I gasp for breath I can’t have as his heavy hand pushes my shoulder down until my knees hit the carpet.
“Ragazza inutile!” Papa roars, making me shudder. If he truly believes I’m useless, then there will be no reason to keep me around. “Since you say you wish to make me happy, despite how you’re doing everything to the contrary, I hope it pleases you to know I have chosen a husband for you. In reality, the contract has been in place for the past year, but I have had some doubts about him.”
Oxygen. Please.
I struggle to inhale, black dots threatening my vision due to having the wind knocked out of me. Papa merely smirks as he takes a long swig from his bottle, unbothered by how barbaric it makes him look. I’m just a useless daughter, he doesn’t care about what I witness.
“Oh, what’s that? You want to know about my doubts?” he taunts me. “His father ran a large human trafficking ring in the Midwest. I was unsure if I wanted to align myself with something like that. Drugs, strip clubs, and weapons, fuck it. I’ll even agree to basement gambling, fights, and upscale auctions. However, I have to draw the line at auctions that remind me of cattle sales.”
Yet, you’ll happily sell me off. What’s the fucking difference?Sweet, sweet oxygen finally fills my lungs to help beat back the threat of unconsciousness, and I focus on staying silent, attentive, and alive.
“His father is now dead, and Nico swears he passed on ownership of the Remano Auction. It’s gone to a cousin, and I’m inclined to believe him. We need each other, a partnership that should keep us from double crossing each other. He needs a bride within the next month, and we will highly benefit from the income he’ll receive from his father’s inheritance. The union between our families will help shake off anyone who thinks they can best us and allow me to move men into Michigan to grow ourbusiness ventures. Who better to be his bride than my beautiful daughter?”
Now he needs me. Awesome.
“You could be a little happier about this, but no!”
His free hand fists in my hair, yanking my head back as I struggle not to whimper. Weakness even while on my knees could be a death sentence.
“I’m happy with whatever makes you happy, Papa.”
“Hmm. I’ll believe that when you walk down the aisle under a veil to hide your face and the words ‘I do’ cross your lips,” he snarls. “I will accept nothing less, Rosalia.”
It’s funny. I rarely hear my name from his lips. It’s always insults or “my daughter.” I am a commodity and nothing else.
“Yes, sir,” I rasp.
“I don’t want to see Verona while Nico is visiting. Where is she?”
“Visiting her grandmother. She’s a dutiful?—”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You two have been flaunting your relationship, haven’t you? She kisses your pussy and your mouth without pause, and you allow her to, don’t you?”
Italian men are so very odd about the exchange of bodily fluids. I don’t understand why, but I’ve caught the men who roam these halls discussing how they refuse to give oral to their wives and whores. They expect blow jobs, but the opposite is anathema.
It doesn’t matter if I tell my father I haven’t gone past kissing and heavy petting with Vero, he won’t believe me. She and I have never had the opportunity for more.
“No, Papa.” Anything more will invite him to kick me again.
“I don’t believe you!”
The mouth of the whiskey bottle is forced between my lips, and he upends it so the liquid flows into my mouth.
“Drink, goddamn you! Maybe it’ll loosen your lying lips.”
I force myself to swallow as much as I can, even as I choke on it. Whiskey spills onto the front of my dress, continuing to drench me so the white material becomes see-through. I’m not wearing a bra today, and I’m sure my body is on full display underneath my clothing.
I continue to sputter as he pulls the bottle away from me, and I’m shaking from the pain of choking on so much liquor. What I managed to swallow down burns as it travels through me, and I can tell the effects are going to hit me like a Mack truck soon.
I’m on borrowed time.
“As I was saying, the mantle of your responsibilities will be heavy. He needs an heir, and he needs it within the first year of this marriage.”
The words ring in my ears as I nod, unable to speak as the reality of my life fully hits me. I’ve always known I would become someone’s broodmare one day, knowing it’s happening in less than five weeks makes me lightheaded.
“Yes, sir,” I finally force out as he releases my hair completely. “When will I meet him?”
“In three hours.”
