Chapter Two

Emma 

I was so nervous I couldn't get out of my seat. I don't know him and I'm afraid to meet him.

My brother just told me that Boris is not a good person. And although I didn't show it, I felt afraid.

"Come on, Emma," my mother yells at me.

I shake my head in denial. Fear has taken hold of me.

"I'm scared, Mom" I hold onto my dressing table.

"If you don't want to go, then don't go" my brother gets up from the bed to defend me.

"Have you gone crazy? After all the effort. Do you want to give up now?"

Tears streamed down my face, smearing what little makeup I had on.

My mother doesn't understand me. She doesn't know how scared I am of all this. 

"Mom, please" I put my hand to my mouth as I sob. 

"Your brother will come down, so we can have a talk" she looks at Luigi. 

My brother hesitates to leave the room. But my mother yells for him to leave. Then Luigi leaves. 

"Mom" I run my tongue over my lips. 

"My love" she walks towards me "I know you are scared, and that is normal. I've been in your situation before, and I know what that feeling is like."

Sometimes I forget that my parents' marriage was not at all conventional either. 

"What if he does something to me?" 

"We'll be here to protect you. You can trust me" Liana puts her hand on mine "Now get ready and come down. This is for the good of our family." 

I do as she says. I sit back down on the dressing table and fix my makeup. 

After I am ready, I get up and walk to the door. I step out into the hallway and walk in slow steps. 

My heart was beating faster and faster. 

I go downstairs and into the drawing room. As soon as I step onto the last step, all eyes are on me. 

He was there. Boris Mikhailovich, my future husband. 

He was not what I imagined. His gaze was frightening to anyone. His expression showed anger and despondency. 

Boris is tall, very tall. His body was very muscular, with tattoos all over his body and an ethereal posture. 

I couldn't deny that he was a handsome and attractive man. His hair was dark, slicked back. Dark brown eyes, almost black. A thinning beard, making his features even more mature. 

The look the mobster had on me didn't please me. It only made me even more afraid. 

My mother looks at me and gestures with her hand. She wants me to say something. 

"Good evening, Mr. Mikhailovich," I put my hands together in front of my body and clasp them together. 

The man didn't seem to like hearing my voice, because his gaze only got even scarier. 

"I want a moment alone with my fiancée" his voice was husky and thick, causing me to shiver. 

I look desperately at my mother. Begging her not to leave me alone with that man. 

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." 

"Shut up!" he raises his hand "I didn't know you let your wife speak for you, Roger."

My father looks at my mother in a strange way. It looked like he was scolding her for speaking up. 

"My office is available" my father eventually agrees with him. 

"I prefer it outside" Boris stops in front of me "Come on!" 

That was an order and I knew it. My body is paralyzed with fear and there was nothing I could do about it. 

But it seems that I had aroused the fury of my future husband. 

I am pulled tightly by the arm. He drags me outside. The door is slammed shut hard, causing a great noise. 

"Please let me go!" 

"I hate that people don't do what I tell them to do. If I tell you to come, then you come!"

I take a step back. I was a little afraid of him. The man is very scary and it is normal for me to feel that way. 

"What do you want to talk about?" I look at the floor, avoiding eye contact. 

"I am totally against this marriage shit. To me, the whole thing is a joke" Boris pulls a cigarette from inside his pocket and lights it. 

"So you're giving up?" I eye him in expectation. 

"Don't dream so high. That can't be changed, not even if I wanted it to" I sigh as I get discouraged. 

"Wait... Not even if you wanted to?" I blink my eyes confused "I thought you didn't want that." 

"I'm not excited about the idea of getting married, but it's still necessary. If to become a leader, I need to get married, then so be it!" 

It is clear to me now. Boris is agreeing because to take control of the mafia it is necessary for him to get married. 

"Even if it benefits you, it still doesn't make me happy."

He throws the cigarette on the floor and comes to me. Boris holds my face and puts me against the wall. I feel fear overwhelm me and almost scream. 

"You don't have to be happy. You have to be thankful that my family didn't kill yours. You are going to become my wife whether you like it or not." 

"Get yourself another wife."

"Don't be stupid. It has to be someone from inside the mafia for me to take control. And at the moment, you are the best option."

Even if it doesn't seem like it, my father has a lot of influence in the criminal world. 

Roger was very respected. And this certainly influenced the decision about marriage. Two powerful families coming together. 

Even if I wanted to change this, I could not. Accepting the reality was painful, but essential. 

"I understand," I hold his hand. 

"I just want that to get into your little head." 

"Don't worry, I already understand that nothing can be done." 

I imagine that conversation is meant to be a warning. I couldn't object to it in any way. I have to accept it with my mouth shut. 

As I said myself, I feel like I'm in a dictatorship. 

"Now put a smile on your face and pretend nothing happened."

We went back inside my house. My family was already waiting for us for dinner. 

The engagement dinner was quiet. My father and my fiancé seemed to be getting along, or pretending to be getting along. I couldn't really tell. 

After dinner, they went to the office and stayed there. 

"This whole thing was a joke," Luigi kicks a chair away. 

"You don't understand the necessity of this, do you?" my mother shouts at him "This is for the good of everyone." 

"It's okay, I have already accepted the marriage. I am willing to do this for our family." 

My brother looks at me indignantly. He seemed very surprised at my decision. 

I felt like crying at that moment. Luigi was about to protect me from everything. But I am a coward. 

"Did he say anything to you, Emma?" 

"I just understood the necessity of it all" I hold her hand "Please understand too. I need you with me." 

Luigi looks at me for a while. Then he lets go of my hands and shakes his head in denial. 

"I don't think I can watch you go down like this" is the last thing he says before he leaves. 

I feel a very strong tightness in my chest, as if I am suffocating myself. 

Seeing my brother turn his back on me like that was painful. 

"I am proud of you, my love. I'm glad you were able to understand the necessity of it all" she tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. 

My father and Boris finally leave the office. They seemed to have settled all outstanding matters. 

"Let's leave them alone, dear" my parents leave the room, leaving me alone with my fiancé. 

I get nervous, not really knowing how to react. 

"I preferred not to talk to you too much in front of your parents. But I want to have a date with you."

"A date? What for?" 

"I need to explain how things will work from now on. This conversation will be essential to our living together." 

I was afraid of what might come out of this. Boris had already shown himself to be sexist and aggressive. I could already imagine what he would want. 

"Okay, we can have a date. 

"Be ready tomorrow at 8:00. I'll pick you up. 

"Okay." 

***

After taking a shower, brushing my teeth, and running my products over my face, I sit down to comb my hair. 

I brush slowly, just thinking about today and what might happen tomorrow. 

My fiancé is handsome and charming, I would easily surrender to him. But he is a macho and aggressive man. This makes me lose interest. 

"May I come in?" my mother asks after knocking on the bedroom door. 

"Yes" I answer, but I don't move from my seat. 

"Is everything okay, daughter?" I watch her through the mirror. My mother had a worried look on her face. 

Actually? Not really" Liana walks towards me and takes the hairbrush from my hand.

She starts brushing my hair and it felt like I had gone back to my childhood. Where this happened often. 

"What happened? Didn't you like your fiancé?" 

"Not much" I place my hands on my leg. 

"Isn't he handsome?" 

" No, I mean yes. He is very handsome. It's just that... Boris didn't strike me as a nice man." 

I didn't want to tell my mother the truth. I really didn't think it was necessary. 

"I didn't think your father was a nice man either. I couldn't like him at all." 

"Really? What made you change your mind?" 

"Over time, I got to know him better. Then we started to get along. I fell in love with him and made him fall in love with me." 

"You made him fall in love with you?"

"When you start to like someone, you do everything you can to keep that person close" Liana turns me around in my chair "I just want everything to work out so that you can be happy in your marriage." 

"I'll try to get along with him mom. I promise!" a brief seal is left on my forehead. 

I watch her leave my room. As soon as my mother leaves, I take a deep breath feeling relieved. 

Sometimes I feel pressured and suffocated by her. I know Liana only wants the good of the family, but it still hurts me to see how much she forces me into it. 

"Be a good wife" I look at myself in the mirror again "I don't know if I can do it." 

I get up and go to look at the clothes I have. I need to be presentable to go out with my fiancé. 

Like it or not, this wedding is going to happen.