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He wouldn’t, would he?
My stomach turns at the thought, and the anger begins to boil beneath my skin. Keep it together, Nat. You are almost there.
“Here is your handsome husband. We couldn’t complete the shoot without him in it. Thanks so much for coming at the last minute,” the stylist says to Alessandro.
“Anything for my beautiful wife,” he says, which makes all the women swoon and me want to vomit.
“Can I get you two to stand over there?” the photographer says, pointing us to where he would like us to be.
“Hey, sweetie,” he says, kissing my cheek as he greets me for the audience. I grimace at his touch which he notices as I haul up the layers of my dress and walk over to the spot we have been directed to.
“Can you wrap her in your arms?” the photographer asks Alessandro as he stands behind me and wraps his arms around my body.
“You look like a swan,” he whispers as the flash of the camera goes off. I ignore him. “Did you choose this dress? It’s not very you,” he mumbles as we pose for the photos. The photographer calls out other positions he wants us in, and we do it. I end up facing him, cupping his cheek with my hand.
“Did you organize this?” I ask him through gritted teeth.
“Yes,” he answers as he stares down at me with those slate-green eyes. “Payback for the interview.” My stomach turns and coils beneath the boning at his remarks, the corset tightening as I try to suck in a breath. “Can’t believe you set your brothers on me today.” What is he talking about? My brothers? I never sent them anywhere. “They don’t have a lot of faith in you to convince me to change my mind.” His words hit their intended target, my chest. The corset tightens as I struggle to breathe. He spins me around and dips me as he kisses my neck for the camera. The sound of the flash going off echoes in my ears. When he brings me back up, the room starts to spin. “Nat, are you okay?” Alessandro asks as he stares down at me. I shake my head.
“I need to get out of this dress,” I tell him as panic starts to take over.
“Guys, that’s a wrap,” Alessandro tells them. I can hear people moaning and arguing, but it all goes silent once Alessandro raises his voice and tells them in no uncertain terms the shoot is done, he is taking his wife, as she doesn’t feel well, and they are leaving. One of the assistants directs him to the dressing room where he slams the door in her face. He unzips my dress, and the stupid gown of feathers falls to the floor, leaving me in nothing but my underwear, but I don’t care because I can breathe again. I suck in a couple of deep breaths letting the cool air rush over me. Then I grab my clothes and start to get dressed.
“Natalia, are you okay?” he asks.
Tears well in my eyes as my anger takes over. “Get the hell out of this room,” I roar at him. The intensity of my words stills Alessandro, and I can see it takes him a split second to realize I’m not joking as he unlocks the door and closes it behind him. Oh, thank God. I try to suck in some breaths as I feel a panic attack coming on. I try to quickly get dressed and focus on my breathing.
Keep it together.
You just need to say thank you, you feel sick, and get the hell out of here. I center myself before I turn the handle of the dressing room. I’m greeted by Alessandro who is standing there with a frown on his face.
“I told them you weren’t feeling well and were going to go home,” he explains.
I’m thankful for that, but I don’t say anything. I crouch over and disappear out of the studio ignoring him calling after me. The lift isn’t there, so I decide to take the stairs down to the garage.
“Natalia, wait,” Alessandro calls out.
“Leave me alone,” I call back, knowing no one can hear me as I quickly rush down the stairs. I try to concentrate on not missing one as the tears I’ve been holding back start to fall.
“No. Are you okay?” he calls out.
“Please, go. I don’t want to speak to you,” I yell as I make it down the stairs. Opening my purse, I pull out my keys as I run toward my car.
“Nat, wait. What’s going on?” Alessandro asks as he makes it to the bottom of the stairs and is now rushing behind me.
I ignore him and try to unlock my car, but before I get to hear the beeps, he’s on me. His hands grab me and swing me around, his cheeks flushed as he’s rushed after me.
“Leave me alone,” I yell at him, unable to stop myself from breaking. There’s confusion on his face as he stares at me losing my mind in the underground parking garage. He tries to reach out to me, but I push him away.
“Natalia?” he says my name quietly as if he’s trying not to spook me.
“Don’t,” I say, pointing at him.
“What’s happened?” he asks.
“What’s happened?” I yell at him. “You took a really important moment in my life, one that I’ll never get back, and cheapened it as a way to get one up on my family.”
Alessandro stares at me, confused by my words.
