your finger, you’re not needed here for anything else.”
I rush back into the house, and Giana is quickly at my side.
“Oh my God, Aria! Are you alright?” she questions as she walks with me back to my room.
I feel like the walls are closing in on me. Is this what I have to look forward to while being married to this asshole? If that’s the case, then I have nothing but a lifetime of misery ahead of me.