Chapter 5

Gianna.

Tears streaked my face as I dropped to my knees, the two men who held me by my arm letting go of their grip which had bitten deep into my soft skin, leaving faint red marks.

“You know better not to take things that don’t belong to you,” Luciana hissed as she snatched the table knife from where I hid it under my pillow.

She had stood there some minutes ago demanding that I give it back to her even when I denied knowledge of what she was talking about.

She was about to search me when the men barged into the room with whips and a phone pressed against my ear.

I was in a state of confusion, expecting to hear Stefano’s voice, but the voice I heard made my heart leap and my stomach tighten.

It was Papa. What were they doing to him?

Was he okay? The last cry I heard derailed and made me go numb, my eyes stinging with so many tears and my chest heaving.

I watched Luciana walk out of the room without looking back, and the next thing I heard was the click of the door snapping shut.

Once again, I was left alone in the room, with my tears, thoughts, and fears about what was going to happen next.

Was he going to kill my father and come kill me too? The thought of it had goosebumps wrapping me all over. I tilted my head to the windows of the room, my tears blurring my vision.

I sniffed, wiping my nose with the back of my hand as I thought hard about how to escape. I scrambled to my feet, ran to the window which had its glass ajar.

A soft gasp escaped my lips as I looked down from the window, if I jumped out of the window I’d be crashing down on one of the exotic cars parked and squealing new.

I groaned in frustration, but it didn’t linger for long before the gates creaked open. Stefano was back from wherever it was he went to.

Anger surged through me as I imagined the horrible things I would do to his face if only I had the power to.

I watched him get out of the car as his trusted guard held the door. He was conversing on the phone, he would let out a soft laugh which made me wonder who he was on the other side of the call.

I quickly wiped my face of any remaining traces of tears. I wasn’t about to let this beast know how easily he could break me.

The door opened almost immediately. I looked up to see Luciana standing by the door and staring at me… softly now.

Disappointment etched across my face. I hated to admit it but I expected to see Stefano standing there and not her.

“Come with me,” she said, her voice calm.

I hesitated, my eyes flickering from where she stood to the window.

“The boss hates to wait,” she groaned, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me with her.

I held my gown so I wouldn’t trip over as she dragged me out of the room, not minding how I hissed between my teeth.

My heartbeat accelerated as we descended the stairs. My eyes caught Stefano in the living room, he had his phone to his ear, his head tilted holding it in place as he rolled the sleeves of his black shirt.

His eyes slowly lifted as he looked at me, he didn’t look for too long, and turned his back against me still on the phone.

Luciana walked me out of the living room to a waiting car.

“What’s going on?” I asked, looking over my shoulders to the guards stationed strategically.

She sighed deeply, then turned to look at me, releasing her hand on my wrist. “There’s one rule you should obey, child. You don’t ask questions, you only listen.”

I was still trying to digest what she had just said when Stefano walked out of the living room, walking toward us.

I wanted to scream at his face and ask what he had done to my father but I had no strength in me anymore… I felt weak like I was drugged.

“Get in,” he held the door open for me.

I swallowed hard, lifted my dress, and got into the car. He shut the door and walked in through the other side.

The ride was smooth and quiet. I didn’t say anything other than the thoughts flooding my head. Through the corner of my eyes I could see him swiping through his phone, but this time he didn’t have that smile anymore.

A few minutes later, the car pulled over to a parking lot. Stefano didn't wait for his door to be opened. He opened it himself, walked around to open mine.

“Where are we?” I asked, my eyes sweeping across the vast building we stood in front of.

I was glad I could read well if not I would have said my eyes were playing tricks on me.

“Wedding boutique?” I frowned, turning to him staring at me with a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

“Who is getting married?”

“No questions, piccola,” he hissed.

“Now, move,” he dragged me to the front while he followed closely behind.

The cold air of the air conditioner hit me the moment I stepped into the exquisite room filled with mannequins which displayed luxurious designs of wedding dresses of different colors.

Talk about wedding colors being black, red, blue etc. They had everything with accessories to match the aesthetics.

We were greeted with a warm smile from the two women standing behind the receptionist's counter.

“Welcome to…”

“Save us the pleasantries,” he raised his hand cutting them off.

“I want dresses, as many as you have. Beautiful dresses for my piccola, one that can hug these curves and grab those titties tight.” His eyes trailed my body as he said each word softly and deliberately.

“You came to the right place, sir.” One of them said, her eyes snapping back to me.

“Wha…what?” My voice cracked like ice. How the hell did it take me so long to piece this together?

Stefano wants to marry me?

“I can’t get married to you… that wasn’t the…” I shook my head, my whole body trembling in fright.

“Like hell you would, piccola,” he snapped, shutting his eyes burning into mine.

“Now let’s go find you something befitting,” he tucked in a few strands of hair behind my ear, leaning forward with his lips brushing against mine.