4. Adriana

Chapter four

Adriana

I roll on my bed, feeling useless. It's been hours since I left Alessandro's house.

And since he took my virginity, Alessandro never came back after he left the room. I feel so stupid throwing myself at him like some whore. If I wasn't sure of my mother's reaction, now I'm certain she will be disappointed in me.

She's always been religious—kind-hearted and religious—and she made sure to bring us up in the way of the Lord. One of the important rules she made sure to instill was for myself and Beatrice to keep ourselves pure until after marriage.

And now, I've gone ahead and sold myself cheaply to a man—a Malgeri, nonetheless. The only consolation I have to hold onto now is that, at least, Beatrice is still upholding her promise to Mother.

My mind snaps back to my reality. He left me there, clueless and alone. I had my blood stain on the sheets, and I couldn't do a fucking thing about it other than soak it in the tub.

His men didn't offer me a ride as I made my way out of the mansion. I'm just glad they let me out easily. The inside of my thighs hurts as I plant myself deeper into my bed to muffle my screams.

The white sheets feel wet on my skin as tears run down my eyes. I never thought my first time would feel this way. And somehow, I loved it. Both the pain and the pleasure.

His tongue and touch do things to me. I close my eyes and trail my fingers on my left thigh. It causes me to shiver with the thoughts of Alessandro's hands on me.

Father would kill me if he ever found out Malgeri's heir deflowered me. I imagine his reaction to learning that I let Alessandro fuck me just to spite him; his pale white face flaring up in anger.

There was nothing from Alessandro after he received the call. Not even a fucking message when he had his men hand over my purse to me. It took everything in me to stop myself from screaming when his men arrived.

There was no way in hell I could stay in that house. I'd rather return to my father's shitty house than feel like a cheap whore in his.

I hate him for making my first time suck and being a fucking asshole after we had sex. I'm never letting that happen to me again. I don't even want to fucking see his face anywhere near me. And considering him and his father being our worst enemy, that should not be a problem.

I turn to the door as I hear a faint call of my name accompanied by a knock.

"Beatrice?"

"Can I come in, Adriana?"

I stand to my feet to unlock the door.

"Adriana," she whispers as she pulls me into a tight hug.

Her black hair smells like lavender. It always does. She has it flowing down her shoulders. Her beautiful yellow dress is snatched at the waist. She has an equally protruding bosom, just like mine.

"I'm so sorry he did that to you," she whispers in my ear.

"It's fine. I'll be fine."

She lets go of me and shuts the door.

"Father's an asshole," she mumbles. I arch my brows, surprised she actually said that. Out loud. "I've always wanted to say that," she laughs nervously.

"You're meant to be the perfect daughter."

"Oh, please, I wish I was as strong as you are. You remind me a lot of Madre ," she replies.

I sigh heavily as I plop down on my bed. "I hate that you are going," I confess. She lies next to me. We both stare at the ceiling. I feel her eyes on me for a second before she returns her gaze back to the ceiling.

Beatrice and I got our blue eyes from Mother. The only feature of Father so visible in her appearance is her height. She's only a few inches shorter than Father.

"I don't want to leave you here with Father."

The room grows quiet, with both of us lost in our thoughts.

"I met with Malgeri's son the other day at Elixir. Actually, he tried to kill me," I blurt.

"Adriana!" Beatrice exclaims, changing her position to sit upright and look at me. I leave out the part where I ran to him, and we had sex.

"You need to be more careful. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Her blue eyes bore into mine. I can see every line of concern in them.

"I will. I promise."

She takes my hand and holds on to my pinky tighter.

"Pinky swear," she adds.

I roll my eyes dramatically as I repeat the words after her. I've never really taken it seriously but I do it anyway to please her.

"Now get dressed. Gabriele and his father are coming over soon."

"Wait… isn't it too early?"

"Father wants to meet them both,"

I nod, holding myself together.

"And Adriana... I have someone I would love you to meet, too." She winks as she walks out of the room in a jiffy.

I take the red purse I had just retrieved from Alessandro and take my phone out of it. A piece of paper falls on my bed as I grab my phone. I see some scribbling on it—Alessandro's name, number and address.

I guess he isn't the asshole I thought he was before.

It's exactly 11 p.m. on the clock as I walk into my closet. I take out a blue dress and have myself dressed in no time.

The dress fits in all places as I stare at myself in my dressing table's mirror. The heart-shaped neckline has my cleavage showing.

I style my hair in a high bun with two strands falling at the front and match the dress with silver dangling earrings.

"Adriana… they are here," Beatrice calls from out the door.

"Gimme a second."

I reapply my lip gloss and take a final look at myself in the mirror. My lips look ravishing in red.

I walk out of my room to meet Beatrice by the door. Her jaw drops to the ground as she stares at me.

"What do you think?"

"I think everyone's going to be staring at you instead of Gabriele and me. You're so beautiful."

I giggle, feeling heat in my cheeks. "And you're about to get married," I squeal. She squeals in a high-pitched tone with her perfect set of teeth out.

We walk to the living room and it looks like the party has already started.

Father has a cigar in his hand, talking to Gabriele's father, Aaron Lucchese. He has a white suit on and you could already recognize him with his white-colored hair packed in a low bun. He is much taller than Gabriele's father, who has his belly shooting out of his tight black suit.

Gabriele is at the other end of the room, dressed in a black suit and has a glass in his hand. Just like his father, Gabriele is short but very handsome, with chiseled jaws and a muscular build that makes him a lot more attractive. His dark hair glistens as the light casts itself on it.

"Gabriele is so hot," I whisper to Beatrice. She bursts into a laugh, which draws all their attention.

" La mia bellissima figlia (My beautiful daughter)," Father says with brimming brown eyes.

I let go of Beatrice's arm as she walks over to hug him and then Aaron.

"I still don't know how Gabriele managed to convince you to marry him," Aaron teases.

"You are so beautiful, Principessa (Princess)," he adds, kissing both her cheeks.

I walk to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I bump into a stranger as he tries to leave. The glass of water in his hands spills a little on my dress.

"Argh… cuzzo (damn)," I curse under my breath.

" Mi dispiace molto, signorina , (I am very sorry, Miss,)" he apologizes, reaching for a paper towel on the cabinet to hand over to me.

"Thank you."

As he hands over the paper towel, he stops to stare closely. "I'm deeply sorry…"

"Adriana," I say reluctantly.

I can't ignore the fact that he looks pretty handsome, even though he has a casual outfit on. The top button of his dark green shirt gives a little view of his well-built chest.

"I must say, you're so beautiful, Adriana." His green eyes make my insides coil as he stares at me.

"Thank you." I clear my throat, putting a bit of distance between us.

"I'm Leonardo. Leo for short," he stretches his arm for a shake.

I hear the sound of music coming from the living room.

"Nice to meet you, Leo," I reply, shaking his hand. He holds my hand for a longer second and tilts his head as he raises my hand.

"May I?"

I nod in response, swallowing hard. I can't tell why I feel nervous. Or why the hell I am thinking about Alessandro right now.

Leo places a kiss on my fingers and smiles with a wink. He lets go of my hand and follows me as I walk into the kitchen to fix myself a glass of water. My throat feels dry and itchy.

"You are Beatrice's sister, no?"

"Yes, I am." I take a glass cup and fill it with water.

"I came here with Gabriele, but I don't mind leaving with someone special."

I choke on the water, stopping myself from spitting all over him. The coincidence makes more sense now as I remember Beatrice's words and the wink.

Oh my! She's trying to set me up. I almost laugh at the thought but stop myself as Leo stares at me, concerned.

"Are you alright?"

He stretches his arm to help me with the glass. Our bodies graze but I don't feel a tingling sensation from it. My head is stuck with thoughts of Alessandro inside me.

"Yes. I'm alright."

Why do I have these thoughts of Alessandro? It was a one-time deal and that's it.

A growl from the living room startles Leo and me as we freeze, wondering what went wrong. The sound is followed by curse words in Italian.

"Shut the music down, ragazzo (boy)!"

I can tell it's my father. He's ruining Beatrice's big day. Shit .

"Excuse me, please," I say as I leave Leo in the kitchen.

I hastily walk to the living room to find the whole celebration stopped abruptly.

My father's men are with him and Aaron. I do not recognize a few of the guards. They must be Aaron's.

Gabriele is holding my sister. Her brows are drawn together, with the sides of her lips curved down.

Father had to ruin this day for her. Asshole .

"How did you let this happen?" Father growls as he grips Altieri's neck.

I gasp as my hands fly to my mouth, my eyes widening in shock.

I know my father well enough to know what he is capable of. Killing Altieri means nothing to him. He could always get more men to work for him.

"All my coke. My money!"

Altieri struggles to breathe.

"Father," Beatrice calls.

" Bastardo (Bastard)!' he yells, letting go of his grip.

He punches Altieri before he lets him regain his composure. Altieri's nose is broken from the impact, and he starts to bleed immediately.

Aaron makes an inaudible call and walks to my father.

"Get your men ready. Mine are," he says. Unlike father, he still remains calm.

"We strike tonight," he adds.

"I want all of them dead!" Father barks.

The men begin to move towards the door to exit the house.

Alessandro .

Father is going to kill him. I have to warn him.

Wait, do I?

I watch as Tommaso disappears into the basement and returns with guns. He passes it on to some guards as they leave the house.

"My principessa (princess), I'm sorry this happened," Aaron says to Beatrice. I can see her eyes are teary already.

Shit .

I leave for my room and frantically reach for my phone. I grab my purse to search for the paper he left his number on. My fingers tremble as I hurriedly input his number on my phone. I can hear my heart beat faster and louder.

When it comes to revenge, Father doesn't hold back from spilling the blood of anyone in his way.

I dial the number, pacing my room as it rings. He doesn't answer.

"Answer your fucking phone, Alessandro," I whisper.

I dial it again and he answers on the third ring.

"Who the fuck is this?"

"Adriana. It's Adriana."

"Pito told me you left. What the fuck do you want?"

I ignore his rude tone, blaming myself for trying to help the ungrateful dick instead of helping my father kill the whole Malgeri dynasty right now.

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me."

He hushes on the other end.

"My father's men are heading for your warehouse. He knows you stole his shipment."

"I'll fucking kill the old ," Alessandro grunts.

"It's not just his men. Lucchese is bringing his also," I retort.

"Shit!"

"Adriana!" a voice yells from out the door. It is followed by a fierce bang.

My heart skips a beat, knowing it's Father. I toss my phone into my purse and slide it under my bed.

"Open the fucking door, Adriana!"

"I'm coming," I quiver. My fingers are unsteady as I unlock the door.

"Who were you on the phone with, Adriana?"

I keep mute, shaking my head in denial.

I need to run.