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19: The Arrangement
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Faking It 20: The Drive
“I-I thought Bill would take me h-home…” I replied as I twisted in my seat to face him. He was striding through the small kitchen watching me in return. His shoulder raised. “Slight change of plans. Olivia’s information requires some fact-checking and that’s not my role here, so I’m free.” “And you’re choosing to spend that time with Rose?” asked Alyssa, a smile to her voice. I didn’t dare glance back, too focused on maintaining a casual expression. In truth, I was pleased he wasn’t going to be working all day again. As an offering, he held out a hand to me and spoke to Alyssa, saying, “Yes, I am. The rest of you bore me.” His eyes flicked to mine questioningly, and I slid my palm onto his. With a gentle, effortless tug, he pulled me to my feet. “Are you and Danny heading home?” Alyssa sighed. “G’s good with the fact-checking, so I’ll hang around until he’s ready to go. What are you planning?” Armani squeezed my hand, which I realised he was still holding. “That depends on
Faking It 21: The Bonding
Armani’s favourite restaurant was more reminiscent of a small town caff. We walked inside together, still holding hands, and took a seat in a corner opposite one another. Although there was another young woman in a similar dress to mine, he looked completely out of place on his casual suit, the closest outfit being a pair of trousers beneath a polo shirt. After just a couple of minutes looking at the menu, a small figure caught my attention beside the table, and a young man asked for our order. The moment Armani looked up at him to answer, there was a soft gasp followed by fast footsteps rushing toward us. Anxiety rose up inside me as an elderly woman came to a stop with her hand on the waiter’s shoulder. “Cartelli,” she said, eyes wide. “You little shit, you haven’t been here in years!”Armani smiled so completely that I was stunned to silence. “Hi, Gigi.”“You’re so grown, my god!” Pulling the young man away, she stepped in front of him and reached out for Armani. He willingly sto
Faking It 1: The Predicament
~ Rosanna's POV"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?!"Dad was yelling again. He'd never been the tamest father in the world - he'd always liked to open his mouth to argue with those around us - but I had still never seen him like this, so worked up and red in the face. I was worried he would make himself faint from stress, though I was certain there was nothing to stress about. Olivia would come back - what reason did she have not to?... except having to marry a man she'd only known for two months and was only interested in wearing her on his arm like a trophy. But at least she seemed to have a positive view of Mr Cartelli, whose name she would soon take on. It could have been a lot worse."Dante, please," said Mom, "she just stepped out for a minute. There is still plenty of time before the wedding begins."Dad glared at her - another first. "We have barely twenty minutes.""And she is mostly ready. All she needs is to put
Faking It 2: The Altar
Olivia was a wonderful seamstress and designer; this was something the whole family had known for a long time. But I never expected her to be able to produce something so beautiful for someone who didn't even want a wedding.My floor-length, lace white dress was covered in embroidered flowers and leaves that I knew must have taken hours to delicately perfect; the sheer sleeves had a branch of leaves falling down to the slim wrist. I felt like a princess, but one who was being tortured when I was handed the shoes I was supposed to wear.Whilst Olivia and I were completely different sizes in clothing - I was the thickness of a stick and five-foot-one, compared to her healthy weight and height of five-foot-five - we could still wear the same shoes. And Olivia happened to wear a lot more heels than I did, so the pair of peep-toe white heels with matching flowers embroidery and a thin ankle strap, would not have been a problem for her. I, on the other hand, was barely able
Faking It 3: The In-Laws
The doors closed behind us at the end of the aisle, trapping our guests so the only way they could leave was through the door into the reception room. We'd been showered in petals and sent to sign the real contract before we had to join the rest of the party.Armani didn't hold my hand after the doors shut, so I struggled to follow his lengthy strides in the direction of another room. He didn't seem to notice that I couldn't keep up, but he did wait at the door of an office-like room instead of totally abandoning me."T-thank you," I muttered, slipping through the door he held for me. "Um, what happens after this?""We sign then have to enter the party," he replied quietly. He sat down in a chair, which made him seem much less scary. His incredible height was turned into nothing more than less than mine. Although, it didn't look like he was that much shorter than me sitting down, and that was a kick to the ego.I cleared my throat. "Yes, but do we... do w
Faking It 4: The Discomfort
Armani and I sat down in the midst of both of our families. He was beside his father whilst I was beside my mother, and the rest of our families stretched on from there at the long table.Looking around the room, I didn't know many of the people, but I figured they were more Dad's friends than Olivia's, so I didn't have to worry about anyone wondering why the bride had been switched. Most would convince themselves that they'd simply had the wrong sister in mind - this was what my mother told me when she caught me staring at the guests.Dad made a short toast to bringing our families together, which he was clearly overjoyed about since it meant he didn't have to pay lots of money to the Cartellis. I pondered over how I could replace that money, as it must have been a large sum for my father to sell one of his daughters just to avoid it. But then, Dad had always been protective of his cash.After a meal that allowed me to rest my feet for a while, I was forced to
Faking It 5: The Trip
If anyone noticed the bride had shrunk three inches, they didn't mention it.I was more excited for the party now that I didn't have to worry about falling over or hurting myself, and Bella was quick to start dancing with me as a result. I let her take the lead, spinning me around and pretending to be my partner, whilst smiling the whole time. It felt good, given the circumstances, to be able to have so much fun.But the part of the night I had been quite nervous for since finding out about it was coming up: we had to leave for our honeymoon.The word honeymoon still sent a shiver down my spine that I couldn't seem to avoid. I didn't like the connotations it brought with it, specifically that it suggested we would be sealing our marriage with physical intimacy. No matter how sweet Armani seemed to be, I would not be doing that when I hardly knew him.Bella spun me around one last time, tugging me into her chest and wrapping her arms around my wai
Faking It 6: The Questions
"Do I need to drug you?" "W-what?" I flung upright from my seat, my eyes locking on his. I could have sworn there was a glint of amusement in them but it could have been insanity. "Do I need to drug you?" he repeated in the same serious tone. "I can't stand how tense you are. It's making me uncomfortable." My posture collapsed. "I-I'm sorry, I've just... never really been on a private jet before. Hardly even a normal plane." "Does your father not own a private jet?" I shook my head. "I thought a man such as himself would jump at the opportunity to own one, but I could be wrong." "Could be?" Armani brought his drink to his lips. "Even the people closest to you could be hiding something, Rose." When he put down his glass, a thought flickered across his eyes. "What will ease your nerves, then? A drink?" He pushed the glass toward me, but I quickly pushed it back. "No, thank you... I don't..."'I don't want
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Faking It 21: The Bonding
Armani’s favourite restaurant was more reminiscent of a small town caff. We walked inside together, still holding hands, and took a seat in a corner opposite one another. Although there was another young woman in a similar dress to mine, he looked completely out of place on his casual suit, the closest outfit being a pair of trousers beneath a polo shirt. After just a couple of minutes looking at the menu, a small figure caught my attention beside the table, and a young man asked for our order. The moment Armani looked up at him to answer, there was a soft gasp followed by fast footsteps rushing toward us. Anxiety rose up inside me as an elderly woman came to a stop with her hand on the waiter’s shoulder. “Cartelli,” she said, eyes wide. “You little shit, you haven’t been here in years!”Armani smiled so completely that I was stunned to silence. “Hi, Gigi.”“You’re so grown, my god!” Pulling the young man away, she stepped in front of him and reached out for Armani. He willingly sto
Faking It 20: The Drive
“I-I thought Bill would take me h-home…” I replied as I twisted in my seat to face him. He was striding through the small kitchen watching me in return. His shoulder raised. “Slight change of plans. Olivia’s information requires some fact-checking and that’s not my role here, so I’m free.” “And you’re choosing to spend that time with Rose?” asked Alyssa, a smile to her voice. I didn’t dare glance back, too focused on maintaining a casual expression. In truth, I was pleased he wasn’t going to be working all day again. As an offering, he held out a hand to me and spoke to Alyssa, saying, “Yes, I am. The rest of you bore me.” His eyes flicked to mine questioningly, and I slid my palm onto his. With a gentle, effortless tug, he pulled me to my feet. “Are you and Danny heading home?” Alyssa sighed. “G’s good with the fact-checking, so I’ll hang around until he’s ready to go. What are you planning?” Armani squeezed my hand, which I realised he was still holding. “That depends on
Faking It 19: The Arrangement
Olivia had to leave shortly after dropping the bombshell that she’d arranged for the Cartellis to meet up with the Yehudas if they chose to, and suddenly I felt more out of place than I had before. I opted to take up an offer from Alyssa to tour the building, most of which belonged to the family except a restaurant on the ground floor and a couple nice apartments above it. I hadn’t noticed it when we arrived. She walked me through all of the offices and facilities, but since Danny had been very quietly walking alongside us, she didn’t dare enter a room she called the armoury. I doubted it really was that but I didn’t want to find out either. Almost two hours later, we came to a stop in a kitchen on the same floor as the main offices, and sat down opposite one another with mugs of coffee clutched between our hands. I’d barely said a word the entire time, as she’d happily explained everything she could about the family and how it operated. It was so alien to me. “So,” she finally
Faking It 18: The Surprise
I could not help myself from flinging into Olivia’s arms as she grinned openly at my shock. She wrapped me up completely, the four inches between us seeming far more than it ever had. Realisation of how much I’d missed her and my other sisters quickly settled in but she pulled away too soon. Her gaze was locked across the table at Giorgio, who she wagged a finger at as she said, “I am not a stray, child.”“To us, you are,” he remarked, high-fiving a none the wiser Danny like they were a couple of high school boys. The actual child just smiled on trying to keep up with the conversation clutching at his mother. Olivia didn’t waste much energy on the interaction, taking my face in both hands to squeeze me with a slightly scrunched nose. “I missed you, Rosie. Is this how it’s going to be now you’re married?”I opened my mouth but slammed it shut again. I didn’t know. So far, it seemed I could spend time with Bill and no one else, as we hadn’t really talked about having other people in t
Faking It 17: The Rules
“For that reason, we’d like to set a couple ground rules with you.” “Nothing major,” Madeline added as she gave her husband a look. “We just want to make sure that both Dante and our family are comfortable with this arrangement. And you, of course.”Leo rolled his shoulders. “Information is best kept quiet unless it’s already been discussed by Armani and Dante directly. Anything you see while you’re here if you choose to visit regularly, will need to be a secret. Depending on how involved you want to be, you’ll know what you can and can’t talk about with your family.”My lips pressed together. I didn’t know anything as a baseline besides what the business itself was, and that it wasn’t exactly legal… at all. I doubted I’d be able to differentiate what was meant to be a secret and what wasn’t, so I resigned myself to accepting if I did visit, I’d have to avoid mentioning it at all to my sisters or family as a whole. Perhaps only Olivia would be an exception, though even then she was i
Faking It 16: The Cartellis
“Everyone will be here, but if you’re overwhelmed, you can just stay in my office. Whenever you want to go home, Bill will drive you back.” “I-Is he coming up, too?” I whispered. Armani shook his head. “The bodyguards stay downstairs on another floor to the offices. We have plenty of security, it would just get crowded.” I nodded slowly and glanced down at my lap. I wasn’t sure I was ready for this. Despite weeks at this point of getting used to Armani, I didn’t know if so many people I’d only met once would freak me out. After all, I wasn’t like most of my sisters; I could command a room or thrive in conversation. I was always the one they were hiding with their bigger personalities. “Wait here a second,” Armani told me and got out. I didn’t move, still staring at my lap when my door opened and a hand reached in. Recognising the move, I took it, standing up beside a man whose shadow cast over me easily. He shut the door, nodded at Bill across the garage, and led me toward an el
Faking It 15: The Bedhead
Unable to believe Bill’s story, I immediately got to work. Despite his protests, I marched into the kitchen to make food and leaned on the lessons my grandfather had given me: Italian cooking. Bill continued to dispute that I didn’t have to do anything for him, but even my heart felt heavy after hearing what he’d been through and I wasn’t about to let him go back to the annex alone. We ate lunch together at the kitchen island and he told me a little more about the various stages of his employment with the Cartellis. I listened eagerly to every word, until afternoon crept toward evening. It was only as I heard an engine outside that I remembered I had a husband who hadn’t been home all day. Bill politely smiled at me and stood to leave, informing me of where he would be yet again if I needed him. I resisted the urge to tell him I wanted him to stay, and turned toward the door as Armani stepped through. “Mr Cartelli,” said Bill, nodding on his way past. “Bill.” Armani’s head twis
Faking It 14: The Backstory
It took only one day for Armani’s duties to call him. I should have been used to it by now after my father’s consistently busy schedule, but I wasn’t and a part of me already missed his company. We hadn’t done much the day before, merely hanging out in the same room as we had for most of our honeymoon. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be all that different today — well, that was what I thought. Shortly after I’d eaten breakfast and wandered into the living room, I heard a door opening inside the house and a small part of me panicked. Then a familiar face twisted into a slight smile. “Oh,” I whispered, “I-I didn’t know were h-here.” Bill motioned behind him at what I understood to be just a little hallway to a utility room, as Armani had informed me during our tour. “It’s safer if I live in the house, Mrs Cartelli.” “In the house?” He nodded. “There’s an annex, of sorts, just down this hallway with everything I need.”That felt wrong. Didn’t Bill have something he’d much prefer doing? If
Faking It 13: The House
Inside was a dream; tall walls, open space, windows so big you could see everything yet nothing at all. The isolation of the property both excited and scared me, and the longer I walked around holding Armani’s hand, the more I began to feel a little hopeful again. My concerns over the last day felt silly — presumptuous. Though a part of my brain was still very aware that this could turn sour very quickly, I allowed myself to enjoy this simple few minutes with my fake husband and even smile, just a little bit. Feeling a bit like we were touring a celebrity home rather than his own, I followed Armani to a long hallway of doors on the second floor, which was a lot smaller than the ground, until we reached two at the very end. Both were double, made of wood but sturdy and thick. “These are our rooms,” he told me, then led me into one of them. “Your sisters thought you’d like this one best.”The bedroom in question was already furnished like most of the house but none of that grabbed my
