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I still haven’t told the Malgeris that my Father is a lying, double-sided scum they shouldn’t trust. I had to lie to Daniel when he asked if I had seen those men before.
“Everything’s going to change if they find out. You. The deal,” Beatrice mumbles.
“I wouldn’t be safe when they do so I need to go. Disappear far away from here, from the Malgeris and from Father.”
“To where? Father’s men will always find you. We’ve seen that now too many times.”
“Not when I change my whole identity in another country. I can’t stay here any longer. He’ll have me as his slave for threatening to expose him.”
I’m not just going to be running away from Father this time but also from Alessandro and the charade of a marriage I agreed to. It was all a huge mistake in the first place.
I’m the stupid one here with an ache in my chest for him, just to hear his voice or see his pretty gray eyes. When all I am to him is a deal.
He would never have found me if I wasn’t his only option to get a coke supply. I stop myself from letting out the tears building up in my eyes when I come to the bitter realization that I’m literally nothing to him.
I was so foolish to think he wants me the way I want him. Alessandro is so damn good at playing these games. I’ll never be more than a deal to him. Or granted, a sex toy at most.
“Adriana, what’s wrong?”
I feel hot, damp moisture roll down my cheeks. I had no idea I had let my tears out.
“I miss Mother,” I lie. Not that I don’t miss her, but right now, my tears are just flowing to confirm the misery I am left in. She falls for it quickly and doesn’t question me any further.
I can’t let her know I’ve fallen in love with Alessandro… this ignorant son of a ‘Malgeri’. No one can know. I just have to find a way to stop these stupid feelings and stop him from intruding into every space in me. And I mean both emotionally and physically.
“I’m here for you,” Beatrice says. She holds my shoulder and squeezes gently. She lets go of me as Father enters the room. He has a brown hat on with a toothpick hanging low at the edge of his lips.
I stiffen on the bed, not allowing him to see me all vulnerable now.
“Beatrice, leave us.” He has a black and white suit on. His white hair is in a ponytail at the back of his hat.
“Father, I need to-”
“Leave us,” he repeats firmly, cutting Beatrice off mid-sentence. She locks eyes with me as she stands to her feet.
“Be careful,” she whispers before turning to the door.
Her beautiful, flowing yellow sundress sways with her body as she leaves.
I keep my eyes glued to the ceiling as Father takes the seat she stood from.
He smells of vodka and cigarettes. I can feel his eyes on me with the uneasy silence in the room. We haven’t spoken since I got here. And I still don’t want to speak to him now.
“I always knew you’d be as tough as your mother.”
I keep silent, with my eyes still fixed on the ceiling.
“You’ve always been like this since you were little. Stubborn and a little bit spoiled because of her.”
I finally drop my eyes to meet his.
“You won’t keep this going forever, mia figlia (my daughter). I’ll make sure I crack you and make you come to your right senses. Then, you’ll wish you had actually died that day.”
He stands to his feet. His belly shoots out with just one button saving him from a wardrobe disaster.
“No one questions me. That deal is just to buy me some time while I plan on taking them down. And you, you will not ruin that. You will be my warning sign to others,” he proclaims.
I’m breathing heavily, taking a fistful of the sheets. I want to jump at him and use my fingers to hurt him, just as he keeps hurting me.
