Married to power

Chapter4

Chapter 4

Liliana moved her eyes at Florella, telling her to greet the guest.

"Good morning Sirs and uh.... ma'am" Florella greeted, earning a nod from them as she walked nervously towards her family and stood behind her cousins. Malia and Laura suppressed their anger because Florella just had to interrupt. Malia is the most angry right now.

Florella doesn't understand why these people are here. These kinds of people never come to their small town, let alone their house. She feels so uneasy right now. What exactly are they doing here?

She locked eyes with Dante's again. She could tell he was the boss among them. He screams power. So tall and intimidating. And....and very good-looking. She thought honestly to herself. She wonders what they are doing here. Are they here to take our house? She asks internally.

She looks down, feeling goosebumps from Dante''s gaze on her.

She noticed that her cousins were upset with her. So also is her uncle and aunt. She didn't mean to upset them. She was in a hurry to bring to her uncle the money he sent her to get from one of his debtors. Her uncle warned her not to waste a second or else he will punish her. She doesn't want that.

But now she has made them upset. Well done Florella. You are getting the punishment anyway. She said to herself internally.

Sighing, she look up a bit and lock eyes with Dante. She quickly look down arching her brows. Why is he staring? She asks internally.

"Uh, Mr Giovanni, please forgive the interruption. I will handle that later." Patrick apologized, smiling at Dante.

Florella closed her eyes disappointed in herself.

"You were about to pick one of my daughters"

Florella arched her brows in confusion.

Pick?

"Yes, Gustavo. But who is she?" Dante asked, motioning to Florella.

Patrick's face twitched. So did his family…

Florella is taken aback by his deep scary voice. And he is asking about her. She fears that she has done something wrong.

"Oh she is...." Patrick began, "She is my niece. Florella. My deceased brother's child." Patrick answered

Dante hummed as he stared at Florella.

Patrick nods.

"Since your brother is deceased, I presume she is your responsibility?"

"Yes sir" Patrick answered.

Why is he asking this? Florella asked internally.

"I see," Dante said, staring at Florella

She looks down, fiddling with her dress nervously.

"Well Mr Gustavo, I would like to marry your niece here," Dante said, still staring at Florella.

Florella froze. Patrick's face twitched. So did his wife and daughters.

"What?" Liliana blurted a bit.

Florella is beyond confused and surprised.

"Uh...sir...my my niece?" Patrick asked

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" Dante asked, daringly.

"Uh no no sir just that I thought you said you wanted one of my daughters," Patrick said faking a chuckle.

Dante scoffed.

"Mr Gustavo you said she is your niece and responsibility right?" Adriana asked.

"Ye..yes"

"Then she is also your daughter. He just picked one of your daughters and that's Florella" She said smiling at Florella.

Florella looked down feeling her head spinning.

She can't believe this. She is not in his class. Why does he want to marry her?

She can't marry him. She doesn't even know him. He is a total stranger.

"So what do you say, Mr Gustavo?" Mario asked

Patrick heaved a sigh.

"We need time to think about it sir" Liliana requested.

Dante hummed. He snapped his fingers a little and one of his guards brought his briefcase to him.

The guard opens the case, and Florella and her family are amazed by the bunch of money in the case. Dante brought out two bundles of dollar bills and handed them to Patrick who took them immediately.

"That's to help you think fast," Dante said.

"My men will bring a message soon to get your reply," Dante said, smiling a bit at Patrick before walking towards the door. His guards followed him. Mario and Luke followed too, leaving Adriana.

"I advised you to think fast and make wise decisions Mr Gustavo," Adriana said. Patrick looked at her.

"This is a life-changing deal. You don't want to lose it. Any family will die for such an offer" she said smiling and followed the others.

********

Hours later......

It is nightfall already, Florella is in her room listening to what her family is saying in the living room. They don't seem happy about Dante picking her.

But why did he? She asked internally.

She doesn't want to marry him. She doesn't know who he is.

She prays internally for her uncle to not agree to this. He should have picked Malia instead. She is the eldest and prettier. Why me? She asked herself.

"Florella!"

She jumped on her feet at Patrick's call. She heads towards the living room. Her heart dropped at the sight of the familiar guards that came with Dante this morning.

Wha.,..why are they here? She asked internally.

"Ye...yes uncle?"

Everyone's eyes moved to her. Her uncle and Liliana are seated on the couches. Malia and Laura are on their feet. Their hands are folded and they are standing close to their parents. They all have that unpleasant look on their faces. Most especially Malia.

"They are here for you," Patrick said without looking at her.

She arched her brows in confusion.

One of the guards walked towards her with a white shopping bag that had Louis Vuitton written on it.

She nervously took it.

"Go put it on and follow them. You have a date with your fiance" Patrick ordered.

Florella let out a breath. She can't believe what he just said.

"But uncle please I...I don't want to marry...."

"Shut your mouth!" Patrick snapped, making her flinch. He stands on his feet, walking closer to her.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at her angry uncle.

"Do you think I like the fact that he chose you instead of my beautiful daughters?" he snarled. "You don't know how lucky you are you ingrate!"

Her heart clenched.

"Anyway is a way. Since he chose you, you will marry him. This family needs to be redeemed from this damn poverty curse. Now get in there and put the clothes on. I'll give you five minutes!"

Florella runs into her room. Sobbing silently, she put on the dress. It is a pretty red long gown and black heels. Done wearing, she heads out. Patrick ordered Laura to dress Florella's hair for her.

Laura obeyed. She starts packing up Florella's hair. Florella's eyes were brimming.

Laura scoffed. "Quit the crocodile tears. I can tell you are very happy deep down" she whispered to Florella's ears.

Florella shakes her head no.

"Oh please," Laura said as she walked away from Florella and stood next to Malia who glared at Florella.

Florella looks down feeling awful.

She doesn't want this.

"Good. Now go." Patrick said.

Florella followed the men out to their cars.

They drive off.

All through the ride, she cried silently. They got to a very big and fancy restaurant that she had never been to before. All these make her wonder why someone like him wants to marry her.

He is not in her class.

The guards led her to the top of the building, where she saw Dante seated on the table set. He is in a black suit holding a glass of wine. His eyes locked with hers.

She looked down as the guards directed her to sit on the seat opposite Dante which she did.

Her gaze remains down feeling so uneasy and nervous.

"You look different" His voice sent shivers down her spine.

She doesn't respond.

"Those rags this morning made you look like a jungle dweller," Dante said, sipping his drink as he stared at her.

Her heart ached.

"First things first." He snapped his fingers and his guards placed a file and a pen in front of Florella.

She arches her brows.

"Sign it" Dante ordered.

She looks at him. "Wh....why?"

"That's a contract. You are going to be married to me for eight years. After that, you are out"

Florella is confused.

Dante raises his brows at her.

She doesn't understand.

"We are having a contract marriage," He said.

Contract marriage? Florella asked internally.

"Now sign" he ordered.

She shakes her head a bit. "I...I don't want to"

Dante scoffed.

Florella doesn't understand why he wants her to sign but she has seen a lot of movies that taught her about the trouble caused by signing a document.

"Sign the damn contract" he ordered again.

She shakes her head.

He leaned on the desk a bit, looking right at her with his scary blue eyes.

"If you don't sign the contract, I will have your uncle and family kicked out on the streets and make sure they never find help anywhere. They will suffer " the cruel words rolled out of Dante's mouth.

Florella's heart dropped.

What?