BIANCA

“You look gorgeous, miss”, Rosa said to Arya as she studied her look.

Arya looked at her reflection in the mirror and turned towards Rosa. She gave her a hug.

“You dress me up so well, Rosa”, Arya said. She was dressed in a simple sleeveless yellow dinner dress.

“I fear I must mistress. In this house, it’s a rule to dress presentable to the dining hall”, Rosa said.

Arya scoffed. Of course, she already knew. It’s mandatory to dress well to the dining hall in ever mafia home. Rosa led Arya downstairs to the dining hall.

Arya looked around in awe. Sure her family was wealthy, but it’s nothing compared to Leonardo’s wealth and it was obvious. The dining hall looked elegant and expensive. Alfredo and Amelia were already sitting at the dining hall.

“Here comes our darling new daughter”, Alfredo said. Amelia stood up and walked up to Arya, she held her in a motherly hug and they both sat down. Arya was glad that her husband’s parents were nice people.

“*Buonasera*”, she greeted them.

“You can call us Papa and Mama or you can just call us by our names”, Amelia said to her.

“Okay mama”, Arya said sweetly.

They began to eat their dinner. Arya wondered why Leonard wasn’t at the table. He was probably with Maria.

“In case you’re missing your fiancé, he’s not joining us tonight”, Amelia said as she ate.

Arya couldn’t help but feel a bit heartbroken. She wondered why she felt sad. It wasn’t like she had fallen in love with him or anything.

“Awww, she’s sad”, Amelia said as she noticed Arya’s facial expression.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be back before the wedding. He had some pests to get rid of”, Alfredo said. He was nothing like Carl, her father. Alfredo’s presence commanded respect yet, there was a softness to it.

“Yes, he wouldn’t miss his wedding. Maybe you might break through his iced up heart”, Bianca, Leonardo’s younger sister said as she walked in.

“This is Bianca, your sister in law”, Amelia said.

“Hi Arya”, Bianca said.

“Hi Bianca. It’s nice meeting you”, Arya said.

“Same here. You’re welcome to our family. It is now your family”, Bianca said with a smile, holding Arya’s hand lightly.

“Thank you, sister”, Arya said.

“Hopefully, Leonardo will no longer let his wench come here”, Bianca said, shocking everyone.

“Bianca! Stop that”, Amelia said.

“Why? It’s true”, Bianca retorted.

“I don’t care. Don’t hurt Arya’s feelings”, Alfredo said. Arya felt like should tell them she’s aware but she feared for Rosa. It might get her in trouble or worse, killed. Mafia families do not fire their staffs, they simply end them as they have information about the family.

“Her name is Maria. She doesn’t ever stay away”, Bianca said to Arya.

“Oh, it’s alright. I’m good”, Arya said even though her heart broke a bit.

“Sooner or later you were going to find out so I thought it was wise you get it from me”, Bianca said.

“You are our daughter. Leonardo might want to go out with as many women as he pleases but you are the only one we recognize”, Amelia said.

“But that’s the issue. He shouldn’t cheat”, Bianca said as she ate.

“No more word from you, Bianca”, Alfredo said, putting an end to the chatter.

**********************************************

Carls was in his office going through some files when his phone rang. It was his second in command, Rico.

“Yes, Rico”, Carls said to the person on the other side.

“Boss, Philip is dead. His body was found in his house, battered beyond recognition”, Rico said.

“Then how did you know it was him? How did you find him in the first place?” Carls asked.

“The tracker we placed on him suddenly came back online. He was tracked to his house, we also ran some DNA test with samples from his son”, Rico said.

Carls threw the phone against the wall and grunted. His perfect plan was thrown out of the window. It was time to plan infiltration.

************************************************

The morning came and Arya sat on her bed going through her phone. Ever since the news of her wedding, she was barely on her phone. She didn’t have any friends so she just watch videos on her phone. Today was her wedding and she felt less sad. She has accepted that she has no say in her fate. She heard a tap on the door.

“Come in”, she said wondering if it was Leonardo. She was in her sleeping dress and it left little to the imagination.

“Hi, just wanted to apologize for how I sounded during dinner last night”, Bianca said as she walked in.

“No, it’s fine. I understand”, Arya said, a little bit embarrassed that Bianca was apologizing to her.

“It’s just that I don’t like Maria. She behaves like a bitch”, Bianca said sitting on Arya’s bed. Arya laughed, not because her husband’s mistress was insulted but because she liked Bianca’s bluntness.

“We can’t really blame him, maybe he loves her. After all, we were both forced into this wedding”, Arya said.

“Really? He told you that?”, Bianca asked.

“Not directly. He just spoke like he wasn’t happy to be at the engagement”, Arya replied, her curiosity piqued.

“He’s never happy to be anywhere around parties”, Bianca said. Arya wondered what Bianca could be implying.

“I’ll let you sleep now. Have a blessed wedding day, Arya”, Bianca said as she walked out, leaving a confused Arya on the bed,

She wondered what Bianca meant by her question. Did Leonardo know about this? Did he planned it? She remembered how he knew her name and how he spoke like he knows her. So he arranged to get married to her and jumped into his mistress bed at night. She could feel rage in her body. He was so nice to her but he was nothing but a snake. She prayed to God he didn’t have a hand in the marriage arrangement or else……………………..