Page 6 of The One
She isn’t seriously contemplating saying no, is she?
Everyone here knows this wouldn’t end well. She has no choice but to go through with it.
Still, the silence stretches on.
All eyes are on her.
The congregation is holding their breath, waiting to see what will happen next.
Something stirs in the pit of my stomach. Is it pity?
Come on, girl, just get it over with.
Embarrassing the Contis is a bad idea.
The next second, she drops Renaldo’s hand.
Gasps echo through the quiet church.
I watch on, stunned.
She bends over as if in pain and cradles her stomach.
Then, she turns her head away from her fiancé, and…
Ohhh, wow!
My eyes widen, and I jerk back instinctively.
She throws up!
The projectile vomit hits Father Josef with a sickening splatter.
Everyone freezes.
Complete silence descends.
Mariella’s cheeks flush from pale white to red hot under the weight of a hundred eyes staring at her.
Father Josef stands motionless in his speckled robe, his expression a mix of surprise, dismay and concern.
Her chest heaves visibly. She sways on her feet as her father jumps up.
Antonio is furious!
I doubt he’s rushing forward to catch his daughter, who’s about to go down.
Then she’s on the floor.
Raucous chatter breaks out in the church. My view of what’s happening is obstructed by Antonio’s wife and his other daughters tending to the bride.
“Well, that was entertaining,” Romeo, my best friend and right-hand man, chuckles beside me as we stand. To my left, my older brother rises too, buttoning up his suit jacket.
“I guess this wedding is over,” Rom says. “I wouldn’t want to be in the girl’s shoes. Antonio is about to blow a gasket.”
He’s right. Mariella’s father is red-faced and frantically talking to Renaldo and his father, one of our high-ranking capos. Both look furious.
Can’t say I blame them. Renaldo Conti will be a laughingstock for the foreseeable future, something he won’t take lightly.
