Page 19 of Reign Of Triumph
I move to Eros, lift myself up on my tiptoes, and kiss the corner of his mouth. “I can’t thank you enough. I was so sad this morning, and you performed a miracle. With all this wedding frenzy, you’d think I’d be too busy to worry about anything else, but I was missing them so much. You made this day perfect.”
Eros moves my hair off my shoulder and looks deeply into my eyes. “It’s good to hear you laugh. I hope to hear more of that. Unfortunately, I must go to work, and you have more ‘wedding frenzy’ to attend to.” He drops his head and brushes his lips over mine. “Have a good day, baby.”
Eros struts out the door, and I’m left watching his fine booty walk away before he slides into his SUV and tears down the road.
Ten
A Day to Remember
Serafina
The last few weeks have been a blur. Bianca and my nieces are over all the time, but Eros has made it clear that I’m not to go to their home without a bodyguard. Not that I want to, as long as I get to see my girls. Eros doesn’t speak about work, but I do know, mainly from Bianca, that Eros sends Giusto away for days and sometimes a week at a time.
I hate to say it, but Bianca’s much happier when my brother’s gone. The days that he’s home, Bianca can’t have any contact with me. This can’t continue, but for now, I’m grateful to know that we can have contact whenever possible.
Today will be the first day since Giusto took a hand to me that I will be seeing him again. The lavish wedding my mother wanted is going to happen, and she’s ecstatic about it. Last night, my mother told me how my father dreamed of walking me down the aisle on my wedding day. Dad told her in his final days that this would be his one regret. She brought tears to my eyes, but it’s still a moment I cherish with Mom. We both miss him so much, but when we speak about him, he’s still alive in our hearts.
Nero and Felicia are downstairs with their son, Antonio. Luciano and Grazia have brought their daughter, Ciara. Both women have consented to be bridesmaids. I know that Eros is close to Nero and Luciano and lately, Felicia and Grazia have been coming around to visit, and Eros and I have joined them for dinner on several occasions. I like them both very much, and they’ve opened their hearts to me and Mom.
Bianca has been helping me get dressed. She left my room just moments ago to give me a few minutes to myself before going downstairs. I used to think about my wedding day, but that was a long time ago. So much has happened since Dad died that the luxury of dreaming wasn’t an option. Mom’s health began to deteriorate shortly after we buried Dad. Mom was his caregiver in every way, and because we were all so worried about Dad, we didn’t see the signs of Mom becoming more and more tired.
I blame myself, but then I was young and grieving the loss of my father. My brother was moving on and spent more time at work and with Bianca, and I was enthralled with my new sister-in-law. Things were changing fast, until one day, Mom collapsed, and in the hospital, Giusto and I learned of her heart condition.
A knock on the door tears me from my thoughts. “Bella, it’s nearly time to go,” Mom calls to me.
“Coming, Mom,” I reply and take one last look in the mirror. I feel and look like a princess. The fitted sweetheart bodice, with delicate pearls and crystal beading, accentuates my breasts, and the bottom flares into an A-line skirt that slowly widens at the hemline. The soft, romantic gown has accents of floral embroidery. And the off-the-shoulder sleeves show off my fine bone structure.
Mom is waiting for me outside the door and is about to burst into tears again. “No more tears. The makeup artist is going to run out of makeup,” I tease. The makeup artist, Elmira, was fantastic. I don’t feel made up with layers of foundation and powders, but feel fresh and elegant.
She gives me a grin and leads the way down the stairs. I make my entrance into the formal dining room, where everyone is waiting for us. Bianca comes to my side, with my nieces in their pretty cream dresses and with rosy cheeks, each holding a basket of pink rose petals. Felicia hands her son to Nero. She kisses her son’s cheek, then kisses her husband before joining me. Grazia does the same with Ciara, leaving Luciano to hold a pouting little girl. Luciano says something in the little girl’s ear, and suddenly, she is nothing but smiles.
I look around the room for my brother. Giusto is giving me away at the altar today. He should be by my side, taking my father’s place, but instead, he’s across the room, with a whiskey glass in his hand. He watches me with complete indifference, taking his own sweet time in downing his drink. If it weren’t for my mother, I would have insisted on walking down the aisle by myself, but Mom still holds on to hope that Giusto will turn himself around and become the boy she used to know.
“The limousine is waiting outside,” Nero says, giving Giusto the hint to move his ass. It has the desired effect, or rather, Nero’s words, coupled with the solemn gaze Marco Moretti throws in his direction, have Giusto walking toward us.
Giusto never cracked a smile while taking family photos, and it seems that this is going to be the trend for the day. Everyone else is ignoring him, and the guests who have been invited to see me off to the church, as is traditional in Italian families, are enjoying themselves. I am dreading being in the car with Giusto, but it’s only a short distance to the church. Nero will follow close behind, and Luciano will lead the way. My mother is ahead of Luciano in Marco’s car. It’s quite an honor to ride with the capo of La Famiglia, and she’s thrilled.
Giusto waits for the limousine to head out into traffic, then rolls up the windowed partition to speak to me privately. I suck in a breath and wait for the onslaught.
He takes my icy-cold hand and holds it gently in his. With a calm smile on his lips, he says, “I’m so sorry I hurt you, sorellina. I was so consumed with rage and lashed out at the one person who understands me best. We’ve been through so much together. I’m supposed to protect you, and I fell down on the job. And here we are, you’re getting married to a demented man, who is hell-bent on making our family pay for what happened to his sister.” I’m stunned into silence, which is probably a good thing at the moment. Giusto continues, “What happened with Miranda was unfortunate. She wanted me, and I wanted her. It was just sex. She knew I’d never marry a soldier’s daughter, and when she saw I wouldn’t change my mind, she called it rape.” He shakes his head. “Those bruises on her, well, let’s just say she liked to play hard and rough. She asked for it.”
I know I must look like an idiot with my jaw hanging open, but I simply have no words. We’re riding to the church, where I’m about to get married, and he’s going on about rough sex with Miranda. He must be insane! She was a sweet, innocent young woman. Everyone who knew her loved her.
“He’s going to hurt you tonight. Eros is marrying you to avenge his sister. He’s going to take your virginity, and he’s going to make sure you suffer greatly in the process. He’s committed to an eye for an eye,” he says. “I want you to be able to protect yourself.” He pulls out a switchblade, then reaches beside me and puts it in my overnight bag. “Use this. Hide it under your pillow, and when he gets close, ram it through his heart. It’s the only thing I can think of to protect you.”
“I-I’m not a killer,” I whisper. “And Eros has been so kind to me and Mom?—”
“It’s a ruse, stupid,” he hisses, clenching his teeth. Then he catches himself and takes a breath. “It’s all part of his plan.” He rakes a hand through his dark hair. “We’ll say he attacked you. You had to defend yourself. Once he’s gone, our lives will go back to normal. I’ll take my place back as underboss. You can come over and visit with Anita and Alia. Bianca misses you very much, you know.” He uses his charm and plays on my love for the girls. It’s the same charm that I’ve seen so many times before, and it has always been his means of getting whatever he wanted from Mom and Dad.
Giusto’s only thinking of himself. I know this in my heart. This isn’t about love of family or protecting me or Mom. This is his way of taking back his title of underboss. Still, I have to play along, because this will get ugly if I don’t.
“I’m scared.” That’s not untrue, but I’m scared of him, not Eros.
“Nothing to be afraid of. Eros is going to take out his anger on you. He’s going to beat you bloody, then rape you until you beg for death. This is your only chance. You can do this, Serafina. My little sister is the strongest woman I know,” he says with an encouraging smile. “Once Eros is dead, you call me, and I’ll come for you.”
The limousine comes to a stop. Giusto squeezes my hand. “Do this for our family,” he finishes. The passenger door is opened, and Giusto steps out, then holds out his hand for me to take and leads me up the stone steps of the old church.
The music begins, and Grazia and Felicia begin their walk toward the altar. Bianca is next, but only after making sure that my train is perfect and completely ignoring her husband. Anita and Alia practically skip down the aisle, dropping petals as they go. They do a little run when they see Eros, but instead of shooing them away, he comes down on his haunches to receive a kiss from each of them before walking them over to Bianca.
