Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 

BELLA MARINO 

Why my dress is so tight? I can't breathe… I'm standing inside the church and I'm getting married… to the man I haven't seen in ages. I swear I'm going to pass out in a few minutes. 

“ Breath, Bella!”, Fabio tries to soothe me.

“ I can't breathe, Fab. My dress is so tight. I can't feel the air exhale my lungs.”, my voice rising through peaks of panic.

“ Don't panic. You're fine. There's no issue with the dress. You're giving yourself a panic attack.” he rubbed his hand on my back, trying to ease my nerves.

“Do as I say!”

“Breath in!”

“Breath out!”

“Deep breaths, Bee!!” Fabio instructs me, and I follow his steps.

He takes my hand in his and tries to calm me down. The fast, rapid breathing was slowing down, and the dress was not tight anymore.

“See!? Just a panic attack!”, he assured me.

He is always so good at calming me down. I can't help but smile. 

“ You look handsome!”, I whisper.

“And you look deadly gorgeous, Bee!”, he whispers back. His eyes roamed around the dress and finally resrestedmy face. A smile appears on his face followed by a frown.

“ He don't deserve you, Bee!”, he sighed. 

“ It's no more about who deserves me or not. Let's just go with the flow at this point, Fab. We're under contract to do this.” 

Tears burn my eyes and I notice a longing in his eyes.

“ Barones and Marinos are all about money. At least after this, Marino's are definitely after money.”, he passes a sarcastic smile.

“ I can't see my Papa losing everything due to me. He has worked hard all his life, and I can't even think of messing these things up for him. I have to do this whether I like it or not!” I stare down at our intertwined hands.

“ Well, I don't like it, Bee!”, Fabio spits.

“ Who don't like what?”, my father enters the room and questions. 

“ Go, take a seat, Fabio. Wedding is about to start.”, he sternly tells him.

I watch him open the door and leave the room. I was able to catch a glance at people seated in the church hall. Anxiety reaches its peaks again. 

“ I don't think I can do this, Papa!” I simply say, turning my eyes to him. 

“ You can. And you will!”, he sternly says, words uncompromising.

I never had a say in any of my doings. He was the disciplinarian. From a very early age, I realised that it did not take long for him to reach his belt and change my no into a yes. 

He could sense the tension in my nerves. 

“Bella!” he calls out, facing me.

“You have to do this. For your family!”, he reminds me. 

I nod. Even though I want to scream NO.

The song begins in the church hall and doors open. My legs protest, but we're forced to move.

“ It's time, Bella!”, he announces and places a light peck on my cheek before pulling down the veil over my face.

He orders the ushers to open the doors of the church hall,  and immediately, all eyes are carved on me. 

I can't feel my legs, but they're moving. I feel like I'm flying. Or is it the sheer force of my dad that I'm walking? 

On the right are the Barones,s and on the left are the The Marinos, who were at war decades and are now sitting across and witnessing a union for peace. 

All I could remember about Enzo was that he was the sweet boy who sneakily exchanged muffins with me one day.

And then, one day, he just pushed me to the ground. I remember going home crying with the bruises and skin cuts I had due to him. 

And now I'm going to marry him. 

With all these thoughts, I never realised that I'd reached the altar where my ruthless husband was waiting for me.

My father stopped walking, and I stopped. He faced me and pulled my veil over, kissing both my cheeks and forehead, taking the bouquet away and squeezing my hand; he went away. 

He walks away, leaving me alone.

And again, I can't breathe. The dress feels tight again. I hardly take any further steps to the altar and dare not face my future husband, who is standing right by my side. 

“ Face your future husband…!!” the priest says.

And I turn. 

And I face the boy I've seen in years.

I stare into his grey eyes that used to hold innocence and are no less than the devil's grey eyes now. He's tall and brutally handsome. He's so tall that I've to strain my neck to see him. His sharp jawline makes his features more prominent. 

I'm taken back to the boy I met at the playground. Both are the same persons but with entirely different personalities. He stares at me with his dark grey eyes, which can scare the death away. 

I snap my eyes shut and look at the priest with a look that screams NO!!! But the priest simply ignores them and starts the vows.

“Bella, do you promise to honour and cherish Enzo in sickness and health, till death do you part as your husband?”

Blood pulsing through my ears. My lungs are short of breath again. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes blurred with tears. I glanced in the room towards my Dad who gave me an imperceptible nod. 

“Bella?”, the priest speaks again.

“I do!?”, which sounds more like a question than an answer.

The priest says the same to Enzo and he replies,” I do!” His dark, deep voice pierced through my ears. 

“ You can exchange the rings now”, the priest commands.

And soon after my husband was thrusting a huge diamond ring in my finger.

I panic again as I don't have a ring with me. A box appears from my side which contains a simple platinum band. He forwards his large veiny hand forward. Tattoos were peeking through his shirt. 

As soon as I make him wear the ring he pulls away, like my touch will burn him somehow.

The priest explains the importance of rings and commands.

“I now pronounce you as husband and wife.”

“You may kiss the bride now.”

What!

Before I can register what the priest just said. Enzo leans in and places a cold, consequential peck on my cheek.

He could have slapped me instead because that's what his peck felt like. Normally, after someone gets married, there are cheers and a wave of happiness from all ears in the church. But the church fell silent today. I'm glad Barones and Marino are sitting under one roof, and no one has been shit yet.

Not soon enough, Enzo wraps his hand around my arm roughly and takes me down from the altar. I no longer feel like a bride but a prisoner has been taken to jail.

I am glad that we came home instead of going to Enzo's home just after the ceremony. Whether it was just to pack the things I was relieved. Fabio and I came to pack my things in the room.

I plopped down on the bed and started to register the events that had just happened moments ago. My stomach was growling because all I could have was a slice of bread before the ceremony. 

“ Can you please get me something to eat, Fabio? I am starving!”, I request Fabio. 

“ On your service, Madame!”, he exclaimed and went downstairs to grab something to eat. 

I will be moving in with Enzo, my husband tonight. The thought of sharing a room with him or a bed gives me chills and makes me nauseous. 

Fabio came back with a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk and handed it to me while moving to the closet to pack my things. 

“ Only these?”, he questions.

“ You know I never had much!” you speak, munching on the sandwich. 

“ These are merely 5 to 7 shirts and 3 pants? Are you serious?!”Fabio questions.

“ You know I never had much!” 

“Just pack that outfit of my mother's carefully!” gulping on the milk, I instructed him.

“ Roughly 5 to 7 shirts with 3 yoga pants and a sweater and a dress of your mother's. Plus 2 pairs of shoes? Is that it?”, again a question appears from his side. 

“ Yes, Fab. That's it.”, I confirm.

“If that's it then we're good to go.” 

“ You know Fabio, we can spend a lot more time together pretending that we've got huge stuff to pack.”, I said, winking at him mischievously.

He glanced towards me and reached me. And in a moment of a second, he was hugging me. This hug felt more than a goodbye. But all I could feel was nice. 

“ Fuck, Bee. I'm going to miss you.”

Tears fill my eyes and I hate to admit that I'm going to miss him terribly. 

“ Maybe I can talk to your father to be with you?”Fabio whispers in my hair.

“ You could be my bodyguard. Because I don't have one … right!?”, I say.

“I'll need one..!!”

“Bodyguard..I like that. But will your father agree to it?”, he counter questions.

“Let me handle it!”, I assure him.

After a few hours of pretending to pack things, Fabio and I go downstairs to my Father's office. He was busy with some paperwork and watched me over the rim of his glasses. 

“Fabio is going with me as my bodyguard when I live with Enzo Barone!”, I announce. 

“ All right! That's fine.”

I expected a fight but it turned out to be easy. 

“As long as Enzo Barone is okay with him staying, I don't have an issue.”, he simply says.

I never thought about Enzo protesting this decision. I'm a thousand percent sure he'll not agree to this, but he has to. 

I need someone to at least protect me in that house, to be at my side. Maybe even to protect me from my husband.