CHAPTER TWO: The Deal
1077 Words
Power doesn’t give. It just takes and christens it; Mercy.
The silence in the Moretti residence prowled with a menace that left an uneasy atmosphere.
Lena stood alone in the room, she still held the pen she used to signed her life and freedom away. The ink on the contract hadn’t even finished drying but the fallout of her choice were already like concrete slabs around her feet.
She looked at herself in the gilded mirror and just sighed at her own sorry state.
She took off the gown and let it fall to the ground. She stepped out0 of the gown and went into her bathroom. It was spacious and felt like luxury. She entered the tub and sighed in pleasure as the hot water loosened the knots of soreness around her body.
She closed her eyes and let her mind wander.
This was her new life now. There was no fighting or bargaining her way out of it. There was only acceptance.
After a while, She stepped out feeling refreshed but not reborn. She opened the wardrobe and saw different designer gowns, all with tags.
So maybe this new life of hers, did come with some perks.
She chose a black gown with slits at the side. She went to the mirror and placed the dress on her body as she checked it out. “ This can work”.
She wore the dress and arranged her hair the best she could.
Feeling a little like herself, she stepped out of the bedroom.
The entire residence felt like a mausoleum.
Meanwhile, outside the residence, life went on as usual.
She was at a window in the living room just staring into space. All of a sudden, she felt the room grow chill, the air suddenly became stifling and a weigh pressed on her shoulders. It could only mean one thing .
He was back. He walked in and she nearly suffocated from the aura of his menace.
He glanced at her and without preamble, asked, “Do you know what happens now?”
Lena turned to face him. Her hands were clenched by her sides. Her pupils were contracted with reptilian fury as she glared at him.
Dante wasn’t bothered in the slightest by her reaction.
He went to the mini counter and poured himself a glass of scotch. He didn’t offer her one.
This was anything but mutual and he wasn’t interesting in pretending it wasn’t .
“We will be getting married tomorrow. And in every sense of the word. Legally, publicly…”
He held his drink halfway and stared at her, “biblically”
Lena's laugh was sharp and had a bitter edge to it. “You’re insane.”
“I’m pragmatic,” he corrected. “Your father’s debt has been paid . If he lives or dies? Well, that’s up to you to decide.”
She stamped her feet as she glared at him. “ Of all the women you could have … why me? What do I have that they don’t? Tell me!”
“That’s simple. Leverage. Collateral.” He swirled his glass.
“ I believe expendable is the word you are looking for.” She rolled her eyes.
“I mean useful.” He sipped his drink as he held her gaze. “Your credentials make this marriage believable. A fallen heiress. A family name that has fallen on hard times. The perfect Victim brand for media sympathy. And the Moretti women, well, they know how to how to play their part perfectly. As you will come to also.”
“And what role is that?” she demanded
“ Look beautiful, and be silent, docile wives”. A grin teased his lips as he answered.
Lena stepped forward, her nostrils flared as her fury simmered beneath the surface. “I’m not a trophy or a piece of decorative.”
The grin finally broke free. It was the grin of a man who knew exactly where her limits was. “We’ll see.”
He said simply and finished the remainder of his drink.
She grabbed the document and opened the pages. It was littered with lots legal jargon that she couldn’t make sense of, asset clauses, non-disclosure agreements.
It was a transaction masquerading as a marriage contract and she was the currency.
She paused while reading.
There was a questioning frown on her face as she looked up. “I think there has been a mistake here. There’s a clause here about consummation.”
Dante raised an eyebrow. “Of course. What do you think I meant by biblically? A valid union is one that has been consummated.”
“You’re insane.” She fired at him.
“And you’re in no position to make a bargain or refuse.”
She clenched her jaw, barely able to restrain herself, she blurted. “You think you can control everything.”
“I don’t think. I know. And I do.” He bluntly stated.
He walked toward her. Each step was deliberate, his gaze never leaving her. He stopped within inches of her.
“I don’t give a damn if you hate me,” he said quietly. “To be honest? I’m counting it. Come tomorrow you will be a Moretti. You will wear the ring. Play the role you have been given. Smile and wave at the cameras. And maybe what’s left of your family will still draw breathe.”
Goose bumps of dread broke over shin as she swallowed hard. “And if I refuse to play my role ?”
Dante leaned in, voice low and deadly. She could almost inhale him.
“Your father dies a slow death. Then I will ruin your family. There is something you should know about me. Lena, when I ruin something, I ruin it completely.”
The silence that followed was deafening. The air crackled with tension and the room grew smaller.
Lena didn’t flinch. Instead She stepped forward and closed the gap between them.
She stared him right in the eyes. Her voice grim and resolute, “Then let me be perfectly clear. While you might coerce yourself a bride, you’ll never own a wife.”
Dante’s expression didn’t change. But there was something lurking behind his calm. A spark of interest has been ignited deep in the mountain of ice that was within him.
His eyes flashed something unreadable . “Challenge accepted,” he murmured.
- Writer
