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12. Alessio
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The Chosen Bride 13. Amaya
Trafficking in women That was the phrase I woke up to in the middle of an unfamiliar room, with a piercing headache and an immense desire to cry over the nightmare it could signify in my life. What was curious, though, was that in a few seconds of rational thinking, I became aware that something was in my arm. So, I focused my eyes and saw that I had an intravenous line in place. On instinct, I moved to remove it, fearing they had drugged me. However, a voice stopped me. “I wouldn't do that.” Turning to my right, I saw none other than my fiancé. He was leaning against the window, his body facing it, but his face oriented towards me. From that perspective, with the moonlight shining on his golden mask, he seemed like a creature of the night, a God of darkness who had come to take me away. My heart began to beat strongly, like a madman in search of comfort. “I...” “You fainted in the middle of the conversation we were having with your father, it happened quickly. How much did you
The Chosen Bride 14. Amaya
"Well, you'll know what you're doing, but having a child..." I shook my head at his audacity, his boldness, for abandoning him when I had been a child born out of wedlock. "I know very well what loyalty to the woman we share our bed with, the one who sleeps by our side for us to protect, entails. Our laws and customs prepared me for it, how we handle the details, frankly, dear father-in-law, is not entirely your concern." Wow. It was the second time he disarmed him. Hiroshi had no moral ground to say anything, question him, or reproach him. In the entire context, I didn't know what he was referring to, but I was pleased that he said something capable of freezing the illustrious oyabun of the Yakuza. "Very well..." "Can you leave us alone to talk? We were discussing the details of our agreement," the Camorra boss requested, and my father frowned at me. "Go, if anything happens, I'll kick him where it hurts," I said, making Alessio laugh genuinely, for the first time since I had
The Chosen Bride 15. Alessio
The look the girl gave me was one of complete bewilderment. "But..." "It's a warning, and as I told you, I don't like to repeat myself. The wedding will take place in two weeks, enough time for you to get your things in order before moving," I offered, but she stared at me as if I had given her the greatest insult. "You can't be telling me this..." "I've already told you, and how you interpret it doesn't change anything, Amaya. You will be my wife in two weeks, what happens after that will be of little consequence, but I'm giving you enough time to adjust whatever you need to. In other times, I would have taken you with me as soon as possible, and this discussion would have ended," I pointed out. "It's just that the fact that you think this is a type of discussion says a lot about the way you approach a merely informative conversation," she accused, and I liked seeing fire in her eyes. "It's a discussion in which I win." "Like all the ones you have?" "Well, I see you're not sl
The Chosen Bride 16. Alessio
"I'll ask him in a different way, show him that I'm genuinely interested in my future wife; that will make him cooperate." "Between us... from one best friend to another; I don't think it's good to lie to him or get her hopes up too much. Gemma, despite what she went through, is a believer in opportunities. You have to be careful not to insult her intelligence; otherwise, she'll cut our heads off, impale them in some port, and take over the city," he said humorously. I would never do the latter, but I could completely side with Amaya. "I'm just counting on the fact that the fact that my fiancée is a newcomer to the mafia life will soften her heart to help her prepare," I pointed out. "Well, let's see how it all ends..." That's what I was hoping for. We arrived in Las Vegas quickly, I had organized a nice lunch with my sister, and I patiently waited for her to arrive from the airport. When she saw me, she ran up to me; I was the only man she allowed to touch her. After the trauma
The Chosen Bride 17. Amaya
Waking up in my father's family house after what was supposed to be a presentation dinner but turned into an engagement dinner was not how I would have ever wanted to spend a Saturday morning. It took me a while to fall asleep, perhaps too long, due to all the information bombarding my brain, but I became aware that nothing I did would change the course of my life; I had nothing left to do but cry. I needed to vent, but it wasn't the best moment, let alone the best place. My sisters made it clear to me when I arrived at the family breakfast, a breakfast where Hiro was the only one who smiled at me and gestured for me to sit beside him, while my father had not yet returned from whatever he was doing. "Crying causes dark circles, wrinkles your face, and weakens the nervous system, making you look like a child," mentioned my exuberant sister Ima. "But I suppose your education isn't based on the kind of strength required... What a shame." Then all three of them laughed with amusement,
The Chosen Bride 18. Amaya
Returning to Berkeley to gather my things, as well as making arrangements to complete my remote study plan, truly killed me. Mostly because of all the freedom, anecdotes, and good moments I had experienced there. Unlike the Yakuza men my father had assigned to watch over me, it was the men from my future husband who handed me tissues when it became impossible to hold back the tears. The first of them was to cancel the housing contract. Saying goodbye to the building was terrible because it had been my home for the past four years. It was where I had started to come out of my shell, to bloom, to feel completely like myself, to grow as a social being. Although I wasn't much of one. "Andrà tutto bene, signorina," Octavio, a man who could be my father, said. "Grazie." After that, I had to go directly to each of my professors. They all lamented my departure, especially Dr. Craston, a handsome man in his forties who was the sensation among my classmates and the best in morphology I knew
The Chosen Bride 19. Amaya
They all exchanged glances in response to unspoken questions, and I could only sigh, tired of all the emotional turmoil that came with talking to my mother, maintaining that posture. It wasn't fair, so that's why I looked at one of my father's men and said: "Bring her here, and get some coffee and donuts for all of us, please." He nodded to the other bodyguard while everyone helped me sort, organize, and select the right gifts for the children. They didn't take more than twenty minutes to return, so when my mother entered and saw everything I had in my hands, she couldn't help but smile. "Is this for the library kids?" "Yes, it's for those kids... They need some light, and since they won't have their teacher anymore, I want to say goodbye in a nice way and leave them with tools that will help in their education," I pointed out without looking her in the eyes. "What do you want to talk about?" "Well, I see your father's influence is firmly established, but I would like to speak p
The Chosen Bride 20. Amaya
"You would never think of killing that man; you love him with a passion that I will never understand, so your annoyance won't change anything..." "Do you think I would be calm knowing that my only daughter is going to marry a man she doesn't even know?" she asked me in pain. "I'm not telling you to be calm or not, I'm telling you it's a total waste of time because the situation won't change," I retorted. "My father will tell you something that will placate you, and that will be the end of the problem. So, no, all this display of love that I don't need right now is unnecessary." "But, daughter..." "Mother, I won't have a normal life; it's going to change, and I'll have to give up many of my dreams for the protection they seek," I told her. "And I don't blame you, really, I don't, but all these decisions are the result of choices you and my father made. The fact that you accept being with him after so many years, knowing he lied to you and understanding that he's a married man with
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