This Is All Renata's Fault

Paolo stepped forward quickly, raising his hands as if he could calm the chaos that had suddenly erupted in the room. He tried to regain control of the situation before it spiraled further out of his grasp.

“Giovanni, you cannot take my second daughter like this,” he said firmly, forcing authority into his tone. “You seem to be forgetting something very important. My son-in-law is Domenico Veronesi. If he finds out that you are trying to trade my daughter’s life like this, he will not hesitate to kill you.”

His eyes flickered briefly toward Luisa, silently signaling her to act.

“Luisa,” he said sharply, “take Natasha to her room.”

Luisa immediately moved toward her daughter, her face pale with shock. Natasha stood frozen, her earlier arrogance gone, replaced by pure panic. She clutched her father’s arm as if it were the only thing keeping her from collapsing.

Paolo stepped closer to Giovanni, cautiously reaching out as if to remove the older man’s grip from Natasha’s arm.

But before he could touch him, Giovanni reacted instantly.

With a swift movement, he raised the gun in his hand and pressed the barrel against Paolo’s forehead.

The room fell into stunned silence.

“Step back, Paolo,” Giovanni warned, his voice sharp and dangerous. “Take another step, and this bullet will split your skull open.”

Paolo froze where he stood, his breathing turning shallow as the cold metal pressed against his skin.

“You should remember the deal we made,” Giovanni continued, his eyes burning with anger. “You promised to give Renata to me long ago. Do not start hiding behind Domenico’s name now.”

A bitter laugh escaped him.

“That man is not coming back,” he added with contempt. “Do you even know where he lives? He just dragged out Renata with him."

Natasha’s composure was finally shattered.

Tears streamed down her face as she struggled against Giovanni’s grip. “Dad, please do something,” she cried desperately. “Please save me!”

Only moments ago, she had watched Renata suffer with satisfaction, convinced that her sister’s misery would secure her own place in the family. But the situation had twisted in the most terrifying way possible. Giovanni’s hand remained tightly wrapped around her arm, and the realization that he now wanted her instead sent waves of fear through every vein in her body.

Now the nightmare had turned toward Natasha.

The thought alone made her stomach churn. Giovanni was the same old man she had mocked only hours earlier—the same man whose lustful gaze had disgusted Renata. Now that gaze had turned toward her.

“Giovanni, I will return your money,” Luisa said quickly, stepping forward in an attempt to calm him. Her voice trembled despite her effort to remain composed. “But you cannot do this. You do not even like Natasha. You wanted Renata, didn’t you?”

Before she could say another word, Giovanni suddenly raised his gun and fired.

The bullet struck the metallic vase placed near the wall. The sharp sound exploded through the living room, the vase shattering instantly. The deafening echo filled the house, making all three of them flinch in terror.

“Shut your mouth, Luisa,” Giovanni snapped coldly.

His eyes were filled with fury now, the humiliation of the failed wedding still burning inside him.

“The deal should have ended the moment Renata showed up pregnant with another man’s child,” he continued harshly. “You three thought you could fool me. Do you realize what could have happened today? I could have lost my life in that church.”

His grip tightened on Natasha’s arm, making her wince.

“And none of you ever cared about Renata anyway,” he added with a bitter chuckle. “So do not expect her to come running back to save any of you.”

Paolo remained silent for a moment, his mind racing as he tried to find a way out of the situation. He knew Giovanni was unpredictable and dangerous when enraged. One wrong move could cost them everything.

Finally, he spoke.

“Fine,” Paolo said slowly, forcing his voice to remain calm. “If you want to marry Natasha, then we will arrange it tomorrow morning. As her parents, we deserve to give our daughter a proper wedding ceremony.”

Natasha’s head snapped toward him in disbelief.

Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at her father. Luisa looked equally stunned, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Giovanni narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Do not try to play games with me, Paolo,” he warned.

“I am not playing any games,” Paolo replied carefully. “You know very well that I am not part of any mafia circle. I am a businessman. I have a reputation to maintain.”

He gestured slightly toward the house around them.

“If my daughter suddenly disappears tonight, people will begin asking questions. The police might even come looking for answers, and that could create problems for you.”

Giovanni remained silent, watching him closely.

“So let us do this properly,” Paolo continued. “We will arrange a formal ceremony in the morning. You will still get what you want.”

He paused briefly before adding, “And you know I did not break my promise to you. I had no idea Renata had anything to do with Domenico Veronesi.”

As Paolo spoke, he silently prayed that Giovanni would accept the arrangement. He needed time—time to think, time to plan, time to save himself from the disaster that had suddenly entered his home.

“I… I will return every penny of your money,” Luisa added quickly, sensing that Paolo must have some hidden plan in mind.

Giovanni lowered the gun slowly, though the anger in his eyes had not faded. For a moment, he studied Paolo as if weighing whether to trust him or not. The room was still heavy with tension, the shattered pieces of the metallic vase scattered across the floor as a reminder of how close the situation had come to turning deadly.

“Fine,” Giovanni finally said. “We will have the wedding tomorrow morning.”

He stepped closer to Paolo.

“But remember one thing,” he threatened. “If you try anything clever, if you think about tricking me or running away, I will cut off your head and hang it in the center of this city for everyone to see. Mark my words.”

Without waiting for a reply, Giovanni turned and strode toward the door. His men immediately followed him, their heavy footsteps echoing through the house. Within moments, the front door slammed shut behind them, leaving the family alone in the suffocating silence of the living room.

The moment Giovanni was gone, Natasha’s strength gave out.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the floor. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably as the fear she had been holding back finally overwhelmed her. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched at the fabric of her dress.

“I—I won’t marry him,” she cried, her voice shaking violently. “I would rather die than marry that disgusting old man.”

Her sobs grew louder as panic took hold of her.

“This is all Renata’s fault,” she said bitterly between her cries. “Everything that happened today is because of her. If she hadn’t ruined everything, none of this would be happening.”

She looked up at her father desperately with her pale, tear-streaked face.

“Dad, you can’t trade me like this,” Natasha pleaded. “Please… don’t let him take me. I beg you.”