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“It’s lovely. Thank you,” is all I can say.
“Antonella,” my mother interrupts us, her reflection coming over to stand behind mine. “We need to get you in your dress.”
I scowl, wanting to plant my feet in the plush carpet beneath my seat and not move.
My makeup artist glances between us, seeing our silent stare-down happening in the mirror.
She clears her throat. “Miss Ambrosino, can I grab you a glass of seltzer water from downstairs?”
Not trusting myself to speak, I nod at her and fist my hands around my silk robe. She bows and heads out of my room, her honey-colored hair bouncing against her shoulders as she moves.
“Up, please. We need to get you to the chapel.” My mother waves her hand at me in the mirror.
I sigh and stand. There are a few people scattered around my room, all of them springing to action as soon as I’m on my feet.
I’m fitted into my gown quickly. I don’t hate it, but it’s not my style. It’s more of a princess gown, and not what I would have preferred—which would’ve been something fitted to hug my curves.
The girl that did my makeup comes back with a glass of water that I take greedily hoping it will help my pounding headache.
Once I’m dressed, I get whisked away to the limo waiting for me downstairs.
It isn’t a long drive to the church, only a few blocks away from where my home is. I look out the window, taking in the high steeples and stained glass of the building. It's a beautiful place to get married. Well, maybe not for me, but definitely for someone else.
I get dragged out of the limo and into the vestibule beside the church, away from the main entrance so no one can see me before I walk down the aisle. I pace around the small room they put me in, wanting to get this over and done with already.
In my hand, my phone vibrates. I hold it up to look at the screen, a text from Etta scrolling across.
ETTA: Say the word, I can have a cab waiting out back in a minute. We can make a run for it.
I smile sadly down at my phone. I wanted to accept, but where would we go? My father has eyes throughout this entire city, and I doubted we’d get very far to make it out of the state.
The door behind me swings open, making my stomach lurch. Thankfully it’s just my brother.
I put my hand to my chest. “You scared me.”
He gives me a soft smile. “Sorry. You doing okay in here?”
His short hair is gelled back against his head, making him look a lot more put together than usual. His brown eyes run over me, a small frown tugging at his lips.
“No.”
He walks over to me slowly. He’s only a little bit taller than I am. We definitely got our father’s genes on that account, our height is the one thing that sets us apart from our mother.
“Talk to me,” he says.
“Enzo, I’m terrified of what I’m walking into, of what I’ll become.” I can feel myself getting tearful. “How can my own father do this to me? All I’ve ever done is work hard for him. Hoping that he will take my efforts seriously and let me work with you in the business. Why the hell am I being punished?”
I feel a set of arms wrap around me as I begin to shake uncontrollably. I wasn’t ready to give up my entire life to live under the thumb of another man. I’ve been doing that since I wasborn.
My father’s expectations have been impossible to meet, but still I tried. I never questioned him, even when his decisions had almost led us to ruin, more than once. All I ever wanted was for him to let me stand next to him and work for our family. For him to be proud.
For him to treat me like he treats Enzo.
It was all in vain, though. All he sees is a daughter, a trading piece.
“Nella,” Enzo says. “You have to remember that people will take as much as you give them. And you’ve given him way too much. You need to accept our father as he is and stop distorting your view of him, wishing he was someone else.”
He gives me one last squeeze before we part. I wipe the tears from my jaw, hating how true his words are. We both look over at the door when there is a loud knock.
