“Sì, Don Camillo.Permesso."
As soon as the door closed behind me, I raised my index finger right in front of Daisy's nose, who was trembling and struggling to stand firm. Her peridot-colored eyes were teary, and the skin on her face, illuminated by the pale light from the ceiling chandelier, was now turning red.
“I warned you, Daisy.” I growled, waving my index finger. “I warned you not to get close to men.”
“I didn't do anything wrong.” She murmured, and a tear ran down her cheek, making something tighten inside me. I lowered my hand, swallowing hard. “It was just a walk.”
“Why did you call him ‘cupcake’?”
“For the same reason I called you sugar.” The word sent a tingle down my spine.That damn southern accent. “It’s just a way of speaking. An affectionate term.” She continued to answer me in a whisper, struggling not to shed another tear. Piccola Furetta. “I didn’t do anything.”
“He called you ‘Margherita.’” I pointed out, again, a sharp anger stabbing me in the gut. “We don't have your habit of giving affectionate names so easily. Not without a reason.”
Something changed in Daisy's face. The tears seemed to evaporate from her eyes and her face lost all expression. Suddenly, her hands spread across my chest and she stood on tiptoe, bringing her lips close to mine.
I swallowed hard, unable to take my eyes off her mouth.
“He bent me over the hood of the pickup truck...” My stomach churned. “...and fucked me until I couldn't feel my legs anymore.” I couldn't react, couldn't even think. “Is this what you wanted to hear?”
“So, it's true...” My voice came out weak. I was frozen.
Daisy moved away a little, and suddenly her hand collided directly with my face. The sound of the slap reverberated throughout the room.
“You have no right to treat me like this.” The tearful voice made me look immediately in her direction. She had backedaway to my desk. Her body shook with heartfelt sobs, her lips twisted into a pout laden with pain, and her arms wrapped around her body.Dio, what was I doing?"If you want to kill me, you better do it once and for all, because if you think you're going to control the rest of my life, Mr. Vicari, you're very much mistaken. You don't own me. You'renothingto me.“, she choked out, her voice little more than a broken whisper. “Fabiano was kind. He made me forget for a few hours the real reason I was brought here. He made me feel less alone. He was my friend, that's all!“
I couldn't stand it. Something twisted inside me when I saw her in that state, when I heard the sadness in her always so sweet voice, but it was even more unbearable to hear her say those things about Fabiano.
“You are forbidden to speak to him again.”
“You have no right.”
“I do, Daisy.” I was harsher than I would have liked. “Here, you are my employee. For the rest of your life, you work for me.” She cringed at each of my words, as if I had slapped her. “If you don’t obey my orders, other people will pay. Your friend, your pathetic former boss, your aunt who, from what I heard, is pregnant... You don't want that, do you, Daisy?" I continued, letting my anger speak louder, realizing with frustration that it was something else.Jealousy. What was eating away at me wasjealousy, and I was letting it control me. “If you talk to Fabiano again, I swear I'll kill him in front of you. So be a good girl and behave like what you are: a worthless maid.”
She didn't answer me. All her haughtiness, all her insolence, vanished and gave way to a horrified look followed by copious tears. She covered her face with the backs of her hands and sobbed like a terrified little girl, and I felt like the biggest piece of shit on earth.
I still raised an arm, still tried to touch her, but I bit my tongue in time. I was the Capobastone of that famiglia, I had to behave as such and remain true to my words and decisions. I straightened up and walked to the door, finding a regretful-looking Luca on the other side of it.
“Ask the men to bring Signorina Parker's things to the room next to mine and instruct them that she is forbidden to leave the villa without my permission.Capisci?”
“Sì, Don Camillo.” Luca nodded, disappearing as if fleeing from a ghost.
I turned back for a moment, seeing Daisy still standing in front of my desk, sobbing copiously. I said nothing to her. I went back to her and gently grabbed her arm, causing her to groan immediately as if I had hit her, and dragged her trembling body out of there and down the hallway. The paintings and pictures of hundreds of generations seemed to judge me, but I ignored them.
I reached the end of the hall and opened the last door on the right, beside my bedroom.
“From now on, this is where you'll sleep. Come in,” I ordered, and watched her obey with difficulty. In the middle of the huge, old suite, decorated to the taste of my Nonna Renata, withpink floral wallpaper covering the walls and reddish mahogany furniture, Daisy lived up to her name and looked like a fragile little flower. “Luca will bring your things in a moment. Use the night to decide how you intend to behave from now on.”
The door was about to close when her tearful voice stopped me.
“Yes, Mr. Vicari.”
I slammed the door and felt my own face crumple. At that moment, I hated myself.
Chapter 33
Camillo Vicari
July, 2025
