They say a single moment can change your entire life. A decision taken in the heat of the moment might cause you pain, sadness, or even make you fall in love. In conclusion, you must be careful with your impulsive actions. And this is what happened to Willow and how her story began. Willow is an orphan girl who works as a cook in a restaurant; one day on her way to work she saved a little girl who keeps calling her mama. Elijah watched the scene scared as the demons of the past choked him reminding him of the time when his wife died right in front of him but then his world shook when his daughter spoke for the first time in three years. He decided to take the woman who saved his daughter back home with him but then his life changed entirely. Love, fear, self loathing and pain were the real MCs of this story where Willow and Elijah had to fight their feelings and their demons in order not to lose themselves to the pain.
View MoreCAMILLA'S POV
Six moons had passed since my departure from the United States to Italy alongside Papa. The experience had been unbearable; Papa made me improve my combat skills each day, a sacrifice that now seemed useful.
While Camillo thrived in college with Ivy, excelling in football as he had promised Papa and I. The unavoidable day arrived sooner than anticipated—Papa had arranged a union for me.
I had no interest in marriage; I avoided relationships entirely, damaged by Dante's betrayal. The thought of being married off to a random, bald, older man with a stomach overshadowing his cranium disgusted me.
Regardless of my feelings, the inevitable was emerging—a pact struck with Papa upon my arrival in Italy. In Papa's office, we awaited the late arrival of the future groom. Papa glanced at his watch for the sixth time.
An hour had gone, and I was becoming so impatient. "Perhaps he won't come. If he does, inform him he wasted your time and call off the arrangement."
During my stay in Italy, I discovered the threatening side of Papa, a horror beyond the strict father dealing with Camillo. The citizens here were dangerous, often armed, and our residence was filled with armed guards—a stark contrast to our American abode.
"Princess, the man we are dealing with is difficult. Despite your irritation at his delay, comport yourself when he arrives. He is ruthless and won't hesitate to harm either of us."
"Why must I marry him?" I objected. "Is this the future you planned for me? A lunatic ending my life over ineffectively cooked eggs?"
Papa attempted to speak, but a guard's announcement interrupted. "Firmino is here!"
Papa adjusted himself, a level of dedication I had not witnessed before. I turned towards the entrance, prepared to confront the man to whom I am unintentionally committed to.
Contrary to Papa's descriptions, he strolled in confidently, perfectly dressed in all black, with silky hair neatly brushed. He appeared strangely younger than expected—no more than twenty-eight.
His physique showed attraction; muscles defined beneath his undershirt. His countenance, however, remained solemn, devoid of a hint of a smile. Upon reaching us, I extended my hand with a
courteous smile.
"Lucas, I presume. I am Camilla."
He looked me up and down and then bypassed me, directing his attention to Papa. "Do you have it?"
A pang of rejection struck me. Papa laughed nervously, "Yes, sir, right here."
Attempting to hide the document, Lucas was not impressed by Papa's movement. "With all due respect, Mr. Firmino, I cannot surrender my title deeds without assurance of your commitment to marrying my daughter."
He glanced at me and then preceded, he sighed. "I will take her."
Anger took over me. Was I an object he could simply claim? "No! I refuse to marry him, Papa. He couldn't even arrive on time," I responded as he turned away.
Papa dismissed my objections, dismissing them as jokes. "I'm not marrying him."
Finally acknowledging me, Lucas approached me, his towering figure casting a shadow over mine. "You have no say. I will marry you to secure your father's title deeds," he stated harshly.
My fists clenched, and I sought Papa's involvement. "Will you allow him to talk to me this way?"
Ignoring my plea, Papa directed Lucas to take the documents, highlighting their significance. "Once wed, I expect her protection."
Papa reluctantly surrendered the papers. With a final glance, Lucas left the room, leaving me angry. "What was that!?" I demanded from Papa, who avoided eye contact.
"Papa, please," I pleaded, dropping to my knees. "He is already cruel to me. Did you witness his nonchalant attitude to me when I introduced myself?"
Papa's forceful hand on the table made me flinch. "You will wed him. End of discussion!"
Chapter 24,willow,I stared at my reflection in the mirror and just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.I looked so….different, all dolled and glammed up. I looked like I was sparkling. Even the air around me was sparkling as well.The dress Elijah chose for me was so beautiful even though it made me feel a little uncomfortable because at first glance you might think that it was very conservative.But in truth, it is nothing like that. The entire thing was black lace with something beneath it covering the entire skin. Even half of my neck was covered. Just the shoulders were showing from the lace.It flowed beautifully until it reached the floor. It was so moderate and gorgeous, but then if I turned round to show my back, you would find this huge gap showing my entire back. It even reached my ass, almost.I mean if I lean a little it will show, and it is hard to wear an underwear beneath it because it will show and ruin everything.I really loved the dress and Elijah’s taste is super
Chapter 23Willow,I sighed as I sat on the kitchen counter, then looked around me. The place was quiet and gloomy even though I had some people around me.“Miss William, if you need anything, please go to the living room and I will get it to you. There is no need for you to stay like this in the kitchen.”Henry said respectfully, even though I could feel his annoyance and basically everyone else in the kitchen as well.I have been moping around for a couple of hours, maybe three or even more. But I felt alone and depressed without Angela.She had left to see her grandfather and even though she begged me to go with her, I couldn’t do it. Why would I meet the man, I’m not part of the family.But I got that she didn’t like those kinds of visits and she wanted some emotional support, though I asked her if her grandpa was harsh to her but she said no. I was still confused by her reaction, to be honest.So here I am sitting in the kitchen, which felt familiar to me, and looking at the same
Chapter 22,Elijah,“Papa, I want to go home to Mama. I don’t want to see Grandpa. I don’t like it there.”Angela said in a small voice as the car drove us to the mansion where the rest of my family lived. And honestly, I wanted to turn around and go back home, too.I don’t have the mental and physical power to face my father at the moment, especially when I know that he will open that topic again. Marriage.But I can’t refuse to go or just have some excuses because then he will come to the villa and he will see Willow and I’m not ready to tell him anything about her yet, or ever.I know how will he react when he knows about the entire situation and why we are staying together and I know his opinion about it.He won’t like it or like Willow. He never liked Diana, which was one of the reasons I left the mansion and married her away from everyone.The car stopped in front of the huge iron gates and the guards opened them for us and our SUV just stopped in front of the huge stairs.“Ange
Chapter 21Willow,“Miss William, Willow, Mr Lance told me specifically to send you home. He doesn’t want you to follow him.”“I’m not his slave or working for him to order me around. I will go with you, Robb, and if you don’t take me with you, then I will find someone else who would.”“Just look at the little miss. She is tired and scared. This was too much for her. She needs to go back home.”“And I will take her after I make sure that her father is okay. Now move and let me in.”I snarled at the man who was staring at me, fed up and just angry with my stubbornness. But I won’t back down, I must go to Elijah.At first, I was confused and I won’t lie. I was scared a little; I have been trying to stay away from angry men and to me; he was the opposite of that.He was always sweet and kind to me in his own way, and there was this tenderness in his eyes that I thought was only preserved for his daughter, but after a while of living there with them I saw it aimed at me as well.And this
Chapter 20Elijah,I stayed in the car for half an hour, fidgeting and basically afraid to get out.I have promised Angela to come and get her and forgot that she is here with Willow and I will have to face her.And honestly, I still wasn’t ready to do it, yes I’m a cowardly man and I should be embarrassed with my antics but still, I couldn’t gather the courage to get out of the car and tell Willow that I was here to collect them.“Is something wrong? Do you want me to go inside and get them myself?”Robb said from where he was sitting and I shook my head silently before taking a deep breath and just got out of the car and walked toward the restaurant’s door.The place was eerily silent, and I was confused about why because there were customers sitting at the tables and had their food in front of them, but they weren’t eating. They were watching something with interest.Just when I was about to look that way, I heard a man shouting at someone and his voice was menacing, and my frown
Chapter 19Willow, “Mama.”“Mama.”“Mama.”Angela called my name for the millionth time today, and I turned around to look at her as she sat on top of a small table at the end of the kitchen.Today I decided to visit the restaurant, and she cried and threw a tantrum so I had to take her with me, of course, after her father allowed it.“Yes, angel. What is it?”I asked her patiently as I put what I was doing on a counter and went to where she was sitting, fidgeting. I knew that this would happen, but she insisted on coming with me.“When are you going to be done here? I want to go home. Papa said he would come and take us back when he was done with his work, but you two are taking so long.”The little girl whined and sighed, so I kissed her face and hugged her a little. She seemed so tired and bored at the same time.“Do you want to go to my apartment for a little nap? I will send your guards with you, too.”I asked hopefully, and she shook her head against my chest, then pushed me aw
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments