Second Thoughts in Milan

ELENA

Milan wasn’t proving to be everything I had hoped for when I returned. I had started to regret not completely leaving to start my life on my own terms. Not having the resources needed for sustenance had driven me back home, but it was starting to feel like I had made a terrible mistake. My father continued to pressure me about the wedding with Rogerio.

I was tired of giving excuses, telling him we were still working on the plan when, in reality, nothing was happening. All I had gotten from this entire ordeal was a lavish bachelorette party. And money— lots of it. I had enough to keep me afloat for a few weeks, but my main goal hadn’t been achieved yet. When I returned home, my father made me promise to get Rogerio to marry me again; he wanted the union as a way to gain access to the Thuthai family.

Knowing my family, I could tell that he had nefarious plans beyond what he told me, but my role wasn’t to ask questions. I had one job: to marry the heir of the Thuthai family wealth,