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Fighting, I type.
She nods. “Gotcha. That’s par for the course when it comes to them. I’ve listened to them fight for years on end. I just tune it out now.”
“Serafina and I are not fighting,” Dario says through clenched teeth. “She’s just being rude again.”
“And Dario’s being a controlling asshole again.” Serafina smiles like she just won the argument.
“Ok.” Adelina turns to me. “I was just about to get something to eat. Want to join me?”
To get away from Serafina, absolutely. I follow Adelina into the kitchen, where she immediately starts making a sandwich. I watch in awe. I was never allowed to make my own food. The maid, Mia, always brought me a tray of food to eat. Normally it consisted of plain vegetables and grains of some sort to be healthy. Even though I was locked away, my father did everything in his power to prevent me from getting overweight. He couldn’t have an “ugly” daughter, he told me.
You know how to make your own food?I type and then show her.
“Yeah, a little bit. I’m not a chef or anything. But I can make some basic recipes. My mother taught Serafina and me to cook since we were children. Dario was always off training with our father. Besides, he’s twelve years older than us. He didn’t spend much time with us growing up. But that all changed when our parents died ten years ago. I was eight. It was rough, but the one thing I never forgot was my mother’s cooking classes. I made sure to continue them as I got older. Serafina, not so much.
I lost my mother when I was eight, too. The image of her dead in my father’s arms, blood soaking the ground, is almost too much to bear. It hits me when I least expect it.
“Sorry to hear that. That must have been tough. Being alone with just your father all these years.”
Serafina told you that I was locked away?
“She might have mentioned it to me last night. That’s horrible that happened to you. Losing my parents was bad enough, and they were decent enough people. But to lose your mom and then be kept as a prisoner in your own home …” She shudders. “I can’t even imagine.” Adelina places her hand on my arm. “I’m here if you ever want to talk.” She turns back to her sandwich, now completed, and takes a bite.
Why are you so nice and Serafina isn’t?
Adelina laughs through her mouthful of food. Once she swallows, she says, “Because we’re twins. There needs to be a way to tell us apart.”
I smile at her joke. Who knew she could be funny? I was so afraid to spend time with Serafina that I didn’t give Adelina a chance.
She waves a hand. “In all honesty, I think she does that because she’s dealing with her own insecurities. You being here represents something. Now that Dario’s married, he’ll want to marry my sister and me off soon. He’s a mob boss at the end of the day. He’s all about political power and gaining more territory. What better way to do that than through marriage? So you being here means that Serafina will soon be married, and she doesn’t want that. She told me she’d rather stick a fork in her eye than marry some man she doesn’t know.”
I grimace. Leave it to Serafina to give a very graphic depiction.And you? How do you feel about marriage?
She sighs deeply before taking another bite of her sandwich. “Honestly? I try not to give it much thought. I just focus on my dancing and leave it at that.”
How long have you been dancing?
“Ever since I was three. Another thing my mom got me into. I loved it then and have kept up with it since. Dario let me stay in classes. But now, with everything going on, he’s not let Serafina and me leave the house in a while. He doesn’t want us getting hurt. Which means I haven’t been to a dance class, but I practice here. Better than nothing.”
He can’t keep you locked up forever!
Adelina smiles softly. “He isn’t. Don’t worry. It’s just for our safety right now. He’s making a move to gain more territory. That’s why he went against your father. He wants more land to stretch his power out as far and wide as he can. This is just a temporary thing.”
It better be because the thought of Dario locking me away hits a little too close to home.
“What are you two chatting about?” Dario asks, coming into the kitchen.
“Getting to know my new sister.”
I nod in agreement.How are you doing?I sign, pointing at him.
It warms my heart that he understands me and says, “Dealing with Serafina is something I never wanted. She’s going to make me go bald, I swear.” He runs a hand over his head.
You wouldn’t be as handsome then, I sign.
Dario’s lips quirk. “I’m not sure what you said there.”
I just smile coyly and shrug. No need to repeat myself.
