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Although I didn't mind having more time. None of that made me feel better. I was a nervous wreck biting my nails for the rest of the day and that mansion alone. I didn't sit on the couch and watch TV. I instead paced the mansion and cleaned. I did anything that I could take my mind off of things. But no matter what I was doing, from sitting on the toilet to cleaning the house, I imagined being assassinated at every turn.
It wasn't a great existence, to say the least. All I wanted was for Tomaso to come home. But simultaneously, I worried that he wasn't going to. Now, I shouldn't have been thinking so negatively. It felt like a survival mechanism, though. It felt like the right thing to do. Maybe I look through the window too many times. I became one of those people who existed only in paranoia.
It made me do some crazy things. I don't know why I did it, but I went to the grocery store just to get out of the house and try to face my fears.
That was until Tomaso came home. I nearly wanted to jump in his arms when he walked through the door. The man could not stop a bullet, but it felt that way. " You okay? You look scared." He said while he gave me a measured look.
I didn't know where to begin. Sure, there was a beginning, middle and end, but my tongue felt like it had lost the ability to move.
"Angelina, spill it. What's the matter? You look like? You've seen a ghost."
"Two of your men came by. They're saying that news is out that you and I are in the contract. They know Tomaso. They know all about us."
It didn't help that his face went white. It would have helped if he had a war cry or a more soothing look on his face."
"Are you being serious right now?"
I nodded yes because saying the word felt too difficult.
"Damn it." He started to pace back and forth with his hands on his hips. It wasn't what I wanted to see. That made me panic even more. " How the hell did this leak out? You and I were the only two that knew about it."
For a moment, I could have sworn that he looked at me as though I was the one that leaked it. I refused to believe that, though. " It was your computer. Someone hacked it."
"It had to be an inside job, then." It looked as though he was thinking through things. I couldn't fault him for that. It was an unprecedented situation, and we were the first to go through it. Maybe even in the whole world. Should I have felt special for that? Should I have felt like I was on some sort of adventure? Probably not. But hey, at least I did feel alive.
"I need to see my father." He finally said.
I had no answer for him. And after all, it did feel like it was just better to listen than anything else.
" I want you to go with me, though."
Whoa. I was definitely not expecting that. I swallowed. "Are you sure? This seems like something that would be between you and your–"
"Angelina, you are implicated in the contract. You're part of this. I'm sorry. But it's better to show your face and at least be in the background. Nothing's going to happen to you, though, okay."
Resentment was a real thing at that moment. Because he had promised that I would be nowhere near any of this stuff. He made me feel like I was just a chessboard piece. But now, suddenly, I was wrapped up in the middle of it all. Oddly enough, there was a little bit of confidence in me. I found it cool that I was in the middle of mafia stuff. But of course, there was no negating what I felt in my heart, and I was just sheer fear.
His father's mansion was even bigger than his. We got there in about a half hour. The gates were super secure. They were men that looked like they were in the secret service standing outside. I knew that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. That was for sure.
" I don't need you to say anything. And I don't mean that in a mean way." Tomaso started in the car. " Your job is just to be here so that it looks like you care."
" I don't know. Since I signed the contract and pretended to be your fiancee, how could I convince anyone that I care?"
He gave me a quick look. " Your presence. That's all we need. You must show this man that you're not just the contract signer. You came here for support, and that's what matters."
It did make me feel a little better. But at the end of the day, I just couldn't understand how this would improve the situation. So I just nodded in agreement and dealt with it all. Because no matter what I said, it wouldn't change the situation anyway.
Inside the mansion, it looks like it was built in the 1930s. It was fancy, but it just wasn't modern. It wasn't what I had expected. I was used to Tomaso's mansion. I guess I was comparing.
So much for being there for support, though. Because when we got to his father's office, he had me wait outside. I could hear muffled voices. One of those voices was yelling, and it was not Tomaso. The only words I could make out were Vincenzo's family and war.
Needless to say, this didn't bode well for my future.
Chapter 14
Tomaso
Ihadaroomfull of eager faces waiting to see how I would address the situation. I would not envy myself if I was someone who wasn't me. But unfortunately, I was who I was, and there was no change. I simply had to deal with my situation. I was the one that got myself here. No one but me. It was my stupid idea to have the damn contract in the first place. I should have known better. I should have known how ridiculous that crap was. Was it absurd that I was expected to marry someone I did not love or care for? That was absurd too. I learned from the whole thing that you could not fight fire with fire. That was a very simple notion, but it could not have been more true. You fight fire with fire and get nothing but a burn-down house. At this time in my life, that house was filled with someone I cared about. And it was probably the worst part about it all. I had dragged Angelina into it, and it was all I could think about. I couldn't have cared less about myself at that moment. All I wanted to do was protect her.
