Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
THE WEDDING DAY
ROSALIA
“Spread your legs, Rosa! You may as well get used to it. I expect you’ll be doing a lot of this.”
My cousin, Eva, is an esthetician. While my family could look down on her for her work, they became her biggest customers instead. She’s ruthless, has no morals, and will perform any “extras” deemed necessary.
She waxed my entire body two days ago in the living room, turning a blind eye to the men who walked through to stare at me. She drew the line at touching me, cursing them out in Italian as she waved her arms at them.
The situation in the ice cream parlor’s bathroom broke me.
Nico must have said something to my father, because I have even less privacy than ever, and I’m on some sort of suicide watch.
It’s the kind that has a guard posted inside my room at all times, while I stare at a corner and focus on my bond with Vero.
Every day, it grows despite not being together, so I disassociate and do whatever I’m told to do, while I hold onto the glowing ember of Verona’s love.
I simply don’t care what happens to me now that I know she’s no longer in this cursed house.
Holding onto the bathroom sink, I grit my teeth, annoyed she’s pulling me back to a reality I no longer wish to be a part of.
For some reason, Eva has decided I need to wear a butt plug with a pretty jewel on the end of it for my husband to be.
Nico isn’t interested in any of my holes, but I keep my lips pressed closed as she curses me out for not slicking to her approval.
“You’re the worst fucking omega,” she growls, making me roll my eyes. Oh no, my feelings are hurt. “Give me a fucking second.”
“She can’t be alone,” Tony says, watching as Eva ignores him to stomp into my connected bedroom. “I don’t know why I bother talking to you, Eva.”
Moving over to lean against the doorjamb, he makes himself comfortable as he stares at me. I’m butt ass naked, and he smirks as he enjoys the view. I’d straighten up from my hunched position, but I’m afraid I’ll push out what little bit of the plug is inside me and have to start again.
“You slicked so well when you were passed out, puttana. We all enjoyed taking turns. Maybe we just have to knock you out so Eva can get the plug inside of you.”
A cold sweat beads up on my skin as memories of that day creep over me.
The good of Verona at the play, the horror of my father giving me to his men, and the reminder that they continued until I tore while I was passed out.
I know damn well my body did not betray me during the rapes and I did not fucking slick.
My body doesn’t work that way. If I’m not attracted to someone, I won’t respond as if I am.
“You’re freaking her out. Back to your corner. As it is, I’m going to need her to shower before she gets into her dress. Go!”
“You’re not untouchable, Eva,” Tony growls as she pushes him out.
“I am until after the wedding. I’ll be far away from you and hopefully will never have to be in your presence again.”
Ew. Is this her way of flirting? Tony chuckles under his breath while she blushes and I have to keep from gagging.
Papa made sure I drank my smoothie this morning, but I vomited most of it up from anxiety.
Tony told me I would have to drink another, angry that I’m a pain in the ass.
Elio simply rolled his eyes and wished me a happy wedding day in that condescending way he has as I hovered over the porcelain god.
Happy. That’s hysterical.
“Alright. Now that it’s just the two of us, Rosalina, let’s try this with lots of lube.”
The coolness of the liquid hits my ass, and I close my eyes as Eva works the plug inside of me quickly and efficiently. She’s my cousin by marriage, and I flinch when she spreads my bottom lips to stare at me once she’s done.
“No hair,” she murmurs. “I did a damn good job. Go shower and then we’ll get to work. It really would be a pleasure to eat your cunt. I heard you were into girls.”
It’s said so nonchalantly, I press my hand to my mouth to keep myself from vomiting. I don’t think my body will ever belong to me again.
Standing to get away from her, I move to the shower and step inside, turning on the water. The freezing water pelts my skin, and I stay under it as I scrub my body with as much sweet smelling soap as possible. I don’t understand why no one can keep their hands to themselves!
A cough and gag collide, and my body shudders and shakes as I work through it. Fuck, that hurt. Maybe I do have some awful disease. The only down side to Vero and I now being bonded is that she could die if I do.
So, I’m still here, despite not wanting to be.
“You’re too valuable to die!” Tony says, standing in the bathroom now. Eva is getting things ready in the next room, which puts him on Princess duty.
Flinching, I quickly wash my hair before getting out of the shower with several towels wrapped around me. I need layers between me and the disgusting looks Eva and Tony keep giving me. My skin is crawling relentlessly, and I feel lightheaded from stress.
The plug shifts constantly inside of me, keeping me from fading into the recesses of my head as I walk.
Eva has a robe ready for me when I step back into my bedroom, and even though it’s sheer, it gives me a small amount of coverage.
Sitting on the hard chair that was brought in for me, I suffer through Eva’s work.
Most of the bruising has faded, and though my ribs still hurt when I cough or move too quickly, it’s better than it has been.
Once my hair and makeup are done, Eva gets me into this ridiculous lingerie set that feels slutty.
It’s a white and pink thong, with garters that hold up my sheer stockings.
There isn’t a bra because the dress has a corset, and I’m almost relieved to step into the dress because Tony’s eyes won’t stop roaming over my body.
If I could blow up my entire family, I think it would be considered a public service. When did they all get so fucking creepy?
Eva pulls and cinches in my corset until I can barely breathe, and then helps me into a pair of high heels.
She presses something into my hair, and I glance at her while she’s on her knees, focusing on making sure my shoes are properly strapped to my feet.
They’re four inch heels, and now that I’m not in as much pain, I should be able to walk without feeling as if I’m going to fall.
Standing slowly, Eva glances at Tony. “Will you see how much longer we have until she needs to be downstairs, please? I need to place her veil, Tony. It’s the most important part.”
She pouts prettily at him, and I bet he thinks he’ll be getting lucky, despite the threats he lobbed at her earlier. I don’t understand what her deal is, but I have a feeling she’ll be telling me soon.
“Fine,” he groans. “Keep the sharp objects away from her.”
I roll my eyes in a way he can’t see me, and he clomps off to speak to my father or Elio. One of them would know when we need to leave for the church.
“If you feel as if you really can’t do this, drink that,” Eva hisses at me. “There will be no pain, you’ll just fall asleep forever. It’s something my grandmother taught me and happens to grow in your garden. There’s actually a lot of toxic plants outside.”
My lips part as I stare at the vial hidden in my palm, and I suck in a sip of air as I glance at my cleavage, wondering if I can hide it in there.
“Smart choice,” she murmurs, plucking it from my hand and shoving it inside the vee of my tits until it won’t move or travel. “You need to be very sure when you take this, Rosalia.”
I nod, my ability to speak taken from me as she goes back to fluffing my skirts and placing my veil fully over my face. My hair is up in a complicated, braided bun, and Eva fixes the veil so it's fixed to the tiara on my head.
Carefully, she throws the veil up and behind me so it’s out of my face until I’m at the church.
“I’ll be in the car with you to make sure everything is perfect,” she murmurs.
Tony strolls back into the bedroom with a glass in his hand, and it’s all I can do to swallow back a groan of disgust. I was really hoping that everyone had forgotten about this.
“One of the staff prepared this,” he drawls. “It shouldn’t be as chunky.”
“Don’t fuck up my hard work,” Eva reminds me.
If it doesn’t taste like someone’s putrid remains, then I’ll be fine. Taking the glass, I sip tentatively, finding it’s not too bad. I drink it quickly, not thinking anything of it when Tony’s lips spread into a wide smile.
“It’s good to know you can still respect the authority of the men in your family. Eva, you have five minutes before you need to be in the car with her. Make sure she’s wearing a gun. The boss doesn’t want her to have anything she can stab herself with today, but a weapon is nonnegotiable.”
Once Tony is gone, Eva shakes her head at him. “But she could shoot herself?”
Killing myself with a gun isn’t something I’m interested in. There are too many ways to fuck it up. If I’m going to do it, I want to go quickly and know I won’t end up a vegetable.
Eva stops grumbling long enough for me to show her where my holster is, and we place it above the garter so it won’t affect her aesthetic.
“Go brush your teeth,” she suggests. “It doesn’t matter who prepared that shit, I bet it tasted awful.”
I don’t bother to tell her it wasn't the worst it’s been, I simply take the gift and head to the bathroom to quickly scrub the taste of the smoothie from my mouth.
Eva carefully fixes my makeup, and then adds enough setting spray that I swoon from the smell of it. This is the kind that reminds me of hairspray and turns your makeup into glowy concrete. It’s not going anywhere.
Before I returned to my father’s home, I managed to find a shop and Nico paid to have my makeup done.
The artist kept giving him ugly looks as if he’d put the bruises and dark circles on my face, but still managed to save my ass.
Nico gave her a big tip, and my father didn’t say a word when I returned home.