Chapter 02

“How did you manage to do that?” Enrico’s furious roar made Antonella cringe.

She had barely set foot in the house, and her father was already venting his frustration.

“Look at you.” His furious eyes roamed over every inch of her body. “You’re a ragamuffin, parading around town in that rejected bride’s dress. You’re a disgrace to our family.”

Francesca approached with a face red with embarrassment, but Antonella didn’t let herself be put down. She should have been used to the arrogant way her father treated her, but she still had hopes of softening that hard heart, which were dashed when she was abandoned at the altar.

“Don’t say something like that, Enrico,” Francesca reproached her husband with a stern look and then turned to look at Antonella, “what’s the girl’s fault for being abandoned?”

On the other side of the room, Alessia, the youngest sister, was chuckling, but not loudly enough for everyone to hear. Deep down, she was thrilled that Antonella hadn’t married the city’s billionaire. Antonella, knowing how much her sister hated her, finally opened her mouth to defend herself.

“You shouldn’t be angry with me, Dad.” Antonella was so disappointed that anger was her only defense: “I was forced to marry a man I didn’t know and then abandoned by him. Why don’t you try asking him why he embarrassed you?”

Enrico was speechless for a few seconds when he approached Antonella and slapped her across the face. This was the first time he had hit her, although the words he had constantly said had given Antonella the same sensation she felt now. Her face burning, she slowly turned to look at him and found only hatred on her father’s face.

“You mustn’t forget that you still live in my house,” he said, pointing a shaky finger in her direction, “and this marriage was our salvation. If you can’t find a good husband, from now on, you’ll be working and helping to support the household.”

That seemed unbelievable. Enrico was all about the money and managed to hurt his daughter to get what he wanted. Antonella felt a lump in her throat when she remembered that her family was gradually going bankrupt and that marrying Benjamin Dylon was her father’s only hope.

She didn’t see anything wrong with working, but she was tired of seeing her father determine her steps.

“It’s not fair!” she shouted uncomfortably. “Why do I have to work when Alessia doesn’t?”

“Are you trying to compare me to you, Antonella?” she grumbled, laughing satisfactorily.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re laughing at,” she pursed her lips, getting more and more annoyed. “Do you think everything I’m going through is funny? While I have to carry the family on my back, what do you do? Paint your nails?”

Alessia shrugged, but the teasing smile never left her lips.

“Enough of this frivolous talk,” Enrico interrupted them. “I don’t need to explain that Alessia studies full-time; she can’t work. Please, Antonella, go up to your room before I do something crazy to you.”

Antonella clamped her mouth shut because she hadn’t been brought up to answer to her father either, but there were things she couldn’t keep quiet about. She kept quiet because she knew that this conversation would take her nowhere but to the eye of the street.

She turned on her heels and started up the stairs when she heard Alessia once again.

“Go ahead and throw that wedding dress away!” she laughed again. “I doubt that anyone in this town would want to marry you after you’ve been abandoned at the altar.”

Antonella swallowed and ran to her room. She cried silently. The next day, she thought the atmosphere in the house would be calmer, but as soon as she sat down to have her coffee, she was bombarded with her father’s demands. He threw a piece of paper on the table and said it without blinking.

“You have a job interview at the same company where your uncle works,” he said, snatching the coffee cup from her hands. “Hurry because you’re already late.”

Antonella nodded, a little lost, while Francesca looked inconsolable. Just to avoid making her mother more upset, she decided not to disobey her father.

“Can I at least know what job I’m applying for?” she asked wryly.

“You’re going to be the company owner’s private secretary,” he said, pulling her by the arm and forcing her to stand up.

Antonella was trying hard not to fall apart right then and there, but Enrico’s words simply irritated her. He walked over to Francesca and kissed her, trying to calm her down. She went back to her room and changed. Then she called Dominique so that she could help her get to her job interview.

The drive was silent, as if she were in mourning. It was difficult to even think about it: not being able to make her own decisions and live the life she had once wanted. When the car stopped in front of the company, Dominique promptly offered to stay there with her.

“I would rather not get in the way of your day,” she said, a little too despondently.

“I don’t have anything important to do in the morning,” I said, trying to console her.

Dominique was an excellent friend, but she couldn’t avoid the impact Enrico’s decisions were having on her life. She smiled, swallowing down the urge to cry. They got into the elevator, and as soon as they reached the reception, Antonella’s legs immediately stopped. Dominique even thought she was ill.

Her pale face and wide eyes gave the impression that Antonella was seeing a ghost.

She crouched down and hid behind the counter. Dominique’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“What are you doing, Antonella?” She squirmed over to her, grabbed her arm, and tried to get her back on her feet. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Worse than that, girlfriend,” she said, looking at the man who was standing a few meters away. “That’s the same man I met at the bar last night.”

Dominique looked where Antonella was pointing and was immediately struck by the man’s beauty. Then she stood up, looked the secretary in the eye, and asked.

“Can you tell me what that man’s name is?”

“Of course!” she looked at the young man Dominique was indicating and smiled, answering, “It’s Mr. Benjamin Dylon, the future owner of this company.”

Antonella closed her eyes tightly when she heard those words. That couldn’t be true.

Benjamin Dylon, the groom who had abandoned her at the altar, was the same man she had been with last night.