Blurb; Bound by duty, tempted by sin. Fiorella's life is forever changed when she surrenders to a passionate night with Attilio, her fiancé's father. Now, on the eve of her wedding, she's forced to confront the darkness of her desire. "You're mine, little flower," Attilio whispered, his eyes blazing with obsession. "And I'll stop at nothing to claim you." Will Fiorella escape the shadows of her past, or succumb to the forbidden love that threatens to destroy everything?
CHAPTER 1
Fiorella's POV
I grabbed the pillow beside me, covering my ears as the ringing of my phone became persistent, involuntarily disturbing my peace.
"Oh!! Just a minute sleep please," I groaned, turning to the other side of the bed but the ringing persisted.
Angrily, I flashed my eyes open, still feeling drowsy from sleep as I stretched my hand towards my phone. I gasped out in shock as soon as I saw the caller's ID, "Mon Poldo," with a lot of heart Emojis attached to it.
A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I sat up, instantly swiping the green icon, "Good morning, Poldo," I called cheerfully and he chuckled. "How's my queen doing" he asked, his voice laced with so much passion and I bit my bottom lip, my cheeks heated up immediately just by hearing his voice.
My man is clearly the best and have I told you how much I'm obsessed with him?!
"I'm.... I'm good," I said and without being told, I knew that he was smiling hard already.
"Uhmmmm babe, I came to your room this morning but you weren't in the room, by chance..... Did you forget what today is?" he stuttered and I gasped, immediately staring around the room and another thick gasp of shock escaped my throat.
Where was I and what was I doing here?! As clearly as I can remember, today's my wedding day, the day I've been eagerly waiting for and I should be preparing already. What in God's name was I doing here?! How did I get in here?
Oh. my. Gawd!!.
"Babe..... I'm really sorry, I stepped out for a moment, I'll be back in a jiffy," I lied, fidgeting with my finger's. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest.
I know I shouldn't have lied to him, but there was nothing I could do. Leopoldo ended the call not quite long and I exhaled harshly, grabbing my head.
What in Pete's name was I doing here? My eyes suddenly snapped and I gasped out, some dots coming back to me immediately.
I could remember leaving the office late last night.... Then... Then, two of my friends -Ondina and Ginevra called and asked me to come over to the club. They had a surprise for me.
On getting in, I found out it was a surprise party, they were bidding me farewell that I'll no longer be addressed as "Ms Ercole," But now "Mrs Leopoldo,". It was a lot of fun and we drank ourselves to stupor.
Gawd! How could I be careless?
I grunted, throwing the heavy duvet off my body as I made an attempt to climb down from the bed but a sharp pain from my abdomen sent me back to the bed.
"Argh!" I winced, grabbing my tummy, my eyes rotating in confusion. This couldn't be because of the excessive drinks I had last night or is it?
I bit my bottom lip hard as I struggled to stand on my feet and my eyes went wide in shock as soon as I saw the little drops of blood on the bed sheets.
Holy cow?! What exactly was happening to me? There's no way I'll be seeing my menstruation twice in the month, huh?! Or could it?!
I'm screwed! Was I going to wear a sanitary pad on my wedding day? This is so cruel! And as for my friends? I'm going to murder them today, how could they ditch me huh?!
I staggered forward, heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower.
I needed to get back to the mansion as soon as possible.
________
"Ta-da," The make-up artist smiled as soon as she did the last touch.
Her smile widened as she glanced at me, "You're extremely beautiful. I bet Mr Leopoldo won't be able to take his eyes off you today," She complimented and I chuckled, staring at my reflection in the mirror.
With one last bow, she left the room, leaving me to dress up. As soon as she left, my mood turned gloomy as I opened the drawer, then brought out a male's underwear from it. I had picked it up on my way to the bathroom, it was lying effortlessly on the floor.
I felt so terrible and ashamed as I stared at the underwear, everything that happened last night at the club rushing back into my memory in mad torrents.
That's it! Everything makes sense now. It really does. I had a one night stand with a stranger last night, the reason for the blood and sharp pain I felt in my abdomen. I sniffled, blinking back my tears.
Today should be a happy day. Yes! It shouldn't be ruined for anything. I'll have to find out who I had a one night stand with but that would be later, for now, I needed to focus on my wedding.
The door suddenly burst open and Leopoldo walked in. I immediately hid the underwear then stood to face him, my legs wobbling nervously.
My eyes widened when I noticed he didn't come alone, there was a man with him.
"Oh.... You're.... You're..."
"You look so beautiful," he cut me off with a dazzling smile and I forced out a smile, feeling an overwhelming guilt and shame wash over me.
"I can't believe that you'll be mine officially after today," he chuckled, the excitement in his voice obvious as he grabbed my hands.
"Right, Fiorella, meet my Father. Dad, meet Fiorella, your soon-to-be daughter-in-law," he introduced, his face beaming with all smiles and I bit my lips tortuously, wishing for the ground to open up and swallow me. Why was his father staring at me like that?
Have we met before huh?!
I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, forcing out a smile as I reached out to him, "I'm glad you came and it's Nice to meet you, father-in-law," I said and he smirked. A smirk which vanished just the same way it came, leaving me in a trance.
Why was he acting strange?
"Sorry you had to meet Dad like this, I should have introduced you a bit earlier, but Dad wasn't in town," Leopoldo pleaded and I chuckled, turning to him, "You worry a lot Poldo, I'm fine," I smiled at him and his Dad coughed, getting our attention.
"I'd love to have a conversation with my daughter in-law, Leo," he said and Poldo nodded with a smile.
Oh no, don't tell me he's giving in? He's actually going to leave me with his father?!
The door banging hard got me jolting back to earth, he actually really left.
I coughed quietly, my heart racing in anticipation as I stepped back fearfully.
He smiled, then sat on the bed before crossing his legs on the other.
I rubbed my palms together, my throat running instantly dry as I stared at him, curious about what he wanted us to discuss.
The atmosphere grew thick with tension, my heart was at the verge of explosion and I was literally running out of breath but this man chose to keep quiet.
"Uhmmmm, sir... sorry, father...."
"Is this how you welcome a first love?" He cut me off, his voice chilly as he stood and my eyes widened. "Huh?!" I narrowed my gaze and he chuckled.
A ruthless, intimidating chuckle.
"You haven't changed at all, little flower," he continued with a silly smile and I scoffed, stepping back from him.
What was this man spewing? And why would Leopoldo leave me at the mercy of his psychotic Father knowing he's nothing but a psychopath?
Now I feel sorry for my little life, I'm doomed.
"Why? Why are you acting so shocked? Don't you remember anything, little flower huh? Don't you?" he narrowed his gaze at me and I smirked, gathering a little courage as I stepped a bit Closer to him.
"I'm sorry father, but Poldo never mentioned anything about your condition to me, worse still, he left me alone?" I scoffed out loud then smiled. "We'll head back to the hospital after the wedding huh?! I'll make sure you don't have to miss your wi..." I took my bottom lip in, gulping back the rest of the words.
"We'll be late for the wedding father, let's get going," I chuckled nervously, trying to pull him with me but he jerked his hands off my grip, his eyes flashing with anger.
"You're not getting married to him,"
"Huh?!" I gasped out again, my eyes wide in awe.
"You. Are. Not. Getting. Married. To. Him. And that's final," he throttled with a scowl and I chuckled, a mean, devious chuckle.
"And why's that? Why aren't I getting married to him? You travelled all the way back to Italy to tell me this? Do you think I'm a joke? Do you? And what right do you have to decide if I go on with the marriage or not? Poldo and I have been together for three years, we love each other and we're getting married today, there's absolutely nothing.... Nothing you're going to do about it," I said harshly, poking his chest out of anger.
He grabbed my hands, his face cool, but his eyes shining with a mix of excitement, lust, and.... Burning desire, "You belong to me," he deadpanned and I had no idea when a hysterical laughter seeped out through my mouth.
What was he sprouting? Me? His?
I was laughing so hard that I felt tears prick at the corner of my eyes, "I'm not joking, little flower," his voice boomed and I stopped laughing "Father....." "How about I let Leo know that I screwed up your hole last night huh?" he cut me off with a menacing smirk and I staggered back, my heart skipped several beats.
My eyes and mouth were wide open as his words hit me hard like a tidal wave.
I felt the weight of his words, each word resounding vividly in my ears.
"You gave yourself willingly to me, little flower. I screwed up your tight hole," he continued, his words ringing deep into my Bones, crushing my pride.
"You... you..." I staggered back again, feeling an incredible pain in my chest. It felt as if my heart was been pierced with a sharp knife. My lips quivered in shame, my body convulsed in irritation and gulit, my fingers trembled in agony..."The.... the.... stranger I spent the night with was none other than my FIANCÉ'S FATHER!!"