3| Hell. Fuck. No.

ROSALINDA.

Antonio Russo’s charm worked on me. Again. His presence had such an immense effect on me. An effect that made my body react to him in ways that it shouldn’t. I hated it. I hated him. Not only because I disliked his annoyingly bossy nature but also because he was my sister’s fiancée and I wasn’t supposed to be attracted to him. But I was.

 

"What’s happening here?" Papà asked briskly as he approached us.

 

"Rosalinda here needs to be taught some manners." Antonio said as he slouched on the chair where he was seated. "I wonder why you aren’t strict with your daughter’s. Strict enough to stop them from sneaking—" He paused, darted his gaze at me, and smirked smugly. "I mean, stop the them from going around and disobeying people."

 

What was his deal? He was punishing me by making me believe he was going to expose my sneaking escapade to Papà. And hell yeah, his punishment worked because I almost hyperventilated. If Papà ever found out that I usually sneak out of the house, I’d be done for real, because that would mean the end of my social life. And not only would he put extra care into watching me; he would use my dirty past to shame me and make my life a living hell. Hell, no.

 

Papa darted his gaze at me and shot me a glare before returning his gaze to Antonio. "I apologize for her manners." He said and sighed before asking. "What did she do?"

 

"I asked her to drink a glass of wine, and she refused." Antonio reclined in his seat and clicked his tongue. "How disrespectful."

 

Asshole.

 

"You choked her because she refused to drink?" Papà asked, and I could sense the mild irritation in his voice.

 

He also found it annoying. Who forces a woman to drink wine while flaunting their power in the process?

 

Antonio placed his hand on the desk and started tapping it gently with his fingers. "Yes."

 

"I apologize." Papà sighed before flicking his gaze at me. "You can go."

 

Nodding my head, I dashed out of the office.

 

I hate him. I grunted as I made my way to my room. He was so annoying, proud, arrogant, and bossy. He was the embodiment of all the negative character traits. At that moment, I pitied my sister, for she would have to put up with him for the rest of her life.

 

"Rosa." I suddenly heard my sister call as I pushed my room’s door open.

 

I turned to look at her, and my heart broke at once when I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.

 

"What happened?" I asked, concerned, as I wrapped my hand around her shoulders and walked her into my room.

 

"Antonio said we were getting married in two weeks." She managed to say in between sobs as we trudged to the bed and sat in it. "Papà didn’t tell me that it would be this soon."

 

"Two weeks!" I exclaimed in bewilderment. "That’s too soon."

 

I wondered why they wanted to rush the wedding when no preparations had even begun.

 

"I thought I still had time to spend with Oliver. But—"she burst out crying, and I didn’t know what to say or do.

 

She looked pitiful, and I wish I could do something about it. I wish there was something I could do to help her live her happily ever after with Oliver like she desired. But there was nothing either I or she could do. Her fate had been decided. A cruel fate she had no say in. And she had no choice but to painfully accept it.

 

Sighing, I moved closer to her and wrapped my hands around her. "You’ll be fine."

 

"I won’t." She shook her head vigorously and jerked away from the embrace. "He wants to turn me into a baby-making machine. That’s all he intends to do."

 

A scowl flashed across my face. "What do you mean?"

 

"He said we should get to know each other only because I am going to bear his child." She told me, and I could feel anger rising up inside me.

 

"That bastard." I murmured under my breath, but loud enough for Sofia to hear.

 

"You dislike him also, right?" She asked, and I sighed.

 

She was getting married to him, and I wanted her to grow to like him. I didn’t want to say anything negative about him and crush her spirit. I felt guilty enough for being attracted to him.

 

I held her hands in mine. "He would be nice to you. Just give him time."

 

The door suddenly dinged open, and Mamma appeared before us. Worries quickly skated across her face when she caught sight of Sofia crying.

 

"Oh dear." She muttered as she ventured into the room and sat beside Sofia on the bed. "What’s wrong?" She asked concerned, wrapping her arms around her. "Is this because you don’t want to get married to Antonio?"

 

"Yes." Sofia answered truthfully. "And no one told me I'd be locked up in bondage in two weeks. I had no idea it would be so soon."

 

A scowl flashed across Mamma’s face before she quickly replaced it with an expression I couldn’t quite place. "I agree that two weeks is too soon because it's such a short time to prepare for a wedding. I tried to convince your father to change the date, but he said it had been finalized. So, there is nothing I can do about it." She paused and sighed before she continued. "And you will not be locked in bondage. You are going to have a beautiful marriage, and I want you to believe that."

 

"You want me to believe what’s not true?" Sofia shook her head. "No, Mamma."

 

Mamma sighed, then flicked her gaze at me. "I almost forgot. Your father asked me to call you. That’s why I came here in the first place. He’s in his office."

 

"Is Antonio still there?" I asked curiously, and she nodded.

 

"Fucking shit!" I groaned, and Mamma shot her brow up.

 

"You don’t like him?" She asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

 

Did I like him? I asked myself. I loved what his voice did to me. I loved the feeling of his palm wrapped around my throat. I loved how he made me feel. But did I like his personality? His arrogant, bossy personality. Of course not.

 

"Why not?" I asked as I leapt to my feet, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "He’s a perfect gentleman."

 

"Just go." Mamma groaned, shooing me away.

 

"You’ll survive." I patted my sister on the shoulder before dashing out of the room and making my way to Papa’s office.

 

What could Papa want to discuss with me in the presence of Antonio? I thought as I nervously knocked on the door. No matter how much I loved what his presence did to me, I didn’t want to be close to him. The desire I felt for him was wrong on so many levels, and I needed to stop fueling it. To do that, I needed to stay away from him.

 

Papà permitted me to enter almost immediately, and I pushed the door open.

 

Antonio’s gaze on me was the first thing I noticed when I entered the office, and those alluring eyes of his caused my clitoris to throb. Damn, I wanted to feel his tongue on that.

 

He was sitting on the visitor's chair in front of Papà’s desk, while Papà was sitting behind his desk.

 

"Rosa." Papà called as I slowly sauntered towards them. "Antonio and I were just discussing your sister’s wedding dress."

 

"Your mother suggested that she get her dress from Lily Bridals." Antonio added.

 

The effect of his gaze on me intensified upon hearing his voice. I hated it. I hated that just a look from him was capable of making my body go wild.

 

A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed. "I believe Lily Bridals is a good place. I have seen a lot of positive reviews from their customers online."

 

"Good. I just wanted to hear your opinion." Papà said, and I nodded. "You’ll be going there with Sofia tomorrow. And—" He lifted his mug of coffee and took a sip before carefully placing it back on its saucer. "Antonio would drive you both there."

 

Hell. Fuck. No. All I wanted to do was stay away from temptation in the form of a man to prevent my forbidden desires from growing out of control. But from the look of things, that wasn’t possible as he was my brother-in-law, and seeing him was inevitable.

 

"It would be wise for you to rid yourself of any trace of disrespect that resides within you before tomorrow." Antonio stated, and when I cast my gaze at him, my eyes met his, his enthralling hazel eyes drawing me in as butterflies danced within the depths of my stomach.

 

Fuck! Overcoming my desire for this man would be exceedingly difficult. I hated him as much as I was attracted to him.