Page 28 of In Ruins
“Shut up!” I say laughing. “You should be an actress instead of being here and looking after my prissy ass, as you like to call us,” I joke.
“I meant everyone else except you. You’re not prissy or stuck up, and if you were, I would have kicked your ass a long time ago,” she says with a wink.
Before I have a chance to respond, I hear footsteps outside my door. Shit! I know it’s my father because he’s the only other person besides Giana who comes to my room.
“Closet!” I whisper to her. She scrambles off the bed and barely makes it inside as my door swings open and my father strolls into my room dressed in a suit as usual.
“Good morning, Father,” I say as I sit up on the bed.
“Why the hell are you still in bed?” he questions, not bothering to respond to my greeting. “We have a very important day ahead of us, and you’re still lying there? Where’s Giana?”
“I’m sorry, Father. I was just waiting for Giana to bring my dress out from the closet to inspect it and make sure it’s still impeccable before I shower,” I tell him.
Giana walks out of the closet with the dress clutched in her hands. It’s a nude floor-length V-neck, low-cut dress with thin straps and a slit that ends mid-thigh. It’s what my father chose for me to wear today. It’s simple and beautiful, but I hate it because of what it represents.
“It looks fine to me. Your soon-to-be husband will be here at noon for lunch on the back terrace, so I expect you to be ready by then. I also expect you to be on your best behavior. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” I reply, the numbness starting to take over me already. He doesn’t say anything else and walks out of my room.
In an instant, all the glow and happiness from last night vanish, and I’m left feeling like my world is about to end all over again.
“Ar—” Giana starts, but I cut her off.
“Don’t. It’s fine. We knew this was happening whether I liked it or not. At least I got to have last night, and it’s one I’ll remember for a long time to come. Because, for one night, I didn’t have to think about anything else besides just being and doing something that I wanted,” I tell her before walking off into the bathroom and closing the door behind me.
Tears well up in my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry anymore because what’s the point? I’ll just do what I need to in order to survive. Hopefully, one day soon, Salvatore will get himself killed, and I won’t have to be with him anymore. That’s the only solace I can give myself at the moment.
I grab a robe when I’m done and head back into my room, taking a seat at the vanity. Giana helps me with my hair and makeup. When she’s done, I look at myself in the mirror and don’t even recognize the girl staring back at me.
She’s so beautiful. She looks perfect and polished. Giana definitely did an amazing job with the makeup. I take it all in, in a sort of trance, because I still can’t believe that this is happening.
“We have to get you dressed now, or you’ll be late,” she murmurs from beside me, and I nod before standing. I drop the robe as she brings the dress to me, and I slip into it. She then helps me with my jewelry and heels. Once I’m all finished, I take one final look in the mirror at the entire outfit, and it’s absolutely stunning on me.
“Well, I guess it’s now or never,” I tell her as I move and head for the door with her following behind me.
As we near the back terrace, I can hear my father and Salvatore's voices. I stop just in front of the door, hesitating on taking that final step outside. I know that once I do, everything will become official and even more real.
When it looks like I’m just going to keep standing there, Giana gives me a little push, and I finally step onto the terrace.
“Ah, Salvatore, you remember my beautiful daughter, Aria,” my father says as he walks over to me and guides me forward toward Salvatore. I force a big fake smile.
“Of course. Aria, you’ve grown into such a beauty,” he says as he grabs my hand and places a kiss on it. All I want to do is scrub it away until I can no longer feel it on my skin.
That sort of seems like something intimate a lover would do, and they’d be happy about it, right? But there is no expression, or rather no emotion, on Salvatore’s face. He pulls out an engagement ring from his suit jacket and slips it onto my finger.
“Are you as happy as I am for this engagement and the chance to bring our families closer together?” he asks. He’s happy? The guy looks bored, and like he’d rather be anywhere other than here.
He’s looking me up and down from head to toe, and I instantly feel disgusted at the way he’s eyeing me like a piece of meat. I don’t know what possesses me to answer him the way I do, maybe I lost my senses for a minute there, but it’s something I soon pay for.
“No. I’m not. I’m being forced into this marriage to a man who looks as old as I assume my grandfather would be, if he were alive,” I mutter.
I should have expected the slap to the face from Salvatore, but I didn’t. I was expecting it to come from my father, but after this asshole left. A cry leaves me when the sting finally penetrates my skin.Fucking hell, that hurt.Blood drips from my lips a moment later. I look over at my father, and he has a pissed-off expression on his face, but doesn’t do anything. I know it’s not for me. He’s not pissed that Salvatore just slapped me. He's pissed at the fact that I opened my mouth in the first place.
“When you address me, you will address me with respect. And newsflash, little girl, it doesn’t matter whether you want this marriage or not. It’s going to happen with or without your consent.”
“Go to your room now!” my father’s voice booms. “Since you have the ring on your finger, you’re not needed here for anything else.”
I rush back into the house, and Giana is quickly at my side.
