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I had been right when I had thought that today I would be made a pawn in a power play.
I had always known that as a Mafia daughter, I would have an arranged marriage. I would marry a man chosen by my family since marriages in our world were chiefly a means to strengthen ties and allegiances.
I hadn’t expected, however, that I would be married to someone who was considered a savage, without the honor that the Mafia required of its members.
My father and the Capo both looked toward me, and I realized that they were expecting me to say something.
“I-I won’t have finished school by then…”
“Your schooling is a formality and is hardly something you’ll need as a wife,” said my father irritably, dismissing my objection out of hand.
Emanuel continued staring at me with a penetrating look as if daring me to defy him, so I said the only thing that I could. “I understand.” I wondered if it was my voice that I had just heard, the sound seeming far away and as if it, perhaps, belonged to someone else.
“The engagement party will be held in a week’s time, and the marriage will take place in two months. It is imperative that we get the alliance between our organizations settled as soon as possible.” It was clear that I was just part of a business arrangement, but I felt like screaming that this was my whole life that they were talking about.
“Juliana, go wait in the foyer. Your father and I have a few business matters to discuss.” I realized that I had been dismissed.
I couldn’t wait to get out of this room—I felt I was suffocating within these four walls.
I had been dreading coming here today, thinking that the meeting would mark my engagement to Emanuel Santino’s eldest son. I hadn’t expected, however, to be told that I was about to be married to a rival Mafia Capo.
Right now, the prospect of marrying someone like the Santino heir seemed like a fairytale ending.
Instead, I was marrying Marco Marchiano, and my nightmare was just beginning.
CHAPTER 2
JULIANA
“I can’t believe they’re making you marry that monster,” whispered Jessica.
I was in my bedroom with her and my mother, putting the finishing touches to my dark hair for the engagement party which would start imminently. The week’s reprieve before my engagement had flown by.
I felt something soft brush up against me. “Hey, boy,” I said, looking down at my dog. I was rewarded by him enthusiastically thumping his fluffy tail from side to side.
“I wish you girls wouldn’t let that animal into your bedrooms,” admonished my mother. “It leaves fur everywhere, and your dress for tonight is going to be covered in it if you continue letting it put its paws on your lap.”
She tried shooing him away. However, he was such a good-natured dog that he thought she was playing with him, and he leaped up at her and barked excitedly.
“Help, help! He’s trying to kill me!” screeched my mother, her arms flailing madly around herself.
We heard running footsteps thunder toward my room and the door burst open. Two soldiers rushed into the room, their guns aimed in front of them.
I rolled my eyes at my mother’s theatrics as I gently pulled the dog away from her. “It’s okay,” I told the soldiers. “No one is about to die.”
They took in what was happening and, with the smallest of sighs, holstered their weapons and retreated from the room.
I stroked the dog’s soft ears as I looked around my childhood bedroom in our family mansion. My home held precious memories of my childhood and of happy times with my siblings, Jacob and Jessica. My siblings meant the world to me. I would do everything in my power to keep them safe, and I’d often found myself wishing we hadn’t been born into the Mafia world with all its inherent threats and dangers.
“Are you actually going to marry him?” Jess carried on, worrying her lower lip. She was even more nervous than I was, if that was even possible.
I put my necklace around my throat and tried to fasten the clasp, but my shaking fingers made the task difficult. “Jess, it’s not as if I have any choice in the matter—none of us do in this life. You know our only purpose is to obey and do our duty.”
Obedience and duty. Those two words had been drummed into me from a very young age, and I was sick of hearing them.
My mother frowned. “Honestly, Jessica, it’s a great honor that Juliana has been chosen for this union.”
“More like Juliana was the default choice, given that Emanuel Santino’s own daughter is too young to marry,” pointed out Jess.
