I reached for a Danish and stuffed a few pieces into my mouth but I wasn’t sure I could keep them down.
“Stop picking at your food, Liliana, for God’s sake.”
“Leave her alone!” Fabi shouted.
Father and I both froze.
“What did you just say?” Father asked in a dangerous voice.
Fabi glared back but then he lowered his eyes. “Why can’t you leave her alone? I don’t like how you treat her.”
“I won’t have you criticizing me, Fabiano. You better learn to keep your mouth shut or you’ll be in major trouble once you’re part of the Outfit. Understood?”
Fabi nodded, but his lips were a thin white line.
I forced the rest of my Danish down even though it tasted like nothing. Father picked up his newspaper and disappeared behind it.
Fabi and I didn’t try to talk. And really what was there left to say?CHAPTER FOURTEENLiliana
I chose the dress I’d worn to last year’s Christmas party. It was more modest than my other dresses with a high cut collar and a hem that reached my knees. It was more fitted than I would have liked for the evening though. Like Father had said, I let my hair fall down to my shoulders, even though the idea of being attractive for Benito terrified me to no end. I decided to wear ballet flats since Father had said nothing about high heels.
“Liliana, what’s taking you so long? Our guests will arrive any moment. Get down here!”
I took a deep breath and walked out of my room. Everything would be alright. If I got through today, Romero would figure out a way to get me out of this marriage. Everything would be alright. I repeated the words over and over again as I walked down the stairs, but my throat tightened anyway. Fabi was dressed in a proper dark blue suit and a tie, but his expression was that of a sulking teenager.
Father, too, wore a business suit but he almost always did. He scanned my outfit critically. “You should have chosen a different dress, but it’ll have to do now. We don’t have time for you to change again.”
I paused on the stairs. Anger surged through me again, fiercer than before. The doorbell rang, preventing me from saying something that would have probably earned me a slap across the face. Father gave Fabi and me a warning look before he went to the door and opened it.
My fingers on the handrail tightened painfully.
“Benito, good to see you. Come in, come in. Dinner is ready for us. I’ve let our cook prepare a wonderful roast,” Father said in an overly friendly manner that he only ever used with people of importance, definitely not with his family.
I had to stop myself from running up the stairs and hiding in my room. I wasn’t a child anymore. I’d handle this situation with grace, and then I’d do my best to stop this marriage. There had to be a way.
But what if there wasn’t?
I walked down the last few steps and stopped beside Fabi.
Father opened the door wider to let Brasci and his daughter in. I held my breath. And when my intended husband entered the entrance hall, revulsion overcame me.
He was tall and thin, with greying brown hair that was combed back the same way as Father’s, but where Father’s was full, Benito’s had thinned and his scalp peeked through. His skin was tanned from too many hours on the tanning bed, and looked almost like leather. He looked old. His dark eyes settled on me and a grin twisted his lips.
Benito’s gaze felt like slugs crawling over my skin, the way they traveled over every inch of my body, already marking me as his. I wanted to wipe it off like slime. My eyes slid over to the girl beside him, barely older than me and with a look of desperate resignation on her face. She wasn’t better off than me. She’d marry my father. Our eyes met. Was there accusation in hers? Maybe she thought I was the reason for the deal between my father and her own. I couldn’t even blame her. Everything about this felt so unfair.
Father motioned for me to come over to them. Even though every fiber of my being was against it, I crept toward them. Fabi was a couple of steps behind me. When I reached Father’s side, he put a hand on my lower back and said with a proud smile, “This is my daughter Liliana.”
Benito inclined his head but his eyes never ceased their staring. He wasn’t doing anything obviously inappropriate but for some reason his gaze felt like it was invading my personal space. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, then he stepped up to me and kissed my cheeks. I froze but didn’t push him away. Father would probably have killed me if I’d done that.
“And Fabiano,” Benito said, facing my brother, who looked like he tasted something bitter.
Benito waved his daughter forward. “This is Maria.”
Father greeted her with a kiss on the cheek too, and I almost threw up. Maria glanced my way again. She looked so…resigned. But when she faced my father again, she gave him a smile. It looked fake to me but Father seemed satisfied with her reaction. I could practically see his chest swelling with pride.
Father nodded toward the dining room. “Let’s have dinner. It’ll give us the chance to talk.”
Father held out his hand for Maria to take and she did so without hesitation. I knew what was coming. But instead of taking my hand, Benito put his palm on my lower back. I almost flinched away from him but I forced myself to remain still. I couldn’t muster up a smile though.
We walked into the dining room and when I finally sank down on my chair I almost cried from relief of being rid of Benito’s touch. He sat beside me though. Father and Benito were soon immersed in conversation, which left Maria and me to sit in awkward silence. I could hardly ask her anything of importance with our fathers sitting right beside us. I escaped into my mind, but every so often my eyes drifted to the man beside me who smelled of cigar smoke.