Anna Narrating.
My name is Anna Contini, I just turned 18, I am Angelo Contini's daughter and my abuela (grandmother) is Rosa Contini. My mother died in an attack between the clans or rather, between the Spanish mafias in which my father is the leader of one of them.
I'm in the last year of high school and amazingly, I'm engaged to a man who is 11 years older than me... Yes... I said 11 years... Of course, against my will and according to my father , it will be a contract marriage of at least a year, just like that to finally have peace.
According to my father, this marriage is necessary because the two clans, Contini and Mallardo will unite and finally the deaths will end, if that is possible.
I wish my mother were still here, she would put some sense into my father's head and he would stop this madness of marrying an old man, after all, I'm serving as a bargaining chip.
Here in Barcelona, the mafias dominate most of organized crime, and no, I'm not proud to say that I'm the daughter of a mafioso, but I have no choice, I'm only 18 years old and the only thing I know is that I need get married.
I just don't know how to tell my boyfriend Carlos that in exactly 4 weeks it will be my wedding and that I'm doing it against my will.
Carlos goes to college, but during the week, in the mornings, he goes to the same school as me to take complementary classes to get a medical scholarship.
We are the perfect couple, except for the fact that I have to hide from all my family that we are together... except abuela, she always knows everything, it seems like she can read my mind. She fears that my father will find out, fears even more if I happen to lose my virginity, because if that happens, I won't be able to get married and the bloodbath between the two mafias would start again.
I don't even know my fiance, I've never seen a photo, I just know he's older because daddy was kind enough to tell me.
It sounds crazy, but that's a small part of what's about to happen to my life.
-
Barcelona 6:40 a.m.
I woke up early like every other day, took a quick shower, dressed in my Elite School uniform and grabbed my stuff, straightened my black hair in front of the mirror and sighed.
"Come on Anna, there are only two weeks to go..." I repeated to myself looking at my reflection.
I took my cell phone and went down the stairs of the big house slowly, I hate having to go to school and pretend to be a normal girl, the daughter of a great businessman and owner of one of the biggest casinos here in Spain. Little do they know Daddy's true identity...
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I could hear voices in the main room...
"Anna has to go to this reception..." It was Papa's voice.
"Come on, Angelo... Don't force the girl to get married..." It was Abuela's (Grandma's) voice.
"Buenos días papi y abuela, ¿estoy estorbando? (Good morning dad and grandma, am I disturbing you?)" I asked entering the room.
As soon as they saw me, they stopped talking and tried to disguise the topic of conversation.
"Buenos días, hija. ( Good morning, Daughter.)" He replied kissing my forehead. - We were just sorting out some issues at the casino reception tonight, weren't we, Mama?
"Yes of course." She smiled weakly. "Good class my Hija!"
"Thanks Abuela..." I said sitting down at the big table to drink my coffee.
"I want you to go to the casino tonight, Hija." My dad said sitting next to me.
"Of course daddy, do you need help with the accounting?" I asked even knowing what my trip to the casino was about.
"There you will know..." He said biting the croissant. "Dress up in Gala clothes."
"Como Desées! ( As you wish! )" I smiled and took a sip of juice.
My father was tense, I know him like no one else. I know when he's scared something bad is going to happen, he was like that the night my mother died.
I don't like it when he's like that, he usually takes action without thinking, he's selling me, but deep down, I know he's doing it out of fear of losing me like my mother did.
We finished our breakfast and like every day, dad took me to school, we said goodbye and I went inside without looking back.
I went straight to the bathroom, this prison feeling is driving me crazy... I'm just a teenager... in my head it's just Carlos and how he's going to react when he finds out.
Being with Carlos is crazy in anyone's eyes, he doesn't belong to high society, he's not part of any mafia, he's just an ordinary boy, he doesn't have money like my family. I don't see any problems with that, but it would be difficult for him to be well accepted by my dad if it weren't for this contract marriage thing.
He needs to wait for me, it's only a year... a year for me to be free to move on with my life away from that old man... yes, an old man... 28 years for me is old!
"I found you!" Tania said as she entered the bathroom.