Love In Crimson

Chapter Five - Marriage

Benedetto left the hotel with a heavy heart. His ego was trampled upon, and by who, a youngster that met him in the industry. "f**k!", he cursed his luck. At least, he is now at peace. Ace was convinced to invest 50% of his total intended capital in the wine sector, and the other 50% for the initial latex investment.

Now he can offset debts easier than before, from his profits.

Benedetto didn't go back to the company, instead, he went back home. He needed to cool his boiling blood first, and relay the outcome of the meeting to his wife, and most importantly, Reynolds and Natalia. After all, it was a private transaction between him and Ace, not known to even Reynolds.

Benedetto refused his dinner as he didn't have the appetite. He discussed the in-depths of the plan he agreed with Ace to Reynolds and Bianca.

Reynolds was dissatisfied. “How could you just give her away like that father”

"So should I have refused, and then lose everything we have,huh," Benedetto barked, his voice reaching out to the heavens.

"Call Natalia", he said to his wife. Reynolds left grumpily to his room. He didn't like that Natalia was going to get married to a man even he barely knows on a personal level, talk more of Natalia. His father didn't even leave a room for her to have a say. "Disgusting", he hissed.

Natalia was now standing in front of her uncle and his wife, still confused as to why the couple summoned her.

"You're getting married in the next few days", Benedetto said.

Natalia was still confused, who is getting married. Her uncle couldn't be talking about her, right? But the next few sentences that Benedetto said shattered her completely. She has been enduring ill treatments and abuse from him, and now he was giving her away cheaply???

Natalia felt her invisible walls of strength collapse. They had just dropped a bomb for her, and now they walked away like she was nothing. Did she even mean anything to her uncle?

Natalia dragged her feet to the boys quarters, was she dreaming. Natalia felt crumbled. A man she doesn't know except from the news, and then….."oh good lord, are you going to just watch me",she thought aloud.

For the rest of the evening, Natalia was left thinking to herself. How on earth did her uncle arrive at this. Then a thought struck her, what if this was the only escape route she had from tis monster of an uncle. In thirty years time, it's not seeming like he was going to release her from his cage.

Why not take this opportunity and figure out things later, with a total stranger that is going to be her husband in few days, according to her uncle's words.

The next few days in her uncle's house were agonizing. The thoughts of being married off like a cheap slave, or the thoughts of not knowing what to expect, everything clouded Natalia's mind.

"Ding dong", the doorbell in the home of Benedetto rang. The butler, Mama G , went to answer the door and welcomed two strangers in.

Mama G led the two men to the living room, where Benedetto was already waiting for them.

"Shall we", Ace said impatiently.

"Go get her", Benedetto said to his wife.

Bianca went to her room first, to grab a tailored white court dress gown and headed to Natalia's room.

She turned the door knob,not bothering to knock. They had made her sleep in the house the previous night. Bianca dressed up a sad Natalia, who still had swollen red eyes from the crying session she had since last night till morning, in the white court dress.

Apparently, today was the day her stranger to be husband came to pick her up. A lot of thoughts were spiralling in Natalia's mind. Her uncle has discussed a lot of things with her the previous night, which she found deeply disturbing.

It was not a marriage for the press to see, it was a marriage just for her to be a baby vending machine and perform traditional wife duties, all this, while being hidden from world. Was her life going to get any better?, she's literally leaving a cage to another cage.

Natalia descended the stairs to the living room with Bianca, she saw the cold and distant pose of her stranger to be husband.

The party, including Benedetto, Bianca, Natalia, Scott and Ace all headed out to the registry. Scott and Ace rode together in their car, while Natalia, Benedetto and Bianca rode together in another car .

Ace didn't understand why Scott had advised that he comes to Benedetto's home personally. But he didn't think much about it, after all, Benedetto was a sly human.

On arriving at the registry, everyone noticed that the place was abnormally void of people, even staffs. Evil Benedetto's mind started imagining various scenarios.

Scott cared to explain, only the personnels that were going to legalize the marriage were there. Not wanting any information leak, Scott had cleared out the registry in advance with the help of the oversight manager, as per Ace's orders.

Benedetto relaxed at this explanation.

Making their way into the registry, Natalia and Ace were in the process of being joined together as husband and wife. Ace sees the marriage as a transaction necessary for his plan, Natalia, though still doubting, sees it as a way to escape the grasp of her uncle.

The pen touched paper and just like that, it was done.

Ace didn’t smile and Natalia didn’t look at him.

"Congratulations", the officiant said, but the word felt misplaced.

"Welcome to your new reality, Natalia Damon", Ace murmured.

Natalia’s lips curved, but there was no warmth in it. She just entered into a world of uncertainty.

After all legalizions, Bianca formed the image of a perfect mother, wishing her daughter farewell.

Making their exit out of the registry, the door opened. She was now being guided to her stranger husband's car,rather than the one she came with.

Ace didn't show any hint of emotion, because whatever this was, it wasn’t love. It was a contract, a part of a plan,… waiting to bleed.