Chapter Sixteen
Melody
Three days later Melody was trying her wedding dress on in Timothy’s apartment. He had urged her to live under his roof; that way, he said, he would make sure she wouldn’t run away, escaping to avoid paying for her debt.
Telling him she had no money of her own proved to be impossible. Melody cried herself to sleep that night. She couldn’t believe that something like this was happening to her.
Not because in a way it didn’t suit her, she was deluding herself if she thought her son wouldn’t be better cared for under the Giannatto’s mantle and protection, just the family name alone was enough.
But at what price.
It pained her because she thought that Timothy, deep in his heart, knew that she was not guilty. At times, in the last few days, he would stare at her as if he regretted it, but nothing came from his lips and she grew tired of waiting.
She didn’t call Equilay or her sister, there was no point. Surely, she was aware of what her bastard husband had done, and she wasn’t going to help her.
“Wow!” Melody turned to the door. There stood a rather beautiful woman she never saw before. “That dress looks beautiful on you,” she smiled openly at him.
“Who are you?” she asked her, picking up all the fabric of the dress, the tulle ran all the way to the floor.
“Hello to you too,” the redhead approached, her legs looked exceptionally long, her hair glistened shiny and silky. Her green eyes were quite a sight.
“If you’re looking for Timothy, he must be in his office. I haven’t seen him in hours,” she sat up in bed to keep from fainting. She felt pressured.
She didn’t know how she was going to be able to handle it all.
Timothy wanted to have the wedding in a chapel, all his family would attend, his parents as well as his uncles and cousins, she didn’t know any of them, and the experience she had with Giannato was not good at all. Likewise, he had told her that the press would not be left out, he was sufficiently well known that all information would slip through and they would want to attend.
“God rest my soul if I come to that!” she exclaimed, pretending to be horrified.
“So?” she asked him about to get up.
“Don’t get up for my dear. You can lie down if you want to. Even I need to sleep for a couple of hours. It can’t be easy getting married to someone you don’t love.”
Melody sat up with a jolt and looked at her in shock.
“How... what...”
“Relax. Your secret’s safe,” the redhead winked mischievously and flirtatiously at her.
She was a beautiful woman, wearing no makeup. She was attired in a short silver dress and sandals that tied around her ankles.
She looked like a model.
“How do you know that...”
“That you don’t love him?” the woman interrupted. “A little birdie told me.”
“No one knows. It’s part of the agreement. I... Oh no! If he finds out he’ll say it was me. He’ll think I lied to him.” If at the first, unjustifiably, he had practically forced her to marry him, what would he do if he thought she’d lied to him again?
“My lips are sealed. I came because I think you need help. I hate it when men do what they want, girls should stick together, right? Besides, my sister is pregnant too. So, I know from her that it can’t be easy for you plan a wedding.”
“I didn’t plan it,” she said confused. “We’re just getting married in a chapel.”
no honey!” she put her hands on her shoulders, delicate, manicured hands, the
That woman was encouraging, and
moment and bit
“Giannato? You’re a Giannatto?”
again, it was beautiful the calming effect she had on
idea Timothy had siblings,” of course she didn’t have long
He’s an only child. According to my husband, a prodigy son. To me, he’s a haughty, bored-out-of-his-life, race-car maniac,” she sighed and released her. “But he’s good-looking. You have to accept that. These Italians
was glad to see a different face. For the past three days, it was all Timothy,
honey?” yelled Devina at her from the
had never been to a house like this before. All so different
her why the
apartment and went inside
spinning and the pasta that had gone down so well ended up shooting out in
here,” she told him when she
an unchanging expression. “Go pack, or I’ll do it for you. Either way we’ll both leave
herself up off the
fuck to do. If you think you say jumped and I’ll
don’t tell me what to do?
won’t do whatever he
which made her heartbeat faster and
would it be
wasn’t going to let him
to him, to show him that he wasn’t in charge of her life, that she wasn’t a puppet that he decided when and how to move. But a wave of nausea rose in her throat and, she propelled
that he had to see her in
as Timothy moved, she didn’t care if he went away and left her alone. She was better off alone, at least for the moment, enjoying what little freedom she had left. She was a mess, her
if some stupid Italian in a tailored
no greater than what she felt when she read Equilay’s words. Humiliated and tied to a person who wanted nothing to do with her. So why was he marrying her? Why did he want to punish her with something that she would benefit at least minimally? That
told her as she was about to flush
passing her a
held the blouse up to
grabbing her by the
couldn’t be thinking about sex when
her
very wrong with her head. It wasn’t just the throwing up, it was the smallest detail. How could she still be attracted to someone who loathed her? Hadn’t he believed in her? Money has no friends, she understood that. But to be so ridiculously radical? To hurt someone who had no part in
Devina’s voice, bringing her back
She lived there now.
was no going
even when
with her parents. Support her? If they hadn’t
weren’t going to believe her one
She was screwed.
her gray playboy bunny-faced blouse and a frayed
in front of the mirror and glanced at the dress hanging on the rack. There were two
But she just felt like crying when she saw them. It was a symbol
am,” she said opening the
because I’m hungry as hell. What are you craving? What do you like to eat? I know pregnant, a lot of
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