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Linda gives a slight curtsy before departing, closing me in the room alone with my parents. I stand silently, waiting for whatever it is they have to say now. I know better than to speak—let alone argue anymore. I’ve ruined everything, and all I can do is hope that they know how to fix my childish mistake.
“Sit down, Tia,” my father says, and hearing my name leave his lips after all this time makes my chest tighten. Whatever he needs to tell me must be bad if he’s talking to me again.
I do as he says, settling onto the couch across from my parents and lacing my fingers on my lap, my back ramrod straight.
“I’ve spoken with Don Moretti, and we’ve come to an arrangement,” he states, his tone measured, his sharp eyes intent on mine.
“An arrangement?” That can’t possibly mean what I think it does. Not after years of hatred between the two families, a growing animosity that has only exploded after my indiscretion.
My gaze flicks naturally to my mother for an explanation, and her expression puts me slightly at ease. But she doesn’t speak; instead, her eyes implore me to understand.
“To avoid the humiliation of having the world know that our enemy got our daughter pregnant, you and Leonardo Moretti will get married—quickly, before the baby is born.”
My heart stops at my father’s declaration, the reality of his words striking me like a physical blow. I can feel the blood draining from my face as the room swims dangerously before me. And I force air into my lungs to try and regain my composure.
“You must be joking,” I demand, shifting to clench my hands into fists. He can’t possibly expect me to marry that asshole.
“I’m not.”
“Do you really hate me that much now? Do I disgust you to the point that you’ll get rid of me at all costs?” I know my parents aren’t thrilled about helping raise the child of their unwed daughter, but I can’t believe my father would sell me off to the Morettis when I know just how much he hates them.
“Believe it or not, this isn’t about you, Tia. This might be our last chance to save the Guerra name. Because the Morettis won’t want a bastard child to be raised outside their control. That means they’ve actually agreed to an alliance they never would have before.”
My objections die on my lips as he throws my mistake back in my face. Because as much as I want to deny it, I know that my actions that night are what put our family in such dire straits. Snapping my mouth shut, I force my hands to relax, lacing my fingers once more as I wait for him to go on.
“But…”
I scarcely dare to breathe as I wait for the other shoe to drop. Because marrying Leonardo Moretti couldn’t possibly be bad enough. Focusing on my father’s onyx gaze, I wait for the noose to tighten.
“Tia, could this baby possibly be anyone else’s?”
I can’t tell if the hint of emotion behind his question is pain or hope, but it brings a knot to my throat. My father, a man who once had pride in me as his daughter, can barely look me in the eye anymore. And as much as I hate that my virginity could matter so much when it comes to deserving my father’s love, I hate more that the consequences of my actions have impacted everyone I care about so completely.
But most of all, I hate the man who took so much from me.
“I wish it could be anyone else’s,” I breathe, my gaze dropping as I pick at my cuticles. “Leonardo Moretti is a monster, just like you said, and I would rather die than marry him. But I know that you can’t marry me to anyone else—especially now.” Now that I have a child growing in my belly. Not that I wanted to marry any of my potential suitors, but the reality of my situation feels far worse than it did just a month ago.
A sharp silence lingers between us, and I wonder if my father might be considering the benefits of my death over the alternative of having to accept the Morettis as allies.
But he presses onward, his tone resolved. “They’re asking for a paternity test before announcing the engagement.”
I scoff. “They have the gall to accuse me of sleeping around after what he did?” I snap, my temper overcoming my composure. The bastard. He takes my virginity, and then he wants to question my chastity?
I’ve never wanted to murder someone so violently. I can’t imagine spending my life with him. Not after how he treated me. He must be a psychopath to be capable of such callous disregard for another person’s wellbeing.
And I would have to be insane to accept his proposal. Or a complete masochist.
“Well, if those are his conditions, he can go right to hell.” I cross my arms over my chest defiantly, slouching against the back of the couch as I turn my face away from my parents.
“Would you let your sisters die to spite him?” Father asks, drawing me from my caustic thoughts.
The question cuts like a knife. Is that what it’s come down to? My sanity or my sisters’ survival?
“We’re running out of options, Tia,” he states as if he could hear my thoughts. His eyes are grave as they hold mine. “Either we use our leverage from your pregnancy to enforce this alliance, or we prepare to be annihilated because we are out of allies.”
“What do you mean?” I breathe, my stomach knotting uncomfortably.
I’ve been entirely out of the loop since the night Leonardo dumped me on the front steps of my parents’ home. My father has kept me from sight both as punishment and in the hope that gossip about my poor choices would dissipate before it caused too many problems.
