He takes my hand in his, holding it tightly and raising it in front of my parents. "Her future husband."
"I won't allow that!" my father exclaims, his gun out and pointed at Enzo.
"Really?" Enzo drawls, and my eyes widen at his nonchalance. He's outnumbered, and all the guards are focused on us, ready to take out their weapons too. "Everyone else thinks you've already allowed it," Enzo continues, telling my father to check his phone.
"You…" He looks shocked at whatever he sees on his phone and can only shake his head. "You planned this, didn't you? Why?" I'm confused about the exchange between the two of them, but I'm even more surprised when my father begrudgingly accepts Enzo's claim.
"Mario, call the priest!" he shouts at the guard. "We have a wedding to celebrate," he adds, not in the least happy.
"See, I told you," Enzo lowers his head to whisper in my ear as we're guided toward the living room.
"Is that your solution? To marry me?" I grit my teeth, the enormity of the situation dawning on me. But why would he even want to marry me? So I ask him just that. "Why?"
"I'm repaying a debt. You saved my life, and now I save yours." His face is expressionless, and I realize he couldn't care less about marrying me.
Dazed, I try to keep my head in the game. Everyone is extremely tense as we head inside the house, and my parents make no secret of their disdain for me.
"Allegra, go to Cecilia and have her help you dress. If we're doing this, we're doing it right. You're not embarrassing us again." I nod and leave the room, not bothering to look at Enzo. At least I can confirm that Lia is fine.
But she's not. Not really.
When I reach the landing of the stairs, I see the purple bruises on her face, stretching down her neck and into the confines of her clothes.
Oh, Lia!
"Miss!" She comes running toward me, hugging me to her chest.
"I'm so sorry, Lia. It's all my fault." The tears are finally spilling down my cheeks. This is on me. I knew there was no way my parents were going to let her be... That she's still alive is a small mercy.
"Shh, none of that. I heard the news. I'm so happy for you, my child. You won't have to marry that brute of a man."
"But Chiara…" I trail off, worried about my sister. We may not have the best relationship, but she's still family.
"She'll manage. She's managed her entire life to be the one on top." Lia raises an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to contradict her and knowing I can't.
Chiara's always been my parents' favorite. I'd been told countless times that I'd almost killed my mother at birth and that in their superstitious minds, it meant I was bad luck.
"I should have aborted you the moment I knew I was carrying you too," my mother had spat at me countless times. By some twist of fate, not long after my birth, she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone a double mastectomy. To this day, she persists that the only reason she'd gotten ill was that I'd done something to her body when I was born. I'm not a doctor, but I doubt the two are connected. Still, that had meant that I'd been the receiver of such barbs my entire life.
My sister? She was the perfect child. She was the skinny, obedient, and pretty sister. She was everything I wasn't, and because of that, she was the one they took everywhere with them. The only one worthy of public display.
I can't say that my relationship with Chiara had suffered because of that since it's never been great to begin with. Even as a child, she'd been malicious and envious. She would always find ways to make herself the victim, and I'd end up the villain. The number of beatings I took for Chiara's wrongful accusations had almost destroyed all the sisterly love I had for her. But that didn't mean I wanted her to suffer.
"Better her than you," Lia whispers in my ear as she takes me to my room. "You've been punished your entire life for sins that were not yours. And don't make Chiara the victim, since her poisonous tongue harmed you more times than not. I don't even know how you are related to these people." She shakes her head, her voice still low.
Sometimes, I don't know either.
14
ALLEGRA
Lia goesto my closet and takes out a simple white dress.
"It's nothing special, since Chiara had to wear your wedding dress. But you'll look beautiful in it." The genuine smile on her face lets me know she's not lying just to make me feel better.
"Thank you." My voice is filled with emotion. I take off my clothes, and Lia is horrified when she sees my wound. I shake my head at her—now is not the time to get into details.
I slip the dress on and then let Lia fix my hair. Just as she's pinning the last strand to my updo, my mother walks through the door.
