Nine
LIANA
What has my life come to? I’ve spent eight dreadful days here, and already, it’s a lot harder than I pictured it to be. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy adjustment, change never is, but I imagined it would be different. I don’t know what I expected, but this… wasn’t it. Not in the slightest.
While Kat’s and Dario’s mothers have done everything they can to make me feel more at home, the truth is, this isn’t my home. It will never be my home. This family is Dario’s, not mine. I’m an intruder, forced to play pretend with them.
My phone rings, startling me slightly, but when I read my father’s name on the screen, every muscle in my body relaxes. It feels like forever since I spoke to him, but I don’t blame him for it; he’s working his ass off to get me back.
“Hey, Dad,” I say, a soft smile forming on my lips.
“How are you, Principessa?” His voice lacks his usual enthusiasm; he sounds drained.
“I’m okay.” I settle on a white lie rather than unveiling it all. He’s got enough on his plate. “Everyone’s so nice and they make me feel welcome here.”
“The Vitales are good people; Vincent and Elaina wouldn’t have you feeling out of place. You’re in good hands.” Not knowing how to respond without unravelling the web I’ve found myself in, the line of communication falls silent for a moment until he adds, “I called to tell you that work is going great. Your engagement announcement is drawing in more clients for me. I wanted to thank you.”
“That’s great.” My smile widens. “So, I can come home soon?”
“No,” he says, his voice sounding confused. “This is a permanent arrangement, Liana. I thought you’d have realised that by now.” His words take me by surprise.
“What do you mean it’s permanent?” I ask, walking backwards towards my bed. I perch myself on the edge and swallow hard. “You assured me it was a temporary arrangement.”
“It was,” he says plainly, his voice void of emotion, “but then I realised what I could gain from a zero-interest debt, and I don’t need more shit from Dario. So I need you to play whatever role he wants you to because I won’t have you fuck this up for me.”
I’m taken aback by his confession. How could he do this to me? “You’re joking, right?”
Without hesitation, he says, “I’m deadly serious, Liana. This is exactly what I needed to get my feet on solid ground again. I should’ve realised it sooner, but there’s no changing the past now. I need you to be a good girl and do as I say.”
“I-I don’t understand.”
He huffs out in annoyance. “Then let me spell it out for you—” He shifts slightly and I hear his office chair squeak beneath his weight. “You were initially an innocent caught up in my mistake, but once opportunities began pouring in from my announcement of your engagement, you became a means to an end. Because of you, I’ll rise through the business world faster than I could’ve ever imagined.”
“So your job is more important than your daughter?” I scoff, blinking back the tears.
Another sigh reaches my ears and he mutters something under his breath. “I have spent my whole life working my ass off to achieve something as big as this and now that it’s happening, you want me to put it on hold? Stop being so selfish and just be happy for me.” He sucks his teeth.
“I’m sorry,” I say, sarcasm lacing my tone. “I’m so, so happy for you, Dad. You’ve achieved so much and I’m so proud.”
“Less sarcasm would be nice.”
“You know what else would be nice? Having a father who not only stuck to his word but cared for his daughter’s well-being. You should be ashamed of yourself. I looked up to you, wanted to achieve the greatness you have, but now, I couldn’t care less. I hope you get everything you could ever wish for because as of now, you have nothing holding you back. You lost Apollo because you were unable to put aside your old-fashioned mindset for two minutes and accept him, and now, after all you’ve done for me, you’ve lost me too.”
“I won’t have you disrespect—”
“I wasn’t fucking finished,” I interrupt. “I hope your entire business crumbles down on you and as you try to crawl your way out, you get stuck in the rubble. Maybe then, you’ll understand a sliver of what I’m feeling right now. Because believe me, you won’t be able to grasp the anger and betrayal radiating through me until that happens. I’ll be praying for it every day, hoping that day will soon come.” Without waiting for his response, I hang up and slam my phone down onto the bed beside me.
A faint knock comes from my door, and I stand, turning around to rid my eyes of the angry tears threatening to escape me. Spinning back around on my heels, I watch Kat walk in. She’s dressed to the nines in a beautiful emerald dress that shows off her adorable baby bump, and a pair of small black chunky heels. The matching earrings and necklace set, with silver crests adorning them, are stunning.
“Are you read—” she pauses in her tracks and her words halt for a moment. “Wow, you almost look better than me.”
“Key word there, almost,” I respond with a breathy laugh as I walk back to the mirror. I don’t even look like myself, and I don’t feel like it either.
Watching my reflection, my hands trail down the front of the floor-length gown and I shudder. The silver material is soft under my fingertips and feels amazing, but I can’t bring myself to love it. In the public eye, I put on a facade with a forced smile, knowing buried beneath the surface, I hate all the fashionable clothes that cost a fortune because they’re not me. It’s always been my father’s thing to look sharp; he takes pride in it. But being his daughter, I have to follow his lead to ensure my presence in the media resembles his, furthering his good reputation.
“Are you ready to head down?” she asks, snapping me from my thoughts.
I nod my head, and she takes the lead, walking back out of my room. With her gone, I breathe in, filling my lungs, and attempt to gather what remaining mental strength I have before following her.
The hall is quiet and the only sounds I hear are the clacks of our heels against the marble. The eerie silence makes the walk through it feel longer than usual and a lot more daunting. Tonight is my first and last family dinner with them before I’m properly introduced as a Vitale.
As we reach the bottom of the stairs, Kat links her arm through mine and tilts my chin to direct my gaze straight ahead. “Keep your chin up, Liana. From this moment forward, you need to hold your head high and not take everything to heart. This isn’t the end even if it feels like it is… This is a new beginning, something you can mould into your own shape to suit yourself. Don’t force yourself to be a woman you won’t recognise tomorrow. You don’t need to pretend around us, okay? We don’t want a fake version of you; we want the real, raw and unfiltered version because that's how we are as a family. Whether you like it or not, you’re family.”
Without waiting for my response, she carries on walking, dragging me along with her.
As we inch closer to the door, the muffled chatter swarms us. My heart is pounding in my chest like a bass drum, and everything begins to sink in—whatever awaits me behind those closed doors is my fate. There’s no backing out now.
Pushing open the swinging double doors, the conversations stop and everyone shifts their gaze to us. Then they all stand in unison as we continue into the room, a whoosh of air skimming across my skin as the doors close. Everyone is adorned in suits and dresses all of the same shade, making me stick out like a sore thumb in my silver gown. I sense a running pattern here.
Approaching the head of the table, Dario pulls out the chair beside him and gestures for me to take my seat. Instead, I step around and stand in front of it, replicating everyone else’s stance.
We all continue to stand until Kat finds her seat beside Maze. As a deep cough sounds in the air, everyone moves at once, seating themselves once again.
“Before dinner is served,” Dario starts, everyone giving him their full attention, “I’d like to say a few words.” He clears his throat again, reaching for his glass. “I’d like to thank you all for being here for our last dinner as a family before introducing another. While Liana and I have started off rather roughly, I hope we can grow to know and learn more about each other in the process of extending our family. Speaking of, I’d like to announce to you all that as of the letter I received just before dinner, Liana is fit and healthy enough to bear my children. Because of this, I imagine we’ll start trying within the next few weeks. I’d like to get the wedding and honeymoon out of the way first before talking about such things.”
Everything stands still for a moment. Dario closes his mouth and stands, thrusting his glass into the air. Everyone follows, creating an arch as they all clink glasses with the person opposite them, while I remain seated, unable to move.
Across from me, Red holds his out, impatience radiating off him as he becomes irritated waiting for my glass to meet his, but I can’t move. This is all too much. The reality of the situation sinks low in my gut. This is it. This is what my life has come to. It’s like a never-ending downward spiral here-–a rather large family, all who love each other in their own demented ways, showing it in ways I will never and can never understand.
“Liana, this is where you stand and raise your glass to Red,” Dario says, leaning in, his hot breath meeting my ear. The heat sends shivers down my spine and snaps me from my fear-induced trance.
As I stand, the sound of my chair scraping across the floor startles me. I push that aside, replacing the wretched noise with the clink of my glass against Red’s.
Again, almost immediately, everyone sits back down. The food is rolled in through the swinging doors on rather elegant looking carts. The word ‘Vitales’ is engraved on the front of each of them, with an emerald-encrusted gem on each corner. It’s rather extreme for something as minuscule as a cart they’ll only ever see for special occasions, but to each their own, I suppose.
“Ma’am?” An older woman says, and I turn to face her. “We have the steak with wide-cut fries and a side salad or grilled chicken breast in place of the steak. Which would you like tonight?” She tilts her head to stare at me further, a soft smile on her lips.
“Chicken is fine,” I tell her, returning a gentle smile.
With quick movements, she places the dish on my place setting and adds three small dishes of sauces in front. “We have lemon butter sauce, mushroom cream sauce, and if you like spice, there’s hot sauce. Please help yourself to all three.” Before moving along, she curtsies and bows her head.
This is all so foreign to me. Even at the fancy restaurants my father would string me along to, the service was never this kind and accommodating. The fact there are options is a concept I hadn’t pictured, especially at their house. It feels like an elegant restaurant, one that I’ll dine in for the rest of my life.
∞∞∞
Before I know it, dinner’s over and the plates are being stacked up onto the metal carts, and rolled back into the kitchen. Like the previous seven dinners, I barely ate anything. I poked and prodded at the chicken, devoured the salad and cut the fries to give the impression that I ate more than I actually did. It’s a trick I learned growing up when my father dragged me to multiple business meetings in one night. He taught me that pushing the food around on the plate gives the illusion you’ve eaten, and keeps you from falling into a food coma before the end of the night.
The torturous dinner seemed to drag on for forty-five torturous minutes. Formalities were made, and war stories were shared by several family members. Everyone gave their personal take on marriage, gossiping about the failed ones while ensuring me I wouldn't be kicked aside if it were to happen to me. I couldn’t bring myself to speak, hoping that if I stayed silent, they’d forget I was alongside them. My stomach churned as my mind reeled.
From what I learned, marriage is a hard concept. It takes time and copious amounts of ‘faking it ‘til you make it’ to force yourself into thinking it’s real until maybe, just maybe, it snaps itself into place. If it doesn’t, then you have to live side by side and hand in hand with someone you despise to ensure you live up to their family’s expectations. And Dario’s family has rather harsh traditions and expectations to uphold. It almost sounds impossible.
Standing abruptly, his chair scraping across the floor, Dario addresses everyone in one simple word, “Everyone…” For a moment, there’s a brief silence, as they focus on him, while I swallow down the lump in my throat. “To merge two different things into one, the two options we had for dinner will be served at the wedding. If you weren’t pleased with the meal you chose, you can change your choice, but please address it with me tonight. Now, for the wedding cake tasting; there are multiple options that have been baked by our wonderful caterers. Tonight, we’ll each try one, but Liana and I will have the final say.”
He turns to face Red. “Whether you like it or not, your vote counts for nothing, Red. You’ll be served whichever cake we choose and eat it with a fucking smile on your face.”
“As long as it’s edible, I’ll live. At the end of the day, it’s fucking cake. Of course, I’ll eat it.” He plasters on a fake smile, almost as if he's toying with Dario.
“Good,” Dario says. “Liana and I will take the first slice and then the plate will be passed to the next person and so forth. Please take a slice and move the plate along the table. Hopefully, we’ll be able to decide on the first go. If not, you’re all free to leave and Liana and I will stay until a decision has been made.”
“Bring on the cake!” Red says, slouching further into his chair and unbuckling his belt.
“Redello!” Elaina warns in a low tone.
“What? The steak was good,” he says defensively. “I have to make room for all this cakey goodness. I don’t want to be restricted here.”
A few snickers echo down the table as he retracts his belt with a snap and hangs it on the back of his chair. Given the light-hearted reactions, I can only assume this happens often. I’m sure I’ll soon get used to it.
I watch him reposition himself in his chair, undoing the button of his slacks for good measure, as the cakes are carted in and displayed at the head of the table, directly in front of us. He ogles them, his eyes practically bulging out of his head as he licks his lips slowly.
“Just because they’re there doesn’t mean you can eat them yet, Red. Control yourself.”
His eyes snap to Dario. “It’s a weakness,” he shrugs. “But I’ll compose myself until it’s my turn. I don’t want to get shot days after going through the most agonising pain known to man. Actually, scrap that,” he says, his eyes finding mine. “If you ever feel the need to kick me in the balls again for whatever reason, use a gun instead. I would take a full clip any time over that. Just maybe try to avoid the balls. I’d appreciate that.”
“Don’t piss me off again and I won’t need to,” I counter, cocking my head to the side. “How are your babies, anyway? Do they still work?”
He scowls. “They work fine, thanks for asking.”
“It was more of a rhetorical question, Red. I don’t care. Next time, you should keep your fucking mouth shut. It only gets you into trouble, don’t you agree?”
He opens his mouth to speak again, but Dario chimes in, “Don’t even think of arguing back, Red. You’re not a child. Act your age and take it like a grown-ass man.”
He just scoffs and crosses his arms like a child angry with their parents, muttering something under his breath.
“What was that?” I ask, leaning closer. “If you have something to say, don’t be scared. Speak up.”
He flicks his eyes over to Dario. “You heard her. If you have something to say, speak up. If it’s not anything nice, keep your mouth shut.”
“I’m not a child. Don’t speak to me like one.”
“Then act your age and not your damn shoe size,” I retort before Dario can even open his mouth.
The rest of the night is spent in a silent and tense atmosphere, while I feel judged and eyed up by everyone as they refuse to voice their thoughts on my little back-and-forth-conversation with Red. I don’t even know what gave me the balls to speak up like that, especially to him, but maybe when I kicked him in his crown jewels, he lost his and I gained a pair of my own.
∞∞∞
We all stand by the front door watching Dario’s parents and grandparents disappear from our line of sight, venturing back to their house. Kat rests her head on my shoulder. “Are you tired?” I ask.
“All that cake is gonna put me in a sugar coma,” she replies with a soft laugh. “But I think the baby loved it.”
“I’m sure they did, baby,” Maze says, moving her head onto his chest. “Let’s go to bed.” As I glance up at him, he looks down at me, “We’ll see you in the morning, Lia. Have a good night.”
“Yeah, you too, Maze.”
He offers a comforting smile before turning to walk away with Kat, her head still placed against his chest. I watch as he gives up halfway and scoops her up into his arms; this time, burying her head into the crook of his neck.
I’ve not heard much about how they came to find each other, only that they did and neither of them would change it for the world. Seven years of marriage and they’re still in the honeymoon stage. It’s amazing, really.
“Let’s get you to bed too,” Dario says, his hand finding its way to the small of my back as he pushes me forwards.
Spinning around, I tilt my head to see him as he’s glowering down at me. “I can find my own way, thanks.”
“I’m sure you can,” he replies with a small nod, “but you’ll soon have to get used to it. As a married couple—”
“But we’re not a married couple yet, are we?” I respond, yanking my hand away from his rough palm as it finds its way to my wrist. “I can survive without pretending for now.”
He exhales, exasperated. “Just do it, would you? I dislike it as much as you do, I can assure you of that, but we both need to make the necessary adjustments in preparation for that. For now, accompanying you to your bedroom will have to do.” He leans down, his hot breath against my skin. “But eventually, you and I will retire to the same bedroom, so the least you can do is let me walk you.”
“Fine,” I breathe, leading the way. “But you can stay at the door. You’re not welcome in my room.”
I hear him chuckle from behind me before he begins following me. In just a few strides, he catches up and passes me completely.
In all this mess, I never took the chance to admire the man behind the mask. He’s all bite around me, spitting harsh words and demands like it’s a common thing. It’s going to be hell standing by him, but even knowing that, I can’t help sometimes admiring the view.
He’s as tall as his ego, and for a split second, I think I can overlook it, but then he opens his mouth to speak, reminding me I can’t. His chiselled jaw wears a light stubble, hiding his perfect jawline. His deep green eyes are always the centre of attention, the first thing you notice on him. Not to mention his biceps that threaten to break free of every shirt he wears. He’d be a perfect husband, but not for me.
The situation we’re in is because of my father’s poor money-handling skills. If I had found him on my own, things might be different. Or maybe not… He’d still be the same man he is now—holding himself on a high and mighty pedestal of power and righteousness.
Finally, we stop outside my bedroom and he steps aside, allowing me to enter. “Thank you for walking me to my bedroom. I didn’t need an escort, though.”
“We both know you could easily find your way, but like I said, it’s something we have to grow accustomed to eventually. Whether we like it or not, we’re stuck in a predicament neither of us could argue ourselves out of. So do me a favour, be a good fiancée and an even better wife, and do as I say. This is my house, my land and my family – none of these will ever belong to you. Not really.” He cocks his head to the side as he stares down at me. “Your comfort in this situation depends on what I have and what I choose to share with you. You can get as comfortable as you like with my wealth, but one wrong move and you’ll have less than you did before. You might not like it, but you need to know your place here.”
His words make my jaw tighten, but all I can do is nod along and pretend they don’t hurt me, because it’s true. Everything is true and it’ll never change. This is all his, and I’m just an intruder.
“Goodnight, Liana,” he says, emotionless, reaching in to close the door.
I stay frozen in place as I hear his footsteps walking away from my room.
That hit me harder than I thought it would—harder than it should’ve. Before I came here, I knew every single one of those things for myself. Nobody told me as straightforwardly as he did, and I think that’s what cemented everything into place. He will never be able to accept me the way a husband should welcome his wife. I am, and always will be, a business transaction to him, something to throw away when he’s finished with me.
I can see it. Once he gets what he wants from me—a child and his money back from my father—he will ship me back home. I’ll have to re-enter another uncomfortable situation where I have to make amends with the man who put me in the firing line in the first place.
I’d rather stay here and be the black sheep than face him any time soon. The hurt and the ache that courses through me when I’m reminded of my father is something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. He was supposed to love and care for me, not because his fatherly duties required it, but because he took it upon himself to protect the child he helped bring into this world. Up until now, I thought he was doing one hell of a job, but looking back on my childhood, everything that I thought was an act of good on his part, wasn’t. It was his way of preparing me for the life of being Dario Vitale’s wife; whether he knew it back then or not.