“W…what does he want, Dad?” I ask — but I already know, even before he speaks.
I feel Giacomo’s hand cup the side of my face, and I flinch at the contact. I step out of his hold, and he lets me. I stare at the nicely dressed man in front of me.
“You,cara.I want you.”
“No.” My voice comes out a whisper. “Dad, tell me you didn’t… tell me you didn’t sell me off to this man like some damn piece of cattle. Dad?”
My voice rises with each word, but my father says nothing. He just sits on that loveseat with tears swimming in his eyes.
His face crumples. “I had no choice. Your mother was going to die. And… and he… he can offer you a good life. He can give you all the luxuries you’ve ever wanted.”
And all it would cost me is the one thing that is my birthright. My freedom.
“No,” I say louder. “I won’t. I… I won’t go with you.”
“If I don’t honor the deal,” my father starts as he stands. He takes a step toward me; I take two back, wary of him. “He’ll take everything, baby. The house. Your mother’s care?—”
“I’ll work! I’ll get a third job?—”
Giacomo steps even closer. “Your father offered you to me, Beatrice. His most precious thing in the whole world to save the love of his life. The woman who gave you life…”
My vision blurs as the sting behind my eyes builds. Less than an hour ago I was dreaming of a new future. Of a chance at happiness.
“My freedom is not his to offer. I will not marry you, Mr. Feriama.”
“Call me Giacomo,cara,” he says easily. “I will be your husband soon enough.”
“No, you will not.” I spit the words with as much conviction as I can muster. “I am not for sale.”
“I understand that.” Giacomo takes a step back, giving me a little more breathing room. “Which is why I will let you choose,cara mia.You can choose to leave with me for New York tonight… or you can choose the other option, and I renounce your mother’s aftercare, take your home, and shut down your father’s pizza shop.”
My lips part as I draw in a sharp inhale. “You… you can’t?—”
“I don’t want to,cara.” He even has the audacity to look solemn. “I will not lie to you and claim to be a good man, but I am an honorable one. My word is my bond, and I have to honor it.”
I can feel my heart breaking from within.
“I will never force you to do what you don’t want. But the contract is legally binding.” He holds his hand out to me. “Your life has been hardship after hardship, Beatrice. You’ve had to give up so much just to help your family. I understand this may look like giving up your freedom, but I am actually giving you access to a world of possibilities.”
He pauses for a moment.
“Money is no problem to me. I have more money than you could ever dream of spending in your entire life. I just want the chance to be the man who makes your dreams come true… that is, if you will have me.”
He’s giving me a choice without offering me one at all. My mother’s life is on the line — the woman who birthed me, who showed me love and care.
If I say no, my mother dies. My family is left ruined, homeless, and broken. My father may never forgive me for not doing all I could to save her.
I stare into Giacomo’s glacial eyes. There’s no life behind those pupils, nothing there except that charismatic glint.
“I can give you the world,cara.” He holds out his hand. “Everything you or your family could ever need.”
“There has to be another way.” I walk over to my dad. “Dad, please. There has to be something else you can offer him. You—you can’t do this to me, Daddy.”
My father looks away, ashamed of the choices he’s made. A single tear streaks down his cheek.
“Aruto…” There’s warning in Giacomo’s voice. “…you told me this was a one-and-done deal.”
My father snaps his head to Giacomo and, surprisingly, I see rage flicker in his pupils. He opens his mouth to speak — but then my mother walks in carrying a tray of cookies.
