THE WAY WE WERE BEFORE

LLA'S

ion. My palms were clammy as I adjusted my napkin, fo

glasses, silverware gleaming under the soft g

a distant memory. She stared ahead,

s on the table in agitation. I could feel

head, his expression cold as always, his dark eyes scanning the room but never lingeri

t, the sound commandin

ed, his voice low but firm, the same tone he alw

king sure we all understood the g

It's the foundation of our future.

my ribs as I swallowed, trying to force the lump in my throat

He didn't have to say anything-I knew exactly how he was feeling.

stack of papers was a silent symbol of everything that wa

with Vincenzo at his home, immediately. After the wedding in six months, you will bec

same roof as a man I barely kne

I wasn't ready to live with a man who was nothing more than

understood how I felt, but her eyes were focused

through the silence again. (Are you ready to start your life with

n't. My thoughts were all jumbled, ea

at, his voice sharp as h

do in this 'union', Papa? Wha

Vincenzo in every way necessary. Attend events. Maintain the family's rep

ough me. I was expected to bear his children? It

with frustration. "And if she doesn't

ed, his tone unwavering. "There will be conseq

y of the situation settled in. I wasn't just marrying Vincenzo. I was becoming part

tract. His cold demeanor was as impenetrable as ever. He didn't seem to care about anything happening around him

determined. "What happens if I don'

ting. "Again you will face the consequences." He spat in a

eight of them was suffocating. I felt small,

g. I was losing control of my life, an

I had left were questions and fears

t her safety? What about-" He started,

io," Papa snapped. (This is not

nsure your sister's well-being, you will

He looked at me, his eyes filled with unspoken promises, a

rs, but all I could think about was the contract. The Romano house

kly as I could. I couldn't sit there any longer, pretending that every

g in my chest. Emilio was quick to follow,

hed tears. "I can't do this, Emilio. I do

his voice filled with qu

with so much lov

ne. I'll be here fo

vier. I wanted to believe him, to believe that he could protect me from this life, but

I allowed myself to sink into his embrace. It was the only comfort I could find,

d no say in my future. It had already been decided fo