Chapter 3 #2
My anger had clouded my questions, but now that I understood the situation I felt calmer now.
Calm enough to see this from all angles.
Although I had no intention of being bartered off, I could understand my father’s fears.
It made sense for him to worry about what might happen to me when he was no longer around to protect me.
Foolish as it was for him to expect marriage to protect me in this day and age, I could sympathize with his desperation to see me safe.
Yet, as much as my father wanted safety for me, I wanted freedom for myself.
I was determined to live life on my terms and no one else’s.
If I knew who it was I was supposed to be engaged to, I’d have enough information to talk some sense into the would-be groom.
The groom couldn’t be any happier about this than I was.
If we formed a united front, the pair of us could put an end to this sham marriage.
“Who are you trying to marry me off to?” I asked, curiosity overtaking me.
At my question, Papa turned to look at me. There was a pained expression on his face, regret flickering in his eyes. “Lorenzo De Luca. They call him Enzo.”
I felt as if I had been slapped across the face. “What?”
“Forgive me, Lena,” my father pleaded.
It was as if the railing were giving way, and I was teetering off the edge of the balcony. I blinked in confusion. My father didn’t beg.
This had to be a joke. Or a test. My father’s way of figuring out if I could be trusted to run his empire. He was suggesting our mortal enemy to see if I was loyal. Surely that was the reason for this madness. No other explanation was acceptable.
“Tell me you’re joking, Papa,” I said, keeping my tone even.
I needed answers, and I couldn’t get them if I let my emotions get the better of me.
That had always been my weakness—my temper.
But I rarely lost my temper in my father’s presence, and I certainly wasn’t foolish enough to direct my ire at him.
Despite this insane situation, I would have to fight to keep my emotions under control.
“I am not joking,” my father said to me.
Disbelief made it impossible to keep my emotions in check. I stumbled backward, too shocked to stand still. “Enzo De Luca is one of Don De Luca’s sons.”
“I’m well aware,” my father said, turning to face me.
“You cannot be serious,” I said, shaking my head vigorously. I knew about Don De Luca’s sons. Knew that this Enzo was his right-hand man, but I was so shocked that I couldn’t remember much about him specifically. “This must be a mistake.”
“Have you ever known me to make mistakes of this magnitude?” my father asked, his tone somber.
“No, of course not,” I responded.
“Very well then.” He let his words hang over us, refusing to elaborate as another wave of shock surged through me.
Desperation took hold and I could not contain myself any longer. “They tried to kill you. They killed Uncle Tony. The De Lucas have been our greatest enemy my entire life.”
“That is why we need to go through with this marriage,” Papa said forcefully. “We need to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.”
I felt sick to my stomach.
The thought of marrying a stranger had angered me, but marriage to a De Luca?
I was now shaking with rage. They must have conned my father into this deal somehow, though I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to trick my father.
Still, Don De Luca could not possibly want to marry off one of his sons to his sworn enemy any more than I wanted to marry one of them. So why push for marriage?
At a loss for words, I stared at my father in stunned silence, not knowing what on earth to say next.
“Did you hear what I said?” my father demanded, impatience in his voice.
“Yes, I heard,” I finally said. “I cannot go through with this. I will not.”
“Lena—”
“You want me to marry one of the men who tried to murder my father?” I interrupted, now too angry to watch my tongue. “You’re not just selling me off to be married, you’re putting me in a lion’s mouth.”
“This will bring peace,” my father said.
“Peace for who?” I demanded. “There won’t be any peace for me living with a man I despise. A man who despises me. This is a trap, Papa.”
“The negotiations have been thorough. With incentives and consequences for both sides,” my father said. “Together we can put a stop to this war and keep you safe.”
“That family will never be the key to my safety,” I hissed. “A husband like that would endanger me. Endanger all of us. You would be inviting them into our home, into our lives—forever.”
“I’m well aware that marriage is a long-term commitment,” my father said, chiding me.
“It is also a choice,” I flung out. “A choice that you are trying to take away from me.”
My father moved from the railing to take a step toward me.
But that only pushed me further away as I edged backward to put some distance between us.
All my life I had practically worshipped my father, and yet now it felt like I was looking at a stranger.
There was now a gulf between us—created in part by the De Lucas.
That he couldn’t see that he was being manipulated by our enemies shocked me to my core.
My father was no fool. The very idea of him being tricked was laughable and yet, that was the only explanation that my mind would accept.
“I’m doing this to protect you,” Papa said, hurt flashing in his eyes as he watched me back away from him.
“You’re trying to protect me from the De Lucas by marrying me off to one of them,” I said angrily. “That is senseless.”
“It makes the most sense,” my father said, disagreeing. “Not only does this arrangement give you a husband to protect you, it removes the De Luca threat entirely.”
“They are my enemies. You expect me to marry one of them. To have children with one of them. You want my children, your grandchildren, to be De Lucas?” I asked icily.
“We’ve made peace with our enemies before,” my father said.
“Not the enemies who kill our friends,” I shot back. “After everything the De Lucas have done, you’re telling me that instead of making them pay, we’re going to reward them for it? Reward them with marriage to me?”
There was weariness in Papa’s eyes. “Believe me, Lena, I know that they will never be worthy of you. No man will ever be good enough for my daughter. But if we lived life that way, then you would never get married, would you?”
I clenched my teeth together, my hatred coursing through me. “I would rather die alone than marry one of them. Why this? If you’re desperate for an alliance with them, just bring them into the fold. We can negotiate a deal. No need to force me to marry.”
“Marriage creates a bond that’s much harder to break,” my father explained. “It makes bonds between families much stronger.”
My temper flared so quickly that there was no controlling it anymore. I balled up my fists. “I doubt you have anything to teach me about strength. Not after you capitulate to Uncle Tony’s killers. How easily you betray him—”
“Watch your tone, Valentina,” my father warned, his own tone merciless and razor-sharp.
It was rare for him to speak to me that way. In fact, I couldn’t think of the last time he’d used that tone with me. It was the tone he used right before he was going to punish anyone who was reckless enough to cross him.
Gone was the fatherly, mild-mannered man who listened to me and encouraged me. In his place was the man that our enemies had to deal with. Tears stung the backs of my eyes. It felt as if I was losing my father. Yet another loss I could blame on the De Lucas.
Seeing how committed he was to this insane plan, I got the sense that engagement was so iron-clad, that going back on it would mean war. Certain death for some of us.
But I was still too angry to stay silent, despite my father’s harsh tone with me. “Just wait until my mother hears about this,” I threatened.
“She knows.”
Stricken, I gasped as the truth finally hit me. The people I had trusted the most had known while I had been kept in the dark. My father, my mother, cousin Frankie, all of them had known about this and never told me. The betrayal was so stark that the pain was almost unbearable. I felt like a fool.
Cousin Frankie had tried to pretend that my eyes were playing tricks on me when I spotted one of the De Luca men in the hallway. Instead of trusting myself, I had trusted cousin Frankie.
My vision blurred with angry tears. I was prepared to throw out another retort, but my father turned away suddenly to glance down at the courtyard.
“He’s right on time,” my father said, sounding satisfied.
So that was what this night at the opera was. A trick to force me to meet my groom.
Through my tears I saw the figure of the man standing below. From this distance it was hard to make out the man’s face, but I didn’t need to see him up close to know. After all, they had chosen for me. He was the man they expected me to bow down to. Well, I wouldn’t. Not tonight. Not ever.
Determined to face my enemy on my own terms, I quickly brushed my tears aside. I wasn’t going to show any weakness to this Enzo De Luca. He would get the full taste of what a Romano was capable of. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I will follow your orders, but my heart will never agree to this match,” I said to my father.
Papa looked at me sharply, rebuke in his eyes. “I had hoped you would go willingly.”
“Never.” I threw my shoulders back, meeting my father’s stern gaze without flinching. “But I will meet him. I want to take the measure of this man.”
And when I did, I would make Enzo De Luca regret ever agreeing to marry me.