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The Mafia still followed this vulgar tradition of insisting on the virgin sheet—they loved anything to do with blood.
“Sign, Juliana,” commanded Marco.
I swallowed hard. Everyone knew that I did not want to marry him—but no one cared.
I blindly signed the contract, abruptly pushing back my chair and turning to leave as soon as I finished my signature.
Before I could walk away, Marco seized my arm, holding me firmly in place.
“Let me go,” I hissed at him. “You’ve got what you wanted so I’m no longer needed here.”
“I didn’t say that you could go yet.” His jaw was tightly clenched.
I hesitated for a second, my mind scrambling, before turning my head toward my father. “Father, may I be excused please?”
“It’s no longer your father’s decision,” Marco said, glaring down at me. “You belong to me now, and I decide what you can and can’t do.”
I looked in horror toward my father, but he merely nodded. “He’s right. You are his now that the engagement contract is signed, and no matter what happens, our promise of you to him is irrevocable.”
There were tears threatening to spill from my eyes, but I held them back with the last ounces of my strength. I slowly turned my head back toward Marco.
Neither of us said a word. I knew that this wasn’t a battle I could win.
Through the lump in my throat, I squeezed out the words. “I’d like to go now.”
He said nothing for a few seconds, his gray eyes piercing me. “You can leave. I have business to discuss.”
Then he finally let go of my arm. I couldn’t get out of my father’s office fast enough, practically running in my haste to get away from him.
On my way back to my mother and sister, I ran into Gabriel Santino.
Gabriel looked at me, concern evident in his arresting blue eyes. “Juliana, are you alright?”
I nodded but couldn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry, Juliana. I only found out about my father’s plan the day before he told you. There was nothing I could do to stop it.” Gabriel understood that no girl would want to be faced with the task of marrying a member of the brutal Fratellanza, let alone its Capo.
“I never imagined that I would be married off to someone likehim,” I said in a shaky voice.
It had always been expected that I would eventually marry Gabriel, with the aim of strengthening the ties between the two most powerful families in the organization. The gossips, however, liked to find more superficial reasons for such a bond: I was one of the few girls within the Società who had blue eyes, and so the gossips had speculated for years that we would be promised to each other, thinking that such a match would produce the most adorable blue-eyed babies.
“You don’t deserve to be married to a man like him,” Gabriel said in a low voice. “Just know that I will always be here for you if you ever need me. The Società will still be your family, no matter what else happens.”
I looked into his eyes, but there was nothing more either of us could say. We both knew that our lives were bound by the rules of the Mafia world and had been since the day we’d been born.
With a small nod at him, I walked away and headed back to the drawing room where my mother and sister waited for me.
“Come sit, Juliana, and tell me everything that was said. Do you think he approved of you? Did you both sign the contract?” My mother pressed me eagerly for all the details, oblivious to my despondency.
I looked at Jessica, who gazed at me in sympathy and put her hand on mine to console me. “Don’t worry. You only have the dinner to get through now.”
When it was time for the celebration dinner, the meal passed without incident. My mother had gone to huge efforts to put on a feast fit for kings, but I could only toy with my meal of roast beef. “Are you not hungry, Juliana?” asked Jessica quietly.
“I can’t face food right now,” I whispered back. “I just want this day to be over.”
The men talked business while my mother, Jess, and I kept quiet. Thankfully, I was spared from any further conversations with Marco Marchiano.
When he left with his brothers at the end of the evening, I knew that the next time I would see him would be at our wedding—and that thought absolutely terrified me.
