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CHAPTER ONE
SARA
Martha and I walk out of the lecture hall together, merging into the river of students flooding the hallway. Our management theory class has just ended and it is finally the weekend.
"How does it feel to be back on campus?"
I roll my eyes dramatically. "I can't say I missed the campus drama but after a whole month of engagement parties and pretending to be the happy fiancée, it's better than being paraded around like a show pony.”
Martha laughs, her brown eyes twinkling with mirth. She's the only one who understands my situation with Lorenzo. The arranged marriage I never asked for but can't get out of.
I know my father- my family needs the alliance, but it doesn’t make me feel any less of an object to be married off like this. I shouldn’t care, but Lorenzo is not even remotely relevant in the Cosa Nostra. Just a disgustingly wealthy man with the self-destructive tendency to bite off way more than he can chew. He’s been my father’s associate for long enough to strike a deal with him, but I doubt he is truly aware of what he’s gotten himself into. And now, I’m stuck with him.
"Well, at least you're back now," she says. "Everyone thought you'd stay away until the wedding, but you even came back a week earlier than you had originally planned."
"Not sure I could have handled another week of that," I reply.
"Well, look at it on the bright side," she says. "At least you got to enjoy the food. I heard the lobster bisque was to die for."
"Not sure it's worth having to wear pantyhose in the July heat," I reply.
We head out the heavy double doors into the late afternoon sunlight. Students lounge on the grassy quad, soaking up the sunshine. Two guys toss a frisbee back and forth, their carefree laughter carrying on the breeze. I wish I could trade places with them.
Martha gives me a sympathetic smile. "Chin up, buttercup. It's good to have you back, even under these circumstances.”
The thought of the wedding still makes my stomach twist into knots.
Just the mention of the wedding makes my stomach twist into knots. In three short months, I'm expected to walk down the aisle to marry Lorenzo, a man twice my age who gives me the creeps.
All because Daddy dearest decided it would be good for business to merge our families. My whole future signed away without so much as a "hey Sara, what do you think about this?" It's infuriating.
"Have you tried talking to your mother again?" Martha asks gently as we walk across the quad.
I let out a harsh laugh. "Oh yeah, because that went so well the first ten thousand times. 'This is for your own good, Sara. Lorenzo comes from a good family. You're lucky to have landed such a successful husband.' Ugh."
I kick angrily at a pebble on the path, sending it skittering into the grass. "They don't care what I want. In their minds, I'm just Daddy's little bargaining chip."
Martha links her arm through mine and gives it a comforting squeeze. "I'm sorry, hon. You deserve so much better than this."
I sigh, my frustration melting into resignation. "It's fine." I try to sound nonchalant, but my voice wavers a little. The truth is, I'm terrified about marrying Lorenzo, but I don't have a choice.
We reach the edge of campus where Martha's shiny blue Prius is parked at the curb. She pops the trunk and she loads her backpacks inside.
"Call me later if you need to talk," she says. "I can come over and we can drown your sorrows in ice cream."
"It's a deal." I manage a small smile. Martha always knows how to lift my spirits, even if just for a moment.
We hug goodbye and she climbs into her car. I wave as she pulls away from the curb, the late afternoon sun glinting off her windshield. Then I start the walking back to my dorm.
I think about my situation and a small, defiant voice in my head whispers, what if you didn't have to go through with it? What if you could find a way out of this nightmare?
I quickly silence it. There's no way out. I just have to accept my fate. Dad would never allow me to back out now.
I take the long way back to the students’ dormitory, deliberately avoiding the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity house where Dimitri and his band of merry boys live. Since day one he has been overly interested in me, but I have avoided him as much as possible.
It's been a month since I last walked these paths, a month spent in a whirlwind of parties and forced smiles. Now, as I return, I can't help but feel a sense of unease even though I haven't caught sight of Dimitri or his lackeys lurking around corners. They usually just hurl taunts and leers in my direction, while he watches me silently from afar.
For a moment, I wonder if they have turned their attention elsewhere during my absence. Maybe they found some other poor girl to harass. The thought brings both relief and worry. Relief that I might be free from their harassment but worry for whoever might be enduring it now.
