Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 

Enzo Barone 

I woke up early just to eat those double chocolate muffins baked by my mom, the smoked fajita sandwich french fries with extra ranch sauce, and a big hefty glass of Oreo milkshake. All I could think was of food even in my sleep. 

Mama said I was going through some kind of growth spurt so she makes me a big breakfast before heading to school so that I'm not empty stomach before my lunchtime. 

After getting changed, I ran down to the kitchen, but I slipped badly on the tiled floor. At first, I thought it was some kind of dirt or water spilt, which made me slip. But as I glanced at my shirt and hands, it was all red.

Blood.

A lot of blood Everywhere.

Only red blood.

Why is there so much blood?

But as I crawled to the right of the kitchen counter, I saw my mother. Her throat has been slashed three times with a sharp dagger. She's still alive as blood pours out of her.

“Mom, mama. Stay with me. Somebody help us!!” 

As soon as I hugged her she collapsed in my arms. Her eyes were stuck on me and she was trying to speak, but no words came out. I quickly covered the wounds with pressure but the blood was seeping through my fingers. 

“ Somebody help us, please!! Mom. No, Mom. Open your eyes, Mom!!” 

A shallow voice erupted.

“Enzo. Your…….mom…love….!?” 

And she went numb. 

Her body goes limp in my hands. I sat there stunned and rocked her the way she used to rock me when I went to sleep. 

She's dead. 

She's dead.

Mom's dead.

Mom's dead.

“Enzo!!” my dad's voice roared in my room, and he barged into my room,m, waking me out of the nightmare.

I'm covered in sweat from head to toe as I sit up straight. It takes me a moment to register where the fuck I am. I rarely see my mother in my dreams; but when it does happen, I always wake up confused and terrified.

Dad moved towards the windows and removed the curtains. Sharp rays of sunlight pierced through the room and made me go blind, and my headache made it worse. Thanks to the hangover.

“Good morning, Dad!”, I tell my father.

“Good afternoon, Enzo!”, my dad reciprocates the greeting sarcastically. 

I intentionally grabbed my phone from the nightstand and watched the time. 

“Shit!!”, I hissed.

“What did I do this time that you have to pay me a visit without calling me and too early!!”, I spitted. 

I still need a moment for myself to register my surroundings. My brain needs some time to focus after some good booze and great sex last night. 

Today marks my mother's death anniversary, and to make myself numb from all the pain, I just decided to fuck my pain and agony with good alcohol and a sexy girl.

“We need to discuss your grandfather's will.”, my Papa informed me.

“ What do I have to do with this will? Has he passed all his territories to me?” I grumbled sarcastically.

“Come down all dressed and sober up.”, my father instructs. 

I floo back in my bed and tried to rewind what good I might have done that grandfather mentioned me in his will. I was never that frank or close to him. I just sighed and went to shower.

After getting a good boy shower and dressed in a black tailored suit, I went downstairs to the lobby where my father was waiting for me with his coffee. Another order came its way that the grandfather's will would be discussed in my childhood home. 

The car ride was silent, and I just made a few calls to clear my schedule and cancel all the meetings I had on the ride home, which was once filled with peals of laughter and the scents of my mother.

Another wave of flashback hits me when I used to rush home just to hug and kiss Mom. The door is the same but there is no Mom to welcome me. 

As we settled ourselves in the study room, my father gave me the will and I swear to god by reading this I could only say; 

“What the fuck is this?”

“A Union”

“With the Marino's”

“For fucking peace”

“He can't fucking do this!”

“ Then get ready to beg on the streets.”, my dad snarled.

I flipped back on my sofa and read the remaining will. A union between Barones and Marino's is fucking ridiculous. 

“As far as I remember, both used to hate each other. How could they agree to this bullshit and make us oblige to do this!?”.

“I am not going to marry a Marino!”, I spit out.

“We need to honour their will, and after all, it costs us the empire that we made with our blood, sweat and tears.”, my father simply says.

“ She won't agree to any of this! So this is useless. There'll be a way out!” I roared, slamming the papers down on the table.

“She has already signed the necessary paperwork, and they've faxed me the papers this morning.”, he says, passing another piece of paper to me.

All these years, both of them have been enemies and inherited the same hatred for us, and now, in the last hours of his life, he decided to order me to marry Marino. 

“If he had told me anything earlier, I'd have talked him out of it. But it appears that both grandfathers kept this to themselves and marks the same condition for both of us.” my father sighed.

“Peace! Huh! My foot!!”, I was still in a state of shock.

“ Maybe they thought this union would stop more blood from shedding. After all, we've got a lot to this war. He just didn't want us to lose more dear ones to this war.”, he simply said staring at the picture frame on the table. 

Tragedy on tragedy, mother's death anniversary followed by this stupid will to marry a Marino. 

“ Do I have a choice?”

“No!!”, it was more of an order than an answer 

“ How much time do I have?”

“One week!!”

“If I've to marry her to save what I've made and earned so far from my hard work, then I won't be faithful to her!!”

“I won't love her!!”, I added one more condition.

“Son, we're talking about marriage. We're not talking about love, dear boy.”, my father remarks sarcastically.

“Will you sign the papers now?”, another question.

“I'll sign!” I signed the papers and roughly broke the nib of the pen I signed with. 

I'll marry Bella Marino.

I'll follow the terms of the will to get access to everything I've built over the years. But there's no way not to take your anger out on your bride-to-be. She will be my wife in name and I'll make her life a living hell. I'll make her regret her existence for signing the contract. Wait and watch Bella for what you choose for yourself.