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“She's still a teenager.”
I did some math in my head and figured that Luca Mancini must be around thirty-five or forty years old. I’d heard that when his father died, he was still a child and his mother had taken care of the business until he was old enough. Uncle Theo was the one who had killed his father and I imagined that marrying me was an attempt to ensure that he wouldn't turn against my family.
“I’ll go.” Perla stood up when she realized that I was still stiffened and paralyzed.
“You’ll both go,” my mother corrected her. “Nothing has been defined yet and let's say he came here to meet both of you.”
I already knew him from afar and I thought that was enough. I didn't want to, but for my family I knew I needed to go.
Everything for the family... That had always been our motto and would continue to be so as the years passed.
I moved my head slowly and looked at my grandmother. She nodded and gave me a discreet smile. They had already been through that and now it was our turn.
“Wouldn't it be better if we put something prettier?” I pointed at both myself and my sister and then looked at my mother.
Perla and I were wearing just denim shorts and a t-shirt. However, deep down, I just wanted an excuse to postpone the moment a little longer. It wasn't like I didn't know the guy but seeing him go from my cousins' relative to my husband in a single day made me agitated and afraid.
“Go then!” Grandma touched our knees and encouraged us to get up without waiting for my mother’s response. “But don't delay.”
Perla nodded and tugged on my hand, dragging me with her out of the library.
“You looked like you were going to have a heart attack,” my sister said to me when we arrived in the hallway and were alone.
“And you aren’t?” I put my hands on my hips and turned to her with an air of indignation.
“It's not like we have the choice to decide for someone else. At least he's someone we know. Our cousinseven like him.”
“That doesn't mean he'll be a good husband.”
“You have no way of knowing.”
“One of us is going to have to move, go to Palermo and be the wife of a guy we don't even like.”
“That's how it works.” My sister pursed her lips and I wanted to tell her she was wrong, but she wasn't. “Let's getchanged soon before Dad comes to get us in person and the situation gets even worse.”
I went to my room, chose a discreet dress and looked at my dressing table, but decided not to put on any perfume or makeup that would attract too much attention. I had uncomfortable sensation in my stomach and the closer the inevitable moment approached, the worse this feeling became.
I wanted to be a doctor, maybe chart a different future, but as a mafia princess, it was possible that it might never be an option.
“Pietra?” Perla appeared in my room, calling me.
“I am going.”
I opened the door and gave my sister my best smile before following her to the beginning of the hallway where my mother was. We went down together and crossed the room, heading to the garden.
The first person I saw was my father, his gray hair and the threatening serious posture that reflected even in his blue eyes. Next to him was Uncle Theo and they were talking to a man who had his back to us.
He turned towards us when he heard us approaching and I felt my heart beat in my throat. The tall guy, with dark eyes and hair, with a haughty posture, was Luca Mancini, the most powerful man on the island of Sicily. The alliance with him was crucial for my family in order to avoid a civil war within the country if he tried to turn against us.
My grandfather had already been caught in that crossfire and I didn't want a similar fate for my father.
“Sir.” My sister and I nodded.
“The Bellucci twins.”
“My lovely daughters.” My father smiled at us.
“As beautiful as they should be.”
