Chapter 1

Sienna’s POV

I held my breath, my back straightened on my seat as I held my cutleries. Dinner was my least favorite time of the day, having to share the table with everyone in the family. It would have been better if they all pretended I didn’t exist, maybe I could have finished my food without having to worry of getting indigestion later, but it was impossible for them to stay quiet and not to taunt me every time we met at the dinner table… And I hated that I couldn’t even talk back to them.

But tonight, the air felt even more suffocating, not because I was once again the clown in the family, but the opposite. For some reason, no one dared to speak or made fun of me, and it didn’t feel right.

My heart was beating rapidly every second as anxiety loomed over me.

Across the long table, Father’s consigliere, Roman Vicavoche, folded his hands patiently. “The date is set,” he started, throwing a sharp glance in my direction.

“Three weeks from now, your union with Lucian Moretti will seal the deal,” Roman continued, still looking at me as if he was specifically talking to me and not anyone else.

The thing is, Roman never wants to talk to me.

I slowly turned my head to either side, checking if he was talking to someone else, and realized that everyone aside from me and my mother were males. There was no way Lucian Moretti would marry any of my brothers, was there?

“M-Me?” I stammered, pointing at myself.

There’s no way they’re letting me marry the enemy for real. It’s already too much that my family’s not paying attention to me despite me trying hard, but now they also want me to marry Lucian Moretti?

Heck, no!

“Yes, Miss Vale. You heard it right,” Roman replied in a mocking tone. He looked down on me just like everyone else. “You don’t need me to explain the details unless you need me to spell it out for you what it means to be married, yeah?”

My firm grip loosened as I let go of my fork.

Roman Vicavoche! He acted so high and mighty just because Father listened to him. I bet he was also the one who suggested this marriage.

Clenching my fists, I took a sharp breath and met with Roman’s gaze. If I couldn’t decline this, then I wouldn’t be a Vale.

“I disagree,” I said in a firm voice, enduring the heavy stares from my family. “I’m not going to marry that man from our enemy.”

“Stia attenta al suo linguaggio, giovane signora,” Mother turned to me with a knowing look. “This is not something you can decide.”

“But-”

A loud thud cut me off. And when I checked what caused it, I saw my Father with his fist clenched on the table. “How dare you talk back to your elders, you useless child.”

I felt a pang in my chest being called useless. I would have been useful too, if only they’d give me a chance. But every time I tried, they’d dismiss my efforts like I was bound to daily before I could even get started.

“I warned you,” Mother muttered, holding her glass of wine. “Watch your language,” she added before taking a sip.

“But, Mama. I don’t want to get married,” I insisted, looking at my mother with hopeful eyes. She could at least stop this crazy idea of marrying me off to the rival clan.

My hope shattered when mother looked away, avoiding my gaze like it would kill her to meet my eyes.

“Sienna Vale,” Father called, his voice low and deep, seeping through my very bones. Calling me by my full name only meant that his patience was wearing thin. “You always wanted to be useful to the family, didn’t you?”

I raised my head and nodded, a budding hope growing back again in my chest. Maybe Father would finally give me a task… or a mission. Whatever it would be, I’d do my best to complete it and prove my worth-

“Then get married. Marrying Lucian Moretti is the one thing I ask you as a member of the Vale clan. You’re only going to be useful by doing this,” Father said indifferently.

“I-” No words came out of my mouth despite me wanting to oppose it.

Surely, there were a lot of ways to prove my strength to the family. But because I was born a daughter, my father never even considered me since then. He only had eyes for my brothers… He looked down on my abilities before I could show them to him.

Just because I’m a woman… Ah, isn’t that unfair?

But the world had always been unfair, not just to me, but to those who weren’t given power. Do I always have to wait? I already tried countless times, but everything went in vain.

“Dica qualcosa, giovane signorina. Suo padre le sta parlando,” Mother urged as she finally looked my way.

She was afraid of him that she couldn’t take her daughter’s side despite knowing this idea about marriage was just stupid.

“Ha perso il cervello? Non sta dicendo niente,” one of my brothers said.

“She doesn’t need to say anything. Nobody’s asking her to agree,” Father muttered, not sparing me another glance. “She will do it no matter what.”

These guys… They were given the chance and freedom to serve the family, yet they couldn’t even put a stop to the feud with the Morettis. If they could have won against them, we wouldn’t need this marriage to settle things.

“If it were me…” I whispered, clenching my fists on my lap as I looked at everyone, memorizing every inch of their faces to bore into my memory. I needed to remember this moment… The very moment they gave up and sacrificed me for the ‘peace’ they couldn’t achieve.

Wait. Aren’t they the useless ones?

A bitter smirk formed on my lips.

Fine! If they won’t give me power, then I’ll take it.

Marrying the enemy, huh? It shouldn’t be that hard of a first step.