Our bags are already in our room at the foot of the king-size bed.
“I’m jumping in the shower; do you want to join me?” Stefan asks as he takes off his shirt.
“No, thanks,” I reply as I take off my shoes.
“Doll, I’m so sorry about that,” Stefan exclaims the minute we reach our bedroom. “Don’t mind him, my father was way out of line.”“Whatever... don’t worry, you put up with a lot of crap from my mom, I guess it’s my turn to deal with your hostile parent,” I reply feeling dispirited.“Oh, no, doll. You don’t have to put up with anything, I’ll talk to him, don’t worry, I won’t allow this to happen again,”
I barely contain a scream when someone pulls me by the arm back to the dining room. It’s Agatha who is pulling me as hard as she can with an unfriendly expression on her face, then she gestures me to keep quiet. I feel a chill in my body. She just saw me spying on his brother and nephew. Is she going to rat me out? I’m supposed to be pretending to be innocent and naive, if they realize I’m spying on them I won’t seem so innocent. I may have put the whole plan in danger.“You know how much trouble you can get into for doing that? If Romano realizes you are eavesdropping he is going to lose it! My brother is an angry man with very little patience and he already has a poor
I sleep like a baby and when I wake up I feel rested and in a good mood. This mansion is beautiful, it’s almost hard to remember that it is the hiding place of my worst enemy. I most keep that in mind, this is not a vacation resort and I am not on a Holiday break, I’m on a mission. Stefan seems in a better mood too. I’m glad he is already over his father’s harsh words.
We go downstairs to the dining room, but dinner is still not ready, for some reason, Agatha wants us to wait until midnight to eat. Instead, she takes us to the library, where the rest of the family is gathered, including Romano who is once again drinking scotch. He makes a grimace when he sees me come in and then looks the other way, ignoring my presence. Nonna Julia waves at me so I get close to her, I walk pass Romano ignoring him just as he is ignoring me.“I know we are supposed to wait until tomorrow to exchange gifts, but I’m old and I don’t like to wait. I knitted this for your baby,”
I still feel full from all the food that we ate last night, but that doesn’t stop nonna from serving me a big portion of scrambled eggs and potatoes. Romano is not having breakfast with us, so at least we get to have a harmonious morning. Unfortunately, my joy doesn’t last long. “Lucas is going to the docks to see the shipment off. I suggest you go with him, you know what to do.” Romano says as he walks in the room followed by a
The firsts rays of sunshine slip through the beige curtains, I haven’t slept at all, I feel exhausted, but I can’t stay in bed any longer. My head is going to explode with all the fears and thoughts I’m having. I jump in the shower, wishing that refreshing my body will help me clear my head too, but it doesn’t. My whole body is trembling, I can’t control my nerves. I step out of the shower and hear a lot of noise in the bedroom, I wrap my body in a towel and I peek out the bathroom door to see what’s going on.
A week goes by and Stefan's condition has not improved one bit. I resent Romano for not letting me go to the hospital, but at least he hasn’t come near me since the day he ordered his men to go through my belongings, he spends most of his days out of the mansion, probably in the hospital or searching for the people who did this to his son.I’m waiting for Agatha to come back from her daily visit to Stefan when I hear a loud bang on my door.
I stay in bed until morning comes, I’m overwhelmed by emotions: the loss of my parents, the fear of losing Stefan, and the concern for my own safety. Romano’s men are still standing outside the bedroom door, they haven’t moved an inch. I don't feel safe, they can come in any second and shoot me or do whatever Romano tells them to. I’m completely vulnerable. I can’t be alone, I have to be near Agatha or the grandparents so they can intervene if Romano tries to harm me. I ask the guards to let me go see nonna Julia. They seem reluctant, but finally they agree. They walk next to me to nonna’s bedroom and stay outside the door in case I try to go out. I don’t, I stay with her the entire day. We eat