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“So, he’s told you,” she says.
I gasp in shock.
“Aunt Diana, what do you mean by that?” My heart starts pumping in my chest. “Wait a minute, you know about this?” I’m reeling in shock.
“I do, Aurora,” my aunt sighs.
“What? You knew this is why he has asked me to return home, and you didn’t tell me?” I’m utterly horrified.
“What would it have changed? We’ve been waiting for this day for years,” she says.
For years??
I can’t believe what I’m hearing!
What the fuck is happening with my life?
“What are you talking about?” I choke out. “Aunt Diana, please say something!” I try to steady my erratic breathing.
“Fine,” she exhales. “Your father made the arrangement several years ago. He sent you to me so that I could groom you to be a proper lady for your husband. To ensure that you remained…unspoiled.”
“Unspoiled?” I choke out. Things are falling into place now. How protective she was. Always worrying about the kids I hung out with. I’ve never even been on a date, for God’s sake! She’s been in on it. For ten whole years, she’s been readying me. Preparing me for this monster.
Suddenly, I feel like my world is crashing around me.
She betrayed me!
“How?” I whisper, dashing away tears with the back of my hand. “How could you do this to me?” My voice is shaking as the horror sinks deeper.
I’m trapped!
Is there really no way out of this nightmare?
I’ve been played by my father and my aunt. The latter being someone I trusted. The closest I have to a mother. Even though I was a chore to her.
“Listen, there is nothing I can do about it. You know how your father is. I wasn’t to tell you what was going on,” she says, but her words don’t hold water to me.
“I trusted you.” My tears flow freely as I think of what my future holds.
“I’m sorry, Aurora,” she says, but it’s no use. I want to scream at her. I want to yell and demand to know why she has done this to me. How is it possible that everyone around me has known about this for years… except me? “Perhaps, you should look at this differently,” she goes on, obviously trying to soothe me. “I don’t think your father would do something that would endanger your life, Aurora.”
Despite her gentle tone, I snap. It’s too much. She knows nothing about my father, and how easily he’d sacrifice me.
“Do you know what it means to have your freedom snatched away from you? Do you know how it feels to be condemned to a life with someone you don’t know anything about? All my life, I’ve never meant anything to the people who are supposed to be my family. When they finally notice me, it is to use me for their sick game,” I yell.
“What if you are overthinking this? What if he isn’t as bad as you think he is?” Her comment makes me so mad that I almost curse her out.
“Do you even hear yourself? We don’t live in the Dark Ages anymore! Everyone should have the freedom to do what they want. Why am I different?”
“You aren’t just anyone, Aurora. You are the daughter of Fernando De Luca, the head of the Italian mafia.” Her voice remains calm and measured. It doesn’t help. If anything, it makes me more pissed.
“I don’t care about that!” I exclaim.
“I think this news is still a shock to you. Maybe, when you’ve thought about it, you will see reason. I’m sorry, darling, I need to get back to work. Goodbye, Aurora.” She ends the call before I can give her a piece of my mind.
I fling the phone across the room and bury my face in my palms. My shoulders begin to shake as my sobs shudder through me.
How could she do this to me?
