Chapter 9: Do Something Romantic!
1473 Words
Susan cradled her coffee cup, gazing out of the massive window at the breathtaking cityscape. The view from this height was phenomenal, capturing the Empire State Building in all its glory in the distance.
Suddenly, the door slammed, jolting her.
"What's your game?" Franco shouted, losing his patience. "I'm running out of patience with you, kid," he muttered.
Susan turned to face him, maintaining eye contact.
"I'm not playing any games. I just wish you'd learn how to treat a woman. Maybe that's why your ex left you," she said calmly, taking a sip of her coffee.
Franco growled, clenching and unclenching his fists, advancing towards Susan with an intimidating air.
"You have no right to question my life."
"And you have no right to yell at me," Susan retorted. "If you want this to seem real, then do things right." Placing her coffee cup on a table, she added, "I'm going to brush my teeth and then go get my dad." She walked away without showing any signs of nervousness.
Franco shouted, staring after her, watching her confident stride as she disappeared into the hallways. He sighed and waited.
Susan re-entered the room, leaning against the door. Though she seemed confident, inside she was trembling.
"God, give me strength to overcome everything that's coming," she prayed.
***
Grace secured her most valuable jewels in their hiding place, brushed her long brown hair, and examined herself in the mirror. A young woman with tanned skin, honey-colored eyes, elegant, distinguished, and quite ambitious, and Tayler knew that weakness.
"Have you heard anything from your daughter?" he shouted in anger.
"No, she hasn't contacted me," she replied weakly, tears welling in her eyes.
Tayler clenched his fists and sighed.
"She's probably with..." he bit his lips, thinking about the man she spent the night with.
"Who is that jerk?" he wondered.
"With no one," Grace inquired, raising one of her well-shaped eyebrows and looking at him.
"With nobody," Tayler replied, waving his hand.
"It would be best for you to convince her to accept being my lover. That way, everyone wins. I'll withdraw the accusation against your husband, and you'll regain your status," she said, raising both eyebrows triumphantly.
Grace drew a sinister smile on her lips; she was not a trustworthy woman.
"I'll help you, but I promise nothing."
Suddenly, they heard knocks on the front door. Grace startled, placing her hand over her chest, while Tayler furrowed his brow and left the woman's room, quickly descending the stairs.
Opening the door, George Miller's strong fist impacted Tayler's face. The blow made him fall, blood flowing from his nose.
"You ungrateful wretch!" Mr. Miller exclaimed, clenching his jaw. "I gave you a home, food, treated you like a son, and all these years you were plotting revenge," he shouted, looking at Tayler with deep resentment. "I never did anything against your father; he was my best friend," he asserted.
"That's not true," Tayler growled. "You could have helped him, but you didn't," he claimed, breathing heavily.
"I did!" George shouted. "But your father had a lot of gambling debts; there was too much money involved, and your safety. That's why we took care of you, thinking we were doing the right thing. But we raised a crow," he said, waving both arms.
Tayler's jaw trembled; he didn't know what to think anymore. He got to his feet, wiping away the blood.
"What about your release from prison? With what money?" he shouted.
"Good morning," Susan's voice interrupted their conversation as she entered hand in hand with Franco Rossi. "My boyfriend helped my father," she commented, raising her chin and looking at Tayler with hatred.
"Boyfriend?" Grace's voice echoed from the stairs; she quickly descended to see the man leaving with her daughter. "Who is this man?" she asked with her distinctive hoarse voice.
"Probably the guy you slept with on your birthday night," Tayler yelled, glaring at Franco with jealousy, keeping his eyes fixed on the imposing man.
Susan's cheeks blazed with embarrassment as her parents' eyes fixated on her. Grace, a woman of strong character and impulsiveness, didn't hesitate to approach Susan and deliver a swift slap.
Franco's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly stepped between them to shield Susan from further blows. Still feeling the impact on her cheek, Susan rubbed it, tears welling up.
"You shameless girl!"
"Enough, Grace!" Mr. Miller intervened, restraining his wife.
"Ma'am," Franco spoke with a deep voice, "before you lay a hand on your daughter, get the facts. It's true we spent the night together, but I'm standing up for her. Besides, Susan is of legal age."
"But how dare you, insolent," Grace muttered, breathing heavily, anger flashing in her eyes, "my daughter is a lady, and you must marry her properly to cover up the disgrace."
"Mama!" Susan snapped, "we're not in the past. Franco and I are getting to know each other, and if things don't work out, nothing will have happened. He paid my father's bail and has arranged a villa for us to move into."
Grace raised an eyebrow, carefully observing Franco. He was elegant, handsome, and if he had paid George's bail and rented a house, it was because things were serious. And if the man was a millionaire, even better; he could help them get out of ruin, so the deal with Tayler went out the window.
"Franco, apologize to my wife," George said seriously, glancing at his daughter, who lowered her head in shame.
"Don't worry," Franco muttered, sensing the strained relationship between mother and daughter.
"Sorry for my outburst," Grace said, now calmer. It was in her best interest to have Franco on her side and regain her assets.
"No problem," he responded with a dry voice. He did not like that woman at all.
Susan preferred not to say anything, remaining silent next to Franco. Deep down, she was grateful that he behaved like a gentleman and helped her, even if it was only for convenience.
"Grace, go and collect your things; Susan, do the same. We're leaving this house," Mr. Miller ordered.
"You can't take anything from here," Tayler retorted, clenching his fists while looking at Susan seriously.
"Why?" Franco questioned, raising his chin. "You kept the assets, but not the ladies' personal belongings. They have the right to take their things," he argued, also tense.
Tayler took advantage of the argument to approach Franco.
"Who says so? You?"
"The laws," Franco replied, standing tall at his six feet, squaring his shoulders, ready for an attack.
"You're nobody in this house," Tayler muttered and threw the first punch.
But Franco's skill stopped that fist; he grabbed the man's hand and twisted his wrist.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on me. You don't know me, you don't know who I am," Franco gritted his teeth, while Tayler growled in pain.
Fuming with anger, Tayler bent down, falling to his knees. Franco let him go roughly, and Susan didn't intervene to defend him; instead, she looked at him with disdain, fueling his rage.
"You will regret this," he thought to himself.
Later, when Franco's car parked in front of the villa, Grace's eyes lit up completely. She focused on the beautiful gardens that adorned the villa, with its minimalistic facade, various-shaped structures, and white painted walls with large windows.
"It's a very lovely house, thank you, Franco," Susan's mother whispered.
"I will repay you for all of this," George indicated.
"Don't worry," Franco responded. "I'm doing all of this for Susan." He looked at her attentively, but she didn't say anything.
"Thank you, Franco," Susan murmured.
The chauffeur helped the women with their luggage. When they entered the house, it was decorated with fine furniture, beautiful paintings on the walls, porcelain vases, and a marble floor.
"Finally, you have done something good in your life," Grace whispered softly in Susan's ear.
Susan observed her mother seriously. She couldn't understand how someone as noble as her father could be married to such a frivolous and ambitious woman.
Franco cleared his throat.
"You're at home now; I must leave. I have unfinished business," he said.
"I'll accompany you to the door," Susan said, so her parents wouldn't notice that their relationship was merely contractual.
Franco waited for her to go first, then followed her out of the house, and they walked through the garden.
"I really want to thank you for standing up to Tayler," she expressed, stopping their walk. "On the other hand, don't pay much attention to my mom. She can be..."
"Frivolous," he added. "Don't worry; I'm used to dealing with those kinds of people."
Susan nodded slightly embarrassed and then noticed her parents watching through the windows.
"Hold my hand or do something romantic," she proposed, clenching her jaw. "What?" Franco frowned, not understanding.
- Writer
