2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Luciana
The sight of Matteo standing in my bedroom doorway makes me breathless in a way I don’t understand.
Maybe because he’s intimidating in his dark suit and strong build.
Maybe because he’s incredibly handsome that it’s almost difficult to look at him.
Or maybe it’s because I was just told I am going to marry this man who I have never met before.
His eyes sweep past me and look around my bedroom. They land on my stuffed animals on the floor. “Interesting. What did they do to you to make you so angry?”
“What?”
He nods at the stuffed creatures. My teddy bear and giraffe and whale with large eyes. So kid-like. “Your stuffed animals. What did they do to you to make you throw them on the ground like that?”
I look between him and my stuffed animals before blushing. “Nothing. I’m just…”
“You’re just upset you were told you’re going to have to marry me.
Is that it?” He strolls into my room without my permission and walks over to my teddy bear and picks it up.
Seeing the small fake animal in his hands sends a strange sensation through me.
Embarrassment. Fascination. I’m not sure which.
“I wasn’t told anything. I am sorry for my outburst.” I was always taught to apologize whenever things went wrong, even if it wasn’t my fault.
“Your father didn’t warn you. It makes sense why you’d be upset. Told you’re going to marry me within seconds of meeting me. It must be jarring.”
“It is.”
He sets the teddy bear on my bed and turns the full might of his eyes onto me.
“You have to know something about me, Luciana. I am a man of my word. I agreed to marry you and I intend to honor that. I don’t appreciate anyone going back on their word.
Gabriel tried to do that to me before and I don’t plan on letting him get away with it a second time. We will be married.”
I frown. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I don’t know all the things Gabriel Romano gets up to. He’s my father’s boss. I don’t ask questions.”
“You’re a good girl, I take it.” He steps closer to me. There’s a glint in his eyes that makes me want to step back but I keep myself from moving.
“I was taught to be.”
“That’s good. I like a woman who knows her place.
But are you always this good? Or do you have something darker inside of you?
Underneath the surface?” His fingers skim down my arm and goosebumps break out on my skin.
I gasp, stepping away from him. “My apologies. I shouldn’t have touched you.
We’re not married yet. I won’t take liberties. ”
“No. You shouldn’t have. We just met. You’re a stranger to me.”
“And yet, we’ll be married in a month. We won’t be strangers then. We have a wedding to plan.”
I didn’t even think about that. I always dreamed of planning my wedding – it’s a high honor for a mafia girl – but the thought of planning a wedding to a stranger makes a heavy weight settle in my stomach.
The urge to throw up hits me but I hold it back.
The last thing I want is to embarrass myself further with Matteo.
My stuffed animals on the ground feel like they’re glaring holes into my body.
“Of course,” I whisper.
He smirks. It makes him more handsome but also more terrifying. I know nothing about this man. Is he nice? Is he evil? That’s the question mafia girls have to contend with when it comes to arranged marriages.
“I’ll see you at the cake tasting. I scheduled it for later this week.” He nods at my teddy bear. “Cute animal.” Then he leaves my bedroom and finally, I feel like I can breathe.
My hands find my teddy bear and hold it close to my chest as if I need the protection. As if a fake animal made of stuffing can actually protect me from what’s going to happen.
The moment the garden party is over, I confront my father in his office. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He bows his head, clearly in shame. Good. I want him to feel bad for not preparing me. “I just couldn’t. You’re my daughter, Luciana. My baby girl. I’ve raised you myself all these years after your mother died. I couldn’t let you go. I didn’t want to let you go.”
“But this was going to happen and you didn’t even tell me. You should have told me. I needed to be ready. Instead, you threw me to the wolves.”
“I know I have raised you with a light hand but this is no way to speak to your father.”
I scoff. “You didn’t tell me that I was going to be married when you should have. You don’t get the right to say that to me.”
He stands to his feet, slamming his hands onto the table. “I am still your father. And you will show me respect.” His hard tone speaks to no disagreements.
I immediately shut my mouth because that’s what I was taught to do.
“Now,” he says with a nod, “I am sorry I didn’t tell you. I wasn’t ready to lose you. You have to understand that. Matteo is…”
“Matteo is what?”
“He tried hurting Gabriel and Leo last year. And I didn’t want you married to a man who I can’t trust. But here we are.”
My spine tenses. “What do you mean he tried hurting Gabriel and Leo?” Leo is Gabriel’s right hand man.
He’s been around at parties before but other than that, I haven’t spent much time with him.
I know he married a woman named Emma a year ago and that was that.
I’m kept out of the goings on in the mafia world most of the time.
For my protection as my father would claim.
To keep me sheltered. To keep me his little girl forever.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I don’t trust him.”
“So why am I being married to him then? I think it does matter. Tell me.”
He narrows his eyes. “You don’t get to make demands of me, daughter. I don’t like this new tone with you.”
“Maybe if you had told me you agreed to a marriage alliance with a man I have never met before, I wouldn’t be so upset.”
“Because I didn’t agree to it!” he shouts, making me flinch. “Gabriel is forcing my hand. If I had my way, I’d never let you get married. But it’s not up to me. You have to marry him. And that is that.”
“But why do I have to marry him? Why him exactly?”
“For peace. He will bring a war to our doorstep otherwise.”
“What did he do?” I ask. “Please tell me. Don’t keep me in the dark forever. Clearly, it hasn’t helped matters.”
With a sigh, he sits back down in his seat.
“Gabriel promised Matteo Leo’s wife Emma in exchange for peace but Leo wasn’t happy about that.
So Gabriel went back on his word and told Matteo he wouldn’t be marrying Emma.
It made Matteo angry and he attacked Leo and kidnapped Emma.
Gabriel offered you to Matteo instead for peace and I have no choice but to go along with it. I have no say in this, Luciana.”
“So I’m being married off to a man who has kidnapped a woman? Who has tried to hurt the people closest to you? That’s my future husband?” I ask, horrified.
“I’m afraid so. Which is why I didn’t want you to know. I wanted you to live in ignorance for a while longer. I am sorry for putting you in this position, Luciana, but I am not sorry for trying to give you more moments of peace before the truth came out.”
“But the truth was always going to come out and I deserved to know. You should have told me.”
“It doesn’t change anything,” he says.
“I would have been prepared to meet Matteo. Instead, I felt like a fool in front of him.”
“This is happening. I am sorry to say that but it is. I have to give you up and it’s killing me inside.”
“What about me?” I whisper. “You’re only speaking about how you feel. But what about how I feel? What about me, Daddy?”
Shame crosses his features and he bows his head, not responding. With a huff, I storm from his office. Once my father decides a conversation is over, that’s it. There’s no more talking until he decides to resume it.
None of this is fair. Yes, he’s my father and I love and respect him. But he holds my life in his hands. And now my life is being given over to another man. To Matteo. A man I just learned has committed horrible crimes against Leo, Gabriel’s right hand man.
How am I supposed to marry him? How am I supposed to survive this?
When I return to my room, I grab my teddy bear and hold it close to my chest. Most likely, I’ll have to give up everything I know. My bedroom. My stuffed animals. How ironic that I wanted to get rid of them just days ago.
But now, I want to cling onto them for dear life because I know everything is about to change.
The bakery is beautiful. Soft wood tones. Warm lighting. The smell of cinnamon and vanilla in the air.
Or it would be all beautiful if I didn’t have to attend this cake tasting with Matteo.
He’s waiting for me inside the bakery with his back to me.
His strong looking back. Matteo has a strength to his build which is both handsome and terrifying.
Conventionally, he’s everything a woman would want in a man looks wise.
But that means he has the strength to hurt me if he chooses to do it.
And knowing he’s not opposed to kidnapping means he could hurt me at any moment.
He turns around at the sound of my high heels on the hardwood. “Ah. Luciana. You’re here.”
“Yes.” It’s my duty to be here and I will honor my duty but it’s taking everything inside of me to not run away. “Let’s try cakes. That’s what you wanted.”
“We both want a delicious cake for our wedding, do we not?”
“Of course.” I plaster a fake smile onto my face though it doesn’t stretch far. Matteo smiles back and I can tell it’s just as fake as my own. What is he thinking? What does a man who looks like a model and who clearly has money and power have on his mind?
He motions for me to sit down at one of the tables in the corner.