“No.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “You’re always talking about how hard I work, how many sacrifices I make. This is your sacrifice. This is your job.”
“You sent me to an incredible university to study business administration, yet you want me to call this my job.” I shook my head. “I don’t understand how marrying Adriano will help anyone.”
“I’ve told you this.”
“Tell me again,” I said quietly, my voice breaking.
“He’s aduca. Tu saresti una duchessa,” he said, smiling as he pinched my chin.
“Italia has no nobility, Papa.”
“Lenora.” He dropped his hand and shot me an impatient look.
“Papa.” I mimicked him and crossed my arms.
His eyes lit up with amusement. “This marriage is not surprising news, Lenora. You’ve known about this your entire life. You’ve never complained before.”
“Because it wasn’t a reality before. It was like letting me wear an astronaut suit around the house and telling me that someday I’d go to the moon.”
“Hm.” His lips twisted. I stopped breathing, thinking I had him agreeing for a moment, until he said, “Well, they own Milano, and I want it, so this is what we need to do to get it.”
“Why do you need to own Milano? You already own all of Sicily — Catania, Taormina, Palermo, Roma,” I said, checking off just some places. “If you wanted to own all of Italia, you should have tried to become Il Papa.”
At that, he laughed loudly. “It has crossed my mind.”
I sighed. “I only want one more year.”
“And then you will want another, and another, and another.”
“Just one.”
“No.”
“Papa.”
“No isno, Lenora. I’ve given you long enough.”
“I’m twenty-two!”
“Precisamente.” He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe the noble title means nothing, but the man is set to inherit billions of dollars.”
Ugh. As far as I was concerned, Adriano could take his billions and shove them up his ass. I wanted to scream that to the world. Instead, I turned around and started to walk away, grateful that he didn’t say anything about it. My father wasn’t someone you walked away from without being dismissed. He only let Mom and me get away with it. I let out a breath. I didn’t know why I expected this plea to be any different than the rest. If Dominic and Gabe hadn’t been able to get through to him, I stood no chance. I missed Aanya. I pulled out my phone and looked at my screensaver, a photo of her after we’d explored the one hundred acres of land my father owned. In the photo, she had mud on her face and looked at the camera like she's smiling. She probably was. Aanya was always smiling, which in turn, made me smile. Today, looking at her picture wasn’t enough. I took a breath and texted my mother.
Me: I don’t want this. AT ALL. I hate everything
Mami: I’m sorry
Me: I really really hate this
My phone rang with a call from her, and I answered quickly as I climbed into the backseat of the unmarked SUV that would drive me to my parents’ penthouse.
“I hate this,” I repeated into the phone.
“I’ll be there early in the morning. Let’s go to breakfast,” she said. “No phones allowed.”
I agreed, and we hung up. I tossed the phone into my purse and looked out the window. New York was truly remarkable. It was the only city I’d ever been to that — despite the number of people that inhabited it — giving you a sense of belonging. Sometimes I liked to close my eyes and think about what I would do if I had the choice if I was free. If I were, I probably wouldn’t live in the city long-term. There was no space for Aanya here. She was the only thing I needed to discuss with Adriano. If I was expected to marry him, a stranger, he needed to promise I could bring her with me.
4
