A Treacherous Matrimony

4

s e r a f i n a

“I wish you could be here with me forever. Do you really have to go?” I ask Adonis. The man that I have fallen deeply in love with. This was something I never thought was going to happen.

“Look sunshine, you of all people should know that leaving you is the last thing I want to do. These past few weeks, it has felt as though I couldn’t breathe without you--“ I cut him off because I need to know.

“And can you breathe without me?” I pout, placing my left foot on his lap. I have become so emotional these past few weeks and this man has not complained. He has taken care of me so much.

“You know damn well I can’t breathe without you. Sunshine, I want to be by your side every second of the day. Actions speak louder than words and my actions have been very clear when it comes to telling you what it is.” He is not wrong at all.

“You know something?” I ask him, smiling.

“Tell me.”

“When you walked into the living room the day that Lorenzo was announced as the man that I was going to marry, you looked so scary. I told myself that I was going to stay away from you. If you remember the first couple of days, I always bolted at the sight of you.” I say to him, laughing. He just stares at me and shakes his head.

“I do look a bit scary at first glance. Trust me, the intent of my heart is pure.”

“I know. The scar on your cheek is also another scary aspect about you but it is something that I have grown to love. It is just one of those unique things about you, baby.”

“The scar really wasn’t my fault. I get it looks scary but I have had this scar since I was a child.”

“Do you mind sharing what happened?” I sit up and place my hand on his cheek, my fingers running through the scar and inspecting it as though I have not done that a lot of times in the past.

“It is just one of those things that happened when I was a child. It is nothing.” He tells me, shrugging it off.

We sit in silence for a while and just stare at each other.

“You know, I think God sent you into my life to comfort me during this period and I think he sent the baby to make us happy.”

“I mean, everything happens for a reason.” I smile as soon as those words make their way out of his mouth.

“I love you so much. I swear, I never believed that I was going to tell anyone these words in my life again but I love you and my love for you is etched deep into my soul. You may not feel it now but I swear, I will love you so much that it will be enough for the both of us.” I tell him, puckering up my lips for a kiss. He gives it to me.

“And you, my Sunshine do not have to ever worry about anything. I will take care of you. “ He assures me and I smile.

“Don’t leave me.” I beg him with pleading eyes. He has to go. He really does and I know it.

“I want to stay but you know that this whole thing with Lorenzo is a whole mess. We need to figure something out. I will be back and when I get back, you will stop hiding. You will be free, I promise you.”

I nod because I believe every word that comes out of his mouth.

He holds me in his arms and kisses me for a long time. Maybe he wants it to be memorable but I am only going to be so miserable when he leaves.

He gets up very quickly and tears begin to fall down my eyes.

“I love you.” I mouth.

This man has me wrapped around his fingers.

…

He bought me a dress.

Adonis is taking me out on a date. My hormones are all over the place but I am so elated. Soon, we would stop sneaking around when we want to be together. I can’t even believe that this is happening.

A knock comes in when I am robbing my belly and staring at my reflection in the mirror.

“Who is it?” I yell.

“Ms. Conti, the driver is outside, ready and waiting for you.” The person says and I nod.

“Tell him I will be with him shortly.” I say.

I look beautiful but I am beginning to question if I look beautiful enough for him. My makeup looks good and the dress is sitting tight on my body. I look sexy as hell. Adonis will take one look at me and he wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off me. That is one thing that I am very certain about and I am still questioning it. I am normally very confident but I just get a little nervous sometimes when I think about him. I think this is what love does.

I decide to push aside all of the thoughts that I am having and head out.

I go down the stairs and make my way to the car.

The ride seems like it goes on for forever.

The driver finally comes to a halt and I heave a sigh of relief. He comes out and rounds the car to open the door for me.

I look around at the building in front of me and I stare at the driver. This does not look like a restaurant to me.

“Where are we?” I ask him, just to be sure I know where I am.

“Oh, don’t fret, Ms. Conti. We are still in Rome. I have not kidn*pped you. Adonis would never let me do something like that.” The driver tells me. While I am still trying to look around and figure out what all of this is, a woman approaches me, smiling.

“Ms. Conti, please follow me.” She tells me. I do as she instructs because I don’t have it in me to argue. I am so emotional and all over the place. I just want to be in the arms of the man that I love. I think that would keep me sated.

We climb a set of stairs that lead us to the top floor. I am a panting mess by the time we get into the building.

“Can you please tell me where the f**k you are taking me? This has gone on for way too long and I think that I am tired already.” I tell her because I am exhausted.

“We are almost there.” She turns around and tells me, smiling at me. I hope we are almost there.

We climb a set of stairs again but this time around, it leads to a rooftop. I want to scream at her and ask her what the f**k this is but my eyes land on Adonis.

“Adonis!” I scream when my eyes land on him.

“Serafina.” He says, smiling. I pout and stop in front of him.

“Oh, my lady, what is the matter?’ He notices my change in behavior.

“You didn’t call me your sunshine.” I tell him and he laughs.

“I sure as hell missed your attitude. You know you are my sunshine and I can’t breathe without you.” I smile and pucker up my lips for a kiss.

“Baby, I thought you said this was a date. I can’t see any chairs or tables here. What is happening?” I ask him, looking around.

“Trust me, we would have our date. I just need to put a few things in place. Daria, take her to the living room and give her whatever she wants.” He says and the woman who brought me here saunters over.

“You are leaving again.” I ask him.

“I swear, I will be with you shortly. Just give me a minute.”

I frown my face. Something is wrong.

“Is everything alright, Adonis?” I ask him and he smiles, nodding at me.

“Give me a minute sunshine.” He says.

…

It has been about fifteen minutes since I have been seated in this living room and there is no sign of him.

I am about to head over to the rooftop and ask him why he has not come to meet me yet but I hear some voices and I stop in my track. My ass remains seated on the chair as men flood into the room. The whole place reeks of a high amount of testosterone.

I stare at their faces one by one.

Wait, I know these men. Six of them happen to be the closest men to my father when he was alive. Massimo is included and that just makes my heart skip a beat.

My father’s lawyer walks in next.

Something is going on.

Lorenzo walks in next. I sit there, staring at what is happening. I am too stunned to speak. I need to know what is going on.

Adonis walks in not too long after. I smile at him but when his eyes land on me, his face is expressionless. It is as though he didn’t just kiss me all those minutes ago and tell me that he could not breathe without me. I am hurt but I don’t let the tears start welling down my eyes because this is a room full of men that hate women and they would laugh their asses out if they saw me exhibit the littlest bit of weakness. I need to pull it together and get all of this over with already.

Adonis does not take a seat. It is as though he has got something to say.

“I have a lot to say but time will not permit me so I am just going to cut to the chase and lay it all out for all of you.” He begins and I pay rapt attention because something tells me that I am going to have so much interest in what he is about to say.

“It is not news that Luigi is dead and there is a wedding that is happening between his daughter, Serafina and his most trusted business associate, Lorenzo Guissepe. I think that is the wisest thing that anyone can do.”

I do not know why I was hoping that this was going to be like a confessional. That he was going to pour his heart out to these people and tell them that he was the one who got me pregnant and that he was so in love with me that waking up the next day without me by his side would be like a death sentence but that is not what is happening here at all. I don’t even know why I am shocked.

“You see, about fifty five years ago, two best friends went on a vacation to Mykonos, Greece. They went to talk about a huge business prospect because they had both been involved in defrauding the Italian government billions of Euros and they needed a place where they could lay low and think about lucrative businesses that they could venture into with the money. They agreed that they were going to go into the oil and gas sector since that was what made waves at that time. Who can guess what happened next?” Adonis asks and the whole room goes silent. The Adonis that is speaking now is so different from the one that I know.

“The one who came up with the idea gets killed while the other runs away and begins the business. That is so terrible, right?” He asks. What is going on. Where is he driving at with this? I want to ask so damn badly but I don’t think I have it in me to speak right now.

“Now, I have a video that I want to play for all of you.” He says before digging his fingers into his pocket and he fishes out his phone. He turns on the television in front of us and types a couple of things on this phone before he clicks on something, a video in black and white begins to play on the television.

The video zooms out of my father’s villa in Rome so that the full expanse of the property comes to view. Everything is visible, including the rooftop and the areas around the villa. The time on the screen shows the fifteenth of June and the time shows a few minutes past eight in the morning. This all correlates with the time my father was murdered.The footage settles on the rooftop in a building opposite the villa. A sniper aims at my father’s room window and he fires.

The video immediately pauses and Adonis clears his throat.

Everyone in this room is in so much shock right now, myself included.

“Can you now solve the puzzle?” He asks but the shock is not allowing them to speak.

The man who killed his best friend was Marco Conti, Luigi’s father and the man that he killed was Alexander Drakos, my grandfather. I gasp loudly after that confession. I think I know where this is heading to but something in my hopes that it is not the case.

“Now, I just wanted to give you guys a backstory before we got into the business of tonight. Lawyer, can you please read the most important condition stated in Luigi’s will?” He asks.

Adonis always told me that he wanted to be with me for me and not because I was the daughter of one of the richest men. He said the did not care about the money. Why is he suddenly interested in the will?

The lawyer clears his throat and flips through the pages and he begins to read.

“To the person that I love most in the world, Serafina. Should you get pregnant for another man before your wedding to Lorenzo, that man will be your husband and everything that is supposed to go to Lorenzo will go to him.” The lawyer reads.

“Now, I think we will have to revisit the clip once again. We are all eager to find out the bastard that did it, right?” He asks and a sinister laughter makes its way out of his mouth before the video resumes.

The sniper fires a couple more times before standing straight and staring at the camera. He removes the balaclava covering his face and the camera zooms in on him. I want to drop dead right now. I want to go into a shock and die from there because the video I just watched is unbelievable.

The room is eerily quiet. I think everyone is trying to process the bomb that was dropped.

“Now, the baby that is in Serafina’s womb is mine and she is not aborting anything. We are getting married because that is what her father wants. Serafina, I think this will be the best time to tell you that my name is not Adonis. You thought I was some Greek god that was sent to comfort you after the death of your father.” He laughs and I look into his eyes.

“Adonis, please tell me this is a prank. I manage to ask him, tears trickling down my eyes.

“Sunshine, this is all reality.” He laughs.

I stare at the man that I fell in love with and the sudden realization hits me. I fell in love with the man who killed my father.