5. Agreement

Diego and Stellina exchanged no words when they had been inside the car going to Stellina’s house.

“What should I do now?” asked Stellina, breaking the silence. Diego took a glimpse to that woman.

“I will change your look so you will really look like Vellina before I invite you into our mansion,” answered Diego.

“How long should I pretend to be your wife?” interrogated Stellina sharply.

She caught from Diego’s statement earlier that that man intended to fool everyone by covering her true identity.

“Approximately a year. I need time to tell my daughter, also my father-in-law about Vellina’s death,” lied Diego.

“They don’t know about her death?” asked Vellina puzzled.

“That accursed accident happened just this evening. Her car sank in the swift current of Oglio River. Her body was nowhere to be found, perhaps it was already flown to the sea,” replied Diego without any hint of sadness in his face.

Stellina felt there was something odd because Diego had no care about his wife’s body and allowed it to be gone as if it was just an animal carcass.

“How could I explaini this situation to my mother and sister?” asked Stellina again, trying to defy her bad thought.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I will tell them,” answered Diego casually.

“Why? Shouldn’t it be me?” protested Stellina. Diego chuckled softly.

“Then what do you want to tell them? That you were forced to sacrifice yourself to be my wife’s replacement for the sake of your father’s treatment?” guessed Diego, hitting the bullseye. Stellina said nothing upon hearing Diego’s statement.

Diego drove his car faster in that lonely road.

“They won’t agree to it. Especially your mother. She wouldn’t have the heart to sacrifice you. Then, what will you do at that time? Breaking your promise to me?” continued Diego.

Water puddles on the road holes splashed the road side when Diego’s car went fast without even reducing its speed.

Stellina was bumped upward a little bit from her seat when that car’s tire hit one of the holes on the road.

“A smart woman like you must have known who you’re dealing with, what can I do, and what will I do to the people who fail to uphold their promise to me,” said Diego again coldly.

Stellina tightened her grip to the seatbelt crossing in front of her chest. The car accelerated even further, while the wet and slippery road made the car they were on, went faster than its true speed.

“I’ve lost my soulmate,” Diego sounded louder this time.

“My daughter is sick, looking for her mother,” continued Diego.

“My father-in-law loves her daughter so much,” he said again.

“Instead of facing their sorrow and disappointment, it’s better if I die!” growled Diego, who out of nowhere steered his car to the side, making that car spinning around on that lonely road.

Stellina screamed at the top of her lungs; her body thrown to left and right following the rotation of that car.

She stopped screaming when that car suddenly stopped exactly ini front of a concrete pillar on the roadside. That car’s front bumper was only an inch away from that concrete pillar.

Stellina’s breath ran wild. Her chest went up and down irregularly. Her eyes were wide open while her entire body trembling.

From the reflection of the car’s dashboard window, Stellina could see her tangled hair. Slowly that girl turned to see Diego who was staring at her.

“I’m not playing around. If you break your promise, I can do even crazier stuff than this,” threatened Diego softly.

Stellina gulped nervously. She didn’t know what kind of sin she had made in her previous life which made her have such terrible karma in this life, to meet an insane man like Diego.

Diego then searched his pocket and pulled out a flat black thing. Stellina froze on her seat, fearing that that thing was a knife.

But, her heart felt such a relief when Diego offered that thing, which in fact was a small black comb, always residing in his pocket.

Diego bobbed his head towards Stellina as a sign for her to take it. Fueled by fear, Stellina took that comb from Diego’s hand and tidying up her hair.

Diego then started his car’s engine back and drove that car as if nothing happened.

When finally both of them arrived in Stellina’s house, Fabian could be seen moving the stuffs to the trunk of his car, parked exactly in the side of that house yard.

“Stellina!” Patrizia, Stellina’s younger sister, ran towards her older sister when she saw her out of Diego’s car.

Slowly Patrizia glimpsed at Diego scared. Stellina embraced her sister tightly as if both of them hadn’t met in such a long time.

Laura welcomed her two daughters who were walking together inside the house. Those three ladies cried in unison while hugging each other.

“Sis, why should we move from this house?” asked Patrizia confused. Stellina couldn’t speak because she herself was also at a loss of words.

The only one who could explain the disaster which befell upon their family was Enrico, but her father was laying helplessly in the hospital now.

“I’ve bought this house along with its furnitures from Enrico, so all of you must leave,” lied Diego.

“Where is my husband?” asked Laura intensely. Her body trembled so great in order to balance the fear conquering her.

“Enrico will be immediately transferred to a specialized hospital in Rome. Both of you will also move there. Fabian will take care of you. Soon you will see Enrico again,” answered Diego, still in his trademark calm tone.

“Both of us? What do you mean?” asked Laura again for finding the oddity in Diego’s statement.

“Your oldest daughter will stay here with me to take care of the printing company left behind by your husband,” answered Diego again.

Stellina looked at that brown, wavy-haired man in amazement. How could that guy lie so fluently in front of her family?

Laura looked at her oldest daughter, as if unable to leave her behind.

“No, if Stellina stays, then I will also stay,” said Laura, pretending to be strong.

“Right, I also don’t want to go! I still want to go to the school here!” Patrizia also participated.

Diego’s eyebrows frowned in disapproval to see those two ladies who started to behave out of their characters. Stellina who caught the glimpse of fury from Diego’s gaze quickly jumped in to calm her family.

“Mom, Father’s condition is very critical. He must be treated intensively in a specialized hospital in Rome. You and Patrizia must stay by his side there,” persuaded Stellina.

“Then, let me stay here with you,” squeaked Patrizia afraid.

“No, Patti. You have to accompany Mom there. This gentleman here will take care of your school transfer later, so be a good girl and go with Mom,” said Stellina.

Patrizia nodded while looking at Diego who forced himself to smile sweetly to other Pezcatores family members.

“Stellina,” Laura still found it hard to leave her oldest daughter to keep staying in Vomero.

“Mom, trust me. I only want to finish what Father left here, then I will directly come after you two to Rome,” promised Stellina.

Laura could see the strong determination shining from the eyes of her oldest daughter. That woman who originally came from Indonesia eventually stopped debating her daughter’s decision.

“Semoga Gusti Pangeran melindungimu,” said Laura, caressing Stellina’s head.

Stellina flashed a smile. It had been a while since her mother spoke her native language like that.

She had heard about the story from her father, about her mother who got lost as a tourist, who then fell in love with an Italian gentleman and chose to continue her study and working here. She really left her homeland, Indonesia, in order to seek her true love.

A sweet love story, but weirdly her mother never wanted to share it. According to Stellina, perhaps her mother felt embarassed to admit that she was like an innocent, clueless girl who pursued her father’s love.

Stellina was woken up from her train of thought when Fabian came announcing that it was about time for them to depart.

Again those three women cried and hugged each other tightly before finally they must say that inevitable goodbye.

Stellina and Diego looked at each other before that girl went to the front door in order to see her mother and sister go.

Diego looked at them from faraway. He himself also never thought he would cause a ruckus in the residence of Pezcatores family like this.

Indeed, he intended to eliminate Enrico from Vomero before because he was concerned that the greedy old man would topple his authority as the Underboss of Pacnozzi clan, considering the years-long partnership between Enrico and Eston.

It was proven when Enrico courageously, refused to return the money-printing plate entrusted by Eston to him.

Indirectly, Enrico wanted to reprimand Diego that his position was not equal to Eston and it wasn’t in Diego’s place to ask back the plate entrusted to him by Eston.

Nobody predicted, instead by making his daughter as a hostage, Enrico easily handed over that plate.

Unfortunately, it was all too late. The news of Vellina’s death made Diego was forced to take drastic measure to take advantage of Stellina’s resemblance to Vellina.

In order to safeguard the secret of Vellina’s death, as well as the existence of Stellina who replaced his late wife, Diego took a big step by sending Stellina’s entire family to Rome and shutting up his three henchmen for good.

He didn’t want to take risk of one of his three underlings one day would tell the truth and destroy his whole plan.

Luckily Fabian had a very bright intuition. He could comprehend the situation happening and take the right decision by murdering his three subordinates and cleaning up their bodies flawlessly.

Diego didn’t have to concern himself any longer because there would be nobody who cared about those thugs. They almost always had different persons every day, after all.

“Don’t you want to explain to me what we’re currently doing?” asked Stellina, dragging Diego away from his pondering.

Diego read Stellina’s face, vividly looking calmer and more composed compared to before.

It seemed after her mother and sister departed, and her father being treated, made that girl feel calmer and able to think more clearly.

“First, after dressing you up as Vellina, let’s have you comatosed in a hospital for a month,” answered Diego with a serious expression.

Stellina blinked repeatedly. She shivered a bit when she heard that Diego would make her comatosed. But, Stellina didn’t want to jump into conclusion.

It was impossible for the man in front of her to truly harm her, to the point that she got comatosed and must be treated for a month.

“I need guarantee for my safety and my entire family, especially my father,” said Stellina, opening room for negotiation.

“What if I say no?” Diego raised one of his eyebrows.

“Then, I will tell everyone about who I really am, “ answered Stellina without a doubt.

Diego grinned. It seemed this girl wasn’t foolish because she was able to judge the situation she was facing right now perfectly, far faster thatn what Diego estimated.

“You are indeed smart,” praised Diego sincerely.

“You didn’t tell my mother nor my sister about your intention to make me your wife, so I concluded, you would eliminate me one day. That’s why, I need the guarantee for me and my family’s safety,” explained Stellina.

Diego nodded casually, as if the fact that Stellina knew a part of his plan wasn’t that big of a deal to worry about.

“Okay, I will do what you wish. Let’s make an agreement,” answered Diego with his challenging smile.