No Allies In The Romano Family

CHIARA

By the time we reached the Romano estate, I was nearly asleep.

Maybe it was exhaustion from the earlier incident, or my emotional distress, but my feet felt heavy when I came down from the car with my daughter. She wobbled as soon as her feet touched the ground, but a pair of strong arms caught her before I could.

Stefano lifted her off the ground like she weighed nothing, holding her close to his chest before he gestured for me to go inside.

Turning around towards the large building, I tried not to grimace at the prospect of entering the Romano mansion. Everything was new here, and the fact that I had no allies here made it even worse. The atmosphere alone felt different from home. The guards stationed outside watched everything with cold precision, and the silence around the mansion carried a tension that made my skin prickle.

Yet, I forced myself to move forward until one of the guards opened the door for me. The inside of the mansion was exactly the same as the exterior. Grand, intimidating, and painfully devoid of warmth.

A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling like a crown of diamonds, casting golden light across the black-and-white marble floors beneath my heels. The walls were decorated with dark mahogany panels and expensive artwork, while a sweeping staircase curved elegantly toward the second floor like something straight out of an old movie. Every corner screamed wealth and power, but none of it comforted my senses.

Men in black suits were stationed at each corner with stoic expressions, bearing concealed weapons beneath their jackets. Even the servants moved like they had mastered the art of being invisible, going back and forth with lowered gazes.

My heart sank at the sight. This wasn’t the future I had dreamed for my daughter and me, yet life had turned it into my reality. I was going to spend the rest of my life living another identity, married to a cold-hearted, ruthless mafia don.

Lord, what have I done to deserve this?

The sound of heels clinking across the marble floor quickly pulled me from my dark thoughts. I looked up to see a woman with a black, mid-length, straight bob walking towards me. Her red dress was as bright as her lipstick, clinging to her curves with an elegance that felt both beautiful and dangerous.

I knew who she was before she even spoke.

“So, Father finally brought home his new bride,” she commented, her voice flat.

Some maids nearly stumbled in their steps when they passed her, but she didn’t spare them a glance. Instead, her eyes remained on me with a sharp look of displeasure, like she was staring at an insect that had intruded into her home.

I blinked, unsure how to react to this cold welcome.

Just when I was about to respond, a low rumble cut through the awkward air between us.

“Bianca, please behave.”

The woman immediately stiffened as she looked past my shoulder. A familiar figure appeared by my side, carrying my daughter in one strong arm while texting with the other.

“Donna, this is Bianca,” he explained, not taking his eyes off his phone screen. “Your stepdaughter.”

The air thickened with tension after his introduction. Bianca’s lips pressed in a thin line as she stared down at me with subtle arrogance. Clearly, she had already decided she hated me, so I turned to the only person I could engage with for now.

“I thought Don Salvatore had a son?” I whispered.

Stefano raised an amused brow at my formal address, but he didn’t correct me. “Riccardo’s probably somewhere upstairs drinking. You may meet him during dinner or tomorrow morning.”

Bianca shot him a dirty look after hearing his response. She was not happy about her family secrets being divulged so freely to a stranger, but Stefano remained unbothered by her unhappiness.

Finally, she decided she had had enough.

“Tell Father that I wish to speak to him when he returns,” she said, giving me one last icy look before turning to Stefano. “And try not to get too cuddly with the new…guest.”

We watched her disappear up the stairs, her steps brisk but confident. That’s when I finally reached for my daughter in Stefano’s arms, but he stepped away from me.

“I’ll show you to your rooms,” he said, walking ahead of me. Annoyance flared in my chest when I noticed how he had ignored me earlier, but I still obediently followed him up the stairs. Stefano led me down the long, dim hallway while carrying my sleeping daughter until we finally reached a pair of rooms located in the west wing.

He opened the door for me to enter first before he stepped in and closed it again.

“This is where you will stay, Donna,” he said. “Your sister’s room is right beside yours, as Don Salvatore requested.”

Relief and gratitude bloomed in me when I heard his words. Don Salvatore obviously seemed to be more caring and meticulous than I thought, and it made me think that perhaps this marriage was not as bad as it seemed.

But still, the room…

I glanced at my room, trying not to wince at the different shades of green that nearly blinded my eyes upon my arrival. The curtains were green. The bedding was green. Even the decorative pillows looked like they belonged in a garden. The furniture itself was sleek and expensive, the entire room dripping with luxury and sophistication, yet the overwhelming shades of green clashed so horribly that my eyes nearly hurt from looking at them.

Frankly, I hated it.

Stefano gently laid the sleeping child on the bed before straightening up to leave. I immediately stepped forward and gathered the courage to speak.

“Thank you for defending me back there,” I mumbled, my voice weak with exhaustion. “If you hadn’t stepped up, that woman, Bianca, would have-”

“Stai zitta.”

His voice was so quiet that I almost thought I had imagined it. But the intense look in his eyes told me otherwise as he turned to me.

I frowned. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me the first time, cerbiatta.”

My stomach tightened.

 “I am not your friend,” he growled, “And I will never be. The sooner you learn that you have no allies in this house, except your sister, the easier things will be for all of us.”

I was speechless as I watched him walk away. It felt like the ground under me had shifted as all my hopes of gaining a friend in this lonely place were abruptly dashed in the blink of an eye. But just before he exited the room, he added.

“And lock the fucking door tonight.”