Chapter Eight
Andrea
It was sickeningly perfect to watch Sofia slow dance in the arms of the love of her life.
She had her head placed on his chest, clad in a simple beaded white dress for the evening reception, while Adriano had discarded his suit. He was left in his button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves, tucked in black slacks.
The duo effortlessly took the spotlight in the middle of the now-transformed vibrant and colorful garden.
Laughter echoed through the air from the large group of guests. Cutlery clanked against plates, and glasses and champagne flutes clicked against one another. A soft, classical music hummed from the background somewhere, aiding the ambience of the magical space.
I looked away from the newlyweds, sipping my champagne while struggling to push back the bitter taste at the back of my throat.
The days leading up to the wedding had been nothing short of gloomy for me. Luciano had been around, but at the same time, I barely saw him. With my family, he managed to convince them that we were on good terms, but behind closed doors, if he wasn’t hate-fucking me, he was avoiding me.
He had hijacked the game I had been playing from me and made it his.
When I was the one playing, I hadn’t realized what it meant to be on the receiving end until now. It hurt like a bitch, but I had too much pride to admit that.
He never looked at me anymore when he was fucking me. He always did it from behind, and as much as I enjoyed it, it clawed at my heart.
It made me realize that I hated not being the center of his attention.
I glanced around to notice his empty seat. I should have known he had disappeared for the umpteenth time tonight when I couldn’t feel his gaze drilling holes into my body anymore.
I hissed through clenched teeth, rising to my feet to go find him. He was supposed to be my fiancé. He should be by my side and not be missing.
The clicking of my heels on the brick floors floated through the air as I moved away from the party space. The music in the background slowly faded, replaced by the chirping of birds and crickets.
“You need to get the fuck away from here now.” I heard Luciano’s angry voice—that was more emotion than he had put into conversing with me.
I furrowed my brows, hastening my steps until I arrived at the front of the villa.
I’d recognize his back view anywhere—broad, still, and commanding. That was how I was able to figure out that he was the one who had his back turned to me. However, confusion gnawed at me when I noticed he wasn’t alone.
Someone else was with him.
“You disappeared.” The cold, smoky voice filling the air sounded like it belonged to the agent of death.
“I won’t disappear. You have only been keeping track of my movements because you want something from me,” Luciano hissed. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Father wants you back home.”
Luciano scoffed. “Yeah, you can tell him to piss off, or better still, if he really wants to see me, he should come find me himself.”
There was aggressive rustling and grunting, causing my heartbeat to spike harder.
“Stop!” I screamed.
Both men turned around, and that allowed me to see the rough hold Luciano’s shirt was secured in. His blue eyes darkened once he saw me.
“Get back to the party,” he growled.
“Let my fiancé go or I swear to God, I will disfigure your face,” I commanded, marching toward them.
“Fiancé?” The strange guy turned to Luciano. “You’re engaged. Is that why you have not been to Sicily?”
“Leave,” my fiancé insisted, glaring at me. I ignored him, stopping before both of them.
“I’m not going anywhere, so shut up and get over yourself,” I said through my teeth. “Are you deaf?” I barked at the guy still holding him.
Our gazes locked in a heated stare down, and I refused to back down despite being intimidated.
He released Luciano roughly, causing him to stagger backward. “Father would be so pleased to find out what you have been up to since you have been gone.”
“Yeah, run along, dog. Go and bark it all to him.”
“Father?” I blinked, confused. My eyes widened as I connected the dots. “You are his brother.”
Luciano’s brother shot me an icy stare and spun around, heading away from us.
“You didn’t tell me you had a brother.” I turned to Luciano, who was already looking at me.
“Well, now you know,” he said with iciness. “He’s the adoptive one, yet he’s much more favored. The perfect son,” he sneered.
My heart bled. “Oh, Luciano...” I tried to touch his face, but he jerked away from my touch.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I frowned.
“Act like you care about me when all you’ve done is shut me out,” he seethed, adjusting his cuffs.
“Why are you being so mean to me?” My voice trembled.
“I’m not. I’m just playing the same game as you, pretending I don’t care. Guess it must hurt, huh?” He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me flush against his chest.
“Stop it!” I hissed. “You are just being an ass because I said I don’t want you.”
His fingers roughly slipped under my dress, shoving three fingers quickly inside me and removing them. His fingers dripped. “Does this look like you don’t want me?”
I moaned. “I’m trying to save you.”
“It’s too late for that,” he whispered against my lips. “I’ve already fallen in love with you.” He sounded so wounded. He slowly released me from his grip and walked away from me.
I stood there, immobilized, trying to wrap my head around what he just said. I blinked, gasping softly. I struggled to rein in my tears, shaking my head like I was trying to convince myself that it wasn’t true.
When I eventually succeeded in pushing it to the back of my mind, I returned to the party. He was already in his seat like he didn’t just drop a bombshell earlier.
I tried not to glance at him, so I looked at the stage to see Sofia grabbing a mic.
“Good evening, everyone.” She smiled as though she wasn’t a venomous, condescending bitch. “My husband and I are so glad to have you all grace one of the most important occasions in our lives.”
The guests cheered.
“Aside from wanting to appreciate you all for making time to be here, I believe that there’s someone in this gathering that I have immensely wronged. I need to ask for her forgiveness. That person is my sister, Andrea.”
I choked on my champagne.
I was hit with confusion. Everyone suddenly had their eyes on me. And Sofia? She had on her best innocent look. If I hadn’t been a victim of her bitchiness several times, I’d have fallen for the act. She was up to something, and I didn’t like how it made my skin crawl.
“I have spent so much time being hard on my sister despite how much love she has shown me.” Her voice shook.
What the fuck? “I spent so much time thinking she had everything handed to her on a platter. The perfect looks, the perfect life, the perfect job—even the love of our parents. It wasn’t until recently that I found out it wasn’t true. ”
Sofia, what are you doing?
My body stiffened.
“When I found out that my sister was engaged, I was so happy for her.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I thought to myself that love was finally happening for my sister. It came as a shock to me to find out that my sister, whom I loved so much, thought that the family would hate her if she wasn’t engaged like me.
She got desperate enough to hire a fake fiancé. ”
The ground shifted beneath me. My eyes widened as gasps echoed through the garden. Cold sweat broke out on my skin, and my mouth felt too heavy to move.
“Stop this madness, Sofia!” Papa yelled.
My eyes instantly filled with tears.
“I know, Papa. I was in denial until I heard this too.” She sniffed, waving her phone in the air.
“This whole thing you are doing, being so nice, acting so obsessed with me. You need to stop it. There’s only so much I can take.
I already told you. This is an arrangement.
You were supposed to come here as my fake fiancé and keep up with the charade until the wedding is over.
Not get under my skin and fuck me like you can’t live without me. ”
That was my voice. Sofia had me recorded. She overheard Luciano and me in the room.
I gasped, slapping my palms over my mouth to prevent a sob.
“Did I push you too hard to do this? I’m so sorry, Andrea. I’m so sorry.” She sobbed. “I had returned to the dressing room to pick up my purse. She didn’t know I heard her. She didn’t.” Her fiancé rushed to her side to console her.
The world was spinning on its axis, and I was suffocating. I didn’t know what else to do.
I couldn’t face everyone, so I ran.