Chapter 43


"Lizzie! Alessandro!"

It was impossible to miss her when she shouted our names like that. She leapt up from the table wearing a form fitting dress and heels that made her legs go on forever. There was also a white plaster across her nose and her two black eyes had been covered up by layers of foundation. She slinked over to us, her smile wide and set to dazzle and I found myself seriously unsure of what to do. I just sort of stood there, staring at her even as she yanked me into a hug and kissed my cheeks.

"Ly... Lydia," I sputtered. "You're looking... well."

"Oh cara," she purred. "I have never felt better. How are you?" There was no way she could have forgiven me this quickly… could she?

"I- I'm well," I said.

"And you, Alessandro. How are you?"

I tore my glance away from the way she fluttered her eyelashes at him only to notice that the entire family was watching us, eyes riveted on Lydia's overdone display. Vittoria was looking at her like she was the niece-in-law she wished she had, and Francesco... well he was just looking at her legs, but even so, it didn't take a genius to realise her friendliness was all for show. She needed to win back the respect of Alessandro's family and by the looks of it, it was already working.

"Lydia, it's been ages." I forced my shock into a smile, trying to remind myself that Lydia wasn't the enemy. She was simply a pawn of her father... of society. She wouldn't succeed in winning him over. But that didn't mean she didn't deserve to be loved by someone else.

"See my new nose?" She signalled to the bandage and then laughed at herself. "Oh, silly me. You won't be able to see it until the final reveal. But you will find, cara, that the surgeon has done a fantastic job. It's just like new!"

How the heck was the person who broke it in the first place supposed to reply to that?

"That's lovely," I said.

"Oh Lizzie," she husked, her voice taking on a warmth that I hadn't felt since meeting her. "I just want you to know that I have no hard feelings toward you whatsoever. I promise. What happened that night..." A chuckle that sounded like the delicate tinker of crystal escaped her lush lips. "It is the water under the bridge as you English say, and I forgive you. You and Alessandro are like family to me. So what do you say? Sisters?"

Before I could even come up with a response, she was yanking me into a hug, my face practically smashing into her shoulder (she was that tall in her stilettos). The family all cheered and I felt my cheeks blossom red. Oh god. She was good at this. I had no other choice, I hugged her back. Maybe if she stopped playing her father's game of pursuing my husband, then we could even be friends someday.


After breakfast, feeling the need to have me to himself for a bit, Alessandro graciously kidnapped me and took me to the nearby city of Lecce for a day playing tourist. The city was ancient – a mere two thousand years young – and breathtaking with its interesting mix of Ancient Roman, Greek and Baroque architecture. Alessandro had expressed nostalgic fondness for this place where he had spent his younger years feeding his love for architecture and ancient history. We whittled the day away in the city, even affording the time to eat at a fancy restaurant and catch a show at the Teatro Politeama Greco, not returning to the Masseria until well after midnight.

On the drive home, I rested my hand on his thigh, watching him drive with such a smile on my face that it caused him to glance at me sideways.

"What are you smiling about, bella mia?" he asked.

"Just thinking how much I love my Fiancé."

"Fiancé?" He piqued an eyebrow.

"That's what Vittoria seems to think we are."

He suppressed a chuckle. ", it would have pleased her greatly if we'd married in a church."

When we pulled into the courtyard there was a Ferrari parked in Alessandro's spot. I watched the frown form across his brow.

"Who does that belong to?" I asked but he said nothing.

When we entered the Masseria, voices were booming in a small office just off the main foyer. The door had been left ajar and a tall man was standing quietly in the doorway with his hands clasped behind his back. Beyond him I could just make out Francesco sitting at his desk and yelling at a sobbing Annabella in Italian. I could only guess the gig was up. She'd been caught sneaking out. But was this man her partner in crime or the person who had caught her? Judging by the way he looked, dressed in his expensive tux and hair cut short in stark contrast to Annabella's messy jeans and t-shirt, my guess was the latter.

"Go to bed, Lizzie." I felt Alessandro's whisper against my ear. When I glimpsed him, his expression was thunderous. Brushing past me, he approached the other man and introduced himself.

Despite the fact that I was burning with a mix of curiosity and sympathy for the girl, I did as I was told and headed upstairs to my room. Being caught sneaking out was never a fun experience, I would know, I'd done it more times than I could count when I was still living at home. But even so, from what I had heard, Annabella was in her early twenties. She wasn't a teenager anymore. Did Vittoria and Francesco really think so little of her that they still treated her like a kid? I was so distracted and caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice the figure waiting for me in my room. Throwing my bag down on the bed, I heaved a loud sigh and popped the clasp on my bra, only becoming alerted to her presence when I heard the low clearing of her voice. I jumped about ten feet into the air, suppressing a squeal as I spun and saw Vittoria sitting in an armchair by my bed, swirling a glass of red in her hand.

"My apologies, I did not mean to scare you," she said, pinning me in my place with a look so venomous that I actually found myself afraid she might leap up and sink her fangs into me. "I know it's late but I did wait up for you. I was hoping we could have a chat, Lisabetta."

I swallowed, my stomach doing all range of flips and somersaults and my legs suddenly feeling like jelly. "Um..." I said, then sank onto the end of the bed before my legs had a chance to give out from under me. This wasn't good. "Sure..."

Vittoria nodded. "As Alessandro's only living maternal-parental figure, I feel it's my duty to act on behalf of his mother. It would be a sin for me not to at least get to know the woman whom Alessandro intends to make his wife."

"S-sure..." I said. "Fire away. What do you want to know, Vittoria?"

Vittoria took a sip of wine, her gaze not leaving me as she noted the sundress and the bra straps that were now hanging out of each arm hole. I felt myself blush. Not the best look.

"Of course the first question being, are you a practicing Catholic?"


Unsurprisingly I barely slept a wink that night. While I understood Vittoria meant well, she'd drilled me with questions for at least an hour. It felt like the worst job interview ever - one that I had come in completely unprepared for. She disapproved of the elopement. She disapproved of my living situation with Alessandro - 'living in sin' as she called it. She disapproved of my pedigree… or lack thereof. She even disapproved of the way I dressed in bright and sunny colours and summer dresses. She didn't make it a secret that she was rooting for Lydia and Alessandro marrying, but unlike Lydia, she wasn't bent on breaking us up either. She had told me I was redeemable and I had tried not to bark out an ironic laugh. What did that even mean? Then she went on to explain that if I wanted the approval of the extended family, then I was to live according to household rules.

"The walls have ears, cara," she'd said. "Whatever goes on in this house, I am made aware of. I know you and Alessandro have been having relations."

I paled at this, my mouth falling open and my eyes practically popping out of my head from the sheer horror. Oh god, had she pressed her ear up against Alessandro's bedroom door or something?

"Your ignorance this time is forgivable. But it must stop. This is a Catholic house. It is unacceptable. Do it again and there will be consequences." Then, she stood, and inclining her head in a brief nod, bade me good evening and left me alone to contemplate my sins.

Come the next morning, after I had finally managed to fall asleep right on sunrise and caught a couple of hours of shut-eye, I pulled Alessandro aside before breakfast. His expression was still as thunderous as it had been the night before, making me believe for a second that he'd received the same chat from Vittoria.

"Annabella was with a boy on the beach last night," he filled before I even had a chance to ask.

My mouth snapped shut. "Oh…"

"The boy attempted to push her for sex and when she refused he attempted to take it from her."

"Oh my god!" I wasn't able to stop the gasp, or the sickening lurch in my stomach. How could someone do that to her? A young girl barely out of her teens. "That's awful. Is she okay? Please tell me she's okay."

Alessandro glanced up and down the hallway but we were still alone. "Dante, the man whom you saw in the doorway to Francesco's office, happened to come across them and chased him off before any real damage could be done, but understandably, Annabella is still shaken up."

I felt ill to the core. I swiped at my eyes, my hand bringing back moisture. "Where is she now? Does she need someone to talk to?"

"She is sleeping, Lizzie. But that is very kind of you to offer."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and I noticed the giant black bags under his eyes. "It looks like you got about as much sleep as I did last night," I said.

He nodded, then quirked a curious eyebrow. "You didn't sleep?"

"Vittoria paid me a visit in my room last night."

"Oh…" His expression took on a sudden look of apology and I nodded.

"I guess she was somehow made aware of our so-called 'pre-marital' affairs."

A smirk formed on his face which he quickly dispelled by pressing his lips into a thin line. "You say something like that and it sounds like we were seeing other people."

"We might as well have been by the way she was chewing me out," I said. "I feel horrible about it."

"Oh cara." He tugged me into a hug. "There is no need to feel bad. We are technically married after all. Whatever Vittoria says, she speaks of in ignorance."

I thought I sensed someone enter the hallway but we were well hidden behind the shadows of a stone pillar. "I really want to make a good impression on Vittoria and your family, Alessandro."

"Lizzie..." a frown creased its way across his brow, he really didn't like that idea. I didn't blame him.

I glanced up to look him in the eye and rested my chin on his chest. "I already have your love and I cherish it each and every day, amore mio. But I also want the love and approval of your family."

I watched his frown soften and after a contemplative moment he nodded. "As you wish, Lizzie. We will do this Vittoria's way."