Chapter 2

"Ro, la facciamo?" Sergio asked and held out his right hand. He was now standing beside her, facing her.

He was cut an imposing figure, his tall frame encased in a black suit that spelled splendor. The fabric clung to his well-muscled chest, and the first three buttons were left undone, revealing intricate tattoos that snaked up his chest. The sight made her edgy but she couldn't look away. He wasn't even wearing a tie.

Why her? She kept asking herself.

How could her father do this to her? How could he force her to marry someone she didn't even love? Someone that looked deadly? Someone that spelled terror?

She had always wanted to marry Allen and none other. But standing before the congregation, dressed in a white wedding gown and standing beside a man who was not Allen broke her frantic heart.

Her eyes twitched, threatening to spill tears but she clicked her tongue with her teeth and tried to stop it. Her trick worked. Even if she cried in front of everyone, it wouldn't change a thing. Instead, she would earn deadly glares, especially from her father. He had long betrothed her without her knowledge so why would he care? 

Her mind was filled with lots of thoughts that she had forgotten the hand stretched out in front of her. When she finally lowered her gaze and saw it, her stomach clenched immediately and her heart started hammering wildly in her chest.

This was happening, this was real, she thought.

Taking a huge gulp, she slowly raised her soft dainty hand and placed it on his cold, firm hand. The sudden contact caused her to flinch but Sergio held her still.

He had been watching her the whole time, quietly waiting for her to take his hand. It took so much for him to exercise patience, instead of showing her exactly what he does to people that waste a tiny bit of his time. 

Together, they both turned and faced the priest who began the wedding processions. It didn't take long before they exchanged their vows before the Priest and the whole congregation.

"Till death do us part" Rosana whispered the last part with a heavy heart. She deeply wished the man in front of her was her Allen, not this man she just met some minutes ago.

Sergio stared deeply at her. Even with the veil that covered her face, he could still see how beautiful she was. Her green eyes were the first to fascinate him. They were the prettiest yet saddest pair of green eyes he had ever seen.

"Finchè morte non ci separi" [Till death do us part] He repeated the vow and slipped the gold ring into her dainty finger. 

"With the power vested upon me as the High Priest of the country, I now pronounce you man and wife!" A loud applause erupted from the congregation who stood to their feet to honor the newly wedded. "You may now..."

Before the Priest could finish, Sergio had already unveiled the bride. He was curious to see the face behind the white veil.

Rosana was curious too. She wanted to see the face of the man she was marrying. She had only heard stories. But she wasn't ready to accept the reality of things. She wished she still had time to hide under her veil where she could wallow in self-pity without anybody knowing. 

Slowly, she looked up at the man who was now her husband and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight of him. Her stomach lurched to her throat and she gulped hard. How could someone look handsome and dangerous at the same time? 

"Sei bello!" [You are beautiful!] Sergio muttered, causing her heart to skip. Did he just say she was beautiful? She wondered.

"You may now kiss your bride"

He took a step closer and her heart thumped in her chest. A voice in her head was screaming for her to run but before she could think of it, Sergio wrapped his right hand around her small waist. He pulled her closer to himself and stared into her green teary eyes.

Rosana turned cold being so close to him. The only man she had ever been this close to was her Allen but now...

"I do not want to marry you!" She whimpered, tears clouding her vision. 

"Too late" He smirked. "Sei mio, amore" [You're mine now, love] With that being said, he crashed his lips on hers, kissing her fiercely.

*

Rosana had expected a dance and a couple of celebrations afterward. But none of that happened. Instead, she was led into a black limousine by Sergio who got in afterward.

She wasn't even allowed to hug and kiss her mother goodbye. Her father had been quick to step in and whisper into her ears "You're doing this for Nino" before he disappeared.

Nino was her older brother who died a couple of years back. She was only ten when she learned about his death. She had cried so hard and begged her father to let her return to Italy for his burial but he refused. When she finally returned two years later, no one said a word about him and she was scared to ask. 

But now, he mentioned him freely, leaving her confused and clueless. How was she doing this for her late brother? What did being betrothed to the ruthless Sergio De Niro have to do with him?

Breaking out of her thoughts, she looked up at Sergio and caught him smoking from his pipe while scrolling through his phone. When he raised the pipe to his lips and stuck it inside his mouth, she stared hard in disgust. She couldn't believe he had kissed her with that same mouth.

"You know you have all the time in the world to drool over me, Bambolina. I would advise you to breathe. You look dead" He looked up at her and returned his gaze to his phone. [Babydoll]

Rosana stared at him in disbelief. 

Did he just accuse her of drooling over him? She couldn't even look at him without feeling irritated.

"I look dead because I was forced to marry you against my will. I do not love you and I do not want to be with you!"

He chuckled lightly but she considered it dark. How could she be with a man whose mere laughter terrified her?

"You will learn to be with me, Bambolina, because you are mine"

"No, I will not!" Rosana rebuffed. She dipped her hand into her cleavages and pulled out a ring. "I was engaged to the one I love before you and my father came along and took me away from him. I do not love you and I never will!"

She was stubborn and adamant, Sergio could tell. He stared at the ring she was holding without saying a word. 

She had expected him to say something. To apologize for the whole trauma and heartbreak he had put her through within the past few hours and terminate the marriage. She had hoped for all of those but instead, she got nothing. He just sat emotionless, staring at the ring with a void expression on his face.

Rosana was shocked. Did he not understand everything she had just said?

"I do not want to be with you. Do you not understand?" She yelled out in frustration. "I want to be with the man I love!" 

A minute passed before he asked quietly. "What is the name of this man you love so much?"

"Allen... Allen Iverson"

He nodded and then picked up his glass of whiskey. He downed the whole content and resumed scrolling through his phone like he had not heard her.

Rosana waited for him to speak but he didn't. She kept out an exaggerated sigh and looked out of the window sadly. What was going to become of her? She thought, fighting back the tears that threatened to roll down. 

*

The limousine finally pulled up in front of a gigantic mansion and before Rosana could decide whether to step out or not, the doors were thrown open.

She sluggishly got down from the car and looked around her in shock and admiration. Her mouth dropped. She had expected Sergio to own one of the biggest houses in the country but she had not expected it to be so beautiful and wonderfully built.

She was lost staring around and wasn't aware of the men that bowed to her with their heads almost touching the ground.

"Where is he?" Sergio inquired, standing beside Rosana.

"We have him, Boss." Alfonso, one of his men replied, still bowing. "What should we do?"

"Take me to him, I will take care of him myself" He then turned to Rosana who stood clueless, and offered his hand. "Shall we?" 

Rosana didn't know what was going on but she followed him anyway. She kept admiring all the places they walked by until she heard someone crying and screaming.

She was terrified. She wanted to stop and run back but Sergio held her firmly, forcing her to walk with him. Finally, they entered the room and everywhere went quiet. Even a pin drop could be heard.

Rosana blanched at the sight in front of her. The man who was tied to a chair was bleeding profusely from everywhere. His right eye was pulled out and his fingers were chopped off.

Quietly, Sergio unbuttoned his suit and with the help of Alfonso, he took it off. He then rolled up his sleeves, exposing his strong tattooed arms. He cracked his neck and finally stepped into the light.

"I heard you tried to attack me" He started, walking over to a table in the room which was filled with torture equipment.

"I... I was ordered by Grasso Romon!" The man confessed without being asked.

"È così, hmm?" [Is that so?]

"He has my family!" The man cried. Tears rolled down from his left eye and blood from his right eye socket which no longer had an eye.

"You should have let them die rather than make such a mistake"

Sergio picked up a hot blazing knife from the furnace and dived it into his stomach. A loud ear-piercing scream erupted from both the man and Rosana who stood in the middle of the room. 

But Sergio wasn't done.

Instead of retrieving the knife, he let it burn his insides till they spilled out of him. The man could hardly breathe. He was barely alive.

Sergio picked up a knife and drove it into the middle of his chest. He carved it down and drove it to the left, right under his heart. When he was done, he stood to admire his work before digging his hand into his chest to pull out his heart.

Rosana screamed again, her heart racing wildly. All the blood drained from her face and she was left in shock. She couldn't believe it... She just couldn't.

The man was now dead and Sergio stood with his heart in his hand. After looking at the vital organ for some seconds, he threw it on the ground and turned to Rosana. She looked pale and couldn't even move or speak. 

"Let's go, Bambolina," He said to her and grabbed her hand, taking her away. She couldn't even think or ask questions, she just followed him.