Chapter 25: I'll get married

MARIELLE

I looked at myself in the mirror, barely recognizing the girl staring back. It had been a few days since the world went dark. My hair was tied up in a messy, loose braid, and I was dressed in a plain white shirt and grey sweatpants- a ghost of the girl who used to wear silk and lace.

My eyes fell on the white bandage wrapped thick around my wrist. I stared at it, the memory of the sharp glass cutting through my skin feeling like a dream. I was never suicidal, but …he… had driven me to that edge. He didn't care about me at all…it was written in the silence of the last few days. He hadn’t even come to check on me.

Was I really that desperate to marry a man who was committed to someone else? My heart ached, a dull, thumping reminder that he wasn't mine. But why was I even sad? He was never mine. Never from the beginning.

I looked at my empty hands. No matter how much you try, if it's not yours, it's not. A faint knock on the door pulled me from the abyss.“Marielle.”

I looked up to see Elena. She stepped inside cautiously, her face soft with pity.

“You okay, dear?”

Her motherly tone sent a wave of warmth through me, a sharp contrast to the coldness I felt inside. I managed a small nod. She took my hand, her touch gentle as she smiled sweetly.

“Let’s go?”

I nodded again, and we walked out together. The bright light of the hallways made me blink; it felt like a lifetime since I’d stepped out into the sun. I hadn't left my room once. As we reached the stairs, I saw Enzo. He moved quickly, taking a few steps up to meet me and holding my arm to support my weak body. I gave him a faint smile.

The living room was full. Everyone was there, and the air was thick with a tension so heavy it was hard to swallow.

“Come, dear. Sit,” Lorenzo spoke, offering a fatherly smile that eased a bit of my fear, but not much.

“Marielle. We would like to discuss something with you.”I settled onto the couch next to Enzo, clinging to his arm for comfort. He placed his hand over mine, a steady anchor. I nodded at Uncle Leonardo, who smiled back.

“Marielle,” Victoria called my name.

I looked at her. Why were they all acting so strange? What was bothering them so much that they couldn't even look me in the eye?

“I have decided to get you married.”

My heart didn't just sink…it plummeted. The rhythm of my pulse turned into a frantic race. The thought of leaving the only home I knew to go to a stranger terrified me. My grip on Enzo’s arm tightened until my knuckles were white. He tapped my hand, trying to keep me calm, but it didn't work.

Married? At my age?

“Sweetheart. We are not pressurizing you. We have no motive in that. We just want someone who can help you,” Elena said, her voice soft as she played with her words, trying to make the bitter pill easier to swallow.

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine. It’s just we don’t know why you’re having such suicidal thoughts. We want that so you can open up and live a happy life.”

Valentina passed me a genuine smile, and my resolve began to waver. My eyes drifted toward ..him... Cassius was sitting there, his gaze fixed on the floor as if he were lost in a dark world of his own. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“And it’s not that early, too. Look at Roselyn and Kei," Valentina added with her usual authority. "We want someone to take full responsibility, and it’s good to get married at such a young age. Also, our family is not normal, and the girls need protection. You getting married will help us with our stress.”

I looked at Valentina. Were they really that stressed because of me? Of course they were. I wasn't blood… I was just a burden they had to carry. I looked down, and suddenly Victoria was beside me, sitting on the edge of the cushion.

“It’s for your good. I want a son who can help us two as our family.”

I looked at my mother. She was smiling at me… really smiling. My heart clenched.

“If she doesn’t want, stop pressuring her-” Cassius’ voice cut through the room, but I didn't let him finish. I didn't want his protection. Not anymore.

“I am ready.”

The room went silent. I felt his eyes snap to me,burning with an intensity I refused to acknowledge. If he was my fate, he would have been mine. There was no point in holding on after such humiliation.

“Thank you,” Victoria whispered, leaning in to press a kiss to my temple.

Later, in the hallway, Vera cornered me. Her face was twisted in disbelief.“What is this? Are you giving up so soon?”

I tried to walk past her, ignoring the sting of her words. She wouldn't understand. She ..couldn't... She grabbed my elbow and spun me around, making me gasp.

“Answer me, Marielle!”I sighed, shaking my head as the exhaustion settled into my bones. “Vera. Do you think it’s easy? Do you think I wanted to get married to someone else? I love him. I loved him, but in love, you want to be respected and loved. He fucking humiliated me. Used me and threw me! Is that love!?”

She stepped back, taken aback by the venom in my voice.

“You don’t know the pain I am feeling. The pain in which my heart is burning. You will never understand that.”

My eyes stung, the tears threatening to spill over again, but I blinked them back.

“Marielle ”

“Stop, Vera. I’m tired. I’m tired of this pain of losing him. He was not even mine from the beginning. I wish him the best for his life with Serena, but please, I don’t want to even hear his name.”

“But-”

“It’s the end of my love for Cassius Marchetti.”